Of all the Stranger Things soundtracks to date,
Season 4 will go down in trivia history as the platform responsible for getting
Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)" back onto the charts over three decades after it was originally released, sending it to number one around the world after it appeared on the show in the summer of 2022. That triumphant resurrection was extended -- though to a much lesser extent -- to
Metallica's classic "Master of Puppets," whose real-world release date just barely made the cutoff for the show's setting over spring break 1986 (the track is included on the soundtrack's extended version). This set features a balance of hits across genres and decades, from '80s one-hit-wonders such as
Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round" and
Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus" to riff-packed anthems like
Kiss' "Detroit Rock City" and
Extreme's "Play with Me." Deeper cuts from 1985 --
Baltimora's "Tarzan Boy" and
Starpoint's "Object of My Desire" -- level up this soundtrack, making it an irresistible playlist for listeners discovering these gems for the first time and providing a huge hit of nostalgia for those who remember living these out in real time. Going further back in time, tracks like
Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer,"
The Surfaris' "Wipeout," and
Ricky Nelson's "Travelin' Man" do their parts in backing crucial scenes in the show. While most of the songs on the LP will be familiar to many and easily heard across greatest-hits collections and oldies radio stations, the
Bryce Miller/
Alloy Tracks remix of
Journey's "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" deserves special mention for its epic take on the '80s hit, injecting dramatic heft and an appropriate dread-filled darkness to the original stadium stomper. The show's team have always done a great job crafting solid soundtracks for the show and, while this installment is no different, it'll always be notable for introducing the wonders of
Kate Bush to a new generation. ~ Neil Z. Yeung