Stranger Things Season 5 music: the original score, the songs and "Child in Time"
Season 5 · Music · Original score
The last season made less musical noise than the fourth, which had resurrected Kate Bush, but it has its moments: a teaser on Deep Purple, a song that never leaves Max's bedside, and a pirate radio that serves as a jukebox for a town under quarantine. Here is the music of season 5.
The essentials
- Composers: Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, since 2016
- Teaser song: “Child in Time”, Deep Purple, 1970
- Max's song: “Running Up That Hill”, Kate Bush, 1985
- The jukebox: WSQK, Steve's pirate radio
Contents
Dixon and Stein's score
Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, of the band Survive, have signed the show's music since the first episode, on analog synthesizers. For the last season, they widened the palette: strings and choirs join the synths in the Abyss and in the epilogue, without abandoning the opening theme, which returns in a slowed form in the last episode.
The soundtrack came out in two volumes, timed to the episode releases, then gathered into a complete edition.
The Max T-shirt, Walkman included.
In the shopWomen's Max's Mixtape T-shirt39,90 €See the product
“Child in Time”, Deep Purple
The Season 5 song is not in the season: it is in its teaser, in July 2025. “Child in Time,” ten minutes of progressive rock released in 1970, whose vocal crescendo accompanies the images of the locked-down town. The lyrics talk of a child caught in a war; fans saw Will in them, Holly, all the children of the show. The track jumped in the streaming charts the week of the teaser.
| Title | Artist | Year | Where you hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child in Time | Deep Purple | 1970 | The July 2025 teaser |
| Running Up That Hill | Kate Bush | 1985 | At Max's bedside, at the hospital |
| The show's theme | Dixon and Stein | 2016 | Opening, and a slowed finale |
| WSQK's titles | Various, 1987 | 1987 | Steve's pirate radio |
Kate Bush, again
"Running Up That Hill" had saved Max in 1986. In 1987, Lucas puts the song on every day at her bedside, during the eighteen months of coma. The show does not say it is the song that wakes her in the sixth episode; it says it is Lucas's presence. But the song is there, and its return was one of the most commented-on moments of volume 2.
No new Kate BushMany waited for a 1987 song to meet the same fate as “Running Up That Hill” in 2022. It did not happen: Season 5 bets on its score more than on a revived hit.
WSQK, the pirate radio
Under the quarantine, Steve, Nancy and Jonathan host WSQK, a pirate radio that broadcasts music, news and coded messages to the survivors. It is the season's jukebox: the 1987 tracks go through it, and the fifth episode, "Shock Jock," is almost entirely devoted to it. It is also the only time Steve, whose actor sings under the name Djo, holds a mic.
Where to hear it
Dixon and Stein's soundtrack is available in streaming and on vinyl, like those of the previous seasons. The season's songs are gathered in fan playlists, season by season, that run through the show from 1983 to 1987.
The Max figure, the song in her ear.
In the shopLego Max Mayfield mini figure on a bike14,90 €See the product
The albums, and in what order they came out
The soundtrack composed by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein came out on January 1, 2026, the day after the finale, on Lakeshore and Invada Records, the two labels that have published their scores since the first season. The period songs heard in the season got a separate compilation, published in three parts, one per volume, at the pace of the November and December 2025 releases.
A third record closed the set on February 6, 2026: an EP of five themes from the show rearranged for orchestra by Dan Romer and Rob Simonsen. It is the first time Dixon and Stein's synthesizer motifs, including the opening-credits theme, exist in a symphonic version. The contrast with the original, played on analog machines from the 80s, sums up ten years of the show.
The period songs, scene by scene
| Song | Artist, year | Where you hear it |
|---|---|---|
| “Child in Time” | Deep Purple, 1970 | The July 16, 2025 teaser, in a remixed version |
| "Who Wants to Live Forever" | Queen, 1986 | The October 30, 2025 trailer |
| "Upside Down" | Diana Ross, 1980 | Episode 1: the track Robin plays on WSQK to announce a crawl, in code |
| “Running Up That Hill” | Kate Bush, 1985 | Episode 1: Lucas plays it to Max in a coma; episode 4: Max says she almost came back hearing it |
The rule of the show is kept to the end: every song is earlier than the fall of 1987 when the action is set, including in the trailers. “Who Wants to Live Forever” was written by Brian May for the film Highlander, released in 1986.
Why the radio is at the heart of this season
WSQK is not just a set. It is the group's command post, the place where Robin hosts her "Morning Squawk," and the antenna the group climbs in the finale to reach the Abyss. The music there serves as a coded language: playing "Upside Down" on air is warning everyone that a crawl will take place that same evening, without the army being able to understand.
It is the extension of an idea present since season 1, where Joyce communicated with Will through Christmas lights: in this show, the communication tools of the period, radio, walkie-talkie, cassette, always serve to talk through the walls. Season 5 makes that the heart of its plan, Operation Magic Bean, which starts from the station antenna.
The main theme, ten years later
The show's opening credits rest on an arpeggio motif played on analog synthesizers, composed by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, two members of the band S U R V I V E, before the show was even shot. In ten years, the theme has not changed by a note; it is its treatment that has evolved, heavier and darker as the seasons went on.
In the last chapter, it comes back in several variations, the most striking being that of the epilogue, slowed and softened, when the town is rebuilding in spring 1989. The orchestral EP of February 6, 2026 gives it a symphonic reading, the first of its kind for the show, which shows how much the motif holds without its machines.
For fans, the question of the season was whether a period track would take the place held by "Running Up That Hill" in season 4. The answer is no: Kate Bush comes back as Max's song, but the season did not look for a new hit. It preferred Robin's radio, and Dixon and Stein's theme.
The last-season poster.
In the shopMax and her Walkman pin12,90 €See the product
TakeawayDixon and Stein, with strings and choir for the end. Deep Purple's “Child in Time” in the teaser. Kate Bush at Max's bedside, every day. WSQK, the quarantine jukebox.
Frequently asked questions
Who composes the music of season 5?
Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, as since 2016, with strings and choirs added to the synthesizers.
What is the song of the season 5 teaser?
Deep Purple's "Child in Time," released in 1970.
Is Kate Bush in Season 5?
Yes: Lucas puts "Running Up That Hill" on every day at Max's bedside, during her coma.
What is WSQK?
The pirate radio hosted by Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan during the quarantine, which broadcasts music and coded messages.
When did the season 5 original score come out?
On January 1, 2026, the day after the finale, on Lakeshore and Invada Records. The period songs had their own compilation, in three parts.
What is the February 2026 orchestral EP?
Five themes from the show rearranged for orchestra by Dan Romer and Rob Simonsen, released on February 6, 2026: the first symphonic version of Dixon and Stein's motifs.