You may be annoyed with “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush (ya know, the 1986 song that’s recently hit #1 on tons of charts and streaming services in 2022) or maybe you’re like me and you can’t get enough of it. Whatever the case may be, “Running Up That Hill” is defining this generation and it’s not going away anytime soon.
The biggest and most streamed Netflix show ever, Stranger Things, dropped season four in two parts this year - volume one on May 27 and volume 2 on July 1st. Overdosing in 80s nostalgia, fans have been captured with the show’s aesthetic, fashion, hairstyles… and music. Every season since it’s debut in 2016, Stranger Things has always provided the most amazing track of on its soundtracks. These songs include “Africa” by TOTO, “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker, Jr., “Never Ending Story” and tons more. But what makes “Running Up That Hill” so motivational? From personal experience, this song was one of a few that will always remind me of Summer 2022. Summer is somewhat difficult for me, being that my body and skin were never able to handle the heat, along with working fulltime and striving for a music industry career, life becomes overwhelming. But this song remains motivational with it’s simple chorus Be running up that road/ Be running up that hill/ Be running up that building” has endless meaning.
The song has been played in countless Instagram reels, Tik Toks, commercials, radio, streaming + more. To align the track with THAT certain scene in Stranger Things, while Max is running from Vecna, is absolutely perfect. Perfect is an understatement. The metaphor my mind created was a vision of yourself running from your demons, hearing your favorite music whatever piece of music that is, it can save you. There are countless comments on the “Running Up That Hill” music video explaining the amazingly positive impact the song has had on people. One YouTuber commented, “So many people’s lives were saved by this song, so I loved seeing how they used it in Stranger Things.” Another one commented, “Who else feels like they can take on the world when they hear this song?” The video for the iconic song currently has over 100 million views on YouTube and Spotify confirmed Kate Bush streams skyrocketed over 9,000% thanks to Stranger Things.
While its second life has earned Kate Bush over 2.3 million dollars, nothing compares to the feeling it gives people when they hear “Running Up That Hill.”