The randy students of Moordale are back in business and busier than ever. But this season it’s not only the students whose sex lives are far from uncomplicated. Our online editor Andrea Loftus has combed through this season’s soundtrack to prove that there really is a song for everything.
After Season 1 ended with our ‘sex wizard’ Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield) finally finding his um … groove, the second season opens with the inspired choice of Scala & Kolcany’s ‘I Touch Myself’. As the camera pans over an ever so phallic cactus, the lyrics ‘I love myself // I want you to love me’ play over a compilation of Otis making up for lost time in the self love department.
But from what we learnt of the Milburn’s family dynamic last Season, when it comes to sex the highs can quickly change to one big low. As a bored Otis makes the most of his newfound skill, his car session ends abruptly as his iconic mother Jean (Gillian Anderson) catches him red handed and red faced. The sweet, lusty tones of Hot 8 Brass Band’s ‘Sexual Healing’ distract us from the painfully cringey situation and foreshadow that young Otis still has some healing left to do of his own. As Ezra Furman’s ‘Love You So Bad’, a focus feature of the Season 1 soundtrack, reintroduces us to the show’s protagonists, we’re all settled in and apprehensively anxious to see what’s sexual stigmas the show will iron out for us this term.
Moordale High School is more or less the same – a hot mess and a hot bed of sexual discovery. However, the acappella choir seem to have a preventative solution to the chlamydia hysteria permeating the corridors, as they sample a bit of Jermaine Stewart’s message that ‘We Don’t Have To Take Our Clothes Off’ to have a good time. Otis’ growing clinic workload following Maeve’s departure leaves the school-tour duties up to Lily (Tanya Reynold), who shows Ola (Patricia Allison) the cliques to the sultry tones of Rod Stewart’s ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy’, prefacing the tour’s finale as the gorgeous French fancy Rahim (Sami Outalbali) steps onto the scene. Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s ‘Two Tribes’ gets a new meaning as the choir girls divide into ‘chlamydia’ vs ‘no-chlamydia’ and send fists flying, but thank god Maeve’s (Emma Mackey) back in time to dispel the chaos. As the sex clinic slaps on that neon open sign and we have the gang back together, and When In Rome assure us that this sets out ‘The Promise’ of a good season ahead.
Nevertheless, this season swaps the classroom for the staff room as Salt-N Pepa’s ‘Push It’ is almost a ruse to make it more uncomfortable watching the guy from Horrible Histories awkwardly bang the prim English teacher. With Air’s ‘Sexy Boy’ not the theme tune I’d personally have given to the erratic science/SRE/music teacher, it proves that there’s a different apple for everyone’s eye. Salt-N Pepa get a double feature in Episode 2, as Jean awkwardly sings ‘Let’s Talk About Sex’ at an unresponsive pubescent audience, a song that was about as explicit as Sex Ed classes in most British secondary schools got.
A heart-breaking but relevant plotline this season follows Aimee’s (Aimee Gibbs) experience of sexual assault, the ironically named ‘Happy Talk’ by Captain Sensible alluding to the seemingly harmless man with a “kind face” who was far from harmless after all. After a taxing time at the police station leaves Aimee coming to terms with what happened to her, the emotive croons of Sorenious Bonk ft. Signe Mansdotter’s ‘Life’ reminds us that assault in its many forms is still a daily occurrence for women all over the world.
Now I know what you’re thinking, what’s Sex Education without Ezra Furman, well the answer is a sadder sight indeed. Luckily, we’ve still got a heavy helping scattered through the 8 episodes including ‘Queen of Hearts’ for the one and only Maeve Wiley and a his cover of LCD Soundstystem’s ‘I Can Change’ to pin point Adam’s (Connor Swindells) story arc, battling with his sexuality and masculinity after years of his father’s iron fist. The relationship between Adam and Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) was unexpected and charming in Season 1, but equally problematic as it’s based on a foundation of bullying. However, Adam accepts his bisexuality this season and the track marks moments of growth, the first as he becomes a pebble armed Romeo at Eric’s east facing balcony window for romantic nights of smashing ceramic and locking lips. The other is when pint-sized Ola tells him she loves him as a friend, something he admits he has never had before – *hearts shattering*. But Furman’s ‘Devil or Angel’ still pins Groff Jr as the bad influence for Eric as he debates between his poetic French muse or his vase smashing Romeo – baguette or crumpet Eric, it’s your move.
