I have enjoyed the FX spy thriller series, The Americans from the beginning. Season 4 was a bit all over the place, but last season and this season (the final one) have been well worthwhile. Part of the fun of course is the soundtrack during key scenes. Quick spoiler – this season picks up a few years after season 5 ends – so the Jennings are coexisting in 1987, both living essentially separate lives under the same roof. The opening scene to Season 6, Episode 1 included this Crowded House tune, juxtaposing Elizabeth’s continued spy work with Philip’s efforts to live the American dream now that he is out of the spy business:
The sense of melancholy and of just sheer existential exhaustion are punctuated by this tune. Whoever curates for the series has done a reasonably good job. The writers do a fairly decent job of capturing the early 1980s (during the early seasons of this series) and 1987 (during the current final season) quite aptly, right down to the musical selections.
I’ll try to post more later as time permits.
“The Americans” is about a Russian family trying to pass as Americans, among other things. That inspired me to post Awesome 4th of July Drinks in which a Russian model, Inna, presents drinks for the number one patriotic American holiday and comments about the differences between Russia and America. What, you thought I couldn’t find a theme and video for this post? HAH!
I think Inna was trying to say either oppressed or repressed when she said that “women are pressed in Russia.”
The bartender is taking requests.
Normally if I have anything vodka based, it’s been the White Russian – I’m something of a Big Lebowski fan.
Tainted Love as covered by Soft Cell got featured fairly early in the series. Personally I am partial to the 12″ single which adds a cover of Where Did Our Love Go (I wore that one out ages ago), which in some ways captures the vibe of the series as well.
Yaz (or more properly Yazoo as they were known across the pond) had their work featured occasionally around season 3 I think.
This song made its appearance in the pilot episode.
Good period piece track from season 1.
Not sure if anyone remembers Fad Gadget. Again a pretty decent period piece from season 1. Postpunk in 1979 was a bit more raw in 1979 than 1981 (when the series is initially set). That said, when I reflect back to that era, I don’t really think that the “1980s” as we typically represent it now was really in existence quite yet in 1981. If you are looking for music to reflect a dark and paranoid scene for a dark and paranoid era, a lot of that old postpunk music works extremely well.