Who Is On Elle Woods' Playlist? ’90s Bands Like No Doubt And Sleater-kinney

When Laura Kittrell began building nan soundtrack for Prime Video’s “Elle,” nan series’ improbable premise was still nether wraps: In 1995, a teenage Elle Woods is uprooted from Bel-Air to Seattle aft her begetter botches a high-profile client’s chemoreceptor job.

“It makes maine laughter to deliberation of Olympia bands for illustration Team Dresch getting an email like, ‘We’re utilizing your opus successful nan “Legally Blonde” prequel,’” Kittrell says. “I’m judge immoderate of them were like, really?”

To guidelines “Elle” successful Seattle’s ’90s grunge segment and adjacent Olympia’s Riot Grrrl movement, Kittrell, co-showrunner Caroline Dries and executive shaper Lauren Neustadter brought successful euphony supervisor Brienne Rose, whom Kittrell had antecedently worked pinch connected “High School,” Prime Video’s Tegan and Sara-inspired series.

“We didn’t want to clone it,” Rose says. The squad looked astatine what bands were cool and what labels were connected nan emergence astatine nan time. “We besides talked astir what this modulation feels for illustration for Elle,” she adds, “what it’s for illustration to beryllium a teen — isolated, disconnected from nan spot you’re in. Seattle creates this astonishing juxtaposition pinch Elle’s personality, and it was nosy to show really her tastes mightiness germinate nan longer she’s there.”

Kittrell hopes nan bid will reintroduce viewers to artists who don’t get nan aforesaid attraction arsenic Nirvana and Pearl Jam, for illustration L7 and Spin Doctors. “We leaned into our ain nostalgia,” she says. “I want different group who lived done nan ’90s to think, ‘I retrieve precisely wherever I was erstwhile I heard this opus for nan first time.’”

For Elle Woods (Lexi Minetree), life is precisely arsenic it should be. “Elle” opens pinch her 16th day party, wherever she’s surrounded by friends and family, flirting pinch her crush, “Hot Josh” (Logan Shroyer), and making plans for a cleanable inferior twelvemonth pinch her champion friend Madison (Jessica Belkin). That series is soundtracked by Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy,” a opus Rose felt Elle herself mightiness person chosen. “A batch of things that felt poppy and nosy for nan era really felt for illustration Elle to us,” she says. “Mariah Carey was our starting point.”

The hunt for nan opening opus stretched into nan last weeks earlier filming, pinch Kittrell, Dries and aviator head Jason Moore trading ideas complete text. “He would matter Caroline and maine astatine for illustration midnight each night: What about this for an opening song?” Kittrell says. They concisely considered Ace of Base, but kept coming backmost to “Fantasy.” Once they saw it paired pinch nan footage, location was nary question.

“Elle is virtually talking astir really she has nan cleanable life, nan cleanable friends, and nan cleanable world,” Kittrell adds. “Then nan imagination of that life bursts astatine nan extremity of this scene, erstwhile her parents show her they’re moving away. It felt nan astir connected theme.”

“I’ve talked astir rainfall connected this show much than I person successful my full life,” Kittrell says.

It was a changeless consideration, some connected group and successful nan writers room. Weather became a measurement to separate Elle from those astir her successful Seattle. The locals ne'er transportation umbrellas; Elle shows up pinch a pinkish one.

“We had a writer from Seattle who ever said nan metropolis gets a bad rap because of nan rain,” Kittrell says. “But nan rainfall is what makes it beautiful — it makes Seattle green.”

Elle entering nan halls of Rainier West High School pinch her pinkish umbrella.

(Kimberley French / Prime Video)

That accuracy stayed pinch nan writers, later showing up successful a statement Miles (Jacob Moskovitz), Elle’s crush, says to her, and yet starring them to Garbage’s “Only Happy When It Rains” arsenic nan show’s theme. “We were like, of course,” says Kittrell. “This is what we’ve been talking astir nan full time.”

The opus was primitively meant to extremity nan pilot. “Then we decided we should conscionable beryllium proceeding it successful each azygous episode,” says Neustadter. (The aviator alternatively uses Radiohead’s “Creep,” which besides bookends nan series.) The main title sequence, an animated “saga sell” from nan workplace Shine, tells nan communicative of Elle’s move from Bel-Air to Seattle.

“We’re perpetually reminding nan assemblage of nan opposition betwixt Elle’s principle and nan world she’s now in,” Neustadter adds. “There’s an optimism to ‘Only Happy When It Rains’ that feels very Elle Woods. And nan irony of it is truthful delightful.”

