One Tree Hill Birthday Mixtape

Am I the only one that creates playlists for shows? (Part 2)

One Tree Hill premiered 10 years ago today! Roswell had ended and the timeslot after Gilmore Girls was filled with One Tree Hill. I liked having two shows to watch in a row, so I decided to watch OTH from the start. High school drama, cute actors and music I listened to, all in one show. Of course, I was in.

I loved the couples. I rooted for Lucas and Peyton til the end, but I think this show was more about the friendships- P. Sawyer and B. Davis, Lucas and Hayley, Skills and Mouth, Brooke and Hayley and so on. They were there for each other no matter what. Even after a terrible love triangle went on, they were still friends at the end of it. Even after they had a fistfight on the front lawn, they were still there to save each other from psycho Derek. Even after she start dating her best friend’s jerk brother, he still loved her. (I mean how many times was the line “and I love you for that” used. Probably a million. And I love them for that.)

I totally forgot The O.C. and One Tree Hill premiered in the same year. One based on the west coast. One on the east coast. Both dealing with high school drama. One Tree Hill was different because yes, it lasted WAY longer. A full TV life. Music was a huge part of both shows.

After searching The O.C. website for new music, I’d check out the One Tree Hill website for artists. With One Tree Hill, I actually already listened to half of the music that was featured on the show. It was full of emo punk rock and that’s all I listened to in high school, like Dashboard Confessional, Jack’s Mannequin and Fall Out Boy. On the other hand, it introduced me to new musicians that I love. It’s where I discovered Matt Costa.

Music was another character on the show. Every episode was named after a song title, which I loved. From TRIC to performances at Karen’s Café to Peyton (her records, her lifestyle, her benefit concerts, Red Bedroom Records) to characters in the show having musical talents out of nowhere. It was like the Disney Channel! Bryan Greenberg, Tyler Hilton, Bethany Joy Lenz, Kate Voegele and Jana Kramer all performed as characters on the show.

Peyton’s life was music. I think that’s why she was always my favorite. Remember when she dated Pete from Fall Out Boy? Of course, who could forget it? I loved how no one believed her and then they all actually called him, “Pete from Fall Out Boy.” Peyton quotes ‘The Pros and Cons Of Breathing’ to him, “My pen is the barrel of a gun. Remind me which side you should be on.” Pete responds with, “So hot girl quotes me to me, is that wrong if that turns me on?” After this, I just wished I’d meet a cool band guy (Adam Lazzara, William Tell) that wanted to travel to my hometown and make out with me in a limo. It never happened.

Most of the big music moments I loved involved Peyton. The Ravens win the championship and Lucas tells Peyton that she’s the one he wants next to him when all of his dreams come true. ‘Heartbeats’ by José González is playing in the background. Cue adorable kiss. Or when Lucas has a heart attack and record store dude (the show’s creator, Mark Schwahn) gives her the La Rocca record for free and tells her to listen to ‘Non Believer’, so she starts actually believing everything will be okay. It plays when Nathan and Hayley find out the baby is okay. And also at the end when Keith says, “Open your eyes, Lucas!” and he does.

‘Hands Down’ by Dashboard Confessional plays in the pilot episode when Peyton almost hits Lucas with her car and Nathan and the Ravens drive a stolen school bus around. Yellowcard and Fall Out Boy play while Brooke and Peyton hang out in her bedroom. Switchfoot’s ‘Dare You To Move’ plays during Hayley and Nathan’s first kiss. Jack’s Mannequin performs at the Friends With Benefit concert at TRIC. At the end of the Breakfast Club homage episode, ‘Baba O’Riley’ plays as they show what each pair learned about each other. The song perfectly fits the scenes. You are enough, Brooke Davis!

The Cary Brother’s ‘Ride’ plays when Lindsey leaves Lucas at the altar after realizing his new novel, The Comet, is about Peyton. Gavin DeGraw performs the OTH theme song ‘I Don’t Want to Be’ at Karen’s Café, later on with a cute little Jamie and then again in the series finale with the entire gang singing along in the audience. I can’t even name all the musical moments. There are just too many. One Tree Hill provided years of entertainment. Some episodes may have been over the top, but they were the best ones.

Since OTH had a full TV life, I decided to choose songs that could have been on the show if they were out during that time.

I can see Johnnyswim performing at Karen’s Café. The Mowgli’s give me a high school vibe- a mix of Say Anything and Yellowcard, which means they’d be a perfect fit. The Lumineers and fun. could’ve totally had sets at TRIC. ‘Stubborn Love’ is definitely a song to describe Lucas and Peyton’s relationship. Peyton driving to Paramore’s ‘Fast In My Car’. Tegan and Sara’s ‘I Was A Fool’ fits for every time Brooke was heartbroken over a guy. Nathan doing his signature not looking at the basket shot and winning the game while Imagine Dragons’ ‘On Top Of The World’ starts up. The Naked and Famous playing as the scene switches from Nayley in bed to Brooke and Julian sitting near their fireplace to Quinn and Clayton having a bonfire on the beach. (I was stuck with this song choice because ‘The Mess’ by The Naked and Famous was equally as awesome and could totally fit in the show.) And so on.

I hope you never have a dog eat your heart, a crazy nanny, a psycho stalker or anyone telling you to “Go Brooke yourself.” Enjoy the playlist!

Featured Image via tumblr– edited by me in A Beautiful Mess app. Other images via here, here, here, here & here.