Hey Guys! I’ve been working as a data scientist for around a year now. I recently got the opportunity to write an article on Big Data for my organization. Reviews are highly appreciated.
http://www.iksula.com/big-datas-role-personalization-beyond-product-recommendations/
Suits is one awesome show. If you have read my previous post, you must know by now what a super fan I am. I am literally obsessed with that show. It is my life and I am so dead when Suits is on hiatus. One of the things I absolutely love about the show is their choice of music. Like the show, the songs used in the scenes are COOL!
Music is the most important part of my life. I spend most of my waking hours drenched in music. Whether I am commuting in an ever-crowded morning local train or reading an article on the web or writing a blog post, music is always the savior from the chaos in the external surroundings. And Suits has introduced me to this big beautiful unexplored territory in terms of songs and artists and pop music.
Assume a large gap between Harvey’s and Mike’s hand. LOL!
Music and Suits are like my top favorite things in my life. And when they combine, it’s pure symbiosis. I love the fact that they have almost all genres of music in their soundtrack and so does this list I made. Their music team has this amazing sense of perfect placement of songs between scenes or within scenes. And the unfamiliarity with the kind of music they play on the show make its more appealing.
Fun Fact : Did you know that while directing an episode of Suits, Patrick J Adams was editing and added all his favorite songs and increased their music budget by 1/4 million dollars?
Watch this clip from the cast’s ATX interview to know more about the music on Suits. It’s really funny :
Ok! So, here is a list of my favorite tracks from Suits ranked. The ranking is highly time-dependent. I am so sure it will change after S6 has aired and was different before S5. Again, like last time your top tracks may differ from mine and all your comments, reviews and debates are highly welcome.
Where to look?
The entire episode-wise track list can be found on either http://www.tunefind.com/show/suits or on IMDB. But tunefind has a simpler UI so I’d recommend that and it is completely dedicated to music heard on TV shows and movies.
Before we begin, another fun fact : So far, 417 songs have played on Suits. Season 3 has the highest number of songs (111).
Ok, Let’s dive in!
Heard in : S04E01 One-Two-Three Go…
Scene description :
Season 4 premiere episode and the first thing you see is Harvey in a bath robe and the first thing you hear is this song. Harvey is back to sleeping with random skanks after Scottie left him (He doesn’t seem slightly affected by the break-up. Yet another proof of why their relationship sucks. Scarvey (LOL! Their ship name is scary) is a deadend. And now remember the time when Donna left him. He had panic attacks. He was in denial for weeks. If that isn’t love then I don’t know what is. Sorry, the darvey shipper in me had to write this :P)
Mike is dropping off Rachel at work in a limo. And then goes to his new workplace. This was one of those times when Mike seemed as cool as Harvey. The pup was all grown up. Also there was a mysterious man in Jessica’s life. Finally a romantic storyline for Jessica. Not something I desperately wanted but I was curious to know who was this genius capable of wooing the great Jessica Pearson?
This song’s really popular but I had never heard it before Suits. Cool intro to the new season with all our favorite characters doing their cool stuff (I have overused the word ‘cool’ at this point, so I’ll use a different adjective now)
Heard in : S02E09 Asterisk
Scene description :
This is yet another song that’s really popular but I had never heard (God! My music taste sucked back then)
Donna was back at the firm after that really cute darvey scene where Donna told Harvey that she loved him like a brother or a cousin and by this point we all know she was lying. Wow! Donna really is a great actress. This was also the first scene I was watching as a Darvey shipper and not just a Suits fan. It was one of the happiest moments of my life. I was so scared when Donna was fired. Also, Louis was just made Senior Partner by Hardman. So, he was smiling like he had 80 teeth. And also dancing!
Ever played this song on headphones really loud and tried walking. You just have to add your Donna swagger to the walk. (I think I developed a huge crush on Sarah Rafferty at this point :P)
Everytime I hear this song all I can picture is Donna and Louis getting out of the elevator and owing the entire 50th floor. This song was also played in a season 9 episode of TBBT and Raj was pole dancing but that’s a story for another time.
