Where Is the Love for Linda Ronstadt?

And other artists from The Last of Us soundtrack

My family and I sang songs in the car last weekend, and my 12yo did a very good rendition of “Running Up That Hill.” Somehow she perfectly memorized the bulk of the lyrics just from bingeing on a bunch of Stranger Things episodes at her friend’s house exactly once, many weeks ago.

I love how the young people are cottoning onto artists like Kate Bush, thanks to their cool 😎Gen X parents watching nostalgic shows on the streamer channels. And remember Fleetwood Mac enjoyed a huge resurgence when the guy on TikTok was chugging Ocean Spray as “Dreams” played in the background. So when Episode 3 of The Last of Us aired, I was fully expecting that song by Linda Rondstadt to take off like a rocket.

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I am not a gamer by any stretch of the imagination, so I had no clue about the video game, and I was never a particular fan of movies and TV shows featuring the walking dead. But then everyone was going on about how good The Last of Us was, and who doesn’t love Pedro Pascal 😍 Besides, these walking dead were infected by fungi, not your average run-of-the-mill zombies. So, that seemed totally different and worthy of at least a viewing of the series premiere.

The establishing opening scene, set in the 1960s, featuring the fantastic John Hannah from Sliding Doors and Spartacus immediately had me hooked; and there was no turning back. TLOU immediately became the must-watch program in our house through to the season finale. But the third eppy is what truly devastated me to the core. It literally stopped me in my tracks. Well, obviously, I wasn’t in motion at the time; my arse was firmly glued to my couch regardless, as is usually the case when I watch TV. But you get the point.

This is mainly because of the brilliant, heartbreakingly beautiful Linda Ronstadt song “Long Long Time.” I had forgotten all about this song until it featured extremely prominently in the Bill and Frank episode. I just googled it, and I was only four years old when LLT dropped, so I must have first heard it listening on the car radio or my mom’s/auntie’s records.

I think the song made a parking spot in my brain and was just waiting for something like “the one with Armond/Nick Offerman” to come along four decades later to rev it back up. Being an 80s kid, “Don’t Know Much” was the be-all end-all Linda Ronstadt tune previously.

That was the duet she had with Aaron Neville. Of course, at the time, it didn’t register at all that this was a collab between one of the pioneer grrrl rock stars and the lead singer of a legendary band of brothers. The teenage me just thought it was a killer duet on par with any of those Kenny Rogers and Lionel Richie ones of that time. Btw if you couldn’t tell, I am a KOST 103.5 Love Songs fan for life. #easylistening

What is wrong with people that we don’t have a new generation of kids belting LLT and DKM at the top of their lungs these days?! I mean, the world would be a much better place, tbh. So, today I am here to propose a few other artists from the TLOU OST that will hopefully be more infectious (pun intended) to people’s ears!

“Chains of Love” by Erasure

Apparently, this song was also included in Episode 3, but I frankly (see what I did there?) don’t remember due to this being eclipsed by the supernova that is LLT. However, this classic from one of the master synth-pop duos of all time definitely warrants a shout-out.

I love Erasure sooo much. When I saw them at American Legion Hall in L.A. back when they were touring for their album of ABBA covers, I was jumping up and down like I was on a pogo stick cuz they were also smart to bust out all the hits that THEY wrote (although their rendition of “Take A Chance On Me” was outstanding).

“Never Let Me Down Again” by Depeche Mode

Speaking of bands that Vince Clarke was in! Well, I just knew TLOU would be full of bangers for the whole season once this epic masterpiece from not even DM’s best era provided the backdrop to the ending of the premiere episode. So this is my hope for the children of today — that they will carry on the crusade started by Stranger Things — by popping the gateway drugs of COL, NLMDA, and “True Faith” by New Order (episode 4) and developing full-blown addiction to these keepers of the electronic keyboard flame.

Gonna sign off now and go play some piano like Bill and Frank. If the first soundtrack album is any indication, I’m crossing my fingers that this won’t be The Last we’ll see in terms of the 70s and 80s hits when the series returns for season two!

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This article originally appeared on Medium