There’s something calmly childlike about being a fan. If you grew up watching E.T., the Goonies, or any of the other references Stranger Things dutifully cites, you probably felt the kid in you being pulled out to watch the show alongside you on the living room floor. Watching through the eyes of your inner kid and allowing that little human to love Stranger Things, with the pure love of a kid, feels like the natural way to bring the fandom loop full circle. Especially for this show.
In Tavi Gevinson’s talk on fangirling (if you haven't seen, you please please do) a couple years ago, she talked about how important it is to love something as a religion, instead of acting too cool or disaffected. She says being a fan lets you take part in the “great chain of being, not in a conformist way, but in a way that’s just kind of comforting. What if when you’re in a mood where you feel sad and stuck, it’s just more therapeutic for you to write down someone else’s words. . . . Being a fan is one of the most happy-ing things you can do because you feel connected to people and you realize these feelings pass through all of us and they have for years and years and years and you’ll be ok.”
In other words, it’s about looking for the wonder in things. I always come back to that Sufjan line: “Search for things to extol.” Being a fan is having an active love in you that looks outward to find the same love in something outside yourself—whether that’s someone or something.
And if you think about it, why not FULLY love the things you love? The best way to learn about yourself is to dive completely into an endeavor, to love something with all you have and then figure out why and how your love for that thing is specific to you.
I’m also always reminded of this scene in poetry in Ezra Pound’s “Canto 2”, where he’s looking out over the sea and sees a seal, and he immediately recalls the Irish sea god, Manannan mac Lir. His knowledge of ancient lore gives him the “eyes of Picasso” so he can see his environment in a new light. His love of something enriches his reality. Kind of like when you watch Stranger Things and see the Demogorgon in trees branches, or see Hawkins lab in a stairway of the subway.
So in keeping with the value of fandom, this playlist is nothing original. It’s just me, in an effort to carry out my duty as a fan, to try to track down every song in the show. Big shout out to Reddit, TuneFind.com (which is a cool place I didn't know existed before this), and YouTubers everywhere.
Art by Daniel Bretas, who let us use this original poster. Check out his work on his Facebook page at Máquina Sem Tempo.
Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers
Can't Seem To Make You Mine - The Seeds (coffee and contemplation)
She Has Funny Cars - Jefferson Airplanes (intro to El at Benny's)
I Shall Not Care - Pearls Before Swine (Benny and El "talk")
Jenny May - Trader Horne (Benny's; squeaky fan)
Every Little Bit - Jackie James (hot shot climbs in window)
White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane (last scene at Benny's: ok... who is El?)
Africa - Toto (Steve lays on moves as thick as his hair)
Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street
Go Nowhere - Reagan Youth (Jonathan's car)
Should I Stay or Should I Go - The Clash
Dark Stars - Mark Glass (Lonnie's tv: scoured the web and could not find a hot link. Any help?)
I’m Taking Off (Shield Your Eyes) - Space Knife (plays on Lonnie’s tv)
Body Language 1 - Alexander Baker and Clair Marlo (Nancy's room)
Tie a Yellow Ribbon - Brotherhood of Man (Barb's pre-party car tunes)
Raise a Little Hell - Trooper (Steve! Party!)
I Melt With You - Modern English (pool chug)
Hazy Shade of Winter - The Bangles (credits)
Chapter Three: Holly, Jolly
Waiting for a Girl Like You - Foreigner (Steve and Nancy (while someone else....dies?))
Brahm's Lullaby - Daniel Portis-Cathers (music-box snoop)
Heroes - Peter Gabriel (son comforts mom, while across town, mom comforts son)
Chapter Four: The Body
Atmosphere - Joy Division (Hopper tells Joyce; Jonathan copes in bed)
Should I stay or Should I Go - The Clash (a Will exclusive cover)
Color Dreams - The Deep (Hopper talks to statie in bar)
Chapter Five: The Flea and the Acrobat
Elegia - New Order (Jennifer Hayes cries at a funeral)
Green Desert - Tangerine Dream (Hopper unscrews some light bulbs in his quaint lodge)
Old Time Rock and Roll - Bob Segar (Big hair boy thinks he's Risky Business)
Nocturnal Me - Echo & The Bunnymen (aaaaaaand episode)
Chapter Six: The Monster
Sunglasses at Night (Steve's "looking for Nance" tunes)
I See The Future - Andrew Pinching (see track 29 here) (music playing in Nancy's empty bedroom when mom comes looking)
Haydn Cello Concerto 1 (playing at Mr. Clarke's house)
Happy Jose - Kookie Freeman (El goes grocery shopping)
Brahm's Lullaby - Daniel Portis-Cathers (mobile plays softly in a child's nursery)
The Bargain Store - Dolly Parton (monster hunting shopping)
Exit - Tangerine Dream (alley showdown)
Chapter Seven: The Bathtub
Fields of Coral - Vangelis (we see lots of things)
Chapter Eight: The Upside Down
Horizon (Warsaw Gate Mix) - Tangerine Dream (Anne of Green Gables)
When It's Cold I'd Like to Die - Moby (Not the wrist rocket, but El)
White Christmas - Bing Crosby (Byers Christmas)