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If there’s one thing fans know about the anime of Shinichirō Watanabe, it’s that music is a vital component — and that music slaps. The apex of that connection is the legendary Cowboy Bebop, which fused bounty hunter antics in space with some of the liveliest jazz compositions this side of Mars.
So we thought you’d like to know that the series’ full soundtrack just became available on Spotify, in time to kick off those chill weekend vibes. (That’s a link to a playlist created by Spotify itself, but individual albums like Cowboy Bebop and Cowboy Bebop Vitaminless are available as well, mostly intact.)
Cowboy Bebop’s music was composed by Yoko Kanno, who formed the band Seatbelts just to produce it. Kanno and Watanabe had a symbiotic and collaborative approach, in which she began producing music for the show before much of its story or characters had been finalized. She would often bring Watanabe new tracks to use in the show before being shown any scenes, and he would use them as inspiration for new episodes.
The most famous track on the Cowboy Bebop OST is undoubtedly the show’s opening theme, “Tank!”, with its you-can’t-not-mouth-the-words spoken introduction, but there’s lots to love, from the infectious rhythm of “Piano Black” to delightful lightness of “Mushroom Hunting.”
If you’re looking to rewatch Cowboy Bebop itself, it’s streaming on Hulu. In addition, Netflix is currently producing a live-action adaptation starring John Cho as Spike Spiegel.
