The use of music in film and television can produce moments of pure wonder. No doubt if you have a favourite scene from just about anything, you’ll remember what’s playing in the background. The processes of licencing and clearing and searching for this music comes with a certain amount of obstacles, with artists rightly being fairly choosy with what their work is associated with. In the case of Stranger Things though however, they were able to use Kate Bush’s classic “Running Up That Hill” as she is known to be “a fan of the show”.
The 1985 synth-pop heart wrencher was part of Bush’s Hounds Of Love album and has seen a viral resurgence in its consumption in recent years. In no small part in fact, to its use previously on Stranger Things. Which saw the song; “become her most popular title on the service after it experienced a 153 per cent surge in streams on Spotify.” Which was described by the streaming platform as; “the biggest gainer on the Global Spotify chart” at the time. If you need reminding, you can listen to “Running Up That Hill” in the video below:
The shows music supervisor Nora Felder explained the process of selection; “Consequently, each of the prospective song placements in the initial scripts was tagged with the placeholder, ‘TBD Max song.’ From there, I made an effort to internally align myself with what the Duffers felt were the most important elements needed, and my own intuitive grasp of Max’s complex feelings.”
When she finally found the song in question; “It immediately struck me with its deep chords of the possible connection to Max’s emotional struggles and took on more significance as Bush’s song marinated in my conscious awareness.”
After a lengthy process which saw Wende Crowley (SVP of Sony Publishing’s creative marketing, film and TV) get the request and take steps to ensure that all parties were happy with the outcome. Crowley explained; “Kate Bush is selective when it comes to licensing her music and because of that, we made sure to get script pages and footage for her to review so she could see exactly how the song would be used.”
Felder felt the music was key to the scenes following the character’s journey; “Kate Bush’s lyrics can mean very different things to different people. In the face of Max’s painful isolation and alienation from others, a ‘deal with god’ could heart-wrenchingly reflect Max’s implicit belief that only a miracle of unlikely understanding and show of support could help her climb the hills of life before her.”
Fans of the show will now be familiar with the song and a new generation is being introduced to these timeless tracks. With the show’s end sadly coming into view, the Duffer Brothers (directors) stated; “It’s just one of those things that you come up with and you go, ‘That’s it, that’s right, that’s inevitable – that’s what it has to be.’”
