If ghosts and the supernatural aren’t quite your thing, you might be tempted to reconsider after witnessing her touch on the very popular TV show “Ghost Whisperer”.  Spirits haunting their homes, images of the dead resurfacing to redeem themselves and unworldly appearances popping up to solve their worldly problems, this TV series has all the ingredients for prime time sci-fi success, including a perfectly matched chunk of music.Along with the resplendent original works of composer Mark Snow, the much hailed soundtrack of the show is ensured by Wofington’s expert picks. The one of a kind eerie and subtle mood is conveyed by independent, “underdog” artists that master the acoustic genre; Erin McCarley’s “Gotta Figure This Out” and Meiko’s “Reasons To Love You” are perfect examples of that specific type of softcore ballad that can’t help but stay branded in your mind.

The spooky, yet psychological undertone of the plot is also brought forth by more mainstream music hits, such as the heart-melting “Stay” by Shakespeare Sister or The Script’s delicate declaration of love, “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved”. Jennifer Love Hewitt’s peculiar encounters with the souls of those who passed away are intertwined with her otherwise normal human interactions back in this dimension, and the tracks help keep everything together into a refined, romanticized, but down-to-earth  union of movie drama and music placement excellence.

A Musical Saga

And, speaking about music placement excellence, in comes the crown jewel of Lindsay Wolfington’s exquisite music supervision career. One Tree Hill. 7 is the number of seasons, 2 is the number of Teen Choice Awards and 4 is the number of millions of viewers per episode for this young adult TV industry jackpot. The reasons for such sky-rocketing success are abundant: random turning points alongside gradually developing events, superficial flings combined with finding soul mates and an overall accessible and realistic story make the show a go-to spot for teens and youngsters to explore something quite similar to their real life. Add a smoking hot hipster music compilation and it’s no wonder the series keeps airing.

With an artist blend unparalleled by any other production, except, maybe, The O.C.,  One Tree Hill has managed to become the gold pot at the end of the rainbow for music supervision on both sides of the business alike. Every significant moment in an episode is portrayed by its own musical excerpt, while the ending makes an impression with a miscellaneous scene medley accompanied by a song to unify them into a single theme. The Foo Fighters’ “Times Like These”, for  instance, was the upbeat, open-minded,”look ahead” sound you could hear in the end of the fourth season’s graduation episode, while The Ting Tings pumped up the cheerleading energy levels with “That’s Not My Name” and Ingrid Michaelson’s soothing love song “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” celebrated Lucas and Peyton exchanging rings and vows.

Aside from the three soundtrack albums that Lindsay’s immensely appreciated music choices have produced, the show can also be credited with a noteworthy display of performing artists, such as Sheryl Crow, Michelle Branch, Nada Surf or The Honorary Title, to name just a few. Music is nothing less than a middle name for One Tree Hill, as Peyton’s record label provides an outlet for aspiring indie musicians to make it big. Fall Out Boy frontman Pete Wentz even played himself in the role of Peyton’s love interest, while Bethany Joy Galeotti as Haley made the crossover from actress to singer on the show.

There is no doubt that the wide array of indie rock tunes and constantly new discoveries is a massive slice of the pie when it comes to popularity; the carefully selected songs are the perfect rendition of the freshness, initiatic experiences  and general joie de vivre that characterize the show, or, as the famed supervisor put it, they are “usually soaring, often bittersweet”.(Lindsay Wolfington for One Tree Hill Music http://www.oth-music.com/)

A Lot Of Digging Up To Get Under Your Skin

Lindsay Wolfington’s expertise has been put to good use in other endeavors, as well, completing a diversified list of genres she can approach. She was in charge of music supervision for the witty comedy series “Unhitched” and “Crumbs”, handled the music placement for real-life inspired drug drama “Self Medicated”  and was a music coordinator for the soundtracks of “Smallville” and “Las Vegas”, both hit TV shows with outstanding background tracks. Her potential is also underlined by the fact that she got veteran gods of classic rock Led Zeppelin licensed for One Tree Hill, considering the fact that the band is infamous for refusing to have their music in movies or shows and was only featured once in HBO’s “The Sopranos”.

Obviously, she is a woman of enormous talent and with a great deal of inside knowledge about the business, but perhaps her quintessential trait lies in the hard-worked perfectionism we get to hear on every new project. With the creative process taking up to 3 weeks for an episode and with thousands of emerging musicians to listen to, Lindsay Wolfington’s ability to find just the right piece of the puzzle is perseverance at its best. Her signature underground songs with a soft side, not too dramatic and not too over-the-top, connect very well with our modern day personalities and have gained a place in recent pop-culture consciousness, popping up less as names and more as something that just sounds familiar. Altogether, her musical decisions have made her a more than welcome breath of fresh air.