10 Great Songs Featured in Stranger Things

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Duffer, M & Duffer, R. Stranger Things (TV Series). (2016-present). 21 Laps Entertainment; Monkey Massacre.
Link to Image.

"Chrissy, this is for you…"
Eddie Munson, Stranger Things, Season 4, Episode 9 "Chapter Nine: The Piggy Back"

A strange thing happened in 2022. Kate Bush's 1985 pop hit "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)" when viral and raced up music charts around the world after it was prominently featured in the fourth season of the Netflix television show Stranger Things. Created by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things is an American science fiction horror drama series that focuses on several mysteries and supernatural events that occur in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, in the 1980s. The Stranger Things original soundtrack was composed by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein from the electronic band Survive. The original music uses a lot of heavy synthesizer sounds in homage to the 1980s. The show also features a lot of period music from the era as well with a number of songs playing important roles in the narrative and in the marketing of the show. In this article, I will list 10 Great Songs Featured in Stranger Things.

1. Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)

Bush, K. (1985). Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God). [Song]. Running Up That Hill [Single]. Link to Image.
Click Here to Watch on YouTube.
Artist: Kate Bush
Episode Featured: Season 4, Episode 4 "Chapter Four: Dear Billy"

When Kate Bush gave the Duffer Brothers permission to use her song "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)" in Stranger Things, she probably never would have predicted the viral sensation that it would become. Kate Bush wrote and produced "Running Up That Hill" and released it in 1985 as the lead single of her fifth studio album Hounds of Love. Upon its release, the song entered no. 3 on the UK singles chart and no. 30 in the United States, returning Bush to the public eye and making Hounds of Love a commercial success.

In 2022 the song experienced a massive resurgence in popularity after it was featured in the fourth season of Stranger Things. When the character of Max (Sadie Sink) is targeted by Vecna, an evil dark wizard that lives in the Upside-Down, her friends use her favourite song Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" to help her escape. In an emotionally charged scene, we see Max escape from Vecna and tearfully run towards her salvation while Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" plays in the background. It's one of the most iconic moments in the history of the whole series.

The success of season four of Stranger Things was so strong, it pushed "Running Up That Hill" back onto the charts, where it smashed sale records and quickly rose to the number one spot. As of 30 June 2022, "Running Up That Hill" has broken three world records. These include the longest time for a track to reach no.1 on the UK's Official Single's Chart (36 years and 310 days since it debuted at no. 9 on 17 August 1985). At 63 years old Kate broke the world record for being the oldest female artist to reach No. 1 on the UK Official Singles Chart. The third record broken is arguably the most impressive. When "Running Up That Hill" snagged the no.1 spot in the UK, it broke the world record for the longest gap between No.1s on the UK's Official Singles Chart. The last time Kate Bush had a No.1 hit was 44 years ago with "Wuthering Heights" in 1978. Work your magic, Kate.

2. Master of Puppets

Metallica. (2017). Master of Puppets. [Song]. Master of Puppets (Deluxe Box Set). [Album] Link to Image.
Click Here to Watch on YouTube.
Artist: Metallica
Episode Featured: Season 4, Episode 9 "Chapter Nine: The Piggyback"

There are some moments in pop culture that are so jaw-droppingly good they live rent free in your head forever. Eddie Munson (played by Joseph Quinn) standing on top of his trailer in the Upside Down, head banging and playing on the guitar, as bolts of red lightning fork across the sky behind him is one of them for me. The song Eddie performs is the 1986 hit trash metal song "Master of Puppets" by the American band Metallica. Eddie performs the song to distract a group of demobats guarding Vecna's lair in the Upside Down.

The decision to have Joseph Quinn play "Master of Puppets" on the guitar was a stroke of brilliance. "Master of Puppets" is a very fast-paced song that requires some skill and practice to play. The fact that Quinn learned how to play the song in real life made his performance look realistic and far more impressive. "Master of Puppets" is considered one of Metallica's most famous songs. It is so popular it is frequently played by them at concerts. The song is famous for its extensive use of downpicking, its long instrumental section and guitar solo. It has been ranked as one of the greatest heavy metal songs of all time. "Master of Puppets" was edited for Stranger Things to remove the slower sections of the song and to keep the more intense and heavier sections that featured distorted guitar. The final result was the edited version of the song matched the intensity of the scene it was featured in.

After Joseph Quinn's character performed the heavy metal hit in the season four finale of Stranger Things, the song experienced a massive resurgence in popularity similar to Kate Bush's "Rolling Up That Hill (A Deal with God)". When asked what they thought about Eddie's big moment in the show, the band said they were "blown away" by the scene.

