From Metallica To Kate Bush, ‘Stranger Things’ Biggest Musical Moments Weave Into Spotify Experience Ahead Of Season 5 Launch
EXCLUSIVE: Spotify is tuning into the anticipation for Season 5 of Netflix’s Stranger Things with a musical time machine experience that will revisit key musical moments in the ‘80s-set series.
Launching Nov. 24, just ahead of Part 1’s release on Nov. 26, the Stranger Things Musical Time Machine takes fans back in time, exploring five big needledrops — one per season for the first three installments and two songs for Season 4.
A slideshow similar to the music streaming app’s Spotify Wrapped will provide a time capsule revisiting the resurgence of hits including The Clash’s “Should I Stay Or Should I Go,” which became Will Byers’ (Noah Schnapp) anthem when he was trapped in The Upside Down, The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” which soundtracked Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Mike’s (Finn Wolfhard) date to the Snow Ball in Season 2, Limahl’s “Never Ending Story” duet between Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and Suzie (Gabriela Pizzolo) in Season 3 and of course, Season 4’s breakout song selections “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” by Kate Bush and Metallica’s “Master of Puppets.”
A banner on the mobile home page in the Spotify app, similar to the one that launched for Wicked: For Good Friday inviting viewers into The Land of Oz, will be available starting 7 a.m. ET Monday morning, three days before Season 5 premieres on Netflix. Fans can find the experience on their Spotify home page, or by searching “Stranger Things” in the search bar.
According to Spotify, over 205,000 Stranger Things-themed playlists have been created globally featuring the above-mentioned songs in addition to several others used in the show like Musical Youth’s “Pass the Dutchie” (Season 4), Madonna’s “Material Girl” (Season 3), Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” (Season 2), Africa’s “TOTO” (Season 1) and Jim Croce’s “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim” (featured in Seasons 2 and 3).
Joseph Quinn in ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4
Netflix
Commentary written by Spotify in collaboration with Netflix points out the levels of meaning that these songs took on when set in the context of their scenes in the show.
For example, The Clash’s “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” contains a “lyrical debate over staying with an indecisive lover [that] subtly speaks to the liminal state that Will is stuck in between realms.”
And “Every Breath You Take” by The Police takes on a sinister meaning when viewers are reminded that it plays as the Hawkins Middle School gym turns upside down with the Mind Flayer hovering over it, “watching them, every step they take” at the end of Season 2’s finale, “The Gate.”
Viewers who have recently rewatched Season 4 to recap for themselves may remember that “Every Breath You Take” comes up in the Season 4 finale, signaling that Vecna can somehow manipulate the music associated with memories. The Mind Flayer association with that song could be key to learning more about The Upside Down in Season 5.
RELATED: Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ Continues To Rally, Surpasses 100M YouTube Views
The music streamer also defined some of the biggest spikes in songs from the show streamed on the platform: Season 3’s “Never Ending Story” seeing a 941% increase following Dustin and Suzie’s cover, Kate Bush’s anthem breaking records with a 10,769% increase following its Season 4 debut in an emotional arc for Sadie Sink’s Max and Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” surging by 677% following Eddie Munson’s (Joseph Quinn) moment shredding the song on his otherworldly black guitar to distract the Demobats and lure them away from Vecna’s lair in The Upside Down. These increase in streams on Spotify were measured by comparing the week before the respective episode’s live date to the week after.
“Running Up That Hill (Deal With God)” spent 240 days on the Spotify Charts, peaking at #1 on June 6, 2022 in between the split release of Season 4 of Stranger Things with Volume 1 arriving May 27, 2022 and Volume 2 arriving July 4, 2022. The song went to No. 1 on iTunes within a few days of the release of Volume 1 of Season 4.
Some may remember that Joseph Quinn met Metallica to jam to their song in real life in July 2022.
The newly reimagined Stranger Things Official Playlist, will update with new music from the Season 5 soundtrack on Nov. 26. When fans land on the Official Playlist, they’ll be surprised with a personalized playlist cover featuring a character from the show based on their music tastes – whether it’s Eleven, Mike, Max, Will, Lucas or Dustin.
RELATED: ‘Stranger Things 5′: First Five Minutes Of Final Season Take Viewers Back To Will Byers’ 1983 Disappearance Into The Upside Down
