Check out which songs made our Freaks and Geeks playlist curated by ReWatchable co-host and super fan, Jack!
WARNING: Spoilers ahead for the entire series!
Between our very own ReWatchable podcast currently rehashing the entire series and exciting news of a recent cast reunion at this year’s TV Land Awards, we’re definitely feeling the Freaks and Geeks love here on Hypable.
One of our favorite things about Judd Apatow’s brilliant but shortly lived series has by far got to be the music.
From the iconic guitar riff of Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation” to Styx’s “Come Sail Away,” there’s no denying Freaks and Geeks had one epic soundtrack. But instead of highlighting the songs you already know and love from the series, for our playlist, we’ve decided to bring you a list of songs we could see fitting into the show alongside some of your favorite tracks which are already there.
Check out which songs made our Freaks and Geeks playlist below!
1. ‘When the Levee Breaks’ – Led Zeppelin
Why we picked it: Nick Andopolis has many passions, but if there’s one that thoroughly sticks out to us, it’s his obsession with the drums. At the beginning of the series, Nick is very upset over the death of Led Zeppelin drummer Jon Bonham, so, naturally, we felt like our list wouldn’t be complete without including a Zeppelin song that showcased Bonham’s talent. Listen to this track and we can almost guarantee you’ll easily be able to imagine Nick rocking out to this song in his garage on his own drum set.
2. ‘Heading Out on the Highway’ – Judas Priest
Why we picked it: If we had to pick one materialistic thing to associate with the Freaks’ resident ringleader Daniel, we’d have to go with his red Pontiac Firebird. Daniel is often seen to be cruising around in his old run down car, and so we felt it only appropriate to give his cruising a proper soundtrack. This song is all about the freedom of driving around, and it seems implausible that this song hasn’t been played by Daniel in his car at least once.
3. ‘Crazy Train’ – Ozzy Osbourne
Why we picked it: One of the best fringe characters in the show has got to be Lindsay’s eccentric guidance counselor Mr. Rosso, who seems to think that Lindsay is trying too hard to rebel. If Mr. Rosso’s concerns could manifest themselves into song form, we feel like they would totally take the form of “Crazy Train.” The lyrics of this track seem to be coming straight from Mr Rosso’s mind, in that he thinks Lindsay is “…goin’ off the rails on a crazy train.”
4. ‘Cry Tough’ – Poison
Why we picked it: Whether it’s been his dad and his strict limitations or his heartbreak with Lindsay, there’s no denying Nick has faced many upsetting moments in the series and thus, we felt like his misery deserved its own placeholder on this mix tape. This song has an intense melody and the lyrics are emotional and fitting to Nick and how he handles each of the upsetting situations he has to overcome.
5. ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’ – Foreigner
Why we picked it: One of the biggest shockers of the entire series is Lindsay discovering that sweet, innocent Millie has a boyfriend. The scene that takes place directly after this discovery when Millie is telling Lindsey about her secret lover is definitely one of our all-time favorites in the series and this classic power ballad fits that entire scene perfectly. Foreigner’s track is a great representation of Millie’s need to find romance and experience freedom from her conservative lifestyle.
6. ‘Paranoid’ – Black Sabbath
Why we picked it: Lindsay’s first kegger was clearly a milestone in her attempt at conforming with the Freaks, so how could we pass up the opportunity to pick the perfect song for our main character’s big night in? This song is quite suitable for the iconic kegger in many ways. For starters, Lindsay mentions that she wants to play Black Sabbath at the party. The song is also a perfect representation both of Nick and his anxiety in everything that can go wrong at the party, as well as the Geeks’ paranoia as they attempt to successfully switch the keg for one containing non-alcoholic beer so the party won’t get out of hand.
7. ‘Hello’ – Lionel Ritchie
Why we picked it: Sam and Cindy’s relationship has many ups and downs throughout the series, but for the sake of keeping things short and sweet, we thought we’d highlight two of those points in this pair’s history. We picked Ritchie’s haunting ballad for our first Sam and Cindy theme song because we feel like it accurately reflects how flustered and vulnerable Sam gets whenever the apple of his eye is around at the beginning of the series. This classic song is cheesy but wonderful, and also extremely melodramatic. Sam and his crush on Cindy is a very typical high school one, and this song reflects everything that is just that.
8. ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ – Bon Jovi
Why we picked it: It is no secret that a selection of the ReWatchable superfans dislike Cindy for one reason or another, so we wanted to pick a song that accurately represented the fall of Sam and Cindy’s relationship. Bon Jovi’s powerful break-up anthem is perfect for calling out the one who broke your heart. Pretty much, it’s everything we ever wanted Sam to say when things with Cindy went sour.
9. ‘No Fun’ – The Sex Pistols
Why we picked it: Another iconic milestone in Lindsay’s journey to becoming a Freak is when she gets coerced into doing some harmless tricking during Halloween. If we could pick one song to play during a montage of the Freaks getting up to some mischief, this would be it. For one, the Freaks LOVE The Sex Pistols, much to Mr. Weir’s chagrin — he just can’t get over the fact that they allegedly spit on people at their own concerts! Nevertheless, as the song states, it is no fun staying at home and it is much more fun being out with your friends — even if that fun includes getting your foot stuck in a pumpkin.
10. ‘Rhiannon’ – Fleetwood Mac
Why we picked it: One of our favorite relationships to see unfold throughout the series is the friendship between Lindsay and the prickly Kim Kelly. One of our favorite scenes between the two takes place during the beginnings of their friendship when Kim starts explaining the rumors surrounding Stevie Nicks allegedly being a witch to Lindsay and so we couldn’t resist putting a Stevie song amongst this list. We may have stretched it with this Fleetwood Mac track, but we’re going with it because like Kim’s theory, this song also has a partial reference to a witch. But bottom line? It is also an amazing track so it had to be included on our playlist.
11. ‘Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be’ – ACDC
Why we picked it: Who could forget the disaster that was Lindsay going over to Kim’s house for dinner? That scene is arguably one of the most stressful scenes in the series, and the continuous guitar in this song perfectly parallels that scene and its never ending drama.
12. ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’ – Bob Dylan
Why we picked it: There’s no denying that one of the saddest points in the entire series occurs when Millie discovers her faithful dog, Goliath, has been run over, so we couldn’t let that go by without picking a song to represent that moment. Although the plot line brought out many jokes in Millie joining the Freaks for a brief moment, it was incredibly upsetting for the most part. This famous Dylan ballad fits very well to Millie’s (and our own) grieving to the death of Goliath.
13. ‘Landslide’ – Fleetwood Mac
Why we picked it: Although the series didn’t have a proper ending, we wanted to cap off our playlist with a track that could carry you off into the sunset in a way that the ending of Freaks and Geeks couldn’t. We couldn’t think of a better song to do this with than Fleetwood Mac’s iconic, bittersweet ballad, “Landslide.” This song fits perfectly with Lindsay’s storyline of changing from her familiar tendencies into something foreign and new. It’s also a beautiful, melancholy song that evokes incredible passion and vulnerability, both of which puts a nice bow on the series that produced similar feelings in its dedicated viewers.
Want to listen to this playlist in full? We’ve compiled all the songs available on to a nifty Spotify playlist for your listening pleasure! Check it out below:
