Russian Doll's Season 2 Soundtrack Is Full Of Throwback Jams

Russian Doll Season 1 was a surprise hit when it arrived in 2019 as a hilarious, New York City-centric take on Groundhog Day. Considering it was a story in which the key scenes featured the lead being offed in increasingly hilarious (and very NYC) ways, it needed something lighthearted to offset the darkness. That came in the form of the show’s soundtrack, with Harry Nilsson’s “Gotta Get Up” playing every time Nadia came back to life. Unsurprisingly, Russian Doll’s Season 2 soundtrack songs are just as delightful.

Warning: Spoilers for Russian Doll Season 2 follow. How do you follow up a show about a pair of lost souls who find themselves stuck in a time loop until they find themselves? Time travel, of course! In this new time-bending romp, the 6 train acts as a ride backward down the timeline, letting Nadia inhabit the lives of her foremothers, from Mom to Grandma to Great-Grandma. Unlike Season 1, which was about reaching out to make a connection, this is about Nadia turning inward to her family to understand herself.

This presented an opportunity for the series to kick out the jams from the days of yore. The series goes as far back as WWII and 1944, with stops in 1962 and 1982, hitting the Before Times of 2018, and the now of 2022. The soundtrack takes full advantage of the time travel to have a lot of fun along the way.

Here’s the episode-by-episode soundtrack breakdown.

Russian Doll Season 2, Episode 1: “Nowhen”

• “Personal Jesus” by Depeche Mode
• “Bela Lugosi's Dead” by Bauhaus
• “Mother” by Danzig
• “Get It While You Can” by Janis Joplin

Russian Doll Season 2, Episode 2: “Coney Island Baby”

• “Angel Eyes” by Big Debbie and Terror Apart
• “Never Gonna Let You Go” by Michael Miglio
• “Goin' Out Of My Head” by Little Anthony & The Imperials

Russian Doll Season 2, Episode 3: “Brain Drain”

• “Put a Straw Under Baby” by Brian Eno
• “Puddin' N' Tain” by The Alley Cats
• “Black Night” by Cheryl Thompson
• “Sunday Morning” by The Velvet Underground
• “Der Kommissar” by Falco

Russian Doll Season 2, Episode 4: “Station to Station”

• “Morgen” by Ivo Robic
• “Wasurenaiwa” by Peggy March
• “Mindkilla” by Gang Gang Dance
• “Piano Concerto No 4 in G Major, Op. 58: III. Rondo: Vivace” by Beethoven
• “Personal Jesus (Alex Metric Remix Edit)” by Depeche Mode
• “99 Luftballoons” by Nena

Russian Doll Season 2, Episode 5: “Exquisite Corpse”

• “I Found Out Too Late” by The Sapphires
• “The Thin Ice” by Pink Floyd

Russian Doll Season 2, Episode 6: “Schrödinger's Ruth”

• “Runnin' With the Devil” by Van Halen
• “Gotta Get Up” by Harry Nilsson

Russian Doll Season 2, Episode 7: “Matryoshka”

• “Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Pts. 1-5” by Pink Floyd

Russian Doll Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on Netflix.