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Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy can’t be a cheap show to make. This superhero story is based on an ambitious, colorful comic book series by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá and as such it features big action setpieces, depictions of superpowers, and even a talking chimp or two.

Still it’s hard to imagine any portion of The Umbrella Academy’s budget is larger than the music clearance department. The series features a moody score from Jeff Russo but also a truly stunning amount of pop hits. The Umbrella Academy made its musical intentions clear in its first episode with the now-beloved dance scene set to Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now.” And the show’s investment in soundtrack and music has only grown from there.

“Music is such an important thing to me and I really take time to pick the songs,” showrunner Steve Blackman says.

“We...

In 2010, I went to see Peter Wolf play an intimate set at Portland, Maine’s Port City Music Hall. At the time, I’d gotten deep into Wolf’s catalog after hearing J. Geils Band’s Houseparty album, and the frontman delivered, playing a wild set full of hits like “Homework” and “Love Stinks.” During “Must of Got Lost,” Wolf dropped to his knees and delivered the classic spoken-word intro. After the show, my friend Jamie and I wound up in Wolf’s dressing room, listening to the disheveled legend hold court with fans,...

It’s a glorious thing, hearing Eddie Murphy say “fuck” again. Few people ever said it better – and down here in the basement of the stone-and-marble mansion he built on a Beverly Hills cliff, it’s coming from his lips often enough to make Shrek blush. “Come on, motherfucker,” Murphy shouts, over the throb of James Brown’s “Hot Pants” on a formidable sound system.

The motherfucker in question is a bowling ball, which is speeding down the center of one of the two polished lanes of the alley Murphy keeps here,...