Crazy Ex-Girlfriend top 10 songs
Sep. 16th, 2019 10:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dr_whomNow that Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has finally won an Emmy Award for its songwriting, this seems like a good time to share my opinions on the top 10 songs of the series as a whole. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was a TV sitcom about Rebecca Bunch, a lawyer who quits her job at a fancy firm in New York and moves to West Covina, California to chase happiness and Josh Chan, the guy she dated for like a month in high school. It was surprisingly honest and serious about mental illness, relationships, and sexuality, and more importantly for my purposes today it was a musical, with at least two songs in every episode. I approach Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as a musical theater fan, coming from the perspective of "when the emotion becomes too strong for speech, you sing"—i.e., the songs I like best are usually the ones that illuminate the characters' emotions or relationships in a meaningful way. (Spoilers for the show are below, of course. CW for misogynist term in title of one song.)
10. The Moment Is Me (season 3, episode 3). Rebecca's unfocused, unambitious roommate Heather finally graduates from college and reluctantly sings this "inspirational musical theater song" about it. I love this one because it's a perfect parody of inspirational songs full of generalities and vague metaphors about limitless potential, sold by Vella Lovell's performance of Heather's utter unenthusiasm—making the vagueness of the lyrics reflect Heather's ambivalence and uncertainly about her life. The hyper-enthusiastic backup dancers and ridiculous on-the-nose choreography add to the humor.
9. I'm Just a Girl in Love. The theme song for season 2, portraying Rebecca's self-conception at this point in the series as the heroine of a light romantic comedy and her aggressive denial of the unhealthiness of her behavior. The extra-long pause at the end is amazing.
8. I've Got My Head in the Clouds (season 3, episode 2). Josh decides to run away from his relationship problems and become a priest. This old-timey Gene Kelly–style number is another great use of a comic song to portray both how a character is feeling and the issues that he won't acknowledge.
7. No One Else is Singing My Song (season 4, episode 1). I'm a sucker for songs that are about themselves, and for the idea that disparate people can be united by all having the same feeling at the same time, and for the musical-theater gimmick of portraying that by having multiple characters in different places sing the same song at the same time. I'm very fond of the use of the music and rhythm in this song to give the lie to the characters' feelings of isolation.
6. You Go First (season 2, episode 7). I think this is a really underappreciated song; I've never seen it on any other list of top songs from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, but it's brilliant. It really captures a very specific emotion that I think I've rarely seen expressed in music: knowing you owe someone an apology but wanting them to apologize first so you don't have to feel vulnerable. The absurd, gradually intensifying '80s costumes and backup dancer are pretty great too, but they're not why I love this song.
5. Where's the Bathroom? (season 1, episode 8; CW for controlling / emotionally abusive parent, fatphobia, stereotypes about queer people). This song introduces Rebecca's mother during her first visit to West Covina. She bursts through the door with this song, passive-aggressively insulting every aspect of Rebecca's life; Tovah Feldshuh's breakneck performance makes it easy to see how emotionally ground down Rebecca is and where the root of some of her issues lies. The klezmer-ish style of the song acknowledges the "nagging Jewish mother" stereotype without making a joke of it.
4. The End of the Movie (season 3, episode 4). Rebecca has hit emotional rock bottom after unwisely hooking up with her ex-boyfriend's dad, and her self-image as the heroine of a romantic comedy is falling apart; meanwhile, her friends are hitting stumbling blocks in their own lives and relationships. This song, performed by guest star Josh Groban, is a really good parody of the genre of "Josh Groban symphonic pop ballad", and is a thesis statement for one of the show's main themes: it's not healthy to define your life in terms of fictional narratives and genre conventions.
3. Settle for Me (season 1, episode 4; CW for female body objectification). Knowing that Rebecca has her heart set on the unavailable Josh Chan, Greg asks her out on a date anyway. The witty, Fred Astaire–style romantic-comedy number is an entertaining contrast with the emotional theme of swallowing your pride and asking to be someone's second choice. Greg's self-deprecating wit and the style of the song, and Santino Fontana's winning performance, make him seem charming, but his attitude toward Rebecca and toward his own masculinity indicates that he's not really a healthy choice for her either.
2. You Stupid Bitch (season 1, episode 11; CW for internalized fatphobia and self-directed misogynistic slurs). After a scheme to attract Josh falls apart, Rebecca wallows in "self-indulgent self-loathing". Rachel Bloom's performance is incredibly raw, moving, and painful, and so this song can be really tough to listen to, but it does exactly what a musical theater song should—take the emotions that are too big for speech and making them real for the audience.
1. A Diagnosis (season 3, episode 6). Rebecca is about to get a new mental-health diagnosis, and finally sees the possibility of a path out of her pain and depression. This uplifting, joyful song is a such a breath of fresh air after the emotional struggles of the first half of season 3, and the realization that Rebecca is finally open to making progress on her mental health is a huge relief for the audience. Bloom really sells Rebecca's hope and apprehension. The song feels like a real turning point for the character and the show, while still making clear that Rebecca's hopes that a diagnosis will give her an "easy fix" are still unhealthily optimistic. I cry every time I watch this video.