Season 1 set us up for a #Motis marathon, with promises of love between our pink tint princess and our pasty pale prince. But alas, is it ever that simple? Barbara Mason is here to tell us that no it is not, as her ballad ‘Oh How It Hurts’ plays over poor Ola laying alone, zip done up and heart aching as Otis’ mind wanders to you-know-who when they plan to sleep together for the first time. Though Tommy James & The Shondell’s ‘Hanky Panky’ duets with elated screams that tease Otis finding luck in love elsewhere, a blue shell climax and a Nintendo switch later we’re reminded just who we’re dealing with. Luckily jealous-and-unsatisfied-girlfriend Ola returns to cool-overall-clad Ola as she realises she’s pansexual, and no she doesn’t have a fetish for “kitchen stuff” Adam, it’s personality that draws her in.
It’s Episode 6 that brings out the big guns though, with an out-of-hand house party at the Milburn’s the perfect setting for the needle to drop. Ah Otis, we all remember our first beer, but luckily we didn’t ‘Jump into the Fire’ to Harry Nillson as stylishly as you. After one too many drinks and maybe one too many moves to Isaac Hayes ‘Good Love 6-9-9-6-9’, Otis was ‘deflowered’ by mean girl Ruby (Mimi Keene). A party doesn’t always have to end with a trashed house and a lost condom, as The Osmonds’ ‘Having A Party’ showed Adam and Ola fixing their broken hearts by breaking everything the scrapyard had to offer. Queen Jean was none the wiser, getting boozy with Mrs.Groff to the sounds of Missing Persons’ ‘Destination Unknown’, though the destination turned out to be a club which oozed a classier essence of Warehouse Wednesdays to Gala’s infamous ‘Freed From Desire’.
The cross pollination of eras and genres is what makes the show’s soundtrack so bloody brilliant, as well as adding to the impossibility of putting a date on the show with an 80s wardrobe, quasi-American setting and a mix-match of old and new technology throughout. Nevertheless, it’s also a reminder that emotive anthems of youth like Sharon Van Etten’s ‘Seventeen’ can sound timeless in the right setting despite it only being released last year. As she croons notes of nostalgia and loss of innocence, the girls rally at the back of the bus in solidarity with Aimee, united in their shared experiences at the hands of entitled males. However, watching this diverse girl gang re-enact The Breakfast Club’s iconic detention set up and them smash shit to Cass Elliot’s ‘Make Your Own Kind Of Music’ was an injection of female empowerment to rival “It’s my Vagina”.
Our emotions aren’t spared this Season, and neither are our earbuds as we’re hit out of nowhere with Sufjan Steven’s gut-wrenching ‘Mystery Of Love’ when fit dad Jakob and fitter mum Jean eradicate any hope of a happy ending for our silver foxes. Though The Moordale Quiz Heads did as The Sonics said and ‘Shot Down’ their opponents in the final, it wasn’t enough to cheer us up from mum and dad’s separation. Thankfully our very own space girl Lily was of course directing ‘Romeo and Juliet: The Musical’ which treated us to some special original boners tracks in the expectedly quirky and wildly inappropriate style we’ve come to know and love. Lily took the success of The Lion King’s in-crowd performances at the West End and elevated it to students in silver latex with penis hands and vagina heads stroking unexpecting parents. A visionary in our midst.
Though we’ve got no Maeve and Otis, no Otis and Ola and no Jean and Jakob, there was still 10 minutes left for the only couple we really had any energy left for. As lovestruck Adam ran towards that assembly hall’s vaginal opening (are you really surprised?) it paralleled the infamous yet quite bad Julia Robert’s film ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’ with Dusty Springfield’s ‘Wishin’ and Hopin’ assuring me I didn’t just sit for 8 hours for no happy endings. With our unconventional lovers reunited (and it feels so good), Scout Niblet’s ‘Kiss’ serenades us as we see Otis put on his big boy pants to apologise to his mum and go get the girl.
