'Stranger Things' Theme Song Gets Lyrics

When it comes to the music in Netflix's fantastical series Stranger Things, thank the '80s. No really. Similar to the series itself, the music in Stranger Things is indebted to the type of sounds you'd find in horror or sci-fi flicks from that decade. Even the bass-heavy theme song — created by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, two members Austin synth band S U R V I V E — seems to pay particular homage to John Carpenter, the director known most notably for Halloween. Of course, though Stranger Things' theme song features the type of eerie melody you'd find in a Carpenter film (or a whole slew of others from that decade), it's missing one thing: Lyrics. Luckily, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, and Noah Schnapp (who play Dustin, Lucas, and Will in the series) recently sat down with Entertainment Weekly to offer up their suggestions.

In the EW video, Matarazzo said he creates songs "all the time" (specifically during "Christmas time") so this was a no brainer for him. He took a stab at it first, with: “Will is gone. He’s dead. J.K. He’s not. Barb is dead — ha!” Matarazzo sang with McLaughlin and Schnapp harmonizing the tune in the background. Schnapp, who plays Will, seemed amused by the lyrics, but McLaughlin wasn't totally sold. He explained that the song works just the way it is now, saying “I think it would take away from the show if it had lyrics." Astute, that one:

Though Matarazzo's lyrics are pretty amazing for their comedic simplicity and overall ridiculousness, most fans are probably in agreement with McLaughlin. The intro only adds to the show's sinister vibe because it doesn't have words.

The song's creators recently sat down with Indiewire to discuss the show's score. Stein explained that there was a method to the theme song madness, and that it was specifically created to flow with Stranger Thing's opening title cards. "It’s kind of like there are a whole lot of layers in that mini composition to make sure it goes with the title cards and stuff," he said. There's a specific way the synthetic sounds fade in and out with the graphics, as if the words on screen stand in for lyrics. In fact, this whole opening happens to be one of the strongest — and arguably most important since it sets the tone — stylistic choices of the show.

Season 2 of Stranger Things will premiere sometime in 2017. Probably with the same lyric-less theme song, but you never know, maybe "Will is gone. He’s dead. J.K. He’s not. Barb is dead — ha!" will make an appearance. It's not called Stranger Things for nothing.

Images: Netflix