Year-end roundtable: How Kate Bush became the real star of Stranger Things—and the MVP of summer

In a series of special year-end roundtable discussions, The A.V. Club looks back at the stories that made the biggest impact on pop culture in 2022.

Kate Bush’s song “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” initially came out in 1985, when it became the artist’s first Top 40 hit in the United States. In 2022, thanks to a combination of music streaming and Stranger Things, the track became Bush’s first Top 10 hit, climbing up that Billboard Hot 100 chart to number three. Below, three A.V. Club staffers discuss the impact of Stranger Things and the resurgence of Kate Bush.

Gabrielle Sanchez: What a time to be alive, honestly. Like you Cindy, my connection to Kate Bush predates her Stranger Things needle-drop, although I was definitely not around in her glory days (I was born 19 years after she made her debut with “Wuthering Heights”).

I was initially introduced to Kate Bush in 2020, as for some reason (similar to Moonstruck), Kate Bush entered the cultural conversation once more, particularly among my peers. Bush became my soundtrack for the first year of the pandemic. When I was working at a bar and restaurant back in Texas, my coworkers and I capped off our closing shifts with what we called “Kate Bush Hour,” where we subjected unsuspecting customers to an onslaught of Bush songs. It was a great time.

CW: That’s amazing. I hope you converted some Texans to the Cult of Kate. Her stuff has really stood the test of time. For another really effective use of Kate Bush in a soundtrack, I highly recommend watching She’s Having A Baby with Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern. The song “This Woman’s Work” plays during the birth sequence and it’s incredible.

GS: Oh absolutely. This timelessness of her work was instrumental to the riotous popularity “Running Up That Hill” experienced this year.

CW: I feel like there’s something cinematic about her music that makes it perfect for TV and movie soundtracks. I was actually surprised to find out how many people’s first exposure to Kate Bush was through this season of Stranger Things.

Saloni Gajjar: I’ll start by admitting I spent my summer listening to “Running Up That Hill” a lot. While I was a Kate Bush fan, I think oddly the most I’ve listened to her music is because of Stranger Things in a “one song led to another” kind of way.

I absolutely loved the “Dear Billy” episode and how it utilized the song.

GS: I think what was more marvelous about this whole thing, greater than the inclusion of the song in Stranger Things, was the fact that a reclusive woman who’s done zero work in the last few years landed at the top of the charts for a song she originally released in 1985. No promotion needed on her end! Everyone was just running up that hill and making their own personal deal with God.

SG: That’s true. She emerged as the unexpected winner of season four. I can’t remember the last time a song took over like this, especially such a massive one like Stranger Things. It speaks somewhat to the reach that Stranger Things has, sure, but it’s also because “Running Up That Hill” really is so timeless and wonderful.

GS: “Running Up That Hill” also has such a wonderful universality to it. While it spurred from Bush’s own interpretation of the differences between men and women, the song can really apply to anyone who’s felt marginalized over another.

CW: It is universal, as you say, but it also fits the character of Max so well in this season of Stranger Things. She’s still plagued by guilt over what happened to Billy last season but doesn’t feel like she can let it show. If she only could she’d make a deal with God to swap places with Billy. That’s pretty dark, but it’s a good shorthand indicator of where she is mentally at the beginning of the season, even if she’s bottled it all up.

SG: I agree. When I first heard the song I hadn’t read what inspired Kate Bush’s lyrics, and of course, once I did, the puzzle pieces fit. Similarly, I was so happy to see this is the song that resonates with Max the most—it just fits with who Max is.

Honestly, Sadie Sink’s performance and Max’s arc were undoubtedly the best part of season four. And the turning point in her journey of guilt, as Cindy eloquently phrased it above, is when “Running Up That Hill” reminds her not only of the dark places but also of the good things in her life. I love that we hear her listening to it when the season begins and she’s pushing everyone away, using only the song as her solace. So it’s a full circle.

And as a side note, I enjoyed how this scene led to everyone asking: “What song would save you from Vecna” a.k.a what song would literally save your life?

CW: Ooh. Good question! I’m going to think about that. But first I want to say what a great point about the way the meaning of the song flips as her mentality changes and she begins to heal from that trauma toward the end of the season. Leave it to Kate Bush to write such a versatile song!

SG: Right? It’s such a versatile track and I love that it depends on your mood what you take away from it. A classic for a reason. And as Gabrielle said in the beginning, I’m glad it had such a chart-topping resurgence in 2022. It’s not like the song hasn’t been used by TV shows in the past. I vividly remember The O.C. and The Vampire Diaries playing it (or a version of it). So there’s something to unpack about how Stranger Things captured it best, I guess. It helps that the show has a vast global reach, too.

CW: There are a lot of songs I could pick, but I actually have a real-life situation to answer this question. When I was in labor with my twins I was having a really tough time. They induced me, but nothing was happening and my blood pressure was dangerously high. Fortunately, I had made a playlist for the hospital ahead of time. I know this sounds crazy, but when I was listening to Bon Iver my blood pressure actually went down! The track was “Creature Fear” and I still listen to it to this day when I need to chill or calm down. So that’s my answer.

GS: Thinking about my Vecna song, I would have to give a couple of options. One that fits in the time period of Stranger Things would be the Talking Heads’ 1983 classic “This Must Be The Place.” Put that in a Walkman and honestly I can get through anything. One from a more modern age would be Mark Ronson’s “True Blue” featuring Angel Olsen.

SG: I love those. I don’t think I could pick just one either, so kudos to Max for going so hard with “Running Up That Hill.” It’s hard! And I wonder if The Duffer Brothers have explained why they picked this song for Max. [Editor’s note: they have.] Anyway, for starters, I’m surprised that I don’t have a Taylor Swift pick for this, probably because it’s impossible for me to choose (“mirrorball?” “The Archer?” “State Of Grace?” I could never).

So truthfully the tracks that might actually save me are: There’s a Bollywood song, “Agar Tum Saath Ho,” from the 2015 film Tamasha (one of my favorites). It’s my forever favorite from recent years. Another, much older song, is Billy Joel’s “Vienna.” I discovered and fell in love with it at a point where my anxiety was at an all-time high and the lyrics just resonated deeply and helped calm me down oddly. So there we go.

CW: Oh, I love “Vienna,” and speaking of great uses of music in media, it always makes me think of the scene where Jennifer Garner goes home in 13 Going On 30.

[This article has been edited and condensed for clarity.]