Music on The Shield
Music plays an important role on the FX television drama The Shield. Stylistically, the music ranged from hip hop (Master P) to mainstream pop (Duran Duran) to rock (Kid Rock) to country music (Johnny Cash), often within a single episode.
Opening and end credits
The opening credits for each episode displays each starring cast member's name on a black screen interspersed with scenes from the episode. Usually at a poignant moment, an excerpt of the show's theme is played, leading into the show's logo and the listing of series creator Shawn Ryan. The theme is played in full during the closing credits. The tune is "Just Another Day", by Vivian Ann Romero, Ernesto J. Bautista & Rodney Alejandro.
Music throughout the episodes
Most episodes use a unique piece of music during the opening or closing montage sequence. Often the song signals the characters' emotional mood or the episode's themes. The show's characters visibly listen to music. The show makes little other use of background music.
Season 1
| # | Episode title | Song title | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | "Bawitdaba" "Something's Coming" "Ponle Cadera" "Descarga Total" "Graciosa" "God Says No" "La Plaga" "Maricela" "Alleluia Melisma" | Kid Rock Nick Pantell Megatrax Maraca Moby Monster Magnet Tha Mexakinz Los Lobos Steve Edwards | |
| 2 | "Our Gang" | "A Crowd Killer" "Dámelo" "Amazing Grace" "Highway 45" "Rock Tha Spot" "Like Lightning Strikin'" "Kansas City Feel" "Perkins" "Promises" | Cage Mike Jimenez Production Bernie Marsden The Urbanites Bernie Marsden Paul Lenart El Peyote Asesino India.Arie | |
| 3 | "The Spread" | "Show a Lil Mo" "Get E Up" "Air Max 95 Remix" "Ese Es Mi Amigo" "You Can't Always Get What You Want" "Alegria" "The Streets of Iran" "Que Vuelva" | Out of Order Howard Roark Milo Berger & J. Zone Los Corales Fatima Los Pinguos Zamp Nicall Delinquent Habits | |
| 4 | "Dawg Days" | "The Flute Thing" "Rebuttal" "One by One" "Weight" "Dance With the Devil" "Sunday Jack" "Do It Right" "Throwin' You a Party" "Deeply" "Crank" "Heart of a Rebel" | Push Project 86 Jason Darling Matthew Anthony Young Dre Flight 180 Molly M Debbie Mitchell Abby Dobson John Leber SX-10 | |
| 5 | "Blowback" | "Beer" "Hyots Aghunak" "Get Away" "Laraca" "Wah Wah" "Caught Up In the System" "Yreg Votnlvai" "Trial by Fire" "The Flute Song" "Rebuttal" "One by One" "Ballad of Joliet" | Trailer Park Cassanovas Seda Garibyan Danny Wood Arte Mixto 3rd Root SX-10 Arakel Siunetsi Sam Spade Push Project 86 Jason Darling Bernie Marsden | |
| 6 | "Cherrypoppers" | "Love Loss" "Under the Midnight Sun" "Crazy" "Forbidden Fruit" "Eine Kleine" "Sexy Samba" "Night In the City" "Whiskey In the Morning" | Ian Love Zamp Nicall Lee Jung Hyun Jim Blake Nachmusik Sam Spade Gregg Montante Buckcherry | |
| 7 | "Pay in Pain" | "Fumaza" "Get Away (Alternative Remix)" "Sugar Fine" "Heartbreaker" "La Maraca" "No Queda Nada" "Reflections of Isis" "Reckoning" "Montfort" "Take Me Somewhere Nice" | Los Pinguos Danny Wood Gerard McMahon Bernie Marsden Arte Mixto Ducomet & Ascencio Sam Spade Dislocated Styles Stephen Edwards Mogwai | |
| 8 | "Cupid & Psycho" | "All My Little Words" "Erase Me" "Laws of Physics" "We Got the Youth" "Where Are You Gonna Find Another Fool" | The Magnetic Fields SX-10 Loot Pack Sam Black Church Soul Brother Six | |
| 9 | "Throwaway" | "Nacionabismo" "Let's Ride" "Cuiden a Los Ninos" "Como En Secundaria" "Salvavidas" "Green Fantasy" "El Capitan" "Fe" | Cage 9 Conejo Brujeria Kinto Sol Julieta Venegas Nick Pantell Kinto Sol Julieta Venegas | |
| 10 | "Dragonchasers" | "Pull You Into Me" "Anthem" "Satellite" "Sing Along" "I Am King" "Helicon 1" "Take Me Somewhere Nice" | Hedder Tempest Goleta Goleta Erinn Williams Mogwai Mogwai | |
| 11 | "Carnivores" | "Punk Ass" "I'm Gone" "What's Up For Tonight" "Vesti la giubba" "Mil" "Los Parrandones" "All I Really Want" "Casta Diva" | SX-10 Luther Johnson (Guitar Junior) Out of Order Pagliacci Gahee Lee Daniel Indart Goldo The Royal Philharmonic | |
