Not since Glee has music had such a prominent place in television. In 2016, music has been brought back to the forefront of television. Empire is one of the most popular shows on television and more recently Netflix shows The Get Down and Stranger Things have created nostalgia for music from the ‘70s and ‘80s, respectively.
From Mad Men to Game Of Thrones, the biggest TV shows of the past decade have used music solely as a soundtrack rather than integrating it into the period and conjuring nostalgia for a time period. Both Stranger Things and The Get Down have so successfully romanticised decades of music and have fans begging for soundtracks as if a key to a vault of forgotten music has been unlocked for them.
To keep that nostalgia going but simultaneously continue our search for the best new tunes around, we’ve soundtracked both shows with songs solely from 2016. Check out write-ups of the highlights below and also listen to Spotify playlist with even more nostalgic gold.
Stranger Things
Shura - Kidz N Stuff
Shura’s entire debut album Nothing’s Real is an incredibly nostalgic experience spanning the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. Kidz N Stuff is full of mellow synths, airy vocals and dramatic atmospheric work - all the making of an excellent, sad Stranger Things moment.
M83 - Solitude
French producer M83 has always been the king of overdramatic synth music and he would make an excellent Stranger Things soundtrack. Solitude is moody, cinematic and spooky. And you gotta give it up for that epic climax at the end.
Porter Robinson & Madeon - Shelter
Porter Robinson and Madeon weren’t even alive in the ‘80s and yet here they are making music that New Order would be proud to call their own. This is what music in the ‘80s would’ve sounded like if the EDM generation preceded it.
Tegan & Sara - Dying To Know
For their past two albums, Tegan & Sara have looked to the ‘80s for inspiration. That mean programmed drums, perky synths and choruses that are simultaneously heartbreaking and euphoric. Dying To Know is all that and more.
The 1975 - Somebody Else
Like Tegan & Sara The 1975 are looking to the ‘80s for pop inspo. But while T&S’ influences are more Madonna, The 1975 look to bands like INXS, The Clash and even The Smiths, to a certain extent. Somebody Else is a warm, pulsating wonderland that also happens to be one of the best pop songs of 2016.
Venus II - I’m Still Here
Joy Division, New Order and Primal Scream are the bands that immediately come to mind when you hear Venus II. They deliver that perfect cross between the electronic and the organic - a balance nearly every rock band was playing with in the ‘80s.
Two Door Cinema Club - Bad Decisions
We couldn’t go through a whole list of ‘80s-inspired music without delivering the fun. So, here is Two Door Cinema Club’s Bad Decisions. It’s perky, euphoric and coated with that nonchalant attitude that says, “everything’s falling around me but let’s dance anyway”. Oh, and the ‘80s called, they want their bridge back.
The Get Down
Shura - Indecision
Here’s Shura channeling funky, glossy disco music that packs an emotional decision. “Tell me why we can’t make this work,” she sings, a line you can imagine Donna Summer belting out illuminated by the lights of a disco ball.
Mac Miller - Dang! (Feat. Anderson .Paak)
The Get Down centres around disco beats morphing into hip-hop thanks to Grandmaster Flash and Dang! possesses that same energy. Mac takes it to the hip-hop world and Anderson pulls it back towards funk and disco.
Lapsley - Operator (DJ Koze Radio Edit)
DJ Koze’s renovation of Lapsley’s Operator has given us the best disco song of the year. Like Diana Ross in her heyday, this turns Lapsley from an indie starlet to a disco diva. Had it been around, this song would’ve been a staple at Les Inferno.
Nao - We Don’t Give A
Nao’s debut album For All We Know is mostly full of Janet Jackson-inspired cuts but the highlight We Don’t Give A is more I Feel Love than Someone To Call My Lover. It’s sparkly and packed full of soul. You know Nao would’ve been the one crossing from the disco world straight into hip-hop.
Metronomy - 16 Beat
Metronomy lay down that beat in 16 Beat that MCs back in the ‘70s would’ve killed to spit bars over. Frontman Joseph Mount is looking backwards for the entirety of Summer ‘08, creating nostalgia for a time where prominent musical genres were in their infancy.
Domo Genesis - Dapper (Feat. .Anderson Paak)
Like Dang!, Dapper is the perfect cross between groove and hip-hop. Anderson .Paak’s voice glides over soulful harmonies and then Domo Genesis comes through with bucketloads of swagger.
TWENTY 88 - Selfish
The whole aesthetic of Big Sean and Jhene Aiko’s TWENTY 88 is centred around the ‘70s and while it’s a little cleaner than the Bronx-inspired scenes of The Get Down, they’re still dressing in flares and delivering bars that are slicker than the wax of a vinyl.
Justice - Safe And Sound
Justice would’ve been resident DJs at Les Inferno. Safe And Sound perfectly captures the grandiose atmosphere of disco from the sweeping strings to the epic vocals.
Words by the interns' Sam Murphy.
