Caution: The greatest musical moments from Roswell, New Mexico season 1 may become permanently lodged in your brain and cause extreme emotion.
On Roswell, New Mexico, the music definitely isn’t an afterthought. Scenes and plot points are built around it, colored by it, and intrinsically linked to the songs that accompany them. The soundtrack is as much a character as any alien or human on the show, and that’s one of the reasons why we love it so much.
Related: Roswell, New Mexico season 1 refresher: 10 things to remember
With so many amazing songs, covers, and exclusive tracks in Roswell, New Mexico season 1, it’s nearly impossible to pick a favorite. However, we’ve assembled 10 of the show’s greatest musical moments for your audio pleasure. Happy listening!
‘Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby’ — Counting Crows
“Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby” was used in what will most definitely go down as one of the most iconic scenes in Roswell, New Mexico history. It was playing during one of Liz’s most joyful memories with her sister, when they bumped into each other at the Crashdown Cafe and dropped food and dishes everywhere. Instead of cleaning it up, they just danced around and laughed like adorable little goofballs.
In the pilot episode of Roswell, New Mexico, Liz selects the song on the jukebox and dances to it while she cleans. When Max walks in on her little show, she confesses that the song makes her feel better when nothing else can, and tells him about how her sister liked it. The song also plays later in the season when Liz and Maria dance to it together!
‘Carry You’ — Novo Amor
“Carry You” by Novo Amor has the honor of accompanying two of the most epic Echo moments in Roswell, New Mexico. It’s first played after Max spills his little alien secret to Liz, when he touches his handprint on her chest and shows her their entire history. They almost kiss, but Max stops it, saying that Liz is simply feeling an “echo” of what he feels for her.
Luckily, the song gets another chance in the season 1 finale when Liz and Max run into each other’s arms after Max defeats Noah. Oh yeah, and they also have sex for the first time!
‘God of Wine’ — Third Eye Blind
“God of Wine” is far more than just a musical moment in Roswell, New Mexico; it’s a bona fide plot device.
The song first comes up when Liz sees the words “fraudulent zodiac” written on Rosa’s hand in Max’s memory. Maria tells Liz that it’s a lyric from the song, which is one of Rosa’s favorites. The song later plays while Max and Cameron “blow off steam” and Alex and Guerin hook up after the iconic “I never look away” line!
‘First Day of My Life’ — Bright Eyes
This Bright Eyes song played in one of the most fun episodes of Roswell, New Mexico season 1; the one where we followed them back to high school! Everyone looked a little younger (or at least a little weirder), and we got to see what everyone was like before Rosa’s death.
“First Day of My Life” beautifully serenades Alex and Guerin as they kiss in the museum and Liz and Max dancing in the desert after they decide to road trip together for the summer.
‘Ain’t No Devil’ — Andrea Wasse
There’s nothing romantic about this one, but Andrea Wasse’s “Ain’t No Devil” still provided one of the greatest musical moments in Roswell, New Mexico season 1. It played over the alien siblings staging Rosa’s car crash after her murder, while 10 years later, Michael tells Isobel what he saw her do that night.
‘You Learn’ — Maria DeLuca
Because Maria DeLuca knows how to pick a karaoke song! She delivers a rousing rendition of Alannis Morisette’s “You Learn,” while she, Liz, Michael and Max are on their respective “Sky Spirit” retreats. She manages to get the whole bar dancing and the whole audience beaming, like only she can do.
‘Iris’ — Natalie Taylor
Natalia Taylor provided some absolutely gorgeous covers for Roswell, New Mexico season 1, and her rendition of “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls is easily one of the show’s greatest musical moments. The haunting cover takes the stage as Liz tries to pull away from Max and he brings her back by telling her all the ways he sees her and loves her. With Taylor’s vocals backing them up, Echo finally has their first kiss.
‘Genesis’ — Ruelle
On top of being one of the coolest musical moments, this song was also used in one of the best visual scenes of Roswell, New Mexico season 1. It plays while Isobel coats herself in melted silver in preparation to re-enter her pod.
Since nobody knows how long it will take to develop an antidote for the anti-alien serum, nobody knows when they’ll see her again. It’s a heartbreaking moment that packs a punch visually and audibly thanks to Ruelle’s “Genesis.”
‘Here With Me’– Daniel Blake
Daniel Blake’s “Here With Me” accompanied what is pretty indisputably the most epic scene from Roswell, New Mexico season 1. It starts out tame with Liz telling her sister’s grave about how much she loves Max, but things escalate very quickly from there.
Not only does Max resurrect Rosa, but he dies in the process. Then, Rosa appears to Liz after 10 years of being…dead! The Guerin/Alex/Maria love triangle also gets some action during this song, as Alex waits for Guerin at his airstream while Guerin is busy serenading Maria, who he’s deemed the easier choice.
‘Jumper’ — Natalie Taylor
Yet another gorgeous Natalie Taylor cover from Roswell, New Mexico season 1 is this version of “Jumper” by Third Eye Blind. It plays over Max telling Liz to keep the anti-alien serum and Cameron heartbreakingly telling Sergeant Manes to look into Max, and I dare you not to sing along to it.