“DLZ” is probably my favorite song and musical moment ever on Breaking Bad. In the episode entitled “Over,” Walt has just been given the good news that his cancer is in remission. Instead of being overjoyed, he displays frustration because the “out of time man” now has more time than he’d bargained for when he originally invested so much into the meth business. Reeling from the news, he spends the majority of the episode trying to return to normalcy, keeping occupied by fixing the water heater and replacing the rotted floorboards.
On one of his many trips to Home Depot, he crosses paths with a tweaker pushing a cart filled what resembles a meth starter kit. The teacher in Mr. White attempts to direct the amateur in the right direction but scares him off. For a moment, Walt stands and ponders the idea of other cooks in Albuquerque and in what I consider one of the biggest turning points in the show’s history, the Heisenberg in him decides he can’t stand for it. Cancer or no cancer, he can’t quit the venture that has given him so much excitement, so much self-worth.
As he stomps out into the parking lot to face-off with the recreational meth cooks, “DLZ” bursts out of the speakers, a menacing wall of voices and synths pushing Walt forward with a vengeance. After threatening them “Stay out of my territory,” the lyrics kick in and impeccably illuminate the moment:
Eternalized. Objectified.
You set your sights so high.
But this is beginning to feel like
the bolt busted loose from the lever.
Never you mind
Death professor.
Electrified, my love is better
It's crystallized, so am I.
All could be the diamond
Fused with who's next
This is beginning to feel like the dawn of a loser forever.