“Stranger Things” coming to an end doesn’t just mean saying goodbye to some of your favorite characters… it means saying goodbye to one of the best soundtracks in all of television, and the first part of Season 5 is no exception. This installment features songs from Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and — of course — Kate Bush.
The “Stranger Things” bounce is a very real thing in the music world. Over 205,000 “Stranger Things”-themed playlists have been created globally on Spotify alone. The inclusion of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” in Season 4 (RIP Eddie Munson) resulted in the song earning 17.5 million downloads in one week, hitting the U.K. Top 30 for the first time and surging in Spotify popularity by 677%. “Never Ending Story” saw a 941% increase in Spotify streams after Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and Suzie (Gabriella Pizzolo) covered it in Season 3. And then there’s Kate Bush.
After Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” became a major plot point in Season 4, that song saw a 8,700% increase in Spotify streams globally and a 9,900% surge in streams in the U.S. Additionally, Bush’s whole catalog has seen an 1,600% increase in global streams.
So what songs are going to be stuck in your head while you eat leftover turkey? Let us tell ya.
All the songs in “Stranger Things” Season 5, Volume 1
Note: All the songs with asterisks denote they’re from Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment
Episode 1: “The Crawl”
- “Rockin’ Robin” by Michael Jackson*
- “Pretty in Pink” by Psychedelic Furs*
- “Upside Down” by Diana Ross
- “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush
Episode 2: “The Vanishing of…”
- “Fernando” by ABBA*
- “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush
- “Mr. Sandman” by The Chordettes*
Episode 3: “The Turnbow Trap”
- “To Each His Own” by Freddy Martin & His Orchestra*
- “I Think We’re Alone Now” by Tiffany*
- “Oh Yeah” by Yello*
Episode 4: “Sorcerer”
- “Premature Plans” by Elmer Bernstein
- “Sh-Boom” by The Chords*
- “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush
Is there a soundtrack for “Stranger Things” Season 5, Volume 1?
Big time. The Season 5 soundtrack is now available on Spotify, and it will be released across digital, CD, vinyl and red-colored cassette formats in the coming weeks.
Interested in owning the soundtrack digitally? The digital edition of Season 5, Volume 1 will be available on Nov. 28. That will be followed by the digital version of Season 5, Volume 2 on Dec. 26, a day after the Netflix debut for the second batch of episodes, while Volume 3 will then be released on Jan. 1, the day after the “Stranger Things” finale drops on Netflix. That volume will also contain the music from Volumes 1 and 2, as well as additional music.
Are you more of a completionist who prefers handheld media? The full “Stranger Things: Soundtrack” for Season 5 will be available on CD, vinyl and red cassette configurations on Jan. 30. Yeah, you read that right — cassette. It’s a nice touch. Vinyl options will include standard black, an Amazon-exclusive red smoke, a Target-exclusive blue smoke, a Walmart-exclusive orange marble and a Sony Music Store-exclusive marble yellow. CDs, vinyls and red cassettes are all available for preorder.
Wait, wasn’t there a Queen song in the Season 5 trailer?
Good ear and good memory. Though Queen’s “Who Wants to Live Forever” appeared in the trailer for Season 5, the song doesn’t appear in Volume 1. Fingers crossed Queen appears in the next four episodes.
That’s a lot of Kate Bush …
It is, and there’s a reason for that. “Stranger Things” Season 4 spoilers ahead.
Throughout Season 4, the nefarious Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) targeted Max as one the victims he needed to murder to open a gate between the normal world and the Upside Down. The only way Max was able to resist his powers was to listen to her favorite song, “Running Up That Hill.” At the end of Season 4, Vecna succeeded in killing Max and opening the gate, but Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) brought her back to life. The last we saw Max, she was in a coma in the hospital.
“In Season 5’s reprise of ‘Running Up That Hill,’ Kate Bush’s song works to re-establish and maintain a much-needed lifeline between Max and her friends. Its presence continues to represent a source of encouragement and support,” music supervisor Nora Felder said in a statement.
Felder noted that the song serves as a “special touchstone and outlet” for the series’ main characters.
“I believe Kate Bush’s riveting, aching and poetic song invites each of our heroes to switch places and see through each other’s personal lenses of experience. In some ways, we also switch places with our main characters as we see and feel their bonds of togetherness deepen while combatting the formidable evil forces of ‘Stranger Things,’” Felder said.
Felder, who has served as the show’s music supervisor since the beginning, conceptualized and produced the soundtrack album alongside the Duffer brothers, the creators of “Stranger Things.” The compilation album is produced by the Duffer brothers and Rob Santos. As for the series’ memorable score, that was composed by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein of the electronic band S U R V I V E, who also scored the final season.
