‘Stranger Things’ Fans Slammed for ‘Discovering’ Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’
The first volume of Stranger Things Season 4 recently dropped on Netflix. Though the second volume won’t hit the streaming platform until July, viewers are diving deep to catch up with all their favorite characters, including Eleven, Max, Mike, Will, and Dustin. The Stranger Things soundtrack abounds with ’80s classics, but one moment is truly unforgettable — a song that first climbed the charts in 1985. Though some longtime music fans are thrilled that Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” is getting its moment in the sun, others are slamming Stranger Things viewers for not knowing about the tune in the first place.
[Warning: This post contains spoilers from Stranger Things Season 4, Volume 1.]
When is the song ‘Running Up That Hill’ featured in ‘Stranger Things’?
The kids in Stranger Things have faced a lot of adversity over the past four seasons. But the demonic Vecna in Season 4 represents a much darker presence than anyone is prepared for. Vecna sweeps through the town of Hawkins, murdering teens left and right, and Max Mayfield begins to believe she is next. After Vecna confronts her, Max falls into the Upside Down, where it seems she might be trapped forever.
However, her friends realize that music has the power to pull people away from Vecna, and they play Max’s favorite song, “Running Up That Hill,” to save the teen from Vecna’s sinister clutches.
Why are ‘Stranger Things’ fans catching hate for ‘discovering’ the iconic Kate Bush song?
Though “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” has been used in TV shows in the past, including The O.C., the song is seeing a renewed burst of popularity thanks to Stranger Things Season 4.
The Daily Beast reports that the song is at the top of the charts on Spotify, Apple Music, and a host of other streaming services. But not everyone is happy about Stranger Things viewers discovering the song for the first time.
Disgruntled Kate Bush fans have been taking to Twitter to post comments like, “If y’all start calling Kate Bush’s music ‘the Stranger Things song,’ I’m gonna kill you.” Another fan wrote, “Kate Bush did not go through Wuthering Heights, run all the way up that hill to make a deal with god & shout babooshka for y’all to be finding out about her in 2022!”
But other fans have defended viewers for only recently learning about Kate Bush
Though some longtime Kate Bush fans are not happy with Stranger Things viewers for their lack of familiarity with the artist and her music, others are ecstatic that the song is getting exposure in 2022.
“I don’t give af how or what introduces kids to music like Kate Bush or Fleetwood Mac,” one user wrote on Twitter. “What matters is that these legends endure … As they f***ing should.”
Another Twitter user defended young fans, writing, “Y’all have GOT to get a basic understanding that not everyone discovers things at the same time, that Kate Bush’s heyday was the 70s/80s, and that young people are not required to have a monolithic knowledge of pop culture.”
In the end, interesting shows usually divide fans in some way — and if there’s one thing both sides of the aisle can agree on, it’s that Stranger Things is as immersive and clever as always. Plus, the second volume of season 4 is on the way, and the Duffer Brothers have promised more Kate Bush songs will appear in upcoming episodes.
