The 10 best needle drops in Yellowjackets
As the season 2 finale of Showtime's hit approaches, The A.V. Club counts down the top '90s songs used in the series
TV Features Taissa
For a show mostly about girls in the woods—and a not insignificant amount about eating people—music plays a major role in seasons one and two of Yellowjackets. We’ve got the trippy original theme song (covered recently by Alanis Morisette), those tracks Florence + the Machine did for the show, and plenty of unforgettable, character-selected jams, like Misty’s show tunes and the rage anthems Jeff blasts alone in the car. Music nods show up in dialogue, too, as when Van eulogizes poor son of a bitch Rachel plane-side, saying, had she not died in the crash, “she was going to see Oasis at the Meadowlands the next month—now she’s never going to hear ‘Wonderwall’ again.” They’re all over the characters’ respective wardrobes, too: Van reportedly lives in Sleater-Kinney tour shirts; we see Shauna rock a “Yo La Tengo for President” tee; and Nat reps The Pixies. While the songs in Yellowjackets are each thoughtfully placed, we decided to toast the season-two finale on May 26 by ranking the 10 best-used cuts (so far).
8 Comments
Think of all the great needle drops still to come over the next 8 seasons or so as they continue to introduce new team members who they expect us to believe have been there all along. Also, most of the teenagers are starting to get varicose veins and crow’s feet.
Just three more seasons. Which still sounds like two too many. I’m fine with them recasting background girls, they need more victims. There were only like three season 1 girls left who we didn’t know were alive in the present. I just hope they’re doing the math. Once they start suggesting there were more people on the plane than established, I think it gets ridiculous.
they were there all along. Covid happened so they had to reduce the cast. Are you a sexist?
No ‘Mother, Mother’?
I knew this would be a useless list.
These are phenomenal picks, just want to nominate Angst in My Pants from Misty and Walter’s hotel montage.
The Montell Jordan dance scene was great, tho I guess it doesn’t count as a needle drop. ThoI do have my doubts that someone who still wears Pixies shirts 30 years later would’ve let themselves be seen enjoying chart music as a 90s teen.
I wish there was more Grunge – the most popular rock Genre of the era. Only one Nirvana song and one Hole song? Why not more Nirvana (one of the biggest bands ever) or for that matter any Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, or Soundgarden? Maybe licensing is an issue but some of the choices for needle drops seem super random.
Can’t really approve of this as it leaves out “Bells For Her” by Tori Amos.