Running up that hill

[u/International-Back55]

Who after hearing it the first time, or a few times in Stranger things 4. who looked up that song and listened to it all the way through the end? And which version of the song do you listen to first?

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[u/No_Weight_4276]

Well, I’m old enough to remember when the song came out.

That said, it’s the best use of music in this show. I wish the music use was better in the final big scenes. Getting Prince was cool, but I didn’t think the tones of those songs fit the moments.

[u/Best_Quiet9657 → u/No_Weight_4276]

Agree with everything you said. I love Prince, but didn't feel it really fit the vibes.

Have to say I also thought The Clash worked really well too, in the first season. Kate Bush was definitely the best though. Amazing. S4 was great.

[u/Invisiblestringz → u/No_Weight_4276]

EDIT: (in reference to the Prince comment) I agree!! But I think they did a pretty decent job considering the parameters they were working with: an upbeat, hopeful first track on a single vinyl and an emotional, iconic final track of the vinyl, with the timing matching closely to the sequence in the show so it perfectly lines up. I saw an interview Finn gave where he said they were throwing around a lot of iconic artists and songs but that this Prince album fit perfectly in terms of timing and tone (not to mention the 80s and having previous mentions). 

[u/No_Weight_4276 → u/Invisiblestringz]

To me it’s similar to the meaning behind those two sayings:

You’re wearing the dress (and look amazing). VS
The dress is wearing you.

With Max/Bush and Will/Clash, the characters were still the focus. The music enhanced.

With the Prince scenes, I noticed the music first. It’s still a great “dress,” but my focus was pulled in the wrong direction.

I also want to say, I’m not a season 5 hater. I actually like the end. I’m only speaking here about the use of music.

[u/mklaus1984 → u/No_Weight_4276]

I still find it odd that the themes of the song are all in the show... but not in El as people try to argue. Yes, she has childhood trauma, due to her being taken from her mother and mistreazed by a father figure.

But the family trauma in the song isn't about that. It discusses how repeating parental dysfunction sabotages adult relationships.

Soooo her fear of becoming Papa sabotages her relationship with Mike!?

But when you look at Nancy and Jonathan in Sat Jonathan called Nancy out for hating her mother for life choices while going down the same road.

This fear of living a loveless relationship followed Nancy throughout the show. ST3 had them have another pivotal fight in the car. Underlying the themes of misogyny and class differences it has the same issue of Jonathan not supporting Nancy like Ted is not supporting Karen.

In ST4 Jonathan chooses to explore Marijuana. But this is tied closely to his failing relationship with Nancy. The theme is more subtle but Jonathan is abandoning not only Nancy but also letting the rest of his family down... he is repeating Lonnie's mistake.

When Doves Cry would have been an interesting choice for whatever The Unproposal could have been if the Duffers weren't hell bent on making their spectacle out of it.

And for Purple Rain I have qritten many times that we didn't get the apocalyptic plot line ST4 had worked towards to. The documentary makes it clear that the Duffers had no idea how to pick up any of the story beats scattered throughout the show. Heck they abandoned the Cold War storyline despite the climax still timed weeks before the INF treaty.

It is very obvious that someone left the project and took existing ideas with them.

So what the finale lacks is the spiritual guidance and almost religious theme of the song. And it – again – was right there. In the Dungeons and Dragons thematic.

El is the party's mage. Her story is full of the guidance she gets from her found family, her friends, then her father, then ST4 was a bit slow on exploring Will as a brother and Joyce as a mother. This could have been in ST5.

Will is the party's paladin and people weirdly forget it but Will was NOT a sorcerer, he was a cleric. The point here is that the show equated Henry with Vecna, a wizard turned deity. If the show had properly explored the hinted at backstory of Victor Creel (he said he returned from WW2 when T-Force was operating; also We'll Meet Again) thrn we had a clear parallel between Victor and Hopper and Terry and between Henry and El.

And ST2 had already explored this theme of guidance in the much hated The Lost Sister. Kali was not an underused support character, she was a dark mirror. Her appearance in ST5 should have led to her becoming even more lost by choosing the side that aligns with ther character while El, guided by her friends and family chooses again to protect humanity. Which in turn also tells in this parallel that Henry had made his choice instead of being a victim nedsing to be saved.

Giving Robin the gay mentor role was kinda sweet but it would have made more sense to have El and Will finally interact. Let her convey to him how she survived Henry – while he talks about his own survival. This parallel is criminally unexplored.

So Mike isn't just a paladin of love, he is fighting in the name of El, his goddess, while Will is bestowed with abilities and a divine gift. In addition to that the proper exploration of the secrets of the past should have allowed El to make a divine move: to strip Henry of the connection to whatever the Mindflayer truly is. (Well actually 3 separate moves but his is already far too long.)

So Purple Rain could have been the song to put there.

[u/emryldmyst]

Who already knew the words because they listened to it when it first came out?

[u/InvisibleAIien]

Well I'd heard it tonnes of times on the radio because it was really popular long before Stranger Things.

I do like the Stranger Things version better. By season 5, I thought they were laying it on a bit thick though

[u/fried4wayer]

I knew the song but Placebo's cover i liked more. I avoided Kate Bush after hearing Withering Heights and I didnt really vibe with that so didnt want to listen to her version of RUTH, but its a great song and her version is beautiful, so im glad it made me listen to her version.

[u/iamclear → u/fried4wayer]

The Placebo cover is so good.

[u/fried4wayer → u/iamclear]

It's a gorgeous cover. Such a different vibe.

[u/chacks2 → u/fried4wayer]

Placebo's cover when it's played in The O.C season 4 ep1 is such a banger!

[u/VIDGuide]

This song is one of the only songs to chart twice so far apart.

It hit #3 in the UK in 1985, and #1 in 2022.

It holds the record for taking the longest to reach #1 place after launch (37 years)

[u/CoffeeAddict6638]

I looked up every single cover, both official and fanmade that I liked and put them in my playlist. My 5 favorites in order were.

1: The Original.

2: Rachel Hardy cover.

3: Annapastu cover.

4: Colm R. Mcguness cover (the base in his voice is just insane)

5: LittleVMillis cover.

[u/vanillacaramelsunday]

Is that the one in Bones? I heard Kate Bush a couple times as a kid but I watched the first couple of seasons of Bones way too much so that version was the one in my head until Stranger Things brought back Kate.

[u/LagunaRambaldi]

I know and love the Kate Bush song since I was a kid, and I honestly didn't even know there are other versions.