Familiar tunes from Tiffany (“I Think We’re Alone Now”), ABBA (“Fernando”), Michael Jackson (“Rockin’ Robin”), the Psychedelic Furs (“Pretty in Pink”) and Yello (“Oh Yeah”) help enliven the soundtrack to the just-released fifth season of Netflix’s Stranger Things, the first volume of which is out now digitally from Legacy Recordings.
As expected for a show that often jumps back and forth between decades and is presently set in 1987, Vol. 1 also sports vintage favorites by the Chordettes (“Mr. Sandman”), the Chords (“Sh-Boom,” which was used to similar dramatic effect in the 1985 classic Clue) and Freddy Martin & His Orchestra (“To Each His Own”).
Tiffany was 15, or slightly younger than the main characters in the Stranger Things chronology, when her cover of Tommy James and the Shondells’ “I Think We’re Alone Now” became a smash hit in 1987. “My FAVORITE show!!,” she enthused on Instagram. “What a thrill. Great way to start my HOLIDAY.”
The second volume of the Season 5 soundtrack will be available digitally on Dec. 26. Vol. 3 will round up music from the first two installments, plus additional tracks, for release on Jan. 1. Conceptualized and produced by show creators the Duffer Brothers and music supervisor Nora Felder, the complete soundtrack for the season will then arrive on CD, vinyl and cassette on Jan. 30.
In 2022, the show prominently featured Kate Bush’s 1985 song “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” in its fourth season, propelling it to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 — the beloved but reclusive British artist’s highest-ever showing on that tally.