Heard in : S02E09 The Choice
Scene description :
I discovered this gem while rewatching season 2 for the first time (Yes! Rewatching also happens multiple times when you are a super fan). Hardman is back at the firm and steals Jessica’s tea set given to her by Hardman’s wife. There’s tension between Harvey and Jessica because Jessica feels betrayed by Harvey hiring a kid who didn’t go to law school. Harvey brings her tea set back and says,”You are not alone in this” and the rest is history. Jessica and Harvey really needed to be together to beat Hardman and they did 8 episodes later.
This is really the kind of song that suits Suits. It was just perfect for the scene. The music is hauntingly beautiful. I would highly recommend to watch the music video.
Heard in : S02E05 Break Point
Scene description :
Donna is fired by Jessica for destroying a document. She packs up all her stuff, even the can-opener. OMG! That can-opener. It is like a symbol of their relationship (like the Blue French Horn for Ted and Robin or the yellow umbrella for Ted and Tracy from HIMYM). As I had previously mentioned before, this was the exact moment I became a darvey shipper and life has never been the same. These two idiots occupy so much of my mindspace. It gets exhausting at times.
She reaches the elevator and finds Harvey standing there. Mike and Rachel watch them from a distance. Harvey presses the elevator button as Donna stands there silently holding her box of things. The elevator door opens and Donna enters the elevator before looking at Harvey one last time and then the elevator door closes and he just stands there for a while as the camera shifts to the wall named ‘Pearson Hardman’. This is one of the most beautiful darvey scenes. No words exchanged. No feelings shared. No touching. Typical Darvey. Just looking at each other. Feeling betrayed!
This song is just so perfect for them. The firm is like a shared home to Harvey and Donna. They are all like one big family always protecting each other (#workgoals). They had worked together for 8 years by then ( Assuming 1 year=1 season but the Suits timeline is so fucked up so lets not get into it).
This song is like a wave of calmness flowing towards your heart and mind. It always remind me of Darvey. And their beautiful platonic love.
Heard in : S01E03 Inside Track
Scene description :
Binge-watching. S01E03. Play. Mike is racing through the streets of Manhattan to meet Harvey at the car club. Meanwhile, Harvey wins a Tesla car trivia contest against a 2 billion dollar hedge fund owner and gives him the prize so that the guy owes him one. Typical Harvey. Harvey then takes a vintage car and leaves and Mike arrives the very second. Typical Mike. 39 minutes into the episode, this song plays and Harvey is riding the Tesla. This is the moment when you realize you won’t meet anyone in your life as cool as Harvey Specter.
Best thing to listen to when you are not having a perfect day.
Heard in : S05E06 Privilege
Scene description :
Well, this song plays out during a Machel scene and I am not a big fan of Machel and yet I loved this song and also that scene. Mike tells Rachel that he booked the plaza hotel (her dream location) for their wedding and she is so excited. He has lit up some candles in the living room and the music playing in the background is this song. Wait, didn’t Mike light up candles when he proposed? Machel is so old even the writers run out of ideas for Machel scenes. I don’t hate Mike or Rachel but Mike and Rachel do not form my favorite pair.
Anyways, this song is really simple and cute. Worth listening to multiple times.
Heard in : S04E08 Exposure
Scene description :
Harvey and Louis are two characters that have a complicated relationship. Every season you feel there are moments when they finally stop fighting and everything’s calm. But that’s just the calm before the storm. And it is usually Louis who fucks up. This storyline is so repetitive but it’s never gets boring. But with Charles Forstman’s deal, it wasn’t Louis’ fault. I felt so bad for the guy. And then Mike figures out there is something wrong with Louis and tells Harvey and Louis decides to tell Harvey everything and both of them walk towards each other’s office at the same time.
The scene plays out in slow motion. Harvey and Louis are walking towards the other person’s office, Harvey to confront Louis and Louis to confess to Harvey. Those reflections in the glass mirrors, the night setting, Mike forgiving Rachel and then they find out the other person isn’t in the office. And Louis immediately goes to Jessica and tells her that he made a huge mistake and the episode ends and the end credits roll with the song still playing in the background. IMO, this was the best music placement ever.
