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You're the Worst's Most Memorable Musical Moments

FX Networks · March 26, 2019 · Originally published on fx.com

About the Article

Published by FX Networks ahead of the You're the Worst series finale, this piece chronicles the show's most memorable uses of music across its five-season run. Adam Blau's work is noted across the entries, including the in-show songs "New Phone, Who Dis," Starlight Tidepool's "Something Like a Feeling," and Nock Nock's raps.

Selected Moments

TV On the Radio's "Will Do"

Episode: "Pilot"

At the end of the first episode, Gretchen and Jimmy realize they actually like each other. Brooklyn band TV On The Radio's "Will Do," a pleading ballad about a love so powerful it's terrifying, plays as the couple decides to give things a shot.

Lindsay Sings Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work"

Episode: "Fists and Feet and Stuff"

Feeling regret for how she cheated on her husband, Lindsay purges her demons by singing Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work," with actress Kether Donohue serving up a very convincing imitation of the English singer-songwriter's theatrical voice.

The LCD Soundsystem Name-Check and This Is the Kit's "Misunderstanding"

Episode: "LCD Soundsystem"

No songs by LCD Soundsystem are played in the episode named for the Brooklyn art-rock band, but their presence is felt. When Gretchen later learns what a creep the husband of a seemingly perfect couple is, her depression worsens as This Is the Kit's heartbroken ballad "Misunderstanding" plays the episode out.

Ben Folds Plays Himself

Episode: "The Only Thing That Helps"

Gretchen branches out, taking on alternative rock hitmaker Ben Folds as a client. He proves himself a good sport up for some self-mockery — faking a paparazzi moment to look cool and needlessly reminding everyone he wrote "Brick."

Lindsay and Sam Lay Down "New Phone, Who Dis"

Episode: "A Right Proper Story" — Features Adam Blau

Sam recruits Lindsay to sing the hook on his diss track — a petty ode to pretending you don't recognize someone. Lindsay's chorus gets stuck in your head anyway.

Starlight Tidepool Takes the Edge Off

Episode: "Twenty-Two" — Features Adam Blau

While it can be debated who the worst person is on You're the Worst, Iraq War veteran Edgar Quintero (Desmin Borges) is easily the best. "Twenty-Two" gets us inside his head as his PTSD symptoms increase to the point where he feels constantly, miserably on high alert. To soothe his nerves, Edgar repeatedly plays "Something Like a Feeling (That Feels So Right)," a 70s-style soft-rock ballad written by Falk and the show's composer Adam Blau (and credited to the fictitious band Starlight Tidepool) that's sweet and gentle enough to offer momentary solace.

Gretchen and Jimmy Love the '90s

Episode: "It's Been"

Jimmy and Gretchen pride themselves on being cooler than thou. But we all have our guilty pleasures, and when the couple separate, they both seek inebriated solace in the sort of disreputable but catchy '90s one-hit wonders they would both normally mock, with Jimmy drunkenly belting out Meredith Brooks' "Bitch" at a bar, and Gretchen going in on Barenaked Ladies' "One Week" during a moment of distress. (It's impressive that, even after smoking crack, she remembers all the words in the rap part, even the bits about LeAnn Rimes and Busta Rhymes.)

Nock Nock, Who's There?

Episode: "This Brief Fermata" — Features Adam Blau

If Sam and his crew seemed modeled after the L.A. collective Odd Future, then Nock Nock (played with sleazy charm by guest star Lou Taylor Pucci) seemed modeled on SoundCloud-based rappers such as Lil Peep and Lil Uzi Vert, right down to the face tattoos and tendency to mumble more than rap. It's an extremely perceptive joke that aging hipsters like Jimmy and Gretchen aren't even sure if Nock Nock is any good or not, though Gretchen signs him and hooks him up with Sam anyway, only for Sam to worry he'll get overshadowed.

Originally published on FX Networks (fx.com), March 26, 2019. No longer available at original URL; archived via the Wayback Machine.