| 12 | "Two Days of Blood" | "Como Te Gusta (Remix)" "Superfunk 2000" "Mystery" "Freedom Band" "Teeny Bopper" "Pa'Gozar Pilon" "Even Now" "Esperanza" "I'm On the Move" "Statistics" | Daniel Indart Soultice Henri Yonet Delinquent Habits Tony Cook Maraca Steve Reynolds Daniel Indart Bobby Byrd Rumblefish | |
| 13 | "Circles" | "Trouble" "Nothing's Clear" "Spill Me" "O'Chanko" "Planet LA" "Eddie's Thing" "Cultifornia" | Coldplay Ill Niño Project 86 Transultra Conejo Push Jaya the Cat | Played during closing montage |
Season 1 promo trailer by Rachel Stamp - Blackcherry
Season 2
| # | Episode title | Song title | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Quick Fix" | "Blue on Black" "Long Awaited" | Kenny Wayne Shepherd Lootpack | |
| 2 | "Dead Soldiers" | "Cuentan Que El" "No Muerdas La Mano" "Baby" | Whitehouse Kinto Sol Supervision | |
| 3 | "Partners" | "Breakdown" "Debemos Creer" "The Whole Truth" | Tantric Bye Sami Michael Penn | |
| 4 | "Carte Blanche" | ? | ? | |
| 5 | "Greenlit" | "Drinking Muddy Water" "Fish Head" | North Mississippi Allstars Slim & the Soulful Saints | |
| 6 | "Homewrecker" | ? | ? | |
| 7 | "Barnstormers" | "Rich Girl" | Hall & Oates | |
| 8 | "Scar Tissue" | "If I Ever Leave This World Alive" | Flogging Molly | |
| 9 | "Co-Pilot" | "Justice" | Black Uhuru | |
| 10 | "Coyotes" | ? | ? | |
| 11 | "Inferno" | ? | ||
| 12 | "Breakpoint" | "Thorn" | Unida | |
| 13 | "Dominoes Falling" | "Trouble" "Ghetto Starzz" "Overcome" "Firefly" | Daniel Ash Littles Live Grand Drive |
Season 3
| # | Episode title | Song title | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Playing Tight" | "Holy Roller Novocaine" "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" | Kings of Leon Rupert Holmes | |
| 2 | "Blood and Water" | "Nothing I Can Do About It Now" | Willie Nelson | |
| 3 | "Bottom Bitch" | ? | ? | |
| 4 | "Streaks and Tips" | "The Stroke" | Billy Squier | Played as the Decoy squad streak |
| 5 | "Mum" | ? | ? | |
| 6 | "Posse Up" | "3030" | Deltron 3030 | |
| 7 | "Safe" | ? | ? | |
| 8 | "Cracking Ice" | "Sway" "Feelin' Me" | Phaser Baby Bash | Played while Shane gives Mara an engagement ring. Playing in the background when Lil Syke and Trish begin to have sex while she is undercover. |
| 9 | "Slipknot" | "Ashes to Ashes" | Steve Earle | |
| 10 | "What Power Is..." | "Riley and Spencer" | Blue Mountain | Playing on Shane's car stereo just before Mara calls about her mom wanting more money. |
| 11 | "Strays" | ? | ? | |
| 12 | "Riceburner" | "Hangin' By A Wire" | Gordie Sampson | |
| 13 | "Fire In the Hole" | ? | ? | |
| 14 | "All In" | "It's Gonna Be a Long Night" | Ween | |
| 15 | "On Tilt" | "Back of Your Hand" | Dwight Yoakam | Played in Shane's car |
Season 3 promo on STV was Deltron 3030 - 3030
Season 4
| # | Episode title | Song title | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Cure" | Ooohwee | Master P. | |
| 2 | "Grave" | Amazing Grace | Dropkick Murphys | Played while Strike Team members Vic Mackey, Curtis Lemansky and Ronnie Gardocki along with Captain Monica Rawling attend former Assistant Police Chief Ben Gilroy's funeral. |
| 3 | "Bang" | Lay Down | Mikal Raymo | Played on the pornographic video |
| 4 | "Doghouse" | "Demon Called Deception" | Grant Lee Buffalo | Played during ending |
| 5 | "Tar Baby" | "Hungry Like the Wolf" | Duran Duran | Played in Dutch's car as he sings to it, unaware that he's being recorded. |
| 6 | "Insurgents" | ? | ? | |
| 7 | "Hurt" | "Will You Smile Again" | …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead | Played during ending montage |
| 8 | "Cut Throat" | "Nutshell" | Alice in Chains | Played in introduction as Vic, observing destitute urban conditions, drives through Farmington streets to the Captains new house |
| 9 | "String Theory" | ? | ? | |
| 10 | "Back in the Hole" | ? | ? | |
| 11 | "A Thousand Deaths" | ? | ? | |
| 12 | "Judas Priest" | ? | ? | |
| 13 | "Ain't That a Shame" | "Ain't That a Shame" | Cheap Trick | Source of episode title. |
Season 5
