The devil that you know is infinitely better than the one you don’t and that’s just one reason why I was invested in the FOX fantasy drama, Lucifer, starring Tom Ellis as everyone’s favorite hedonistic club-owning desire hound, Lucifer Morningstar, recently relocated to Los Angeles (the City of Angels, of course) due to boredom with his official duties as the Angel of Hell (aka the original Hell’s Angel) and now moonlighting amongst mortals as a consultant at the Los Angeles Police Department.
The show’s soundtrack was another reason.
In 2015 we screened the pilot episode at San Diego Comic-Con and when the lights went down and the instantly recognizable twangy guitar chords of a certain Cage The Elephant song rose up, my friend and I immediately turned to one another, nodded and – in unison – said one simple word: “Yes!”
Throughout that pilot episode, the music choices stayed strong. For all that we knew Lucifer would be a dumpster fire of a tv show, the Ishtar of television in the making. By the end of the episode, neither of us was 100% sold on the show but we were willing to give it a fair shot because of one thing we were sure: we felt safe in the knowledge that Lucifer showrunners like Ildy Mondrovich and Joe Henderson had some extremely badass taste in sound. In television and film, not only does music convey emotion and color scenes, but it also often (and very importantly) becomes a gateway to folks discovering new music, old music and beginning a relationship with the artists who create it, as well as a genuine source of personal pleasure when you hear a band or artist that you know perfectly placed in a show that you enjoy. The slow-motion sequence of Amenadiel (DB Woodside) fighting off security attempting to enter Chloe’s (Lauren German) hospital room in the season 2 mid-season finale, “A Good Day to Die” gave me deep chills with X Ambassadors’ “Unsteady” flowing through it. These are never bad things and Lucifer did them on the regular: a case of art serving, both, the consumer and the artist. Thanks, music supervisors!
Fortunately, Lucifer also turned out to be a damned entertaining show that used celestial themes to flesh out our human nature with wickedly clever and poignant humor and we were here for it with our own Amanda Bard’s weekly episode reviews and analysis. Unfortunately, on Friday, May 11th Lucifer was officially canceled after three seasons of sinful good times. Personally, I’m holding out hope for a reversal of this ridiculous misfortune (see hashtags #SaveLucifer and #PickUpLucifer for further) because I want this show and the music it props up in my life and in yours. That’s why my MUSIC ON, WORLD OFF Spotify playlist which regularly features fresh, new releases has been converted into a musical bounty of 24 of my favorite songs – a mere taste – that have been part of Lucifer‘s three-year soundtrack. A little David Bowie, CLOVES and the Darcys, X Ambassadors and Warbly Jets, SUR, James Brown, Cold War Kids and Zachary Kibbe, OutKast, Deap Vally and Idris Elba (yes, that guy!), MILCK, Goodbye June, and the Brevet. So dig in and discover some new favorites, get reacquainted with some old ones, and appreciate how good music makes a good television show better.
If you’re curious about the three years worth of music heard in Lucifer and what songs appeared in which scene, Tunefind can help with that.
P.S…SAVE LUCIFER.
P.P.S…Two new additions to this playlist come from the season finale, “A Devil of My Word”: “Treat Me like your Mother” by The Dead Weather and “The End” by Diane Birch.
