Music can be a boon to any TV series, whether it accentuates a montage, fuels an emotional scene or punches up a propulsive fight sequence. It’s a great storytelling tool. In the case of Yellowjackets, the soundtrack is a prominent character in its own right, especially in the ’90s timeline.
Below, I’ve compiled a list of my favorite needle drops from the series thus far. Be warned; most of them are, indeed, ’90s tracks. I wasn’t in high school in the ’90s, but nevertheless, I grew up listening to quite a few of these tunes. Nostalgia rules the roost for me.
“Mother Mother” by Tracy Bonham (Season 1 Episode 2)
This first needle drop is as brief as it is effective. “Mother Mother” by Tracy Bonham plays when Misty (Samantha Hanratty) chops off Ben’s (Steven Krueger) leg post-crash. It’s a thrashy, chaotic song to match the chaos of this moment. “Everything’s fine!” punctuating that swing of the ax right before the credits roll? Perfection.
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“Dreams” by The Cranberries (Season 1 Episode 3)
Who doesn’t love a good needle drop courtesy of The Cranberries? “Dreams” enters the scene as the survivors rush toward the first sign of water in the Wilderness. As they swim in the lake, smiling and laughing even in the aftermath of tragedy, there’s a feeling of bona fide hopefulness. Unfortunately, it’s short-lived. In retrospect, this moment is quite bittersweet, especially armed with the knowledge of what lies on the horizon.
“Kiss from a Rose” by Seal (Season 1 Episode 9)
“Kiss from a Rose” by Seal is a middle and high school slow dance staple. It’s a prerequisite for a dance. Yellowjackets incorporates this tune into its bangin’ soundtrack in the penultimate episode of Season 1 as the teens host their Doomcoming. While they sing to themselves, the real song takes over. It’s the last time the gang has fun in the wake of Laura Lee’s (Jane Widdop) death.
However, despite the dance’s purpose to boost morale, there’s an undercurrent of hopelessness that threatens to bubble to the surface. Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) is super pregnant and will (and does) inevitably give birth in the Wilderness. Jackie (Ella Purnell) is determined to lose her virginity to Travis (Kevin Alves) because she feels death is not far out of reach for her.
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That said, Doomcoming is also when Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Van (Liv Hewson) make their debut as a couple, so there’s a smattering of genuine happiness to drown out that hopelessness.
“Seventeen” by Sharon Van Etten (Season 2 Episode 1)
“Seventeen” by Sharon Van Etten is a solid opening track for the Season 2 premiere. Something about it feels inherently ’90s alternative — so much that I was shocked to discover it was released in 2019. As the song plays, a montage depicts the survivors trying to stay warm in the Wilderness, grappling with the harsh Canadian winter. It’s a stark reminder that, save Ben, these are teens. Instead of reveling in their adolescence, they’re becoming a product of their brutal, unpredictable environment. They’re forced to grow up. That loss of innocence is heartbreaking.
Additionally, we see scenes of Lottie (Courtney Eaton) returning home post-rescue and her stay in a mental facility.
“Climbing Up the Walls” by Radiohead (Season 2 Episode 2)
Admittedly, I’m a sucker for Radiohead, and this is my all-time favorite Yellowjackets needle drop. It’s so well-placed, and the crescendo into the tune’s climax complements this particular scene’s own climax. Here, the teens consume Jackie, marking their descent into full-on cannibalism. I love the intercuts between them sitting in the forest in Grecian garb as they enjoy a sumptuous feast and real life as they feverishly engorge themselves on Jackie’s burnt corpse. It ain’t pretty.
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Then, there’s poor Ben, who refuses to partake in the cannibalistic activities. His reaction represents ours — one of alarm and disgust. RIP, Snackie.
“Bells for Her” by Tori Amos (Season 2 Episode 3)
I’m a Tori Amos gal. I debated including “Cornflake Girl” on this list, but I feel this sequence, paired with “Bells for Her,” is more interesting. In the ’90s, Lottie rises as a Wilderness prophet, creating a polarizing divide between the survivors. There are those who believe, and those who dismiss this new religion as poppycock. Here, the survivors find several dead birds strewn around the cabin. Lottie insists they are blessings from It, aka the Wilderness.
However, in the present timeline, Adult Lottie (Simone Kessell) discovers that all the bees on her compound are dead and covered in blood. She panics. An older woman nearby speaks French, reminiscent of Lottie rattling off French in the cabin when the teens started dabbling in the occult. Fortunately, the bees are alive, and Lottie simply had a vision.
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“Lightning Crashes” by Live (Season 2 Episode 7)
“Lightning Crashes” by Live plays during two vastly different scenes, cutting between the past and present. It creates a real dichotomy. In the ’90s, Shauna beats the snot out of Lottie, who volunteers to be a punching bag so Shauna can release her pent-up rage.
In the present, the adults, consisting of Shauna (Melanie Lynskey), Tai (Tawny Cypress), Misty (Christina Ricci), Natalie (Juliette Lewis), Lottie and Van (Lauren Ambrose), dance around a fire while listening to this tune. It’s the only true moment of joy in the present timeline for the survivors — the calm before the storm of the final two episodes of the season.