6. Bubble Games by Magic Bronson
Heard in : S04E03 Two in the Knees
Scene description :
Harvey decides to tell Walter Gillis a milder version of Mike’s secret about him being a drug dealer.
Remember the time when you hear an unknown song and you love it so much that you leave everything you are doing and try finding it on the internet. This was one of those songs. This song played for like 13 seconds but it made me pause the episode and look for it on the internet. I typed in some random words I remembered from the lyrics on Google and that’s the story of how I found ‘tunefind.com’.
This song is cool and upbeat and catchy. The music is amazing. It kind of reminds me of video game themes.
Heard in : S05E09 Uninvited Guests
Scene description :
This song was suggested to me by a friend and I discovered it only last week. And cursed myself for missing out on such a spectacular song. And it also reminded me that maybe it’s a good time to rewatch S5. (IMHO, everytime is a good time to rewatch Suits S1-S5).
The lyrics are so Harvey.
” I confess that the devil’s my kin
I’m a brother to sin
Since I don’t win
I won’t rest till it’s all done and set
And I get what I give”
It is one of those songs only Suits can pull off. The lyrics are dramatic. The tune is loud and catchy. You are gonna listen to this one many times once you’ve heard it.
Heard in : S04E016 Not Just a Pretty Face
Scene description :
There’s a certain amount of calmness that is just perfect for happiness. Less calm is chaotic and more calm is claustrophobic. Nothing more, nothing less. Just a perfect amount of calmness that leads to happiness. And this feeling is natural and momentary. So enjoy it while it exists. And if you want seek that perfect amount of calmness, you can create it artificially. Just lie down, close your eyes and listen to this song. And you’ll feel so good. It’s like therapy.And the best thing about this really really awesome song is that it played in a darvey scene.
This track was played in the S4 finale in the very last scene when Donna told Harvey that she’s leaving him and is gonna work for Louis and Harvey begs her to not leave. But she won’t listen to him. He still hasn’t answered how he loves her and she still hasn’t answered if she wants everything. And there are so many unresolved questions and feelings, so many unsaid words as Donna says ‘I love you Harvey’ and walks away and he just stands there about to break down watching her go. I have watched this scene so many times now but I still get goosebumps everytime Donna says ‘I love you Harvey’. Did she really mean that? (As a darvey shipper, I know she did even if Donna didn’t know at that point) I know that Donna never wanted to hurt Harvey. She cares about him too much. She wanted to move on from him because she was tired of waiting for him.
I think the song matches the scene perfectly because Donna leaving Harvey made him feel so alone that he felt like he was walking an endless empty road as big as the northern hemisphere. His best friend, his companion, his partner in crime, his secretary, she was gone and he had lost her because of his own actions. Anyways, that’s a really cheesy interpretation of the song but that’s just how I feel.
IMO, this is the best season finale ever. It affected me for days. It made me stronger as a person and as a darvey shipper. It felt like Donna and Harvey finally got the storyline they deserved.
Heard in : S05E04 No Puedo Hacerlo
Scene description :
Harvey finally forgives Donna for moving to Louis’ desk. He walks to her desk and says ‘Thank You for 12 years’ and this is the most sweetest darvey scene ever.
I am a darvey shipper. That’s the second thing I say when I introduce myself, the first being ‘I am a huge Suits fan’. (So that people would get the context of what I am saying) LOL kidding. But Suits and Darvey are a big part of my life. I love Donna and Harvey’s relationship so much. At this point in my life, they are the only people who make me believe in love (after my parents). Their love is so pure and sweet and perfect. Fighting for each other and having each other’s back even in the worst of times.
And this song,this particular song is the perfect darvey song. Just listen to the lyrics
‘I had to find you, tell you I need you, tell you I set you apart’
‘Oh! Take me back to the start’
‘Running in circles…’
‘The Scientist’ is basically the story of my life as a darvey shipper.
