The new Vince Vaughn series Bad Monkey just premiered on AppleTV+ this week. Based on Carl Hiaasen’s 2013 comic crime novel of the same name, the series is set in the Florida Keys where Vaughn plays a suspended police detective who finds himself of a very thorny situation involving severed arms, real estate and lots of unsavory characters. The series adaptation is show-run by Bill Lawrence (Scrubs, Cougar Town), Vaughn is perfect as the lead, and the cast is stacked with great character actors (including Michelle Monaghan, Rob Delaney, Alex Moffat, and Jodie Turner-Smith). If you enjoy noir light crime fiction a la Elmore Leonard — Vulture called it a mystery set in a Corona commercial, which is pretty dead-on — Bad Monkey is a pulpy, funny good time.
With the Florida setting, someone had the bright idea to soundtrack Bad Monkey with covers of one of the state’s most famous sons, Tom Petty. They got an impressive list of artists to contribute too, including The War on Drugs (“You Wreck Me”), Sharon Van Etten (“I Won’t Back Down”), Kurt Vile (“Sins Of My Youth”), Eddie Vedder (“Room at the Top”), Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit (“You’re Gonna Get It”), Weezer (“Here Comes My Girl”), Larkin Poe (Runnin’ Down A Dream”), Nathaniel Rateliff (“Don’t Come Around Here No More”), Fitz and the Tantrums (“Even the Losers”), and more. There are a few actual Petty recordings too — “American Girl” is in the premiere episode — plus non-Petty tracks by ZZ Top, Tom Waits and more.
“Not only have I been a huge Tom Petty fan forever (every episode of Cougar Town was named after a song), but he is also quintessentially Florida,” says Bill Lawrence. “Having contemporary bands cover his music is not only a thrill for me, but it adds to the feeling that Florida itself is a character.”
“Bill, Matt and I discussed creating around 10 Tom Petty covers to use throughout the season. In the end, we scored twenty-one brand new, unreleased covers,” adds series Music Supervisor Tony Von Pervieux. “Each artist was hand-picked to compliment the vibe of the show but were also favorites of mine that I could hear covering these well-placed Tom Petty songs that we featured throughout the ten episodes. Getting the opportunity to A&R each song and build a Soundtrack with all of them is a DREAM.”
You can listen to four songs off the Bad Monkey soundtrack — Eddie Vedder, Larkin Poe, Fitz & The Tantrums and flipturn’s take on “Don’t Do Me Like That,” below, and the full soundtrack will be out October 4 via WaterTower Music.
Check out the full Bad Monkey soundtrack tracklist, plus the trailer for the show, below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ez8LerVZk8
Bad Monkey Soundtrack:
1. “You Wreck Me” by The War on Drugs
2. “Room at the Top” by Eddie Vedder
3. “I Won’t Back Down” by Sharon Van Etten
4. “Even the Losers” by Fitz and the Tantrums
5. “Don’t Do Me Like That” by flipturn
6. “Runnin’ Down A Dream” by Larkin Poe
7. “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” by Waz & Jamie Jackson
8. “You’re Gonna Get It” by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
9. “Sins Of My Youth” by Kurt Vile
10. “Yer So Bad” by Meridian Bros
11. “Wildflowers” by Charlotte Lawrence
12. “Into The Great Wide Open” by Lissie
13. “Don’t Fade On Me” by Chiiild
14. “Supernatural Radio” by GoldFord
15. “You Don’t Know How It Feels” by Stephen Marley
16. “Here Comes My Girl” by Weezer
17. “Don’t Come around Here No More” by Nathaniel Rateliff
18. “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” by Briston Maroney
19. “The Waiting” by Marcus King
20. “Breakdown” by Waz & Jamie Jackson
21. “Free Fallin’” by Imaginary Future featuring Kina Grannis (Apple Exclusive)
22. “Bad Monkey Theme” by Waz & Jamie Jackson
23. “Yancy” by Waz & Jamie Jackson
24. “Dragon Queen by Waz & Jamie Jackson
25. “Eyes Over Keys” by Waz & Jamie Jackson
26. “Egg Chase Neville” by Waz & Jamie Jackson
27. “One That Got Away” by Waz & Jamie Jackson
28. “Bee Drop” by Waz & Jamie Jackson
29. “The Storm is Coming” by Waz & Jamie Jackson