Serial Songs

The world is literally counting down to the final episode of "Stranger Things." A series that became historic even before it ended, perhaps more influential than it is good. One that, to borrow a phrase from Simon Reynolds, helped trigger the rampant retromania that has since spread through the audiovisual universe.

Among the various weapons used by the Duffer brothers' series to catapult us into a mood inspired by the fictional coming-of-age tales of the 1980s is certainly its use of a razor-sharp non-original soundtrack, where the songs chosen to trigger the pathos of key moments become protagonists in their own right, on par with the characters, to the point of living a second life outside the screen – going viral on TikTok, topping the global charts of various streaming platforms, or even popping up in the sales charts of certain countries.

Since "Stranger Things," this use of classic or cult tracks has only increased across the world of TV series. This actually just reminds us how inextricably linked the world of TV series is to that of pop music, far more so than cinema. And not just for the past decade, but for at least half a century.

This new OndaRock column begins as a journey – a rather disorganized one, too – through the history of songs most closely tied to the world of TV series. We'll offer five per volume, and in the meantime we'll be adding them to a themed playlist.

Lungs – True Detective 1*7

Sometimes we look evil straight in the face and don't recognize it. It's the hour before sunset, in the golden light of Louisiana. The dark sedan carrying detectives Gilbough and Papania (the ones behind the marathon interrogation of Rust Cohle with the mustache and ponytail) pulls up beside a cemetery garden to ask a man on a lawnmower for information. His figure remains backlit, hiding the scars on his face from view. The revelation is right there, within reach, but fate is made of imponderable crossroads. And as the lawnmower engine starts back up, the vibrating strings of Townes Van Zandt's guitar creep in, along with that voice sharp as a blade.

It speaks of poisoned lungs, it speaks of dark dreams: "Lungs" is one of the most tormented songs by the Texan songwriter, from his self-titled 1969 album (though the most intense version can be found on "Live At The Old Quarter, Houston, Texas"). "Salvation sat and crossed herself and called the Devil partner," sings Townes, and his words seem to sketch a hidden map to Carcosa. Down there, among the bayou swamps, the secrets stay confined to the shadows.

Rape Me – Succession 3*3

"Succession" isn't exactly a series famous for its heavy use of a non-original soundtrack. And yet when it does, as in this case, it's typically brilliant, dark, and biting.

Shiv Roy is about to make her climb up the ranks of the family business and is called upon to deliver a very delicate public speech to shareholders, since she has to respond to serious sexual harassment allegations made against a senior company executive. After just a few lines of her speech, the iconic chords of Kurt Cobain's Fender Jaguar echo through the room, followed, naturally, by the chorus snarled with calculated rage, screaming "Rape Me."

It's a prank, as cutting as it is tasteless, pulled off by her backstabbing brother Kendall, who has placed powerful JBL speakers around the hall in various spots in order to sabotage his sister's credibility.

Proof that: a musical choice doesn't necessarily have to move you – it can also sting and make you snicker through gritted teeth.

Paper Thin Wall – The O.C. 2*7

There was a period in the first decade of the 2000s when listening to indie music was the coolest thing in the world. TV series certainly deserved some of the credit, as they had never before wielded such influence over fashion and culture. The quintessential teen drama of those years, "The O.C.," played a major role in shaping the taste of teenagers at the time. Not only does Seth Cohen brag, in a scene that's gone down in history, about preferring Death Cab For Cutie to Metallica, but the show's characters even hang out at the Bait Shop, a venue that, over the course of the episodes, hosts acts including The Walkmen, Killers, Thrills, and Subways. The most romantic appearance at the Bait Shop, though, for any indie kid of the era, remains that of Modest Mouse, who, wrapped in their trademark flannel shirts, electrify the crowd with the jagged, spry arpeggios of "Paper Thin Walls."

Crapa Pelada – Breaking Bad 3*13

Gael Botticher is one of the most hateful characters in “Breaking Bad“. Probably, had there not been a certain Skyler, we'd be talking about the absolute champion. Gael is a nerd, an eccentric: in his reading habits, in his inherent brilliance, and in how alien he is to the context he operates in, clashing with it arguably even more than Walter White does, and needless to say, more than Jesse. At a certain point in the third season, unwittingly, Gael becomes a threat to White. Gus Fring is in fact on the verge of choosing him to replace Walter within his ruthless meth-production operation. In sharp contrast both with the mounting tension of that point in the series and with its thoroughly American, postmodern setting, for Gael's big scene Vince Gilligan makes a musical choice that's as far-fetched as it is brilliant. Just before Gus shows up at his place to have a drastic reckoning, Gael is relaxing in his little apartment, surrounded by ethnic masks, old cameras and Stephen King novels. While watering his plants, he sings from memory the 1940s Milanese-dialect refrain of "Crapa pelada" by Quartetto Cetra!

Irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann – Dark 1*1

"Dark" has plenty of iconic music, from the Apparat theme sung by Soap & Skin for the opening titles, to the heartfelt cover of "My Body Is A Cage" by Arcade Fire reinterpreted by Peter Gabriel, which accompanies the most gripping of the second season's countless revelation moments. There's one track, however, that acts as a recurring motif, marking the key turning points and linking them together in memory. "Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgendwann" by German pop star Nena isn't just a famous synth-pop tune evoking the 1980s Germany in which a substantial part of the series is set: through the message of its chorus, it effectively becomes the symbol and motto of the entire show, a tangle of multiple timelines through which the broken lives of the residents of the small town of Winden unfold. Prisoners of their own past and their own future, their fates chase one another in this Rhineland Twin Peaks, hoping to finally close the circle. Somehow, somewhere, sometime.

Contributions by Gabriele Benzing ("True Detective") and Marco Sgrignoli ("Dark")

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09/05/2026