3. Should I Stay or Should I Go

The Clash. (2013). Should I Stay or Should I go? [Song]. The Clash Hits Back. [Album]. Link to Image.
Click Here to Watch on YouTube.
Artist: The Clash
Episode Featured: Season 1, Episode 2 "Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street"

"Should I Stay or Should I Go" by the English punk rock band The Clash played a significant part in the narrative of the first season of Stranger Things. After Will Byers gets chased by Demogorgon into the Upside Down, he realises that he is an alternate dimension that mirrors his own. He quickly figures out that he can communicate with his mother and brother in the real world through flickering lights and music. He starts singing his favourite song "Should I Stay or Should I Go" to communicate to his family that he is still alive and to encourage himself to keep on fighting to survive. "Should I Stay or Should I Go" was released by The Clash in 1981 on their album Combat Rock. The song received greater attention in the decades after its release, leading it to become part of popular culture, and to be listed in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.

4. White Rabbit

Jefferson Airplane. (1967). White Rabbit. [Song]. Surrealistic Pillow. [Album] Link to Image.
Click Here to Watch on YouTube.
Episode Featured: Season 1, Episode 1 "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers"

Dr. Martin Brenner (played by Matthew Modine) is a major character in Stranger Things who is introduced as one of the series' main antagonists in the first season. Brenner worked for the Department of Energy, a branch of the US government, and was a senior research scientist and director of the Hawkins National Laboratory. Brenner was part of a program where he raised a number of children who possessed psychokinetic abilities as test subjects at the Hawkins Lab. When one of his test subjects, Eleven, escapes the Hawkins Lab after a failed experiment, Brenner and his team search for her.

A traumatised Eleven flees the lab with a shaved head and dressed in a hospital gown. She sneaks into a local diner called Benny's Burgers and is caught by the owner, Benny, trying to steal some food. Fearing she is being abused, Benny calls the authorities, hoping to get her some help. Later, a woman knocks on his door and identifies herself as being from Social Services, but then takes out a gun and shoots him dead. Terrified, Eleven flees from the diner in fear. As she rushes out the back door, "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane starts playing as we see Dr. Brenner enter through the front door frame by two armed agents.

"White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane is a great fit for Dr. Brenner and his mysterious work with the government because of the song's psychedelic vibe and how it uses lyrics that allude to drug use, government conspiracy theories and the existence of the Upside Down with references to Alice in Wonderland falling down the rabbit hole.

5. Hazy Shade of Winter

The Bangles. (1990). Hazy Shade of Winter. [Song]. Bangles Greatest Hits. [Album]. Link to Image.
Click Here to Watch on YouTube.
Artist: The Bangles
Episode Featured: Season 1, Episode 2 "Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street"

Barbara Holland (played by Shannon Purser) was a minor character in the first season of Stranger Things that became a fan favourite after she was killed by the Demogorgon in the Upside Down. After her character met her tragic end, Shannon Purser was praised for her performance, and the hashtags #justiceforbarb and #weareallbarb started trending alone. At the end of Barb's final episode, The Bangles 1987 cover of Simon & Garfunkel's 1967 song "A Hazy Shade of Winter" played during the credits. The Bangles recorded their cover version for the soundtrack of the 1987 film Less Than Zero. Barb's death marked a turning point for Stranger Things. It was the moment the show went viral and became a cultural phenomenon. "A Hazy Shade of Winter" by the Bangles ties so well into Barb's death because it talks about the passage of time, the fleeting nature of youth, and how her cruel fate robbed her of a lifetime of opportunities.

6. Dream A Little Dream of Me

Fitzgerald, E. (2018). Dream a Little Dream of Me. [Song]. Cheek to Cheek: The Complete Duet Recordings. [Album]. Link to Image.
Click Here to Watch on YouTube
Artist: Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong
Episode Featured: Season 4, Episode 4 "Chapter Four: Dear Billy"

Vecna (played by Jamie Campbell as an adult) is introduced in season four of Stranger Things as one of the main overarching antagonists of the entire series. After Vecna is suspected of committing a series of monstrous murders in the town of Hawkins, Nancy and Robin investigate the mysterious case of Victor Creel, who survived a similar attack in the 1950s. In the episode "Chapter Four: Dear Billy", Nancy and Robin visit Victor in an insane asylum and ask him to recount his account of the murder of his family and how he survived his encounter with Vecna. He explains how a "demon" murdered his wife and daughter and tried to kill him inside a nightmare vision but the voice of an angel was able to wake up him. In the flashback, we learn that it wasn't the voice of an angel he heard. It was Ella Fitzgerald's "Dream A Little Dream of Me", which was playing on the radio at the time of his attack. After listening to his story, Nancy and Robin figure out that if Vecna's victim is exposed to music it can disrupt his power over them and help them escape back to the real world. I really liked the idea of the power of music being used to help guide people out of Vecna's nightmare world and back to the world of the living. I thought Fitzgerald's "Dream A Little Dream of Me" worked really well in the episode and helped Creel escape from Vecna. It is the sort of song that makes you feel like you are floating on clouds.

