“Rock ‘n’ roll realizes that its songs function within life itself more than any previous art historically ever has.”

—Richard Meltzer, The Aesthetics of Rock, 1970

“Everything connects/and that ain’t nowhere.”

—New York Dolls, “Vietnamese Baby,” 1973

True to the hall-of-mirrors ethos of the series itself, there are numerous ways one could choose to write about the use of pop music in The Leftovers. I have chosen seven songs from Season 2 which take the core of Richard Meltzer’s idea as gospel. All the tracks I’ve listed here exist within the drama itself—I’ve not included music edited in to provide external commentary.

For sure, there are some great uses of the drop-in technique in The Leftovers as well: “Figure Eights” by Max Roach and Buddy Rich in “Off-Ramp;” Barbara & the Browns’ “Great Big Thing” in “Lens.” I would even include Iris Dement’s theme song, “Let the Mystery Be,” in this particular grouping as it calibrated perfectly to both the wide-open spirit of the new locale as well as to the stunning visuals that accompany it. There’s the making of a good list in there, no doubt, but the songs that resonated most with me were those embedded in the drama; songs whose choruses and verses and harmonies and beats (hell, sometimes even lyrics) functioned as invisible supporting actors.

My list is ordered not by personal preference but by the order in which each song appeared in the show. I welcome anyone reading this to use the comments section to list and/or discuss their own favorites. I would love to hear your thoughts.

“Where is My Mind?” the Pixies (1988) and Maxence Cyrin (2013), various Season 2 episodes

Lacerating late-80s post-punk guitar squall, clearly cherished by Kevin Garvey who blares it excruciatingly loud in at least two episodes. Most effectively in episode 2, “A Matter of Geography,” in which the song accompanies his a) pummeling of an uncooperative washing machine; b) retrieval of a dead body; and c) maniacal drive down a stretch of highway so he can attract the attention of a cop and tell them about said body stashed in the bed of his truck. The exhumed one is Patti Levin, the root cause that steers Kevin towards music like the Pixies in the first place.

Though it falls outside the boundaries of internal usage, I would be remiss not to mention the recurring dialogue in Season 2 between the Pixies version of “Where is My Mind?” and its photonegative cover by Maxence Cyrin, a French classical pianist with a bent for performing instrumental versions of alt-rock classics. Cyrin, quite prettily, poses the same question as the Pixies but from the other side of the asylum wall. Which is to say after your mind has already flown the coop and all that’s left is a bunch of pretty colors swirling about.