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

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.

And 70s/80s Stephen King books

Tho I don't remember if King was leaned quite as heavy into specific popcult refs or explicitly naming things in his early work.

pop culture was a huge part of his writing
music, politics, brands, tv shows, ad jingles

dead zone is wall to wall vietnam & election news, all kinda shit specific to the time/place

goole read my next sentence where i realize this :)

I found this an enjoyable kind of gentle viewing experience, like nothing was really THAT shocking or unexpected and there were no crazy twists or modern-feeling edginess, but managed to be absorbing in its own 'authentic' way. Once you get over the reference points and realise it's nothing but, I didn't find it jarring or distracting - except for the 'this music will change your life' nonsense, and the Under the Skin rip offs (btw I have been saving UTS to re-screen on my TV box thing for months and then the bloody thing wiped it grr).
The plot was a bit simplistic, everyone just assumed there was only one monster in this whole other dimension? I thought for sure the AV science teacher guy was a goner so glad he was ok but sad he didn't get to see the upside down.

Jean Ralphio was also really distracting actually, but I had literally just finished watching a season of P&R before starting this. Jonathan kept reminding me of Simon Quinlank too.
Disappointed none of the bullies ended up in a dumpster, try harder next time guys. The kids were really impressive, loved them.

Anyone body policing can gtfo, thanks

Really enjoyed the show's loving devotion to its reference points. Felt like a couple of images transcended the referentiality (to me anyway, quite probably I am simply oblivious to the sources): Winona talking to the Xmas tree lights in the alcove. As lovely and uncanny as the car radio communion in Orphée. And then Nancy crawling through the tree - in a kind of magical Cronenberg meets Blyton moment - into the Upside Down, which, with its drifting snowflake spores, feels like a kind of ruined Narnia.