A thread for Stranger Things, the "Goonies meets X-Files" new Netflix series (with SPOILERS!)

https://twitter.com/TheTomasRios/status/765661242442866689

meanwhile, if spielberg discussion needs a home:

Steven Spielberg - classic or dud
Best Steven Spielberg film
Steven Spielberg post-1993: Vote for the best

The musical cues are off because the Duffer Bros werent even born when this was set and young people now think the 80s was hipper than it was.

That said, in 83 I was happily listening to very early (arty-era) Spandau, Visage and stuff, and I lived in a country town.

hate to make the obvious point but perhaps they weren't aiming for verisimilitude and accuracy and trying to reflect what small town Hoosiers would've watched/listened to at that time, but rather put in musical cues and references to movies that are from the 80s that they think are cool

reading modern american crime/detective novels the last few years and those guys are ALWAYS putting in references to their favorite blues/rock/whatever artists that no detective/cop would ever listen to.

^^^yes. It can be quite irritating.

i blame stephen king. to bring things full circle again.

bruce springsteen owes him a debt of gratitude

King owes springsteen

what kind of music do detectives listen to

Whatever George Pelacanos does

what kind of music do detectives listen to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfAv8yAaHps

https ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfAv8yAaHps

i like these john sandford books and these guys in the middle of nowhere in minnesota sit around talking about guy clark and townes van zandt and i find it a little hard to believe. i mean, these crime novels are often idealized tough guy alter-ego projection fantasies for people who look like they hang out with my dad. and also my dad. and now me. but its cool. i like guy clark.

you know i get why people are latching on to the character of barb from this but also i don't get it? she's in like two scenes and then she dies.

i'm here to say ... barb is overrated (deal with it sunglasses on the demogorgon)

i'm the true iconoclast of mild stranger things fandom

https://www.buzzfeed.com/matwhitehead/barbyonce

fuck this

I think people are primarily into Barb's look

i hated barb

according to buzzfeed she's quotable and a queen of reactions

their quote for her is "i'm chill"

i don't hate her, i'm just not into the typical performative hyperbolic internet reaction to the character

I think people are primarily into Barb's look

People I know who are into Barb used to look like Barb

^ this

I think people are primarily into Barb'sMartha Plimpton's look

fixed

i sympathize with barb

it's cool that other people love her

people shouldn't shun nance tho

there's room in this world for both of them

Eh, I didn't even see Goonies until 5 or 6 years ago, but I definitely knew and was friends with girls who were Barbs growing up.

i think i knew one or two barbs

definitely felt a little bummed when that monster ate her because you know she is just a sweet girl trying to be a good daughter

if only she had gotten laid/drunk, she might've survived

she wasn't ready for that, dude

barb is almost as overrated as hamilton

Barb! The Musical

Monster is Burr xpost

I was a dude Barb. It sucked.

me too.

and by that i mean the alien thing happened too

whatever Barb

3 episodes in, this is really taking a thompson submachine gun to nostalgic references isn't it

The DJ Yoda mixtape about this is loadsa fun.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dj-behind-hit-stranger-things-916853

https://soundcloud.com/dj-yoda-uk/the-stranger-things-mixtape

I'm digging the mix of inspirations for including Dolly Parton and Toto amongst the more obvious ones.

was there any black music at all? LL Cool J was massive at my rural Tennessee middle school

"LL... This is your cousin Barry. Barry Cool J. You know that sound you been looking for?"

Your rural Tennessee middle school was apparently a couple of years ahead of the curve on LL!

Black artists were just starting to crack MTV around '83. I was in Indiana when this took place and I don't remember hearing much beyond Michael Jackson. But I was like 6, so, y'know.

maybe not by '83 but i thought we had established that this show takes place in a kind of impressionistic mid-80s popcult era. in which BREAKDANCING and RAP were like a pretty big deal (but actually i guess NOT in the movies it's referencing!)

They're mostly on-point with the references and diagetic musical choices. Breakdancing and rap definitely became a big deal a year or two later but definitely feel a little out of place in cloistered suburban '83.

I def remember breakdancing circa '84, not sure about '83. As far as black music that WAS a part of white suburban culture circa this show's era, it's probably more a case of "we couldn't get the rights to Michael Jackson or Prince"

The only character with any visible interest in music is Jonathan who, let's face it, is going to be more of a Smiths and Joy Division kind of guy.

Loved this anyway, real kicker right at the end which sets things up nicely for S2. At the start it really did feel like a pile-up of cute reference points but sometime around episode three it just became its own thing and I stopped noticing them.

I kept calling Eleven ET and it drove my gf nuts. But I appreciated it for the affectionate homage it was clearly meant to be.

maybe not by '83 but i thought we had established that this show takes place in a kind of impressionistic mid-80s popcult era.

it takes place in 80s movies.