In honor of the recent release of Stranger Things Season 4, Volume 2 soundtrack, Netflix partnered with Spotify to create a Stranger Things-themed playlist. The Spotify algorithm curated a playlist of potential songs that would “save your life” from the antagonist of the series, Vecna.
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If you don’t watch the series, it’s the reason why Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” is trending. In the show, Sadie Sink’s character, Max, goes into a coma-like trance because she is stuck between Vecna’s world, the Upside Down, and our world. To get her out of the trance, her friends play Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” to save her and bring her back to our world. The song appears throughout the show and is mentioned periodically as a way to keep Max safe from Vecna.
Now, you can have your very own Kate Bush moment. Spotify created a playlist called the “Upside Down Playlist” that includes 50 of your favorite songs. It’s a fun and unique way that the series’ creators, The Duffer Brothers, promoted the release of the second part of Stranger Things Season 4. It pulls you closer to the show and aligns you with its characters.
As for music, the most recent season of Stranger Things has brought an ’80s music revival. Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” has seen major exposure and a revival on the charts after its release almost 40 years ago. The song entered the U.S. Top 5 and topped the Billboard Global 200 as it reached No. 1 in the U.K. and Australia.
Said Bush on her website, “It’s the first time I’ve had a top ten single over there and now it’s in the top 5! Thank you so much again to the Duffer Brothers —because of their latest, extraordinary series of Stranger Things, the track is being discovered by a whole new audience.”
Along with “Running Up That Hill,” Metallica’s 1986 hit “Master of the Puppets” saw a resurgence after its Stranger Things feature. As a result of the renewed interest in the song on the Netflix series, “Master of Puppets” has been creeping up the charts, hitting No. 12 on Spotify’s Top 50 Global chart.