“Bullet With Butterfly Wings” by The Smashing Pumpkins (Season 2 Episode 8)
As a band, The Smashing Pumpkins is baked into the DNA of the ’90s. They defined the rock scene then, and they’ve left an indelible impression on the genre. The heavy guitars make for a great soundscape as the teens embark on their first hunt. The target? Natalie (Sophie Thatcher). We hear the hunters howl like wolves as they pursue their prey. They’ve given in to the Wilderness. While we know Nat ultimately survives, it’s still a sequence rife with high-octane tension (that ends in abject tragedy).
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“Street Spirit (Fade Out)” by Radiohead (Season 2 Episode 9)
I’m biased, so naturally, we’ve got multiple Radiohead entries on this list. Let’s face it — anytime Yellowjackets injects a bit of Radiohead into a scene, you know something terrible is about to happen. Nat’s inadvertent death at the hands of Misty fulfills a vision from the pilot. There, we see Teen Misty watching Nat from afar at a party. This show is no stranger to symbolism and metaphors, and the scene indicates that Misty will be Nat’s downfall. A deadly prophecy come to fruition.
Nat’s death is also the first time we see the plane sequence. Nat is greeted by Javier (Luciano Leroux), a significant source of her guilt from her time in the Wilderness, along with her teen self and Lottie. Lottie tells Nat that “It’s not evil, It’s just hungry. Like us.” My guess? The afterlife is the Wilderness for our titular survivors, and the plane is taking them “home.”
“Glycerine” by Bush (Season 3 Episode 1)
TaiVan is a fun pairing, and I’ve been rooting for them since day one. In the present timeline of the Season 3 premiere, they dine and dash, fleeing from an unfortunate server who later dies from a cardiac event. During the euphoric adrenaline spike of being naughty, Tai and Van makeout to “Glycerine” by Bush. I’ve always had a soft spot for this tune, so I love this needle drop. It also plays in the end credits of episode nine, after Melissa (Hilary Swank) stabs Van to death — a depressing full-circle musical moment.
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“Rebel Girl” by Bikini Kill (Season 3 Episode 2)
Shauna’s on her rage kick in Season 3, intimidating everyone in the group of teens, save, apparently, Melissa (Jenna Burgess), who kisses her at the end of episode two. Mind you, Shauna has a blade to Melissa’s throat, but danger can be hot. Shauna reciprocates the kiss. I imagine those teen hormones are running pretty high in the middle of nowhere. Of course, we later learn Mel was trying to solidify herself in Shauna’s good graces.
Anyway, “Rebel Girl” by Bikini Kill is a killer track choice for this moment.
“Rid of Me” by PJ Harvey (Season 3 Episode 5)
This isn’t the first time Yellowjackets has employed a PJ Harvey needle drop. “Rid of Me” plays as Melissa slashes Ben’s Achilles heel — the heel of his one and only leg. The plan is to keep Ben from fleeing because, according to Akilah’s (Nia Sondaya) visions, he’s the key to getting home. Shauna dares Mel to draw blood, and since Mel would prefer to keep Shauna content, she goes through with the act. It’s a great tune.
“Be There” by Low (Season 3 Episode 6)
Ben’s death in Season 3 tore my heart asunder, especially since Nat, who’s been a friend to him since they crashed, delivered the killing blow. Not out of malice, of course. If there’s one thing we’ve learned these three seasons, it’s that Nat is the moral compass of this series. Ben begs Nat to kill him over the course of a week (at least). Initially, she resists the idea.
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Ultimately, Nat decides to honor Ben’s wishes and “keep a promise,” as she tells the others. This decision to mercy kill Ben strips Nat of her rank as the leader, paving the way for Shauna to rule as Antler Queen. “Be There” by Low adds dimension to the emotional heft and resonance of Ben’s death scene, along with Sophie Thatcher and Steven Krueger’s visceral performances.
“Dig Me Out” by Sleater-Kinney (Season 3 Episode 8)
Remember when Shauna bites a chunk of flesh out of Melissa’s arm and makes her eat it? Oof. How can you forget that? Episode eight goes balls to the wall in the adult timeline as these two reunite after decades apart (and Mel faked her own death). “Dig Me Out” by Sleater-Kinney punctuates this bonkers cliffhanger and takes us into the credits as we’re left mouths agape, realizing the bar for Shauna Sadecki is now officially below the ground. There’s no limit to how low she’ll stoop.
It’s a Tie: “Creep” by Stone Temple Pilots and “Exit Music (for a Film)” by Radiohead (Season 3 Episode 9)
I love a good tie. “Creep” by Stone Temple Pilots plays in the background as Jeff (Warren Kole) and Callie (Sarah Desjardins) partake in a good ole-fashioned daddy-daughter smoke session. Should I have included Jeff’s Papa Roach air drumming scene from Season 2 instead? Perhaps, but that seemed too predictable to me. Anyway, STP is perfect music to puff on a bit of chronic to.
RELATED: Read our Yellowjackets recaps
“Exit Music (for a Film)” by Radiohead is Adult Van’s swan song. It’s quite fitting for our resident storyteller and pop culture fanatic. Like Nat, Van also gets a plane scene, complete with Van watching her death play out on a projector and screen. Her younger self tells her that this isn’t the end, but she can’t spoil what comes next. Could we see Adult Van return in some capacity? Who knows with this show?
Yellowjackets Seasons 1 through 3 are now streaming on Paramount+.
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
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