In a crowded and warm room with green light in Oslo, Icelandic Hállldora Rún Bergmann concentrates on keeping up with the tempo of her new favorite song. The Kate Bush song “Running Up That Hill” gave her goosebumps. – And then it makes me feel strong, she says. Behind the bar at the karaoke bar we meet Leon Moi. He can tell us exactly which episode and scene in the Netflix series Stranger Things some of the songs from the soundtrack are used in. – The fact that so many young people now listen to Kate Bush creates a sense of belonging for me, says the bartender. Leon Moi at SYNG Grünerløkka Photo: Daphne Steketee / news New success for old trotters “Running Up That Hill” is one of several songs from before the internet that have gained high positions on the charts recently. The last season of Stranger Things this summer shot the over thirty-year-old song to the top of both Billboard’s global charts and made the song the most streamed song on Spotify – almost forty years after it came out. The 36-year-old Metallica song “Master Of Puppets” has also climbed far up the US Billboard Hot 100 chart as a result of the series. The Nirvana song “Something in the way” did the same this spring after being used twice in the new Batman film, and in the first “trailer” for the film. More young people on the hunt for records We travel to the second-hand shop Råkk and Rolls in Oslo to see if the Stranger Things hype has ruined the store for “Hounds of Love” and “Master of Puppets”. Kate Bush and Metallica don’t stand for more than an hour before they are sold, says the man behind the till. Before, it was people in their mid-20s to 50s who wanted these artists. – Now even younger people come down to the age of fifteen to buy records like this, says André Bjørnsrud and pulls out “Master of Puppets” from a pile of vinyl covers. André Bjørnsrud notices the Stranger Things hype at the LP hall. Photo: Mathias Moene Rød / news Retrowave in the eighties and nineties Young people today are not the only ones to find joy in their parents’ record collections. Two years after “Running Up That Hill” came out, one saw a retro wave. In 1987, the films “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “Back to School” pushed the Beatles’ song “Twist and Shout” up the charts for the first time in over 20 years, writes Billboard. Through “blockbusters” and TV, several songs followed in the next few years, before things calmed down again. Retrowave in the eighties and nineties Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me”, from the film of the same name, and Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” from the film Good Morning, Vietnam reached the top 40 in the US several years after the songs came out same reason as the Beatles. So did The Contours’ “Do You Love Me” from Dirty Dancing, The Righteous Brothers’ song “Unchained Melody” (from Ghost) and Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” (from Wayne’s World). Source: Billboard. Between 1994 and 2015, there were actually no old songs that became so popular through use in film or TV that it made an impact on the charts, according to Billboard. Then it happened again. In 2015, “Straight out of Compton” from 1988 climbed onto the Billboard charts because of the film about the rap group NWA, write the music magazine. But it was only this year, with the revitalization of “Running Up That Hill”, “Something in the Way” and “Master of Puppets” through Stranger Things and Batman that such songs have managed to stay on the top charts for a longer period of time, writes Billboard . Straight Outta Compton kicked off a new retro wave in 2015. Photo: Jaimie Trueblood TikTok works like fuel on the fire At André Bjørnsrud’s record store in Oslo, we meet media researcher Anja Nylund Hagen, who by day works as a senior adviser at the Culture Council. While browsing the shelves as if it were 1985, Hagen says that the high chart positions of the songs come as a result of several media working together. – Streaming services such as Spotify and Netflix work together with social and user-driven media such as TikTok, she says. Streaming services such as Spotify and Netflix work together with social and user-driven media such as TikTok. The list positions of the songs are a result of the media working together, explains media expert Anja Nylund Hagen. Photo: Mathias Moene Rød / news But how big of an impact on the charts can going viral on TikTok alone give an old song? In October 2020, the old rockers in Fleetwood Mac hijacked the 10th place on Billboard’s list of the most streamed songs in the world with a song from 1977 completely without the help of a film or a TV series. “Dreams” only needed a 15-second video on TikTok of a happy guy drinking cranberry juice while skating to work. “Dreams” gave Nathan Apodaca a good start to the day. A cold table that never expires Culture commentator at news Inger Merete Hobbelstad is not surprised that “Running up that hill” and other songs have had new success. The people who grew up with the songs are now decision makers, directors and producers, she points out. – They want it easy to give the green light to projects that evoke the same feelings as back then, says Hobbelstad. See TikTok’s interpretation of the smash hit. – Is new music so bad that this is necessary? – No, replies Hobbelstad and turns the question around. – Why should we limit ourselves to what is made here and now? Creative people have lived in different times, adapted to different trends in time and acted from different inspirations, she points out. – It is a gift to have access to what they were looking for. The past is a big cold table, and we become a poorer culture if we forget it, says Hobbelstad. Hedvig Haugen gets a mysterious feeling from the music of Kate Bush. – It is a completely different value. What she writes about is so beautiful, says Haugen. Photo: Privat – Music never expires Through news Nyheiter on Snapchat, news comes into contact with several young people who completely agree with Hobbelstad’s cold table metaphor. Hedvig Haugen discovered Bush’s music on TikTok before season four of the Netflix series came out this spring. – Then I forgot about her. But when “Running Up That Hill” was played in Stranger Things, I found my way back to her music. Since then, she has listened to the artist a lot. – Now I love Kate Bush. Music never goes out of date, she says. In addition, it becomes easier to sing along in the car, when several generations like the same songs. – That me and my father like the same music is very funny. In the case below, you can read more about Kate Bush:
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TikTok, Batman and Stranger things get an era for Metallica, Kate Bush and Nirvana’s new success – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