| # | Episode title | Song title | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Extraction" | "Til Kingdom Come" | Coldplay | |
| 2 | "Enemy of Good" | ? | ? | |
| 3 | "Jailbait" | ? | ? | |
| 4 | "Tapa Boca" | ? | ? | |
| 5 | "Trophy" | "Devil In Me" | 22-20s | Played while the Strike Team loads their weapons. |
| 6 | "Rap Payback" | "Anything Goes" | Madison Smartt Bell and Wyn Cooper | Played during closing montage. |
| 7 | "Man Inside" | "Glass House" | SiOP | |
| 8 | "Kavanaugh" | ? | ? | |
| 9 | "Smoked" | ? | ? | |
| 10 | "Of Mice and Lem" | "Disarm" | Smashing Pumpkins | Played during closing montage. |
| 11 | "Postpartum" | ? | ? |
- Season 5 promo — "Bad, Bad Man" by John Cena
Season 6
| # | Episode title | Song title | Artist | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "On the Jones" | "I Hung My Head" | Johnny Cash | Played at beginning and end of episode; written by Sting | |||
| 2 | "Baptism by Fire" | Amazing Grace | Dropkick Murphys | ||||
| 3 | "Back to One" | "I Ran (So Far Away)" | A Flock Of Seagulls | Played in Dutch's car. | "Miles de pasajeros" | Bajofondo | Played while Vic Mackey is invading Guardo's hiding place. |
| 4 | "The New Guy" | ? | ? | ||||
| 5 | "Haunts" | "18 Wheels Of Love" | Drive-By Truckers | Played in Shane's car. | |||
| 6 | "Chasing Ghosts" | "GTO" | Dirty Rig | Played during the raid on Snail's crib. | |||
| 7 | "Exiled" | ? | ? | ||||
| 8 | "The Math of the Wrath" | Motivate Al Baile | Baby Ranks | Played in front of Santi place | |||
| 9 | "Recoil" | ? | ? | ||||
| 10 | "Spanish Practices" | "Interview "Respek" | Skripture (Mike Foy) | Played on Gangbanger porch scene |
- Season 6 promo — "This Night" by Black Lab
Season 7
| # | Episode title | Song title | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Coefficient of Drag" | "Reach for the Sky" | Social Distortion | Played at beginning of the episode. |
| 2 | "Snitches" | ? | ? | |
| 3 | "Money Shot" | ? | ? | |
| 4 | "Genocide" | ? | ? | |
| 5 | "Game Face" | ? | ? | |
| 6 | "Animal Control" | "My Ashes" | Porcupine Tree | Played at the end of the episode. |
| 7 | "Bitches Brew" | ? | ? | |
| 8 | "Parricide" | "A Blessing And A Curse" | Drive-By Truckers | Played at beginning of the episode. |
| 9 | "Moving Day" | ? | ? | |
| 10 | "Party Line" | "Tonight" | Michael Mazochi | |
| 11 | "Petty Cash" | ? | ? | |
| 12 | "Possible Kill Screen" | ? | ? | |
| 13 | "Family Meeting" | "Los Angeles" "...Long Time Ago" | X Concrete Blonde | Played at the beginning of the episode. Played during the closing credits. |
- Season 7 promo — "Farewell Ride" by Beck
Soundtrack compilation
| The Shield: Music from the Streets | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |
| Released | September 5, 2005 |
| Genre | Various |
| Label | Lakeshore Records |
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
| Empire Movies | link |
As of 2012, one official soundtrack compilation had been released. The Shield: Music from the Streets was released in 2005,[1] and contains selections from the first four seasons. Unofficial soundtracks on the Internet compiled by fans include tracks featured in episodes that were not included on the official soundtrack.
Track listing
- "The Shield Theme" – Vivian Ann Romero, Ernesto J. Bautista & Rodney Alejandro
- "Hating Hollywood" – Theory of a Deadman
- "Death March" – Black Label Society
- "Bring Em Out Dead" – Onyx
- "Lay Down" – Mikal Raymo
- "Perkins" – Peyote Asesino
- "Caught Up in the System" – SX-10
- "Freedom Band" – Delinquent Habits
- "Pride" – Damageplan
- "Nothing's Clear" – Ill Niño
- "Rushing In" – Crazy Anglos
- "No Muerdas La Mano" – Kinto Sol
- "Breakdown" – Tantric
- "Betrayal" – The Black Maria
- "Let's Ride" – Conejo
- "Ooohhhwee" – Master P
- "Mafia" – Kelis featuring Markita
- "Cuiden A Los Niños" – Brujeria
- "The Shield" (X-Ecutioners Remix) – The X-Ecutioners
Notes
- ↑ "Amazon.com: The Shield: Music from the Streets". Retrieved 2007-08-02.
External links
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