The music of Stranger Things
This article contains spoilers for all four seasons of Stranger Things
As season four of the hit show Stranger Things aired in late May of this year, the interesting phenomenon of how various mediums in popular culture are tethered together became more apparent than ever. The season features Kate Bush’s song “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” prominently in connection to the character Max Mayfield and her struggle to stay alive when being hunted by Vecna, the season’s focal antagonist.
Because Max’s plotline is the crux of season four, “Running Up That Hill” is played and replayed countless times over the course of the nine episodes. Refocusing on the nonfictional consequences of the song’s use, Kate Bush’s 1985 single increased in streams by 9,900% in the United States alone. While this may seem (and is) an especially dramatic effect that shows how connected various genres of art are, it wasn’t the first time the show had done such a thing.
Fans of Stranger Things noted almost immediately how “Running Up That Hill” and Max Mayfield’s conflict in season four is not the first time the show had used music as a plot-changing device. Going all the way back to the first season, Will Byers’s disappearance into eventual survival of the “Upside Down” seems to have only been made possible by his repeated listening to the song “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by British punk rock band The Clash. This song reemerged in season two in a pivotal moment to release Will from the clutches of the Mind Flayer, discovering its weakness and allowing the protagonist to succeed. Also in Stranger Things 2, The Police’s song “Every Breath You Take,” which appears at the end of the last episode, ominously marking that the Mind Flayer is indeed watching the characters’ every move even after their escape. The song, while always popular, was made even more so after the season aired. Spotify even marks their ‘official’ rendition of it, the one that shows up on Spotify-created playlists, as part of the Stranger Things soundtrack, an intelligent way to get more listens.
Going back to Stranger Things 4, “Running Up That Hill” was not the only song to reemerge on the Billboard due to the season’s popularity. In fact, according to Billboard themselves, the Stranger Things soundtrack occupied the top four songs of the July 2022 chart with Metallica’s “Master of Puppets,” Journey’s “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart),” James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain,” and Moby’s “When It’s Cold I’d Like to Die”. Jul. was the month the second volume of season four came out, with May and Jun. brought Bush’s song continually to the charts.
Future TV show runners and movie directors have taken note—this phenomenon, while not only beneficial in boosting the popularity of long-forgotten songs, is an incredibly effective way to build up emotion for viewers. Music is something we all can connect to, and whether or not you like or dislike these songs, your mind will subconsciously connect lyrics and rhythms together while watching a show or movie. You may not understand the lyrics in the first moment, but they have a direct impact on how you interpret the media. Next time you happen to hear “Running Up That Hill,” you may think of how it connects to Max’s story and her desperate guilt in losing her brother; next time you hear “Master of Puppets,” you may think of how it ties to fan-favorite Eddie’s final scenes. And you may be surprised to find your brain has already come up with conclusions, all thanks to the musical backdrop.