The end of an episode of Silicon Valley is like a touch of cilantro in salsa—perfection, if you’re into that sort of thing. The show’s closing credits usually roll to bass-heavy rap or electronica, and the song itself is often an ironic counterpoint to some awkward final moment.
Silicon Valley co-creator Mike Judge is known for his musical choices—in 1999’s Office Space, software engineers destroy a printer to “Still” by Geto Boys. Even the eponymous stars of MTV’s Beavis & Butthead, which Judge created in 1993, had an appreciation for heavy metal.
Judge’s sendup of the self-important tech world sets the tone with its theme song, “Stretch Your Face,” by Tobacco, an electronic musician who also fronts the band Black Moth Super Rainbow. Rudy Chung, one of Silicon Valley‘s music supervisors, said they chose “Stretch Your Face” (paywall) because it was “nerdy and ballsy.”
So far, HBO hasn’t released an official soundtrack for Silicon Valley, but at least one Spotify listener has put together a pretty comprehensive playlist of songs used on the show.
Happy listening!
SEASON 1
E1—Minimum Viable Product: Green Day – Minority
E2—The Cap Table: The Notorious B.I.G. – Party and Bullshit (Ratatat remix)
E3—Articles of Incorporation: Blake Mills – Hey Lover
E4—Fiduciary Duties: Tobacco – Father Sister Berzerker
E5—Signaling Risk: Pueblo Cafe – Nuevos Tiempos
E6—Third Party insourcing: The Notorious B.I.G. – “Party and Bullshit (Ratatat remix)
E7—Proof of Concept: Danny Brown – Smokin & Drinkin
E8—Optimal Tip-to-Tip Efficiency: Green Day – Minority
SEASON 2
E1—Sand Hill Shuffle: Run the Jewels – Blockbuster Night Part 1
E2—Runaway Devaluation: Ernesto Molina – Los Cazadores
E3—Bad Money: Shirt – Phantom (Redux)
E4—The Lady: Dizzee Rascal – I Don’t Need A Reason
E5—Server Space: Alabama Shakes – Don’t Wanna Fight
E6—Homicide: Big Makk – Bandz
E7—Adult Content: ZZ Top – Rhythmeen
E8—White Hat/Black Hat: Bass Nectar feat. Fashawn and Zion – Lost in the Crowd
E9—Binding Arbitration: Portugal. The Man feat. Danny Brown – Evil Friends (Jake One Remix)
E10—Two Days of the Condor: Pusha T feat. Diddy – Changing of the Guards
SEASON 3
E1—Founder Friendly: DJ Shadow (feat. Run the Jewels) – Nobody Speak
E2—Two in the Box: The Pioneers – Time Hard
E3—Meinertzhagen’s Haversack: Bell Biv DeVoe – Poison
E4—Maleant Data Systems Solutions: Pusha T feat. Future – Pain
E5—The Empty Chair: Mala Rodriguez – Jugadora, Jugadores
E6—Bachmanity Insanity: Israel Kamakawiwo’ole – White Sandy Beach Of Hawai’i
E7—To Build a Better Beta: San Holo – Raw
E8—Bachman’s Earning’s Over-Ride: Crispian St. Peters – The Pied Piper
E9—Daily Active Users: Tinariwen – Chaghaybou
E10—The Uptick: Cypress Hill feat. Tom Morello – Rise Up
Bonus: Here’s a YouTube playlist of all the closing-credits songs so far.