The Bear Season 4 Soundtrack: A Guide to Every Needle Drop

[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for The Bear Season 4, now streaming on Hulu.]

In Season 4, FX’s The Bear continued its proud tradition of using a wide, wide selection of songs as the soundtrack for its episodes; who needs an official composer when Led Zeppelin, Ludwig von Beethoven, Taylor Swift, Bob Dylan, Jason Isbell, St. Vincent, and more are available?

To underscore the travails of the Chicago-based chefs at the heart of the series, executive producers Christopher Storer and Josh Senior once again served as music supervisors for this season, bringing their eclectic taste and love of deep cuts to each potential needle drop. (I will never, ever attempt to guess what songs might be featured on The Bear. Though the smart money is usually on at least one R.E.M. track being included.)

In celebration of their selections, below is a comprehensive breakdown of every song featured this season, episode by episode. (With, as a bonus, the occasional nod to the other media being enjoyed by characters when they’re not toiling in the kitchen.) One spoiler for the below — there isn’t as much Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross on the soundtrack this time as there was in Season 3. But there is a little.

Episode 1

• Led Zeppelin — “That’s the Way”
• Sonny & Cher — “I’ve Got You Babe”
• The Who — “Getting In Tune”
• Tangerine Dream — “Diamond Diary” (closing credits)

We kick things off in style, with a flashback featuring Jon Bernthal’s Mikey underscored by some classic rock. Indeed, a Led Zeppelin needle drop fits nicely with the vibe that Bernthal brings to the screen. Afterwards — yeah, we hear about as much of “I’ve Got You Babe” as Bill Murray does in the movie Groundhog Day, but it still counts. “Getting In Tune” has, of course, multiple meanings, as the staff of The Bear attempt to resync their operation, and while the Tangerine Dream track is a reprise from the Season 3 finale, it’s a great one without question.

Episode 2

• Mi Loco Tango — “Rocco and His Brothers”
• Talk Talk — “Life’s What You Make It”
• Bryan Ferry — “The Chosen One”
• Bob Dylan — “Most of the Time”
• The Pretenders — “Mystery Achievement” (closing credits)

With the exception of Mi Loco Tango, the ’80s vibes are strong in this episode, including The Pretenders and a solo track from Roxy Music’s Bryan Ferry — even the Dylan track comes from his 1989 album Oh Mercy.

While we’re being anal-retentive about the media featured on this show, I’ll go ahead and note for you that the movie playing at the bar is the original 1957 3:10 to Yuma. And we also get a big dose of Cousin Richie’s obsession with Ridley Scott, as Ebon Moss-Bachrach watches an interview with the Gladiator director for inspiration.

Episode 3

• St. Vincent — “Slow Disco” (Piano Version)
• The Ronettes — “(The Best Part of) Breakin’ Up”
• Van Morrison — “Slim Slow Slider/I Start Breaking Down”
• Dion — “Only You Know”
• Love and Rockets — “Haunted When the Minutes Drag”
• R.E.M. — “Finest Worksong” (closing credits)

I could be wrong about this, but the band most prominently featured in Season 4 of The Bear is… The Ronettes? They certainly have three tracks credited to them over the course of these episodes, beginning with a very apt choice of song to underscore a conversation between two exes — Richie and Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs). This episode is another classic example of the show really letting a track play out over the course of a scene, with Van Morrison and Dion really lingering in the mix.

Episode 4

• M.O.P. — “Ante Up”
• Ludwig von Beethoven — “Für Elise”
• Durand Bernarr — “STUCK.”
• Duval Timothy — “Wood” (feat. Yu Su)
• Tsvia Abarbanel — “Wings of Love”
• Sweetback — “You Will Rise”
• Curtis Mayfield — “So In Love” (closing credits)

There’s a fair bit of music underscoring Sydney (Ayo Edebiri)’s day off — a diverse range, too, if only because of Syd’s pointed choice of Beethoven after her potential new business partner Shapiro (Adam Shapiro) tries to prove his woke-ness with M.O.P. Meanwhile, Curtis Mayfield’s “So In Love” is a lovely note to end things on, and in case you were wondering, the Whoopi Goldberg movie Syd’s watching at the beginning of the episode is the 1986 classic Jumpin’ Jack Flash.