‘Nobody said it was easy, No one ever said it would be so hard’
I love the recreated music by Tyler Ward. I like this cover version of the song more than the original version by Coldplay. But you have to applaud Coldplay for those beautiful lyrics.
Heard in : S05E10 Faith
Scene description :
Harvey resigns in order to protect the firm and Jessica. She has done so much for him over all these years and he realizes it’s time he made a sacrifice for her. Mike also resigns realizing he cannot have the guilt of being a fake lawyer hanging over the new family he will have with Rachel. And as soon as they are ready to leave, BAM! Two men swoop in and arrest Mike and this song which was playing for the last 1 min softly in the background starts playing out loud and all you hear is
‘When I go, I am never coming back
When I go, I am never coming back’
Welcome to the most unexpected mid-season finale of any show in the history of television (do other shows even have things like a mid-season finale? ).
All you see in the end is a shocked Rachel and that is exactly how I looked for about an hour. Mike got arrested? Is the disaster happening? Is Mike’s secret out and known to the rest of the world? Who did this? Who sold Mike out?
Perfect song. It’s just too catchy even if you don’t relate to it. (LOL! I am not a law breaking badass like Mike or Harvey)
Heard in : S05E15 Tick Tock
Scene description :
Mike thinks about what his friends at PSL have to face because of the crime he commited as he watches his client sign a deal with the opposing council to screw over his friends. He realizes that whether he goes to prison or not, that whether they win or lose this trial, things are gonna get tough at PSL because Anita Gibbs won’t give up. He has a moral epiphany and decides to take the alternate deal wherein he goes to prison for 2 years but all his friends would be safe. It’s a huge sacrifice on Mike’s part and it had made me love him even more.
And this song is so perfect for Mike’s situation. Suits music curators indeed have a great sense of placements of songs in scenes.
Mike walking all the way down to the Gibbs’ office and Harvey running behind him to stop him (did you see the bloopers for that scene. Gabriel ran into the camera once :P). And the entire scene was in slow motion. It gives the viewers some time to think on their own because otherwise the show is very fast paced and you have to be really alert to understand what’s happening. You just watch them and are never thinking. It’s a wonderful escape from reality. But that scene, that scene was what made me think. Are Harvey and Mike really on the wrong side of the law? Isn’t it really unethical for Mike to practice law without a degree? What would happen if he does end up in prison for him and for the firm?
The song is intense and serious. And so is the plot at that point. Just listen to those lyrics carefully and immerse yourself in the music. This is currently my favorite song from the Suits Soundtrack.
Bonus Tracks :
Greenback boogie (Suits Theme) by Ima Robot
I am the kind of person who falls in love with TV theme songs. And Suits theme is no exception. I have loved this theme since the moment I heard it. It is very upbeat and catchy. The phrase ‘Greenback boogie’ means ‘money’ and that’s what makes the theme so perfect for a show like Suits. WARNING : The music video is a bit weird so proceed at your own risk.
Suits End credits by Christopher Tyng
This is a part of the Suits OST. This tune played when we saw the Suits pilot as Louis walks into Jessica’s office and the whole firm was in a state of chaos. Intriguing! You just can’t stop at this point and you watch the pilot and S01 and then binge watch the entire series aired until now. Wow! Suits is so addictive. This tune used to play at the end of every episode of S01 as the end credits roll. Now, they just attach a trailer to the next episode and most of the times that trailer is so misleading.
I love this instrumental theme so much that it is still my ringtone. Need I say more?
ONE LAST THING : I also made a playlist based on this post on 8 tracks.Give it a try when you are free or too tired to click those individual YouTube links. I would highly recommend this website if you listen to music all day long and hate creating long playlists and love discovering new music according to genre/artist/mood.
