Umbrella Academy music supervisor Jen Malone explained why she chose to use certain songs for poignant scenes in Season 2 of the Netflix series.
In a clip posted on Twitter, Malone explained that she chose to use the song "Rocket Fuel" by DJ Shadow (Feat. De La Soul) in the first fight scene of the season because it "just seemed like a really good spot to have kind of more of like a hip-hop scene."
"One thing I was kind of excited to bring to the show, you know, [was] to be able to sprinkle in some more contemporary songs," she said. "Because [showrunner Steve Blackman] is just always open to anything and everything." Malone went on to explain that "Rocket Fuel" has been one of her favorite songs for awhile, and noted that she "was really excited to bring it to the table for this first fight scene."
Malone also revealed that she submitted The Spencer Davis Group's "I'm a Man" for Diego's fight scene with his father in Season 2, Episode 2, because it worked so well lyrically. "I think we had, probably, like a Rolling Stones in there as temp, but it was just, you know, we wanted to go a little bit deeper," she revealed. "And so this song was just one of five options, and this was just one that everybody was really psyched on. And it's just a great song overall."
Malone went on to note that, since Season 2 takes place in the '60s, she had a lot of fun music to choose from: "Personally, I love the '60s Brit rock explosion: The Animals, The Kinks, The Zombies. And I never really get to use them in any of my other shows. So, in doing a search for this one, you know, I kind of had a bunch of different options."
The final song choice Malone discussed in the video was the "Dancing With Myself" by Billy Idol, which appears in Season 2, Episode 9 ("Five Fights Five"). "We were getting towards the end of production, and I had to find a song for this scene, and I kind of procrastinated it," Malone shared. "I don't really know why, but I remember it. It was a Friday, and they were like, 'We need it by the end of the day.'"
The music supervisor admitted that she was having a hard time coming up with options to submit to the show's editors because she didn't know where to start. "It was kind of overwhelming. And so I just kind of sat there, and then it literally just came to me," Malone recalled. "I sent it to the editors. I only sent them one option, which never happens. And it worked perfectly."
Based on the comic series of the same name by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, The Umbrella Academy stars Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher and Justin H. Min, with Ritu Arya, Yusuf Gatewood, Marin Ireland, Jordan Claire Robbins, Kate Walsh and Colm Feore. Seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming on Netflix.
Source: Twitter