Hi!! I decided to dive a bit into analyzing the music and soundtracks. And the subject of my study became... Mileven 🌚 I didn't touch all the soundtracks; it would take more time to study them.
Let's go in order, starting from the very first season and ending with Season 5!!
🎵 A Kiss — Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein.
The song plays during Mike and Jane's kiss scene. Yes, the song title is telling, bright. But there's one catch.
To see the twist, you need to look at the official Season 1 soundtrack list.
Do you see it? Before the track "A Kiss" comes "Friendship" and "Eleven."
And that's just the first season.
🎵 Every Breath You Take — The Police
When Mike and El finally reunite at the school dance and have their first and only dance, this song plays.
Sting (the vocalist) about this song:
"One couple told me, 'We chose your song for the first dance at our wedding.' I replied, 'Well, good luck with that. Because that song is about jealousy and obsession.'"
The song is literally about obsession, about stalking and unhealthy relationships.
I'll remind you how El watched Mike daily in Season 2, was jealous of him over Max, that her room was full of drawings of him, with his name. Millie even said she took a photo of Mike with hearts around it from the set.
(Also, I want to remind you about the drawings; initially, Jane drew herself with Dr. Brenner, and then switched to Mike)
This is obsession. The word love is never mentioned in the song.
Sting wrote this song after his divorce. It was the result of pain, jealousy, and a sense of loss, not love.
🎵 Never Surrender — Corey Hart.
The song plays during Jane and Mike's kiss scene.
"Nobody wants to know you nowww" — Mike sings these lines right after kissing Jane. He grabs her hands and shakes her, and the girl tells him to stop.
"Nobody wants to know you."
This song isn't about tenderness, but about imposition.
"Just a little more time could open closing doors" — the lines have a queer subtext and reference Mike's closet 🙂
🎵 Can't Fight This Feeling — REO Speedwagon.
Plays during another Mileven kiss scene. On one hand, this song relates to Hopper, who is overprotective of his daughter. On the other hand, it also resonates with Mileven.
ㅤㅤWhat started out as friendship
Kevin Cronin (the songwriter) told the real story behind it:
"The inspiration was the pain I felt when I was drawn to a woman who was part of my circle of friends... She was dating my friend, so I kept it inside. The more I got to know her, the more I liked her, but I couldn't say anything about it."
Oh wow, that's a complete description of Will and his feelings for Mike!!!
"The song is about the moment when... it becomes too painful to stay where you are, and you know you have to change... but change is hard... and you overcome that fear of change"
In my opinion, this is about Mike! He's afraid to change; it's extremely difficult for him. The fear of not being understood.
🎵 The First I love You — Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein.
First, this song played during the scene with Steve and Robin. At the moment Robin comes out. A scene with friends, it's platonic love.
And then, in the next episode, the same track plays during the Mileven scene. Just like in the scene with Steve and Robin, there's also one queer character here — Mike. Mike can't confess his love, Jane says "I love you" first, they kiss.
"My favorite detail here is that the word 'love' in the track title is written in lowercase. It might seem insignificant, but when you look at the ENTIRE Stranger Things soundtrack up to Season 4, no other words were written in lowercase. This was done intentionally."
🎵 California Dreamin' — The Beach Boys
Jane reads a letter to Mike in voiceover. She talks about how great everything is in California, what cool friends she has, how happy she is. But as we know, she's lying. The song about "dreaming of California" plays exactly at the moment she's describing the perfect, fictional version of her life.
The Beach Boys sing about longing for home, for a place where you're accepted. Jane longs for Hawkins, for Mike, for her real life.
🎵 You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) — Dead or Alive
Mike and Jane are at the Rink-O-Mania skating rink, skating to this song. The song is about obsession, about a compulsive desire to possess. The line "I got to be your friend now, baby" — a disguise, a way to get into someone's personal space. This is the only "romantic" Mileven moment in Season 4. And it happens to a song about obsession, not love. Just like in Season 2 with Every Breath You Take, they show a cute scene, but the soundtrack screams the opposite.
Mike, El, and Will are sitting in the cafeteria at the Rink-O-Mania skating rink, drinking milkshakes. Angela and her friends approach them. The song plays in the background.
On SongMeanings, there's a brilliant analysis by a user connecting the song to gay themes.
Jungle life, I'm far away from nowhere / On my own like Tarzan boy
As a gay man in the 80s, he's outside mainstream society ("in the jungle"). It's wild and lonely there because most gays are still in the closet.
Hide-and-seek, I play alone while rushing 'cross the forest / Monkey business on a sunny afternoon
"Hide-and-seek" — gay people trying to find each other without revealing themselves. "Monkey business" — standard slang for sex.
Night to night / Gimme the other, gimme the other world
"The other" — slang for sex and for same-sex relationships ("playing for the other team").
Take a chance, leave everything behind you, come and join me / Won't be sorry, it's easy to survive
A call to other gays to come out of the closet ("take a chance") and live openly.
The performer, Jimmy McShane, was gay and died of AIDS in 1995.
This is a song about loneliness ("on my own like Tarzan boy"). About the need to hide ("hide-and-seek, I play alone"). About trying to reach out ("does the message get to you?"). About the desire to get to another world ("the other world") where you can be yourself. And about the call to take a risk ("take a chance, leave everything behind, come and join me"). It's a cry from the soul, directed from Will to Mike. The way he just silently watches Jane and his best friend, holding onto hope.
AND NOW THE MOST INTERESTING PART.
Throughout the entire season, during Mileven scenes, there is complete silence in the music. EXCEPT for the final farewell scene in the void.
🎵 Purple Rain — Prince and the Revolution
I'll just show you the lyrics and their translation.
I never wanted to be your weekend lover
I only wanted to be some kind of friend
Baby, I could never steal you from another
It's such a shame our friendship had to end
Do you understand? MILEVEN BROKE UP IN THIS SCENE. That was a goodbye kiss!!
From the very beginning, it was a friendship that reluctantly turned into an unhealthy obsession. In Mileven scenes, there is not a single song dedicated to love 🤩
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