When it first aired in July 2016, the Netflix series Stranger Things received immediate attention for its striking homage to 1980s pop culture. Drawing on the aesthetics of blockbuster films from the period, such as the oeuvre of filmmaker and composer John Carpenter, and leaning heavily on eighties icons like Dungeons & Dragons, amateur radio, and Winona Ryder, the series’ creators—brothers Matt and Ross Duffer—capitalized on the recent rise of retro culture (a trend evident in the Blade Runner sequel [2017], the screen adaptation of Stephen King's 1988 novel IT [2017], and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy films [2014–Present]). The series’ story, a science fiction horror narrative exploring the trauma of losing a child, struck a chord with viewers, and the series was nominated for eighteen primetime Emmy awards in 2017, of which it won five. One of these awards went to the series’ composers, Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, for the show's title cue.
Dixon and Stein are members of the Austin-based, synthwave quartet Survive, hired by the Duffers after the brothers used the band's “Dirge” (2012) in the show's demo reel. Dixon and Stein rely on vintage, modular analog synthesizers to recreate the sounds of ’70s and ’80s soundtracks by artists like Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, and John Carpenter, and cite as further influences ’90s experimental groups like Aphex Twin, Autechre, and Bogdan Raczynski. Their retro machines allow them to fine-tune timbre and tuning manually, giving them extraordinary control over sound. The title cue was created by overlapping music from several synthesizers, including a Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, a Roland SH-2, and a Mellotron.Footnote 1 When paired with the series’ use of preexisting popular tracks (such as The Clash's “Should I Stay or Should I Go” [1981] and Toto's “Africa” [1982], both of which can be heard in the first episode), the synth-based original soundtrack reinforces Stranger Things’ eighties feel.
Though Dixon and Stein compose for the series’ characters and ideas thematically, and though some melodies—like the charming “Kids” theme and the unsettling “Upside Down” theme—stand out, the first season's tracks tend to be mood-based, repetitive, and timbrally focused, with the trajectory of each cue unfolding as sounds develop and are layered over one another. Dixon and Stein have understandably found that composing for a series like Stranger Things is different than composing for Survive, as the music's structure must respond to events on screen instead of following more traditional song forms. Though some tracks are melodically and harmonically-driven, they more often manipulate spectator mood through timbral development; the mean, distorted stabs of “Lights Out” and “Danger Danger,” for instance, evoke a visceral response in listeners as they are filtered to alternately emphasize or suppress their overtones. In tracks like “Where's Barb?” and “The Upside Down,” Dixon and Stein manually manipulate intonation to escalate the series’ atmospheric terror. Layered synth patterns evolve as multiple sounds are explored in tandem; the stratified structure of “Gearing Up” meshes, among other elements, a pulsing, percussive bass pad, a persistent, four-note arpeggio, and a leisurely melody, all of which transform timbrally over the course of the cue. The score's lingering repetitiveness, its slow manipulation of sound, and its timbral layering evoke multiple period synth scores and strengthen the series’ nostalgic mood without resorting to gimmick or disrupting the narrative flow.
As children of the eighties have risen within the ranks of the entertainment industry, the vogue for eighties pop culture-influenced media has surged as well. This nostalgic sensibility has been critiqued variously as reactionary (responding to a disappointing present), forgetful (ignoring history's nuances), stagnant (hampering creativity), and commercial (marketing to demographic interests), and although each of these criticisms can be fairly applied to Stranger Things and its soundtrack, the series also provides a space in which traces of the past can inform new cultural narratives and collective identities in the present.Footnote 2 The series’ analog synth music, although rooted in musical objects and styles of three decades prior, by nature means something different for listeners in the 2010s, infusing new life into both our memories of the eighties and our present-day musical landscapes. This dynamic is especially poignant for younger audiences born after the 1980s had passed, who experience the decade through cultural artifacts and second-hand memories. Hipster culture is a driving force in retro trends, mobilizing (in addition to its ironic mode) a redemptive imitation of the past that seeks to recirculate “forgotten objects for genuine aesthetic enjoyment.”Footnote 3 Dixon and Stein, in their commitment to eighties musical technology and style, respond not only to their own nostalgic impulses but also to a broader cultural impulse to recirculate past treasures. This is part of the wide appeal of Stranger Things and its soundtrack: its nostalgic moves captivate both older audiences who remember the eighties first-hand and younger audiences who value rearticulating the past in the present.
Stranger Things’ first-season soundtrack was released as two volumes across several platforms—digital, CD, and vinyl. As with most contemporary popular music and soundtrack albums, the liner notes are sparse; the CD albums provide only track listings, a primary credits list, and a few promotional photographs from the series. The most compelling marketing decision was the release of both volumes on cassette tape, complete with retro sleeves designed to imitate old VHS covers, a move that highlights yet again the series’ fixation on eighties pop culture commodities. Although the series’ homage to the decade can by nature be only an imitation, Dixon and Stein's vintage synthwave scoring has captivated Stranger Things’ audiences, allowing them to engage—again and anew—with treasured musical objects and styles of the past.
