Kate Bush, Nirvana, Al Green… When fiction gives a second life to sometimes forgotten songs

Some films or series made you want to listen to old songs that you hadn’t heard for a long time? This has happened with several titles that have found new glory, sometimes years after their release. Some examples.

“Running up that Hill” from “Stranger Things”

The fourth season of the hit series Stranger Thingsbroadcast on the Netflix platform, thus propelled the piece to the top of the streaming listening rankings Running up that Hill by British singer Kate Bush. This title, which had risen to third place when it was released in 1985, is very present in the plot of the new season.

The song hit number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 12. This ranking draws up a weekly list of the 100 most popular songs in the United States according to the number of sales but also their radio broadcast. “It’s all very exciting! Thank you so much to everyone who supported the song”reacted Kate Bush.

“Something in the Way” in “The Batman”

Last March, the film The Batman resurrected a track from Nirvana: Something in the Way. The title, present on the album nevermind, released in 1991, is like the dark and melancholy film by Matt Reeves. He is found twice in the film, and in particular in the final scene.

Thirty years after its release, the song’s popularity exploded on streaming listening platforms, reaching 20 million plays on the Spotify platform, a few days after the film’s release. It was also positioned at number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100, the week of March 26.

“Bohemian Rapsody” in “Wayne’s World”

But the phenomenon is not recent. We remember, for example, the comedy Wayne’s Worldreleased in 1992, and its cult scene where the group of friends sings the title Bohemian Rapsody of Queen in a car.

This scene had revived interest in this 1975 track, just months after the death of singer Freddie Mercury, to the point of finding itself ranked in the famous American music ranking Billboard at a better place than when it was released.

“Unchained Melody” in “Ghost”

The title Unchained Melody, slow languid and timeless Righteous Brothers, had already been a huge success in 1965, although being the recovery of a title released ten years earlier. But in 1990, after its use in another memorable melodic scene Ghostit’s a strong comeback in the American Billboard ranking, to the point of encouraging the duo Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield to record new songs.

“Let’s Stay Together” in “Pulp Fiction”

Today everyone knows Al Green, nicknamed “the Reverend”, one of the most famous and beloved soul artists in history, author of many classics. Yet it is well after the use of his piece Let’s Stay Together in pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino in 1994 that it reached a wider audience.

“Where is my Mind?” in “Fightclub”

Illustrate schizophrenia with Where is my Mind? of the Pixies today is a bit easy, but it’s the end scene of the fight club by David Fincher in 1999 who did it first in 1999, again giving a second youth to the song.