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Best Classic Hits 'Stranger Things' Brought Back to Life

Best Classic Hits 'Stranger Things' Brought Back to Life
Image credit: Legion-Media

Let's make it clear: music in 'Stranger Things' is no less important than the plot or the mysteries of the Upside Down.

Spanning different styles and artists, 'Stranger Things ' has a rich musical palette to offer in every season. And while we suspect you are here because you can't stop listening to Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill' again, we would like to invite you on a time journey with the show that makes you miss the 80s even if you were born in late 90s.

Starting from season 1, 'Stranger Things' dips us into its atmosphere, wittily sliding some great music from the time period when it was actually topping radio charts and making us forget about The Weeknd and Ariana Grande in favor of The Clash and Madonna.

"We try to use songs that came out with the year of that season," Nora Felder, the show's music supervisor, told Billboard back in 2019. "Specifically (with songs) that play as diegetic music coming from a source within the world of these Hawkins, Indiana characters; like music playing on one of their radios or in the background at a party."

One of the most memorable examples of how 'Stranger Things' revived a classic hit was 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go' by The Clash – a song that practically became the Byers brothers' bonding soundtrack. Naturally, fans immediately discovered themselves humming "should I stay or should I go now" tirelessly throughout the entire season.

In season 2, we get to remember the good old days of Duran Duran when we vibe to 'Girls on Film' that sounds when Jonathan arrives at the Halloween party to meet Samantha there, and Nancy is doing her best to get wasted.

And when Eleven sets off on a journey to find another girl from the laboratory in Hawkins, we can't help but rock to Bon Jovi's 'Runaway'.

Later in season 3, 'Stranger Things' reminded us of Madonna's 'Material Girl' even though we never asked for this. But how on Earth could one not sing along when Eleven and Max explored the wonders of the newly-opened mall (if only they knew, huh?). In the same season, Mike and Eleven share a romantic moment when Mike serenades her with his take on 'Never Surrender' by Corey Hart – a big hit from 1985.

"Having Mike introduce a song to Eleven that was popular in 1985 was a romantic and effective way to establish the year in which season three is taking place (right in that) first episode," Felder said of this music choice.

How could season 4 lower the bar and not have us falling for Kate Bush and Journey again? Aside from 'Running Up That Hill' that once again enjoys the global love – now on Spotify, not on vinyl – we have Falco's 'Rock Me Amadeus' and 'You Spin Me Right Round (Like a Record)' by Dead or Alive. The latter may still be fresh in our memory due to the 2009 rendition by Ke$ha and Flo Rida – which, let's be honest, is also already somewhat of a vintage song.

Now, we can mentally prepare ourselves – as well as our playlists – for Volume 2 of season 4, which hits Netflix on July 1.