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The first timeDickinsoncreatorAlena Smithimagined Emily Dickinson walking angrily through the Amherst woods, she heard Kendrick Lamar rapping.
Lizzos Boys hilariously plays over Emily and Sue dressing up like boys to get into a males-only college lecture.
This was not going to be a bunch of wilting, floral, perfumy songs.
I wanted it to be in-your-face, badass, rager songs because I feel like Emily is raging inside.
The idea worked so well that they asked her to do it for the whole season.
Like so much else aboutDickinson, the soundtrack was designed to relate Emilys story to current times.
Whats interesting is that some of the same issues are still happening today.
Hopefully what this show does is get you into Emilys life and poetry.
Below, Smith and Yates reveal why they chose 12 songs that soundtrack key moments inDickinson.
Thats when I was like,This is very special.
I grew up in the Hudson Valley in a very rural landscape.
It was barns, farms, people riding horses, and I grew up listening to hip-hop.
Thats why it felt just right.
I couldnt believe it!
It sounded like Emily Dickinson had written it.
Rachel asked her husband, who is a musician, and he suggested it, Smith said.
It was so emotional.
Ella and Hailee were actually acting as the song played.
When we went into edit, it was like, Yeah, we are definitely using this song.
This was my favorite episode for music, Yates said.
I like it when they start taking the opium and the track comes on.
It puts me in that moment where Im realizing Im gonna miss those kinds of parties.
It was so incredibly fun.
Lavinias twerking is pretty much iconic.
This was our country episode and thats what I wanted, she said.
I love Andrew Bird.
His sound just breaks my heart.
I dont think we could have used it in any other episode besides that one.
Devoe just broke my heart sending me that song, Smith said.
I loved that feeling of them being so free and exploring their emotions together and jumping in the lake.
Verne Langdon was a cult horror guy, Yates said.
I had never heard of the song.
It conveys so much of the emotion that I wanted Sue and Emily to be feeling.
Based on an 1872 poem, In the Bleak Midwinter was released 20 years after Emily Dickinsons death.
Its dark, Yates said.
It hits you in the heart a little bit.
The piano that Hunt plays was actually from the 1850s and completely out of tune.
We had to tune it, which was expensive, Smith said.
But that really was Ella playing.
Billie Eilish is definitely the biggest musical discovery for me ofDickinson.
But whenDickinsons star played Afterlife for the finale, everyone was blown away.
