Entertainment
Hailee Steinfeld and Wiz Khalifa in 'Dickinson' Season 1, whose soundtrack is full of bangers

The 'Dickinson' Season 1 Soundtrack Is Full Of Anachronistic Bangers

by Lexi Williams
Apple

Music and poetry overlap all the time, but never quite like this. Apple TV+'s new series Dickinson, which portrays poet Emily Dickinson's younger years in a mind-bendingly modern way, is timely not just becuase of its use of present-day slang, but also thanks to its music. To put it in terminology that the show's protagonist would understand, the Dickinson Season 1 soundtrack totally slaps, which makes watching the somewhat historically-accurate period piece both extremely weird and refreshingly fun.

The comedy, which released all 10 episodes of its first season on Friday, Nov. 1, is something of an enigma to many viewers. Set in the 1800s in Amherst, Massachusetts, Dickinson employs many elements that fit in with the show's place and time. The costumes are all corsets and top hats, and the technology is fitting for that period. However, the dialogue sounds like it was written for today — maybe not what is spoken, but how it's seas. For example, in the first conversation of Season 1, Episode 1, Emily (Hailee Steinfled) and her sister Lavinia (Anna Baryshnikov) discussed the fact that they have to help with chores while their brother Austin does not, because he's a man. In response to her sister's explanation of gender roles, Emily exclaimed: "This is such bullsh*t." While the real Dickinson may have been forward-thinking enough to recognize the inequality of labor distribution, it's highly unlikely she used such language to express her feelings about it.

The modernity of it all is ratcheted up in the show's soundtrack, which features some of today's top hits, as well as under-the-radar songs that sure to be big very soon.

Here's a list of the songs played throughout Dickinson Season 1:

  1. "Off the Radar" by Noga Erez
  2. "Praise the Lord (Da Shine)" by A$AP Rocky ft. Skepta
  3. "Bury a Friend" by Billie Eilish
  4. "Future Heroine" by Ecca Vandal
  5. "Boys" by Lizzo
  6. "It Takes a Lot to Know a Man" by Damien Rice
  7. "Your Best American Girl" by Mitski
  8. "I'm So" by Andrew Applepie
  9. "We Wanna Party" by TJR ft. Savage
  10. "Perfect Vision" by Icky Blossoms
  11. "I Like Tuh" by Carnage ft. I Love Makonnen
  12. "So This Is Goodbye" by Junior Boys
  13. "City of Angels" by The Dollyrots
  14. "Give It Away" by Andrew Bird
  15. "Undo" by Transviolet
  16. "Feelin' Good" by Danger Twin
  17. "Fever For You" by Michael Holland
  18. "Please Stay (in the Shadow of My Grave)" by King Dude
  19. "The Carnival Is Over (2009 Remastered Version)" by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
  20. "What You Want For Christmas" by 69 Boyz
  21. "Shut Up Kiss Me" by Angel Olsen
  22. "Hold Your Breath" by Ruelle
  23. "All the Good Girls Go to Hell" by Billie Eilish
  24. "2 Million" by G Flip
  25. "Afterlife" by Hailee Steinfeld

Dickinson has already been renewed for a second season, so fans should expect more episodes — and great music — when the series returns.

Dickinson Season 1 is available to stream on Apple TV+ now.