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Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
Entertainment
Meredith Blake

O-Town. Hoobastank. Tori Amos. The story behind the nostalgic needle drops in 'Beef'

LOS ANGELES — If you've watched "Beef," the darkly comic road rage thriller starring Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, you've probably found yourself transported at times to the heyday of "Total Request Live."

The soundtrack for the Netflix show is chock full of angsty rock and slick teen pop from the '90s and early aughts, featuring hits by Bush, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Smashing Pumpkins and many others.

"This is the music I grew up with," said creator Lee Sung Jin, who was inspired to write the series by an infuriating encounter with an angry driver on the streets of L.A. "Beef" follows Danny (Yeun) and Amy (Wong), two strangers who nearly run into each other in a parking lot and become consumed with a mutual quest for revenge. The incident unlocks years of pent-up rage and frustration that have little to do with traffic laws.

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