7. The Neverending Story Theme Song

Limahl. (1985). The Neverending Story (Ft. Beth Andersen). [Song]. The NeverEnding Story. [Album].
Link to Image.
Click Here to Watch on YouTube.
Artist: Limahl
Episode Featured: Season 3, Episode 8 "Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt"

In the third season of Stranger Things, the Russians have invaded Hawkins and built a secret lab underneath the Starcourt Mall, and the kids do battle against an evil entity from the Upside-Down called The Mind Flayer, which has travelled to the human world to try and kidnap Eleven. In the final episode of the season, Dustin uses his radio to contact his girlfriend, Suzie, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to try and help win the battle by helping him figure out a critical code needed to breach the secret Russian base. Suzie receives his call but is upset that he has not contacted her in a week so she tells Dustin she will help him if he promises to sing the theme song to The Neverending Story with her first. Dustin is hesitant, because he knows that the situation is urgent and that his friends are listening in. He gives in, reluctantly, and sings a duet with her over the radio. After the episode first aired, The Neverending Story experienced an 800% increase in viewership and streaming requests online, driven by the power of nostalgia.

8. Psycho Killer
Click Here to Watch on YouTube

Talking Heads. (1978). Psycho Killer [Song]. Psycho Killer [Single]. Link to Image.
Artist: Talking Heads
Episode Featured: Season 4, Episode 2 "Chapter Two: Vecna's Curse"

The Satanic Panic was a moral panic that swept through the United States in the 1980s that saw conspiracy theories spread about youth suicide, murder and ritual abuse linked to satanic cults. A lot of the hysteria came from people who feared that heavy metal music and role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons were being used as satanic cult recruitment tools to target children. The Satanic Panic is revived in season four of Stranger Things. After Eddie Munson witnesses the gruesome murder of popular cheerleader Chrissy Cunningham, at the hands of Vecna in his trailer, he becomes the main suspect in her death and is accused of being a satanist because of his involvement in a Dungeons and Dragons club. As panic grips the town of Hawkins, popular kid Jason Carver (played by Mason Dye) convinces his friends that Eddie murdered Chrissy, and that they should avenge her and hunt for Eddie. As he talks his gang into going after Eddie, "Psycho Killer" by the Talking Heads plays in the background. This was a great song choice for Jason's character. After the death of his girlfriend Chrissy, Jason becomes warped by grief and sets off down a dark path, fuelled by rage and panic about satanic worship. What makes this such a great song choice is Jason doesn't realise the song is about him. He is the real psycho killer, not Eddie.

9. I Was A Teenage Werewolf

The Cramps. (1980). I Was a Teenage Werewolf. [Song]. Songs The Lord Taught Us [Album]. Link to Image.
Click Here to Watch on YouTube
Artist: The Cramps
Episode Featured: Season 4, Episode 1 "Chapter One: The Hellfire Club"

Eddie Munson (played by the charismatic Joseph Quinn) was a main character introduced in season four of Stranger Things who quickly became a fan favourite. He was a metalhead, a nonconformist, a devoted Dungeons and Dragons player, an expert guitarist, and the leader of the Hellfire Club at Hawkins High. Eddie was supposed to graduate high school in 1984, but due to his bad grades and rebellious nature, has been held back twice. His label as an outsider and his failure to graduate twice caused Eddie to develop a dislike towards popular groups at school, like the Hawkins High basketball team, and the school principal. In his first appearance in season four, we see him reading from an article in the school cafeteria about the evils of Dungeons and Dragons, while "I Was A Teenage Werewolf" by the Cramps plays in the background. "I Was A Teenage Werewolf" was released by the Cramps in 1980 and featured on their debut album "Songs The Lord Taught Us". The song has a raw, rebellious sound, very reminiscent of 50s and 60s garage rock. It is such a perfect fit for Eddie Munson, a rebellious outsider, who doesn't care what people think of him.

10. Running Up That Hill (Kate Bush) TOTEM Remix
Click Here to Watch on YouTube
Artist: Kate Bush
Composer: DJ Capital 5000
Episode Featured: Season 4, Episode 9, "Chapter Nine: The Piggyback"

This song is just an absolute banger. It might be the best remix of a song that I've ever heard. Running Up That Hill (Kate Bush) TOTEM Remix combines the Stranger Things theme song with Running Up That Hill to create a much more exciting track that has much more urgency to it. The song starts off slow, then slowly brings drums in, adding tension. The heavy synthesizer sounds mixed with Kate Bush singing about making a deal with God makes this song so exciting. It was used in the trailer for the second half of season four and in the final episode of the season when the kids battle Vecna in the Upside-Down.

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