musings about the actor and the characters he brings to life
Music is a big part of Billions. The writers make purposeful choices with music placement, so we know that these decisions are made to tell a story, shine a light on who a character is, or to set a tone.
Season 7 was no exception with a mix of legendary artists and some that may be new to the viewers. If you have ever wondered while watching an episode “what is that song?” we have you covered!
Here is the Music of Billions playlist for Season 7 listed by episode.
Enjoy!!
Every good thing has an end. And while it is bittersweet to say goodbye to our favorite show and characters on TV, to keep with that Billions state of mind, how about a fun visit to the best of Billions Season 7? Feel free to play along in the comments section. And for those just joining us, you can catch up on the rest by reading Best of Billions 1 , Best of Billions 2 , Best of Billions 3, Best of Billions 4 and Best of Billions 5.
The genius behind the musical palette of Billions is strategically placed epic songs we all know balanced out by meaningful lesser-known artists, all the while lyrically feathered in flawlessly to the content of each episode, scene, or character we see before us. Music is such an integral part of the Billions landscape that we’ve seen concert t-shirts as part of the wardrobe. These past five seasons Bobby Axelrod has worn band shirts for Metallica, Megadeth, Black Sabbath, Motörhead and Rainbow. It was no surprise I’ve been rooting for Iron Maiden to make an appearance since season two! Okay rooting is not a strong enough word…I’ve sort of stalked Brian Koppleman about it, who is the co-creator of Billions:
Continue reading “Top Billions Songs: Gingersnap’s Playlist”
We know how important music is the world of Billions. Showrunner Brian Koppelman recently said on his podcast The Moment that he writes to music. He shared that he wrote the penultimate episode of Season 2, “Golden Frog Time” with Tom Petty’s “Even the Losers” as inspiration and that song played during the writing of the show as well as within the show itself. When the question arose to whether they’d get the rights to use the song in the episode, Koppelman insisted that without the song there’d be no episode, literally and metaphorically. Thankfully they did get that song and many more memorable cuts for Season 2.
In a wee bite of a taste of what to expect in Season 3, we learned that “Born in San Antone” by Garrett T. Capps will open the first episode. Here’s some of his Lou Reed-ish styling here:
Just occurred to me and I had to go and listen and check to make sure they indeed haven’t used this song in either S1 or S2: LCD Soundsystem’s “North American Scum” totally brings up the ethos of the Billions world. Again, not one from the show as we know it, but certainly one metaphorically connected, at least in this viewer’s head.
In the spirit of getting geared up for another season of rich musical accompaniment to this show, let’s revisit Season 2’s playlist. Enjoy!
Compared to Season 1, this season of Billions, for whatever reason, used a bit less music, fewer seminal tracks to accompany its richly crafted scenes. Music was still important this season, but somewhat less so than last. In my review of last year’s music, you’ll count 36 tracks. Here, the major songs in all episodes amounted to 20. Interesting revelation from this exercise is that they seem to follow a certain pattern in genres from one season to the next. That is to say, the aural landscape of this season seemed to contain the same proportion of arena metal, 70’s funk, contemporary alternative, live ballad, perennial classics, and lovely alt-country. All the tracks they chose, regardless of number, hit all the marks.
Let’s follow along with Season 2’s playlist, shall we?