Find the playlist here :
http://8tracks.com/joshi_jag/suits-top-13-soundtracks
Suits S6 will premiere on July 13th at 9/8 c. And I am so excited for the new music the show’s gonna bring to my playlist. Thank you Suits for introducing me to such great music 🙂
And lastly,
Thank you for reading the entie post. I appreciate your patience 😉
Some shameless self promotion 😛
Data Science is a really hot topic right now. Working as a Data Scientist for the past one year at my firm, I recently got the opportunity to write an article about Big Data for their blog. You can read it here if interested – Big Data’s Role in Personalization
This ranking is completely according to me because ‘’According to me is the only according to that matters’’ as said by Harvey in Season 4 Episode 12 titled ‘Respect’. Oh! What a great episode. Maybe I should watch it right now. BRB 😛 (Your ranking may differ from mine but this ranking is completely according to me and we are back to line 1)
BTW, do you wanna turn this into a guessing game? My brother was able to guess my ranking 100% correctly (Maybe that’s because he knows me so well and always hears me talk about Suits and I do that a lot). Hint : I am a darvey shipper
TBH I have nothing against Rachel or Meghan Markle and Meghan is such a darling. She often replies or likes my tweets if and when I tag her. But, there have been very few moments where I have liked Rachel. Infact, I can list them right now –
Rachel/Meghan looking sexy 🙂
With the most awesome catchphrase ever ‘Litt Up’, Louis is second to last on my list. I really hated Louis back in season 1 because the only reason for his existence was being Harvey’s competitor. But as the seasons progressed, Louis really matured and you really feel bad for the guy at times. And if you are a mega Suits fan like me, you may have seen the bloopers. Rick Hoffman is really a fun and ‘no chill’ kind of guy in real life.
Such a cutie! Rick
A role model for every woman, there’s literally nothing to hate about her. I have loved and adored her since I first saw her in the pilot episode. She is fierce, powerful and quick on her feet. She is someone who started from the bottom and is now at the top of her field. I often feel that she is the best managing partner PSL will ever have. Louis or even Harvey can never fill in her shoes. The most recent example of her power and management skills was seen during Mike’s trial. She always seemed so calm and confident and sometimes I wondered how she could do that? Because I have about a thousand responses in every episode of Suits and so does every character on the show and sometimes you feel everything – fear, thrill, hurt, heartbreak, love, sympathy, empathy, etc. at once.
She always appears so strong on the outside. But she is so human inside handling everyone like her children and that’s what I absolutely love about her. If I had a boss like Jessica, I would accept their tutelage for my entire lifetime because learning never stops from a person like Jessica.
Please be taller than me so that I can look up to you
And most importantly, we wouldn’t have Harvey without Jessica.
Fav Jessica quote. Goddamitt, I love our queen 🙂
Yeah, I know that Mike is the show’s protagonist and the show is kind of about him (thankfully it isn’t) but Mike’s not numero uno in my list. But I have to confess this. While watching the pilot episode, I decided to watch the entire series only when I saw Mike’s interview with Harvey. He was a perfect mixture of smart and cocky. And kudos to the casting team for choosing Patrick J Adams in this role because he indeed looks like a guy who is intelligent and book smart (and nerdy. But I love nerds so…)
Mike Ross- The darvey lovechild
I really liked Mike in the 1st season because he was immature and childish when all the other characters behaved like adults. He has matured so much now. I recently had a ‘Oh I love Mike so much moment’ when he confessed in front of his jury about helping people who have no one else to fight for them using his gift of eidetic memory. He is kind of like their superhero.
Yes, you can tell me again that Harvey is the show’s other protagonist and he is the reason 95% of the people love the show (I just made that up. Hope Harvey doesn’t sue me. But it may be a true number or close by. Common, I am an engineer and I always approximate).
Harvey is everything you want a man to be- rich, successful, handsome, smart, charming and sometimes even the good guy. And I am a big fan of all the ‘Harvey quotes’. Harvey has definitely set the benchmark for people in corporate jobs. If you really wanna be successful, you need to reach the ‘Specter level’ (I am good at making up phrases too!)
Harvey has also been a great mentor to Mike for all these years and I would really like to learn from someone like him. He is street smart unlike Mike and has really used some great tactics to win cases and bend laws to his favor. And Gabriel Macht is so adorable IRL. I literally swoon over him watching him with his family and cast members.