Honorable mention, in no particular order: His Status is Preferred; JAP Battle (CW for fatphobia); Gettin' Bi; (Tell Me I'm Okay) Patrick; We'll Never Have Problems Again; I Could if I Wanted To; After Everything I've Done for You (That You Didn't Ask For); You're My Best Friend (and I Know I'm Not Yours); It Was a Shitshow; Who's the New Guy? (CW: making fun of a character's "manic episodes")
10. The Moment Is Me (season 3, episode 3). Rebecca's unfocused, unambitious roommate Heather finally graduates from college and reluctantly sings this "inspirational musical theater song" about it. I love this one because it's a perfect parody of inspirational songs full of generalities and vague metaphors about limitless potential, sold by Vella Lovell's performance of Heather's utter unenthusiasm—making the vagueness of the lyrics reflect Heather's ambivalence and uncertainly about her life. The hyper-enthusiastic backup dancers and ridiculous on-the-nose choreography add to the humor.
9. I'm Just a Girl in Love. The theme song for season 2, portraying Rebecca's self-conception at this point in the series as the heroine of a light romantic comedy and her aggressive denial of the unhealthiness of her behavior. The extra-long pause at the end is amazing.
8. I've Got My Head in the Clouds (season 3, episode 2). Josh decides to run away from his relationship problems and become a priest. This old-timey Gene Kelly–style number is another great use of a comic song to portray both how a character is feeling and the issues that he won't acknowledge.
7. No One Else is Singing My Song (season 4, episode 1). I'm a sucker for songs that are about themselves, and for the idea that disparate people can be united by all having the same feeling at the same time, and for the musical-theater gimmick of portraying that by having multiple characters in different places sing the same song at the same time. I'm very fond of the use of the music and rhythm in this song to give the lie to the characters' feelings of isolation.
6. You Go First (season 2, episode 7). I think this is a really underappreciated song; I've never seen it on any other list of top songs from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, but it's brilliant. It really captures a very specific emotion that I think I've rarely seen expressed in music: knowing you owe someone an apology but wanting them to apologize first so you don't have to feel vulnerable. The absurd, gradually intensifying '80s costumes and backup dancer are pretty great too, but they're not why I love this song.
5. Where's the Bathroom? (season 1, episode 8; CW for controlling / emotionally abusive parent, fatphobia, stereotypes about queer people). This song introduces Rebecca's mother during her first visit to West Covina. She bursts through the door with this song, passive-aggressively insulting every aspect of Rebecca's life; Tovah Feldshuh's breakneck performance makes it easy to see how emotionally ground down Rebecca is and where the root of some of her issues lies. The klezmer-ish style of the song acknowledges the "nagging Jewish mother" stereotype without making a joke of it.
4. The End of the Movie (season 3, episode 4). Rebecca has hit emotional rock bottom after unwisely hooking up with her ex-boyfriend's dad, and her self-image as the heroine of a romantic comedy is falling apart; meanwhile, her friends are hitting stumbling blocks in their own lives and relationships. This song, performed by guest star Josh Groban, is a really good parody of the genre of "Josh Groban symphonic pop ballad", and is a thesis statement for one of the show's main themes: it's not healthy to define your life in terms of fictional narratives and genre conventions.
3. Settle for Me (season 1, episode 4; CW for female body objectification). Knowing that Rebecca has her heart set on the unavailable Josh Chan, Greg asks her out on a date anyway. The witty, Fred Astaire–style romantic-comedy number is an entertaining contrast with the emotional theme of swallowing your pride and asking to be someone's second choice. Greg's self-deprecating wit and the style of the song, and Santino Fontana's winning performance, make him seem charming, but his attitude toward Rebecca and toward his own masculinity indicates that he's not really a healthy choice for her either.
2. You Stupid Bitch (season 1, episode 11; CW for internalized fatphobia and self-directed misogynistic slurs). After a scheme to attract Josh falls apart, Rebecca wallows in "self-indulgent self-loathing". Rachel Bloom's performance is incredibly raw, moving, and painful, and so this song can be really tough to listen to, but it does exactly what a musical theater song should—take the emotions that are too big for speech and making them real for the audience.
1. A Diagnosis (season 3, episode 6). Rebecca is about to get a new mental-health diagnosis, and finally sees the possibility of a path out of her pain and depression. This uplifting, joyful song is a such a breath of fresh air after the emotional struggles of the first half of season 3, and the realization that Rebecca is finally open to making progress on her mental health is a huge relief for the audience. Bloom really sells Rebecca's hope and apprehension. The song feels like a real turning point for the character and the show, while still making clear that Rebecca's hopes that a diagnosis will give her an "easy fix" are still unhealthily optimistic. I cry every time I watch this video.
Honorable mention, in no particular order: His Status is Preferred; JAP Battle (CW for fatphobia); Gettin' Bi; (Tell Me I'm Okay) Patrick; We'll Never Have Problems Again; I Could if I Wanted To; After Everything I've Done for You (That You Didn't Ask For); You're My Best Friend (and I Know I'm Not Yours); It Was a Shitshow; Who's the New Guy? (CW: making fun of a character's "manic episodes")
