Winona Ryder is back, Netflix has created the spookiest version of Twin Peaks meets the Goonies you could ever imagine, and what's even better?
The music.
Let's geek out here for a minute, because Netflix's new original series Stranger Things is absolutely incredible. Plus, it's brought a talented band from Austin, TX out from those spooky-ooky shadows.
The new series is set in small-town in Indiana, circa 1983, where "nothing ever happens." Of course there are the weird neighbors and the oddball good-guy-cop-who-lost-it-all, but otherwise the town seems fairly sleepy... you know, aside from that military-grade industrial complex run by "The State." That could never lead to any weirdness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpHNlx0pPIU
This idyllic land of teenage angst and PTA meetings makes the perfect backdrop not just for some serious chills, but also for revisiting top hits of the 1970s and 80s; plenty of Station Wagon car tunes and school dances lend the music an effortless nostalgia. Without giving too much away, several scenes involving music such as The Clash's Should I Stay Or Should I Go are also absolutely integral to the plot. It's the perfect balance of music as happenstance and a "best-of" playlist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsURL1ZYxOE
The remainder of the musical score for each episode consists of incredibly apropos synth compositions from Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein of the Austin-based band SURVIVE. (They're also releasing an album soon.)
The show's music is already so popular that Netflix has announced it will release the soundtrack in two installments beginning this Friday. The first installment will be released digitally Friday, August 12th with a CD release following on September 16th. The second installment will be released digitally August 19th and on CD September 23rd. I'll definitely be purchasing a copy for my daily power-walk and Denise Austin workout.
Beat your heart out Vangelis. This show's synth score makes Blade Runner sound positively thin.
***Spoilers***
I would advise against reading the upcoming playlist if you have not yet seen the first several episodes.
Stranger Things Season 1 Soundtrack – Volume 1 Tracklist:
01. Stranger Things
02. Kids
03. Nancy and Barb
04. This Isn’t You
05. Lay-Z-Boy
06. Friendship
07. Eleven
08. A Kiss
09. Castle Beyers
10. Hawkins
11. The Upside Down
12. After Sarah
13. One Blink For Yes
14. Photos in the Woods
15. Fresh Blood
16. Lamps
17. Hallucinations
18. Hanging Lights
19. Biking to School
20. Are You Sure?
21. Agents
22. Papa
23. Cops Are Good at Finding
24. No Weapons
25. Walking Through the Nether
26. She’ll Kill You
27. Run Away
28. No Autopsy
29. Dispatch
30. Joyce and Lonnie Fighting
31. Lights Out
32. Hazmat Suits
33. Theoretically
34. You Can Talk to Me
35. What Else Is There to Do?
36. Hawkins Lab