It’s a tell that the best episodes from this season-four, five and six-lean less on radio hits of the ’80s and more on the assured work of Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein of S U R V I V E, who have conveyed the mood of the show since the beginning. In the U.S.A.” and REO Speedwagon “Can’t Fight This Feeling.” Because he’s a depthless weirdo, he does random science stuff while listening to “Weird Al” in the background (instead of the Knack’s original.) In a scene featuring Joe Keery (Steve) or Dacre Montgomery (Billy), the Knack would otherwise fit in perfectly well with other classic rock chestnuts like Foreigner's “Cold As Ice,” John Mellencamp’s “R.O.C.K. The boys’ science teacher has played a purely instrumental role he’s Velma, but he never gets to tag along in the Mystery Machine. It’s a perfect fit: the Madonna song is another undeniable piece of pop art that implies a critique without exactly getting there.Īnother scene from the same episode finds “Weird Al” Yankovic’s “ My Bologna,” which came out in 1979, standing in for actual character development. There’s something charming about the obviousness of “ Material Girl” as the backdrop to a mall montage early in the season in which Millie Bobbie Brown and Sadie Sink bond through shopping and the male teens of the cast bond through fear of women’s sexuality. Other music choices echo the half-steppin’ the show is fond of. It’s a chop-job, Pete Townshend’s strained teenage angst cut with the show’s signature synthesizers and molded into a conventional trailer score with a climax big enough to push you straight into an all-night binge. (The mix appeared in the preview for this season). The opening song here is a remix of the Who’s “Baba O’Reilly” from Confidential Music, a Los Angeles based duo that churns out music for movie trailers. The soundtrack to this season, too, plants itself firmly between veneration and cynicism, allowing the show to celebrate the blockbuster era of Spielberg, Hughes, and Heckerling while winking at their viewers: We know you’ve seen this before. Every so often, it behooves them to pretend they’re jaded. Like their viewers, the show's creators are keen to celebrate an America they know isn’t real, and never was. Until the creepy-crawlies from the Upside Down return in season four, this collection of beloved tunes is a nostalgic comfort and great singalong fun.It’s a confused parable that speaks to the Duffer Brothers’ usual sledgehammer-approach to symbolism. The compilation closes with a humorous-yet-touching duet by "Dusty-bun" Gaten Matarazzo and "Suzie-poo" Gabriella Pizzolo, who take on the magical Limahl theme "Never Ending Story," a fitting end that washes away the dread and anxiety brought upon by the Mind Flayer. Other highlights include a very Stranger Things remix of the Who's "Baba O'Riley," which adds atmospheric synth textures to give the '70s classic a neon, sci-fi spin the recurring space-bop "Neutron Dance" by the Pointer Sisters and Howard Jones' "Things Can Only Get Better," which sums up the overarching sentiment of the show with the line, "And do you feel scared, I do/But I won't stop and falter," a rallying cry for the young heroes of Stranger Things. Corey Hart's "Never Surrender" serves as the backdrop to a tender moment between two main characters (as Foreigner's "Cold as Ice" compliments a less-affectionate climax), while a cleverly placed "Movin' in Stereo" by the Cars not only references an '80s teen classic, but also that movie's star, Phoebe Cates, who is alluded to throughout season three as a running inside joke. The track list features genre-spanning hits by Madonna, REO Speedwagon, Teena Marie, Weird Al, Wham!, and many more, used to strategic effect throughout the eight episodes of the season. Released the day after the July 4th premiere of season three of the sci-fi/coming-of-age show, Stranger Things: Music from the Netflix Original Series, Season 3 is a nostalgia-packed companion soundtrack that culls from an era of music that might have been heard in this fictional '80s setting.
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