The specter smile! #killme
Sarah says Gabriel smiles like a cheshire cat. Look how right she is! The resemblance is uncanny
(This one’s big but I know darvey shippers and Sarah lovers won’t complain )
My love! My sweetheart!
I cannot even begin to list her qualities. Donna is and always will be number 1 on my list because I love her and Sarah Rafferty as well. I wasn’t much into Donna before she was fired in season 2. I was so scared seeing her go (cried when she picked up that can-opener) and seeing Harvey’s face fearing she was never coming back (Oh! those days when #savedonna was trending on Twitter). But in my defense, the character of Donna wasn’t given much justice in Season 1. She isn’t even there in some episodes.
Donna is literally everything I want to be in my life but I am not – funny, gregarious, beautiful, cool, hot, powerful, mind-reader, therapist, queen of great comebacks, trustworthy, honest, speaks for mind, non-apologetic, badass, hair goals and I am forgetting words to describe her at this point (you should ask me to talk about Donna and I can keep you busy listening to me for hours). So, in short, Donna is a complete opposite of me and that’s why I feel so attracted to her.
Whenever a new episode is aired, and I watch it much much later than a true fan should, I never watch it chronologically. I simply fast forward it and only watch all the Donna scenes first because I literally cannot wait to see Donna, her dresses and what situation Donna is put into in that week (For me it’s always, “What would Donna do?” #wwdd?). And it makes me so happy and excited and kind of builds up the suspense if I don’t get what’s happening (I would recommend you to do that if you don’t watch live but it sometimes ruins the episode so it’s really up to you)
Lastly, I’d like to talk about the person who brings Donna to life every week and makes my entire week better – Sarah Rafferty. Sarah is such a great soul in real life. I have never met her in real life because I am literally 13,568 km (rest of the world uses SI units so calm down America) away from her (Ok! I googled that distance. I am from India BTW). But I follow her and many Suits fans on twitter and sometimes those who have met her share their experiences. So I know how much Donna Sarah is in real life. And her Instagram is one awesome place to be. She shares many amazing pictures when she travels and those on-set pics which are popularly known as ‘Donna’s view’ and her family pics are so adorable. So basically, Sarah is a really cool person to hangout with and I wanna be BFFs with her.
Her smile lights up my world 🙂
And I really wanna meet her someday just to tell her how much she has she my changed me for the better and how much Donna/Sarah has inspired me. And take one of those cool fan pictures with her. But I also know I am gonna faint out of excitement the moment she is in front of me. I am gonna be breathless and lose my ability to speak. I am gonna have a panic attack like Harvey.
OMG! I have to admit I have a huge girl crush on Sarah Rafferty. I am literally so obsessed with her and Donna. The first thing I do on Instagram every day is check her account and her pictures always make my day.
Donna GIFs are so awesome selecting one was tough. So I decided to post all/many.
So Donna, do you deny being in love with Harvey?
How do you feel about this post Sarah?
All the gif credits go to giphy.com.
Suits season 6 premieres on July 13th and I literally cannot wait for those amazing 10 weeks when my mood is so good I will literally do anything you ask me to do. And if the episode has a great darvey scene then I am gonna be on cloud nine all week and I am gonna be darvey trash. (BTW, is anyone else hearing that proclaimers song ‘I’m gonna be/500 miles’ because I just used ‘I’m gonna be’ twice in the last sentence)
The latest I can watch an episode is by Thursday evening or Friday morning on my commute to work. I will try to post episode-wise review in this blog and I can assure you it will be very darvey-centric. So, lots of big plans for the future. See ya on the other side when S06E01 has aired unless I get any other awesome suits-related post idea.
When Suits is on hiatus. Why do you hate us Aaron Korsh?
Me during those weeks when Suits airs #mychristmas
Shameless self promotion at the end 😛
Will you be interesting in reading a non-Suits article I wrote? Data Science is a really hot topic right now. Working as a Data Scientist for the past one year at my firm, I recently got the opportunity to write an article about Big Data for their blog. You can read it here if interested – Big Data’s Role in Personalization
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