Graphic shown during the main theme song of Stranger Things.
“Stranger Things Logo.” Netflix, July 22, 2016.
The hit show Stranger Things first released in 2016 is undeniably one of the most popular Netflix originals, receiving numerous positive reviews and awards for its music, writing, acting, directing, etc., among which included two Emmys for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme and Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series in 2017 (Television Academy). Although there are many different interpretations as for why the show was so popular, we will argue that its success is attributed to the main theme song of the series, which would not have been as compelling in transporting viewers back to the 1980s if not for the help of the electronic instrument, the synthesizer. Specifically the most prominent factors that bring listeners back to the ‘80s while also transporting them into an unfamiliar future is the instrument’s ability to produce intense and dramatic sounds by means of controlling rhythmic intensity and pitch changes. These sounds—which are similar to those heard in popular 1980s science fiction productions such as John Carpenter’s “Here Come the Helicopters” and “Escape From New York (Main Theme)”—take viewers back in time by using familiar synthesizer sounds, while using modern production methods to appeal to today’s audiences and bring them to a “strange” place. This site will use scholarship on synthesizers, musical analysis of the Stranger Things soundtrack, and 1980s film history to highlight the synthesizer’s essential role to the success of the show. However, the show’s true success should be attributed to how composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein used the synthesizers. Although this site mainly focuses on the musical aspect of the comeback of 1980s nostalgia, this is part of a larger contemporary fascination with the ‘80s, which has greatly influenced pop culture.