Stranger Things Season 5 Soundtrack: A Guide to Every Needle Drop

The 1980s-set Netflix series Stranger Things, returning this week for Season 5, has always had a real knack for choosing songs of the era and exploding their popularity. The most notable example of this was Season 4’s epic use of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” but every season has featured some unexpected yet welcome needle drops, including The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go,” The Police’s “Every Breath You Take,” and Metallica’s “Master of Puppets.”

So, with the premiere of the fifth and final season, let’s break down the most significant songs chosen by music supervisor Nora Felder and the production team, episode by episode — all the music you might hear that’s not written by composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein. The mix so far includes a few familiar tracks, as well as some new artists making their Stranger Things debut. Will this season lead to a renaissance for artists like Diana Ross or Tiffany? One can only hope. This guide currently covers the first four episodes of Stranger Things Season 5, and will be updated in December with the releases of Volume 2 and the series finale.

[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 through Episode 4, “Sorcerer.”]

Episode 1: “The Crawl”

Stranger Things (Netflix)

• The Clash — “Should I Stay or Should I Go”
• Michael Jackson — “Rockin’ Robin”
• The Psychedelic Furs — “Pretty in Pink”
• Diana Ross — “Upside Down” (reprised for end credits)
• Kate Bush — “Running Up That Hill”

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Season 5 begins with the reveal that Robin (Maya Hawke) has gotten a new job as Hawkins’ local radio D.J., and as the writer of this guide, I was honestly worried for a minute that this would mean a lot of extra work for me. So far, though, Robin’s too busy trying to fight the Upside Down to spend much time in the booth, with most of her big needle drop moments happening in this episode.

First, though, “Should I Stay or Should I Go” (the song Will used to communicate with the Rightside Up during Season 1) makes a return appearance during the opening flashback to November 12th, 1983. Then, in the “present day” — November 3rd, 1987 — we hear Michael Jackson’s 1972 cover of “Rockin’ Robin” as Robin delivers some valuable exposition, followed by “Pretty in Pink,” which is a not-so-subtle message for Robin’s special lady.

The most important needle drop of the episode, though, is Diana Ross’s 1980 hit “Upside Down.” Using that song now is reminiscent of how Breaking Bad waited until its own final season to finally get the rights to Tommy James and the Shondells’ “Crystal Blue Persuasion” — you have to respect the restraint. We get a nice long play of it here, too, as Robin uses it to deliver a secret message to the rest of the Party. And it comes in for the end credits as well, because why not?

Finally, we hear a few notes of “Running Up That Hill” in this episode, as Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) sits by the hospital bed of Max (Sadie Sink). It’s a safe guess that won’t be the last we hear of it, though.

Episode 2: “The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler”

Stranger Things (Netflix)

• ABBA — “Fernando”
• Kate Bush — “Running Up That Hill”
• The Chordettes — “Mr. Sandman” (end credits)

As promised, “Running Up That Hill” is featured again at Max’s bedside, this time for slightly longer as Lucas keeps vigil. But the real star of this episode soundtrack-wise is ABBA’s “Fernando,” which Mrs. Wheeler (Cara Buono) is blasting as a Demogorgon begins its attack on the Wheeler house, and keeps playing throughout the attack (warping in haunting ways at key points throughout the scene).

It’s otherwise score throughout the episode, except for the end credits song choice of “Mr. Sandman,” a 1954 tune meant to invoke the era in which young Henry Creel (the future Vecna) grew up. It adds to the eerie ending of the episode, in which Vecna welcomes young Holly (Nell Fisher) into a recreation of his family home.

Episode 3: “The Turnbow Trap”

Stranger Things (Netflix)

• Freddy Martin — “To Each His Own”
• Tiffany — “I Think We’re Alone Now” (reprised for end credits)
• Yello — “Oh Yeah”

Episode 3 keeps the old-timey vibes going with the big band sounds of Freddy Martin accompanying Holly’s awkward breakfast with “Henry.” But when he departs, he leaves behind a gift for Holly: A portable stereo and a cassette tape of ’80s queen Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now” — the ’80s hit was tailor-made for a sequence in which a young girl parties by herself in a strange house.

Also, if it’s the 1980s, and folks are talking about car-related tomfoolery, then of course a music supervisor has no choice but to invoke the iconic Yello track “Oh Yeah.” Certainly if it was good enough for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, it’s good enough to accompany Dustin drilling into a pristine BMW for the purposes of the mission.

Episode 4: “Sorcerer”

Stranger Things (Netflix)

• The Sherman Brothers — “Higitus Figitus” (from The Sword and the Stone)
• Elmer Bernstein — “Main Title from The Great Escape“
• The Chords — “Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream)”
• Kate Bush — “Running Up That Hill”

There’s a lot of big action in this episode, but in between trapping a Demogorgon and some mass carnage on the military base, there are a few surprising song choices. First, there’s a quick clip from 1963’s The Sword and the Stone, featuring the packing-up song “Higitus Figitus,” playing on TV just as Debbie Miller, one of Holly’s classmates, gets swept up by the Army. It is, admittedly, kind of a random selection (especially considering where the song lands on Consequence’s ranking of every Disney song ever).

In terms of a film more relevant to the action, when Robin dives deep into explaining the plot of 1963’s The Great Escape to the rest of the team, the soundtrack invokes legendary composer Elmer Bernstein’s legendary theme. It’s actually rare for the show to use a piece of music like this non-diegetically, but it definitely helps sell the moment in this case.

Later, one of those classic “you know this takes place in the past because this song is playing” tracks comes onto the soundtrack: Doo-wop group The Chords recorded “Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream)” in 1954 — another repeated year! — and it immediately sets the tone during Max’s flashback to her trip inside Henry’s memories.

As Max’s flashbacks continue, so returns Kate Bush, the song once again being manipulated on the soundtrack to match the spookiness of the situation. But otherwise, the rest of the episode is largely devoted to original score — which is epic enough to meet the moment.

Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1, consisting of four episodes, is streaming now on Netflix. Volume 2 debuts December 25th at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT, and the series finale arrives December 31st at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT. This guide will be updated then with the remaining songs.