Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend wrapped up their second season last week, with a frankly ballsy and phenomenal episode that turned the whole series on its head, dropped the floor out from under its main character, and set things up for a wild season 3 that I can’t even begin to predict.
But with the end of another season comes time to reflect. This was a season that faced a real rocky patch around the time when Greg left the show, and the fact that it was able to pull together a great season is a huge accomplishment. No small thanks to the many, many songs that give Crazy Ex-Girlfriend its special edge. Since we’ve had so much fun ranking the CXG songs before — and since all of season 2 was just added to Netflix today — we thought we’d take the songs of season 2 and place them in their correct hierarchy.
So with apologies to worthy runners-up like “(Tell Me I’m Okay) Patrick,” “So Maternal,” “You’re My Best Friend (and I Know I’m Not Yours),” and “We’ll Never Have Problems Again,” here are our picks for the ten best songs of season 2 (and where to find them).
"It Was a Shit Show"
Episode: “When Will Josh and His Friend Leave Me Alone” (episode 4)
Performed by: Greg (Santino Fontana)
Style: musical theater
Greg’s hasty exit so early in the season still feels like a crisis that the show barely survived, and it robbed the show of one of its most dynamic voices, but it did leave us with this deceptively lovely swan song, where Greg lays the truth of their relationship out to Rebecca: “Not to be crass, but this sucked ass.” Rebecca could hardly argue.
Stream "When Will Josh and His Friend Leave Me Alone" on Netflix.
"Ping Pong Girl"
Episode: “When Will Josh See How Cool I Am?” (episode 2)
Performed by: Josh (Vincent Rodriguez III)
Style: mid-2000s pop-punk
Josh is easily the most challenging character on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend in several contexts, but it’s actually really smart how they write his songs. The songs from Josh’s perspective are simplistic and a little dumb, but much like season 1’s “Boy Band Made Up of Four Joshes,” “Ping Pong Girl” is sung by Josh but from within Rebecca’s imagination. Josh’s infatuation with the cool girl who’s good at sports is Rebecca’s fantasy, and this bro-pop anthem delivers it perfectly.
"Research Me Obsessively"
Episode: “Who’s the Cool Girl Josh Is Dating?” (episode 7)
Performed by: Anna (Brittany Snow)
Style: breathy Max Martin pop/Selena Gomez
Anna was never going to be long for this show, but the sleep production on this number would be worth her too-short stint on the show all by itself. As with some of the best CXG songs, “Research Me” gets to the heart of a particular foible of modern dating and relationships and takes it to its creepy/unstable end point.
"Period Sex"
Episode: n/a
Performed by: Rebecca (Rachel Bloom)
Style: ?!?!?!?!
Technically, “Period Sex” debuted in episode 3,”All Signs Point to Josh … Or Is It Josh’s Friend,” though Josh cut Rebecca’s red-light-district anthem short, and after occasional Easter eggs through the season, the full, glorious version of “Period Sex” hit YouTube. Too hot for TV, but just right for this list.
"Rebecca's Reprise"
Episode: “Can Josh Take a Leap of Faith?” (episode 13)
Performed by: Rebecca (Rachel Bloom)
Style: musical theater
One of the best things about Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is that its musical-theater vocabulary is so well-developed that they will throw in a reprise on the regular. The best of these came in the season finale, with a number that pulled together bits of songs from both seasons, all re-interpreted to paint Rebecca’s triumph (she’s marrying Josh!) in the most melancholy way possible.
"The Math of Love Triangles"
Episode: “All Signs Point to Josh … Or Is It Josh’s Friend” (episode 3)
Performed by: Rebecca (Rachel Bloom)
Style: Marilyn Monroe
Rachel Bloom’s gift for very specific genre pastiche is put to perfect use here as she devises a Marilyn-esque cutesy-poo number where she plays dumb about geometry and places herself at the center of the damn universe. The back-and-forth between Rebecca and the (gay) male dancers is a) nerdy, b) punny, and c) genuinely revelatory about Rebecca, three points on a graph that you could use to draw your very own triangle of hilarity.
Stream "All Signs Point to Josh ... Or Is It Josh's Friend" on Netflix.
"Let's Have Intercourse"
Episode: “Josh Is the Man of My Dreams, Right?” (episode 11)
Performed by: Nathaniel (Scott Michael Foster)
Style: sensitive-bastard ballad/Ed Sheeran
Some Crazy Ex-Girlfriend songs nail you to the wall right away, while others take a while. I’ll admit that the Ed Sheeran-ness of this monument to the act of negging was lost on me at first, so that could have been part of it, but this didn’t blow me away at first. But it’s grown on me, and now every single time I listen to it, I find more to like. Scott Michael Foster, of the dearly departed Greek, is a sneaky good singer! And the blend of clever lyrics and Foster’s delivery (“My body wants things that make my mind go, ‘uh, body, what?!’) adds up to a song that is both greasily gross and yet oddly endearing.
"You Go First"
Episode: “Who’s the Cool Girl Josh Is Dating?” (episode 7)
Performed by: Rebecca (Rachel Bloom) and Paula (Donna Lynne Champlin)
Style: ’80s hair-band power ballad/Heart
Rebecca and Paula’s friendship was easily one of the highlights of season 2’s rollercoaster of a storyline. Their friend breakup was honestly harrowing, and this perfectly produced power ballad was the best thing since Ann and Nancy Wilson were regularly climbing the charts. Bonus points for that random modern dancer (plus the ever-growing wigs) in the video.
"Remember That We Suffered"
Episode: “Will Scarsdale Like Josh’s Shayna Punim?” (episode 10)
Performed by: Rabbi Shari (Patti LiPone) and Naomi (Tovah Feldshuh)
Style: klezmer-inspired Jewish wedding dance
Once we all heard that Tovah Feldshuh’s much-anticipated return to the show as Rebecca’s mom would be accompanied by a guest spot by none other than Patti LuPone, there was a spot set aside on this countdown for whatever song they’d perform. It turns out, we were right to be optimistic. Not only does “Remember That We Suffered” break new ground as far as genre representation, but it’s also incredibly funny (“Spielberg and Hitler”).
Stream "Will Scarsdale Like Josh's Shayna Punim?" on Netflix.
"Friendtopia"
Episode: “Who Needs Josh When You Have a Girl Group?” (episode 6)
Performed by: Rebecca (Rachel Bloom), Valencia (Gabrielle Ruiz), and Heather (Vella Lovell)
Style: ’90s girl group/Spice Girls
A perfect amalgam of “Wannabe”- and “Spice Up Your Life”-era Spice Girls, “Friendtopia” works on so many levels: perfect genre parody, relatable premise (we’re a group of girlfriends!) taken to extremes (…who want to take over the world!) and blended with current trends (squad goals!), and setting the mood for the rest of the episode (Rebecca’s girl squad might not be great news for everyone).
Stream "Who Needs Josh When You Have a Girl Group?" on Netflix.
