The Bear returned for its fourth season at the end of June, and it represented a rare TV series, in the age of Covid, strikes, and years between seasons, to return at about the same time each year. And while the fourth season, released all at once as always, ended without any confirmation that there would be a fifth, the show was indeed renewed last week – and is set to return in 2026.
The new season of The Bear, despite a baffling embargoing strategy, received better reviews than the much-maligned Season 3, and as usual, it featured lots of great music, much of it seemingly lifted directly from my CD collection in college, circa 1998.
Here are the best musical moments from Season 4 of The Bear:
“That’s the Way,” Led Zeppelin, Episode 1
Led Zeppelin’s music is notoriously expensive to clear, but The Bear sprung for this Led Zeppelin 3 tune, for the first scene of the season, featuring a flashback of Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and his late brother Mikey (Jon Bernthal).
“Getting in Tune,” The Who, Episode 1
This Who song, from Who’s Next, plays over Richie’s phone call with his ex-wife, and the scene afterward.
“Slow Disco,” St. Vincent, Episode 3
This St. Vincent song plays over a cooking montage in the third episode, with “Fast Slow Disco” appearing in the finale.
“Haunted When The Minutes Drag,” Love and Rockets, Episode 3
This propulsive rock song from 1985 plays when Carmy runs to the subway, but then thinks better of it and goes to Claire’s house instead.
“Let Me Live In Your City (Work In Progress),” Paul Simon, Episode 5
The fifth episode begins with Kate Berlant’s knockout therapy monologue, which segues into this Paul Simon acoustic ballad, a bonus track from the 2004 reissue of There Goes Rhymin’ Simon, as Carmy visits the home of another Simon song subject, Frank Lloyd Wright.
“I’m Always In Love,” Wilco, Episode 6
The Chicago-based band Wilco is probably the signature artist of The Bear, and it’s a surprise it took this long in Season 4 for it to appear. This song, from the Summerteeth album, plays over a montage, including Sydney visiting her father in the hospital.
“A Beginning Song,” The Decemberists, Episode 7
The season’s knockoff ensemble episode, featuring Richie’s ex-wife’s wedding, plays a wide variety of music, including this 2015 track off What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World, as the characters try to talk Richie’s daughter from under the table.
“Strange Currencies,” R.E.M., Episode 8
This Monster track from 1994 has always been the signature tune for Carmy and Claire’s relationship, and while it didn’t kick in the first few times they saw each other this season, but it finally does here, in one of the season’s most satisfying moments.
“Western Ford Gateway,” Elton John, Episode 8
This early Elton John track plays at the end of the eighth episode, as Natalie goes over the restaurant’s finances with “The Computer.”
Check out our (Unofficial) Guide to The Bear’s Music, Season 3 Edition here.
