The Contending talks to Dying for Sex music supervisor Maggie Phillips about the understated but impactful needle drops in the FX limited series starring Michelle Williams.
For Dying for Sex music supervisor Maggie Phillips, the topic of cancer hit close to home, as both her mother and brother were diagnosed at the same time.
“If I had gotten this show two years ago, I probably would have said no to it,” says Phillips. “But when [co-showrunner] Liz [Meriwether] asked me about this, [my mother and brother] had just pulled out of it, and I thought I could handle it. It was very cathartic for me to go through those emotions. It’s one of my favorite shows I’ve ever worked on.”
Dying for Sex Soundtrack: Subtle but Meaningful
Phillips’ needle drops throughout the FX limited series are subtle but impactful, with many songs coming at the end of each episode.
“It’s super effective in this type of show because when something comes in, it’s meaningful. It has to encapsulate the whole episode. In this one, there are many emotions, and sometimes you want to suspend the emotion or have a little bit of a smile at the end. Like Molly and Nikki do throughout the whole process. There weren’t a lot of moments for songs throughout. Ariel Marx’s score is tremendous. She really took the narrative and the pacing and all those moments and handled them so beautifully.”
One of the first songs she selected for the series was T’Pau’s “Heart and Soul” for Molly’s rally scene in the finale.
“I love that song. I thought of it as maybe a song she and her mom shared together before her abuse.”
Phillips also put in for Chappell Roan’s “Karma is my Kink” before the songstress was a household name.
“We asked for a favor from her camp. I had put in the request so early on. Once we got it in, she had skyrocketed, and they came back with a higher fee. I asked them to reconsider, and they were so cool about it.”
As the series goes on, the soundtrack becomes less electronic and more acoustic, which Phillips says was an accident.
“Wasn’t purposeful, but it makes sense. Acoustic music is more personal and intimate. It would make sense that we distill and become more raw as we go on.”
Song in Episode 8’s “It’s Not That Serious” Final Scene
If you’ve watched Dying for Sex and burst out crying throughout your binge, one of those scenes is the final shot. After Molly (Michelle Williams) passes away, we catch up briefly with Nikki (Jenny Slate) in a new job and back with her boyfriend Noah (Kelvin Yu). She turns to see two older women having a fun (albeit, graphic!) conversation and smiles against Iris DeMent’s “Calling for You.”
“We tried so many songs out in that spot. It’s a hard moment because you’ve just been through all this, but you want to make sure Nikki’s going to be okay. I think the audience wants to see a little bit of what’s happened after. You don’t want to end on Molly dying.”
Phillips says it was a lot of trial and error before they landed on the perfect song.
“Liz and [co-showrunner] Kim [Rosenstock] had this idea of doing something with two female vocals and a duet. They wanted acapella originally. I threw them a lot of options. I don’t know how we landed on this one, but all the sudden, it was in the cut. Everyone started to fall in love with it gradually. We came to the conclusion that this is it. And everyone has loved it.”
All episodes of Dying for Sex are streaming on FX on Hulu.
