Following the season 2 finale, a Big Little Lies-shaped hole is in our hearts and we didn’t know how we would fill it, until now. The season 2 soundtrack list has been released and you can catch us playing all these songs on repeat until further notice.
Big Little Lies is known for a few things: superb acting, actors who are best friends both on- and off-screen, the best memes, and great music. Now, when I longer listen to “Cold Little Heart” by Michael Kiwanuka, I am immediately transported to the breathtaking coastal views of Monterey, CA. The music BLL uses plays a significant role in the connection between the characters, seasons, and episodes of the show.
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There are so many memorable musical moments from this season. Celeste’s flashbacks being narrated by Neil Young songs is not only clever but memorable. The hauntingly beautiful cover of Young’s “Harvest Moon” by Cassandra Wilson at the start of the season still sticks with me. The discordant, ambient tracks unsettle the otherwise lullaby-like quality it has. One cover that didn’t make the soundtrack but represents a theme in the series is a cover of Elvis Presley’s “Wonder of You” by Villagers, which appears at the end of episode 2. It has the same sweeping, dreamlike mix as season 1’s nod to the King when Zoë Kravitz sings “Don’t” in the season finale.
Big Little Lies’ soulful soundtrack this season spans decades, from ‘70s hits from legends such as Willie Nelson to heartfelt songs released exclusively for the award-winning series like Leon Bridges’ “That Was Yesterday.” Two themes hold constant throughout the soundtrack: the overtly soulful inclination and unexpected reinterpretations of classics like Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” and a cover of the Creedence Clearwater Revival hit “Have You Ever Seen The Rain” by Nelson and his daughter, Paula Nelson.
The season finale has only just aired and we’re already feeling nostalgic about it. Some of the songs exclusively created or covered for BLL are saved especially for the final episode. “That Was Yesterday” by Leon Bridges, “Have You Ever Seen The Rain” by Willie and Paula Nelson, and “Piece of My Heart” by Christina Vierra and The Ryan Rehm Band are about as nostalgic and bittersweet as it gets, which seems fitting for the end of the season. No one is happy it’s ending, but we can all appreciate how beautiful it sounds.
If you see us with headphones on, assume these are the songs that are playing.