The L Word: Season 2
While the soundtrack to thefirst seasonof Showtime's lesbian-themed dramatic series set the tone for the show's emotionally-rooted, if ever-eclectic musical sensibility, the choices here often have a more nervy, contemporary edge. Dusty Springfield's ‘60s blue-eyed soul classic "Just a Little Lovin'" offers an alluring lead in, but quickly fast forwards to the Siouxsie-channeling, retro-new wave spunk of Organ's "Brother," the electrobeat sass of "Playgirl" by Ladytron and Martina Topley-Bird's spare, moody "Ilya." Heart makes a similarly intimate contribution via "No Other Love," while Shawn Colvin's familiar "Sunny Came Home" and Iron & Wine's "Naked As We Came" offer islands of relative calm in the midst of more electric fare like the club-punk of LeTigre's "On the Verge" and slinky, post-modern melodrama of "Where Do I Begin" by Shirley Bassey and awayTEAM. BETTY's alt-pop fueled, snark-smart show theme closes the set, and BETTY also collaborates with Pam Grier on a sexually dizzy cover of "Some Kind of Wonderful."--Jerry McCulley