Cue neighbour Isaac, enamoured with Wiley and ballsy enough to delete a modern day love letter in the form of a voicemail where Otis declares his love for his clinic compatriot. With an audience left fuming at the audacity of this lad and our star-crossed lovers walking towards opposite sides of the same starry sky, Chip Taylor’s husky croons in ‘On The Radio’ are all we’re left with. His beautiful lyrics are isolated as the monochrome credits roll, there to remind us that love isn’t easy kids, and sometimes the only cure for thousands of broken hearts is for Netflix to make a third Season before 2021…
“This is how it works // You’re young until you’re not // You love until you don’t // You try until you can’t’ // You laugh until you cry // You cry until you laugh // And everyone must breathe // Until their dying breath // No this is how it works // You peer inside yourself // And you take the things you like // And try to love the things your took // And then you take that love you made // And you stick it into // Someone else’s heart pumping someone else’s blood // And walking arm in arm // You hope it don’t get harmed // And even if it does // You’ll just do it all again”
ANDREA LOFTUS
HERE IS AN EPISODE-BY-EPISODE TRACKLIST FOR SEASON 2 AND FIND THE PLAYLIST HERE:
EPISODE 1
-I Touch Myself – Scala & Kolacny Brothers
-Sexual Healing – The Hot 8 Brass Band
-Love You So Bad – Ezra Furman
-We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off – Jermaine Stewart
-Da Ya Think I’m Sexy – Rod Stewart
-Do It Again A Little Bit Slower – Jon & Robin
-Ezra Furman ‘wake up i feel a little outa focus’
-Two Tribes – Frankie Goes to Hollywood
-Everywhere (Fleetwood Mac)
EPISODE 2
-Push It – Salt-N Pepa -The Queen of Hearts – Ezra Furman
-Lets Talk About Sex – Salt-N Pepa
-Sexy Boy – Air
-Bashed Out – This is The Kit
EPISODE 3
-Cosmic Dancer – T.Rex
-Happy Talk – Captain Sensible
-Prove It – Lee Harvey
-What is Love – Haddaway
-Life – Sorenious Bonk feat. Signe Mansdotter
-Little World – Ezra Furman
-Pale Blue Eyes – The Velvet Underground
EPISODE 4
-Hanky Panky – Tommy James & The Shondells
-Oh How it Hurts – Barbara Mason
-I Can Change – Ezra Furman
-Devil or Angel – Ezra Furman
EPISODE 5
-Dancing Hall Days – Wang Chung
-Twenty Five Miles – Edwin Starr
-Simple Things – The Jive Aces
-Hold Me Now – Thompson Twins
-How Can You Mend A Broken Heart? – Al Green
-Love Is The Drug – Roxy Music
-Slip Away – Clarence Carter
EPISODE 6
-Itty Bitty Pretty One – Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
-Amateur – Ezra Furman
-Dance Little Sister – Terence Trent D’Arby
-Betrayal Takes Two – Richard Hell & The Voidoids
-Destination Unknown – Missing Persons
-I Want More – Can
-Jump Into The Fire – Harry Nilsson
-Theme from S’express – S’express
-Freed from Desire – Gala
-Don’t Go – Yazoo
-Good Love 6-9-9-6-9 – Isaac Hayes
-Having A Party – The Osmonds
-Thank You For The Offer – Chip Taylor
-A Leader Always Carries A Stick – Grizzly Bear
EPISODE 7
-Peaches – The Stranglers
-In the Sweet By and By – Alabama (sung by the church choir)
-Mystery of Love – Sufjan Stevens
-Make Your Own Kind Of Music – Cass Elliot
-Seventeen – Sharon Van Etten
EPISODE 8
-Skinhead Moonstomp – Symarip
-Shot Down – The Sonics
-I Can Change – Ezra Furman
-Romeo & Juliet: The Musical – Moordale Secondary School (It’s even on Shazam!!)
-Wishin’ And Hopin’ – Dusty Springfield
-Kiss – Scout Niblet
-Care – Ezra Furman
-On The Radio – Chip Taylor