Relive The '90s With Our Guide To Every Song In Yellowjackets Season 2

This post contains spoilers for the second season of "Yellowjackets."

One of the things you can't deny about Showtime's runaway hit "Yellowjackets" is that it's got a killer soundtrack. Even before we got to hear its catchy theme song from Anna Waronker and Craig Wedren, the pilot episode set up one of the show's recurring elements: a soundtrack that consists of both '90s classics and deep cuts. The show's second season is no different — after all, they are still fighting for survival during the late '90s portion of the show.

Even if this isn't taken into consideration, the 1990s were a great time for music, as evidenced throughout "Yellowjackets." If you weren't privy to living through the '90s, some of these songs might be delighting your ears for the very first time, and as such, might be too entranced to open your Shazam app to ask, "what song is playing?" Luckily, /Film will be doing the due diligence for you, as each week, we'll be updating this piece with the buzzy songs featured in the latest "Yellowjackets" episode up until the season 2 finale. Buzz up your Spotify or Apple Music, because we're making a killer playlist.

There aren't as many songs in the second episode of "Yellowjackets," but the soundtrack we do get is great nonetheless. If you are into indie soft rock, you might recognize "No Room for a Nihilist in Hollywood" by Peachy! in the scene immediately following the show's opening credits. You know, the one where we see Shauna's daughter Callie (Sarah Desjardins) vaping and breaking up with her himbo boyfriend?

We go back to the late '90s with the next song we hear in the episode, "Inertia Creeps" by Massive Attack. It's playing during a montage of Taissa (Jasmin Savoy Brown and Tawny Cypress) haphazardly getting ready for her day, chugging a concerning amount of espresso shots in the process. That's probably how a lot of people feel while listening to Massive Attack, so we can't blame her. The trip-hop band probably doesn't cause listeners to hallucinate their children, though. If you listen closely, you'll also hear "Little Queenie" by SadGirl when Callie talks to this mysterious new guy in the bar.

However, they saved the best scene and song for last. When the Yellowjackets make the game-changing decision to eat Jackie's cooked body, it was soundtracked by Radiohead's "Climbing Up The Walls." The band's signature disconcerting production really heightens this final scene's tensions, matching up perfectly with the ripping and eating of cooked human flesh. While this was certainly a horrific scene, it's probably for the best that it was set to a song from 1997's "OK Computer." It's just that good of an album! Too bad Jackie will never hear it.

Much like "Edible Complex," this episode isn't as music-heavy as others the show has had. This is a bit fitting, though, as "Old Wounds" was more concerned with focusing on character emotions and dynamics rather than moving forward the direct plot. That is far from a bad thing — the characters are what makes "Yellowjackets" such a compelling show!

Speaking of characters, did you ever expect to have Mandy Patinkin in "Yellowjackets?" Probably not, and while he, unfortunately, hasn't been cast in the show, we do get to hear his voice via a cassette of the Broadway soundtrack for "Evita." As it turns out, citizen detective Walter (Elijah Wood) is as much of a fan of musicals as Misty is, so their little car ride to Lottie's compound kicks off with the musical's opener, "Rainbow Tour." During the other car scene, Lisa and Natalie drive along set to "Just Get Over It" by James Donald Davies & Martin Jackson. At the bar, they're listening to "Won't Waste a Day," also by James Donald Davies & Martin Jackson.

That isn't the only thing they have in common, either, as Misty and Walter's startlingly similar routines are later showcased in a fun montage set to Sparks' absolute banger, "Angst in My Pants."Don't worry, Misty and Walter don't get all the fun musical moments. In a trippy flashback sequence, we see Lottie hallucinate a girls' trip at the mall, soundtracked by a new version of Craig Wedren and Anna Waronker's theme for the show, "No Return." 

Finally, the episode ends with a callback to the first season finale closer in the form of "Snarler," once again from Wedren and Waronker, playing over the credits.

Episode 6 is an excellent showcase of the ways "Yellowjackets" uses music to emphasize thematic elements or serve as comedic levity. The first needle drop of the episode is "Song 2" by the band Blur, which a lot of folks mistakenly think is called "Woo Hoo," as it's the most recognizable part of the song. The song pops up in plenty of commercials and film trailers, as well as video games like "Just Dance 2" and "Guitar Hero 5."

When we see Van and Taissa together as adults, Van is listening to "Your Woman" by White Town, an absolute banger, an unintentional queer anthem, and arguably one of the greatest one-hit wonders ever written. It's also exactly the type of music that Van would have gotten obsessed with as a teenager and continue to rock out to as an adult. Later on, the two are discussing Van's business while "Sorted for E's & Wizz" by Pulp plays. Van has the best taste in music. No surprise there!

On the comedic side of things, Jeff is listening to "F*** Da Police" by N.W.A. while waiting for Shauna and Callie to be questioned by the police, because at his core, he is the corniest himbo husband to ever walk the planet. This might be the funniest usage of the song since Jordan Peele's perfect inclusion of it in "Us."

Ben covers his ears while Shauna screams to "Rescue Me" by Madonna, but, it's "Pitseleh" by Elliott Smith that is the needle drop that will keep us haunted. The song appears during Shauna's childbirth scene, and it's a harbinger of doom. For the uninitiated, "Pitseleh" is one of the saddest songs Elliott Smith ever wrote, and that's saying something considering Smith was a musician who wrote openly about sorrow in ways that have resonated with generations. It's a tragically perfect fit for what happens in the episode.

Episode 8 only utilized four needle drops, but "Yellowjackets" really made them count. The first two takes place during scenes in Walter's apartment as he puts together puzzle pieces, stalks the Citizen Detective forums, and eventually emails the Wiskoyak police department regarding the murder of Adam Martin. While we don't know what his endgame is just yet with the murder case, we might be able to predict his behavior based on his listening material. The first song is Barbra Streisand's rendition of "Not While I'm Around" from the musical "Sweeney Todd," and the second is "The Music of the Night" from "The Phantom of the Opera." If you need an explainer regarding the significance of these songs and how they reflect Walter's relationship with Misty, we've written a theater kid-approved guide right here. 

The third song of the episode is "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" by The Smashing Pumpkins, or as you might know it, "That song where Billy Corgan sings about being a rat in a cage." The music hits when Natalie runs for her life through the wilderness as the rest of the girls chase her down with weapons. They've fully gone feral in the way they're coming after her, which certainly isn't going to help anyone in the grand scheme of things. Featuring a song about how individual anger is useless in the scope of giant system? Now that's just plain ol' good music supervision. 

However, it's the song "Poor Sucker" by the band Low that serves as the episode's most inspired song choice. It plays after Javi has fallen through the ice and slowly drowns as the girls watch him die. As if the moment wasn't sad enough, the song begins with the lyrics "Some poor sucker / At the bottom of the lake / Took the wrong way up / When the ground began to break." Javi is that poor sucker, but since he was pulled from the lake, there is a high probability that he's going to become the survivor's next meal.