# Songs in TV shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-tv-shows/615669 "2012-03-13T17:25:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-tv-shows/615669/1 "2012-03-13T17:25:01Z")
In the past, tv shows had background music and rarely if ever used current songs in their episodes. Now, it’s all the rage. Sometimes it’s heavy-handed and overdone (Grey’s Anatomy!). But sometimes the song - whether well-known or obscure - is a great fit for the moment. I’ve discovered new songs I enjoy from Good Wife, Gossip Girl and from Scrubs, to name some diverse examples. So - Which shows do you guys think use songs well? Have you discovered any new music or groups from TV shows? (I guess I could add comercials as well, as far as discovering music, but that’s really a different topic.) ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-tv-shows/615669/2 "2012-03-13T18:21:43Z")
**Breaking Bad** has used lots of obscure and fantastic songs. Off the top of my head from this current season there was [Ana Tijoux](http://youtu.be/B2J2wO8eYz4) and [Honey Claws](http://youtu.be/NxSMsuXGJI4), both used perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-tv-shows/615669/3 "2012-03-13T18:43:38Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > **Breaking Bad** has used lots of obscure and fantastic songs. Off the top of my head from this current season there was [Ana Tijoux](http://youtu.be/B2J2wO8eYz4) and [Honey Claws](http://youtu.be/NxSMsuXGJI4), both used perfectly. Gonna add to this with some youtube videos (full scenes with music to get context on how it was used) with obvious spoilers… [spoiler] [“TV on the Radio” by DLZ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU0O4PeMAwg) although I prefer this [tribute video with the full version of this song.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yjl8PKrPZ0E) [“Negro y Azul” by Los Cuates De Sinaloa - Opening scene to Season 2, Ep. 7](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxYrjWMvmdg&feature=related) [“Black” by Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqkYr5uIreg) My Current Favorite (Although not part of an actual song used in the show, I still have to say that this):[Breaking Bad Tribute Video with a song that SHOULD be in a season 5 episode…heh…wishful thinking…but enjoy this one…it’s BAAAAADASSSSSS.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYBTX_GmSM8)[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-tv-shows/615669/4 "2012-03-14T00:31:44Z")
I discovered [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKTwvqR6BiI) gem from watching “Intervention” ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-tv-shows/615669/5 "2012-03-14T00:46:55Z")
Breaking Bad, as mentioned above, seemed to have people scouring the internet constantly in search songs that perfectly fit the mood of each scene and the nailed it every single time. It seems like once per episode or so they would write a song for the scene, but mostly they found them. [Here’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nTGSfbP-N8) my favorite so far. (No spoilers, just to kids playing some flamenco guitar) I found the song on youtube when they mentioned on the podcast that it was just a couple of kids that played it, so of course I had to go watch it. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-tv-shows/615669/6 "2012-03-14T06:05:53Z")
I think part of this phenomenon rests on the current trend of ending every hour-long drama with a “music video moment” - all the main characters facing their fate, doing what they must, accepting their lot in life… all wordlessly to the plaintive sounds of some soulful pop song. \*House \*does it all the time, and \*Scrubs \*did it a lot too. Even though it has become almost cliche, I still kinda like it. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-tv-shows/615669/7 "2012-03-14T07:18:00Z")
^ The short-lived **Stargate: Universe** followed this trend of ending the episodes with a soulful song playing over a montage of scenes. [Here’s one I remember liking (Alexi Murdoch’s Breathe).](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9sUVXq0kag) ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-tv-shows/615669/8 "2012-03-14T07:29:36Z")
[Chuck](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFU8Ka7v_zE) [used](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3IIesKd3_o) [songs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur5XEo5Qzvg) to great effect. Also, Veronica Mars, but can’t quickly find any clips on YouTube (specifically I Hear the Bells, [A Momentary Thing](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EftQn2p_Bzk&feature=related), [Sway](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2_SNNcFGjw)). ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-tv-shows/615669/9 "2012-03-14T07:45:13Z")
A song can also be used to introduce a character. Case in point: [O Death](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1EzU9sLQ6I)from _Supernatural_. ---
**Author:** ![Postariti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Postariti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Postariti)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-tv-shows/615669/10 "2012-03-14T11:56:17Z")
I suspect a lot of these songs are paid product placements. One CSI type show played a Hot Chip song that hadn’t even been released yet. I love music much more than television, but I don’t like musical montages at the end. It just feels like filler, especially when everything is slow motion. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-tv-shows/615669/11 "2012-03-14T13:06:05Z")
it’s not new but _Danny’s Song_, written for the birth of a baby, in _Raising Hope_. _“Even though, I ain’t got money~”_ ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-tv-shows/615669/12 "2012-03-14T13:26:13Z")
Hopefully, they’ve gotten smarter with licensing the music, or we’ll have piles of shows facing the same fate as _WKRP in Cincinnati,_ where the licensing is too thorny to untangle, so they just die in the vault. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-tv-shows/615669/13 "2012-03-14T14:27:21Z")
They used this one several times on **Dead Like Me** , I liked it quite a bit: [Boom Boom Ba - Metisse](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iORj3vbADw). ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-tv-shows/615669/14 "2012-03-16T02:13:10Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > Hopefully, they’ve gotten smarter with licensing the music, or we’ll have piles of shows facing the same fate as _WKRP in Cincinnati,_ where the licensing is too thorny to untangle, so they just die in the vault. Most shows aren’t as music-dependent as _WKRP_, so they’ll go ahead and live with replacing songs with generic substitutes rather than give up the money they’d make on DVD releases. As for shows that use music well, _House_ has had a couple of winners that I can think of. An early episode featured the Grant Lee Buffalo song “Happiness” effectively as the characters dealt with the aftermath of a case that didn’t go so well. And I liked the episode with Dave Matthews as a musical savant that had “I Don’t Like Mondays” by the Boomtown Rats (with House himself clapping in time). ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-in-tv-shows/615669/15 "2012-03-16T06:00:58Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Most shows aren’t as music-dependent as _WKRP_, so they’ll go ahead and live with replacing songs with generic substitutes rather than give up the money they’d make on DVD releases. > > As for shows that use music well, _House_ has had a couple of winners that I can think of. An early episode featured the Grant Lee Buffalo song “Happiness” effectively as the characters dealt with the aftermath of a case that didn’t go so well. And I liked the episode with Dave Matthews as a musical savant that had “I Don’t Like Mondays” by the Boomtown Rats (with House himself clapping in time). I remember House himself playing the piano intro to “I Don’t Like Mondays” on the piano, and it was awesome. I don’t know if it was actually Hugh Laurie playing it (although I’d guess it was), but the character definitely did. A great music moment in TV history.