If you were the Stranger Thing’s showrunners and could make any 80s song trend, which awesome semi-neglected artist of the past would you shovel money towards? Here are my best suggestions.
“Roxanne's Revenge”—Roxanne Shante (1984)
This is one of early raps defining moments. New Yorker Roxanne Shante was only 14 when she spit fire on this answer record to UTFO’s misogynist “Roxanne, Roxanne.”
Irish singer/songwriter Sinéad O’Connor’s vocals soar, howl, and yap over the driving New Wave beat and snarling guitars on this adrenalin-pounding single from her first album The Lion and the Cobra.
There is no 80s jam more smooth than Anita Baker’s multi-octave, sensually silken “Sweet Love.” What could be a better backdrop for the inevitable Nancy/Steve (Natalia Dyer/Joe Keery) reconciliation!?
Scottish twins Jim and William Reid are a key bridge from New Wave to shoegaze. They aren’t exactly obscure, but they’re no longer household names either.
Husband/wife duo Linda and Cecil Womack combine post-Prince funk, sweet harmonies, and Quiet Storm into an impossibly catchy celebration of everything 80s radio.