One “Legally Blonde” segment kept coming up successful nan writers room: the bunny costume incident, erstwhile Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) shows up to what she thinks is simply a costume statement only to recognize she’s nan only 1 dressed for it. She panics briefly, past gathers herself and finds her confidence. For Kittrell, nan mobility was what came earlier that. “We wanted to spot her successful a akin business but pinch a different reaction,” she says. “What gave her nan assurance to do nan point she does successful nan movie?”

That thought plays retired successful Episode 3, “You’re Not nan Girl I Thought You Were,” erstwhile Elle arrives astatine what she believes is simply a excavation statement successful a revealing pinkish bikini top, and finds nary 1 other successful swimwear. She retreats successful humiliation until her caller friend Liz (Gabrielle Policano) pushes her to extremity worrying astir what different group think. By nan extremity of nan episode, she’s backmost successful beforehand of a crowd — this clip connected a karaoke instrumentality pinch her friend Dustin (Zac Looker), belting retired No Doubt’s “Just a Girl” pinch recently unlocked confidence.

“We created an full popular civilization and existent events timeline successful nan writers room,” says Kittrell, which is really they realized No Doubt’s medium “Tragic Kingdom” had travel retired precisely erstwhile “Elle” begins. “It’s what each of Elle’s friends would beryllium obsessing complete successful L.A.,” she adds, “but it’s besides a span to nan Seattle kids. It’s not straight-up popular aliases straight-up rock.”

The opus besides featured heavy successful nan series’ promotional materials. “When you perceive a opus a cardinal times, you benignant of commencement forgetting what it’s moreover about,” Kittrell says. But revisiting nan lyrics of “Just a Girl,” she realized it mapped neatly onto Elle’s arc. “It’s telling nan communicative of nan show.”

When gathering imaginable euphony supervisors for “Elle,” Kittrell, Dries and Neustadter asked candidates to taxable playlists that captured their precocious schoolhouse selves. Rose’s operation included Tori Amos’ “Cornflake Girl,” which ended up successful Episode 4, “I’m Not Afraid of a Challenge.”

“When you put a opus into a scene, it’s almost for illustration trying connected a shoe,” Neustadter says. “You want to spot if it fits and feels comfortable.”

Amos’ moody 1994 way astir betrayal and shifting loyalties wrong female friendships doesn’t instantly propose a homecoming sequence. But it proved an unexpected fit, soundtracking a cross-country title pinch Elle cheering connected her crush, Miles, arsenic he crosses nan decorativeness line, while opinionated beside Shannon (Danielle Chand) — her caller friend and, complicating things, his ex.

“I would person ne'er successful a cardinal years thought to put that opus here,” Kittrell says, “but it’s truthful perfect. It made america truthful happy.”

In Episode 5, “Trust Me, I Can Handle Anything,” Elle’s champion friend Madison visits Seattle and presses play connected nan CD subordinate successful Elle’s bedroom. The Bangles’ “Eternal Flame” comes on. “This is what you’re listening to?” Madison asks, horrified.

After learning that her friend Shannon’s mother has died successful a car accident, Elle is abruptly facing her first existent brushwood pinch condolences and, incapable to beryllium pinch it, throws herself into readying nan memorial, down to selecting nan music.

“In precocious school, erstwhile thing melodramatic would happen, I would hunt for nan correct euphony to articulate what I was feeling,” says Rose. “For Elle, successful that moment, Susanna Hoffs’ sound is truthful feminine, truthful emotional. With ‘Eternal Flame,’ we’re reaching backmost to nan ’80s to show really her sensation is evolving, and really she’s learning to pat into that sadness.”

“Elle” besides features respective on-screen performances, from nan fictional Seattle set Bob’s Your Uncle — brought to life by Vancouver group Piss performing songs composed by Anna Waronker, a collaborator of Kittrell and Rose connected “High School” — to nan finale, titled “What, Like It’s Hard,” which delivers what Kittrell calls her “biggest make-a-wish moment”: an original Sleater-Kinney opus performed by Liz astatine nan school’s “winter informal.”

“I was large into nan Riot Grrrl stuff,” says Kittrell. “In precocious school, Sleater-Kinney was my No. 1 everything.” The squad knew early connected they wanted Liz to execute an original song, and Sleater-Kinney was their first prime to constitute it. Once nan set came connected board, Kittrell walked them done Liz’s season-long affectional arc connected a Zoom call, utilizing Olivia Rodrigo’s “Brutal” and nan band’s early activity arsenic tonal reference points. They came backmost pinch “High School,” which Policano past recorded and performed connected screen.

“Having Sleater-Kinney constitute for america was surreal,” Kittrell says. “It really was nan cherry connected top.”

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