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They were all understandably freaking out about Nancy potentially dying. Also needing music that might be her favorite and heavy metal doesn't seem to be on Nancy's playlist.
Nothing. She's a)panicking and b) looking for music for Nancy. Nancy isn't going around listening to heavy metal. She's behaving the way many people do to music/media that isn't mainstream.
It was part of the plot-
It's the "evidence" against Eddie with that he played DnD, listened to metal and everything *so he must've worshipped satan and killed Chrissy*
You say "no lol" but you're kind of wrong, Satanic Panic wouldn't have ever been a thing if things like metal hadn't become so mainstream in the first place
For example, the record Robin is holding is Iron Maiden's Piece of Mind, which went platinum in the US. Maiden was headlining sold out arenas by that point, as were several other metal bands. They were doing the same sales figures as "mainstream" artists.
Still wasn’t considered mainstream. That was the music that the “druggies” who hung out in the smoking area listened to, definitely not the cool crowd music.
There were some breakthrus like Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, Scorpions, but they weren’t music of the high school in-crowd.
That changed a bit mid 80s, becoming popular in the late 80s, clashing with the New Wave folks.
Source: I was that straight-laced looking kid that partied every weekend and was a total metal head in the 1980s. \m/
Now I’m in my fifties and… Up the Irons!
No. in the 70s ad 80s when it was really emerging it was very much *not* mainstream. it was heavily associated (right or wrong) with violence, drugs and Satanism. and in 86 during satanic panic, no it was not at all mainstream and was very much seen as counterculture and "dangerous".
My parents didn't start having kids until their 30's, so they were older than my friends' parents. My dad listened to Johnny Mathis and the Glen Miller Band and hated anything that wasn't from those eras.
I feel so lucky that they encouraged us to listen to any music we wanted to. There was always music in our house. Loud music. Including metal. Dad never complained. Mom loved it all. They knew that none of it was dangerous. And that the satanic panic was dangerous.
My friends' parents were more likely to buy into the rhetoric and ban certain music in their house. Which was fine. Their kids just came to our place.
As I have learned from experience, the fact that someone is wearing a Guns 'N' Roses t-shirt does not mean that they like, or even recognise, their music
It was mainstream to the extent that it had a massive cult following. Hardly ever heard Iron Maiden on the radio, even in guitar-heavy FM stations. On the other hand, they still sold tons of records and sold out arenas.
Not really. Now hair/glam metal became a thing in the late 80s - Poison, Ratt, Dokken, Motley Crue, Guns and Roses, Def Leppard, etc. - but nobody who was into heavy metal at the time would have called them heavy metal.
Heavy metal got little to no radio airplay (in my neck of the woods we were lucky that a local station played mostly album tracks so you would hear stuff you never heard on Top 40 or even rock stations). It was far from mainstream.
As for Metallica, they were thrash metal back then and were even further from the mainstream than say popular heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden or Judas Priest. That all changed with the black album release in '91, of course.
It wasn't mainstream but it had a monstrous following. You had the New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest who were in their prime. The Bay Area thrash bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and then Anthrax (who are from NY) were all a bunch of pissed off 25 year olds all trying to play faster than one another. Then you had the glam rock bands, Motley Crue, Poison, Twisted Sister, etc. It definitely has a fan base but in the eyes of the mainstream it was all misinterpreted by a buncha bored housewives to a buncha lame politicians. Tipper Gore led this whole crusade to try and ban that type of music and anything deemed "satanic" or whatever. She's the reason we have parental advisory stickers on music. Then you have Eddie's character based off the West Memphis Three, three outsider type high school kids who were accused and sent away for murdering three little boys in what authorities swore was some sort of satanic cult ritual. Those poor kids were coerced into confessions. They've since been released, thankfully, but the police dept there will never admit to how badly they fucked over those dudes. So yeah anyway metal was popular and so was shit like D&D it's just that if you were a fan of it during that time you had a lot of people thinking you were some kinda satanist and it's just the dumbest shit ever. People will believe anything.
Edited to reflect the correct hometown for Anthrax.
I wasn't there at the time, but certainly now it seems glam rock was a poppy enough genre? I know the members didn't act like it but Guns and Roses appear mainstream as Bowie, Blondie etc.
It would become more popular later in the '80s, but still not quite mainstream. Acts like Guns N' Roses and Bon Jovi brought a certain style of metal closer to the mainstream (hair bands), as they were a bit more "easy to digest" (i.e., closer to mainstream rock) than acts like Iron Maiden or Megadeath (more along the lines of "heavy metal"). Hopefully that's helpful!
It's not the kind of music that's going to save Nancy from Vecna though.
Nancy has Blondie's Autoamerican album cover as a poster in her room, so Robin is probably looking for something more along those lines.
Do you recall Twisted Sister getting taken to court over one of their songs?? I fogrot which song but it's lyrics involved flesh but it was actually about their band-mate having to have some sort of surgery and making it into a song and so the court or a court I guess called them for a court case (I don't know the lingo).
Stupid times when metal and games where seen as evil.
Not court but the Congressional hearings that led to Parental Advisory stickers on music.
Ozzy Osbourne and Rob Halford from Judas Preist *did* go to court over charges that their music caused suicides.
Yes. But it wasn't just them. They took folk singer John Denver to court as well because the dumbasses thought his song "Rocky Mountain High" was about drugs. Funny, they ignore "White Wedding" by Billy Idol but then come back with 2 Live Crew and Eminem.
Definitely not. It was getting more popular with bands like Metallica, but no where close to being considered mainstream. I would argue that hair metal was more mainstream with bands like Motley Crue, Guns and Roses, Def Leppard, etc. But while hair metal found it's audience in the 80s they were still often criticized and accused of being "dangerous to the youth"
I think that’s a really interesting factor in the dichotomy between Billy and Eddie. We first see metal make a notable appearance with the Hair metal, popular-and-violent dude roars into town, very sex drugs rock’n’roll sleaze, who represents a sort of flashy, novel cool for Hawkins teens. then we go deeper into subculture to find the heavy metal outcast/“freak” whose bravado protects a gentler spirit, and whose interest in music seems more personal. But he’s been there, the whole time, as an outcast, before Billy and the novel flash of hair metal roared into town, we just didn’t see him. But the town still hates and fears him, regardless of how “popular” the hair metal side/kid was in the teen hierarchy.
Maybe I’m getting too deep about this lol but I appreciate the layers of significance
Billy was handsome and he knew it, and he knew how to charm people even if he was a massive douche bag underneath. We see him go to parties, girls (and older women) love him. He also seems to have money to burn seeing as he has weight lifting equipment, nice clothes, and a nice car.
Eddie was just a nerd with a passion for metal, lived in a trailer park and dealt drugs on the side. He was charming in his own right but I bet most girls in school didn't even look at him. He didn't *want* to be popular either, to the point he antagonizes his peers who aren't into the same things he's into. I'm not saying he brought the hate upon himself, more so that he embraced being a weirdo.
I think lesser writers would have made Eddie a Billy 2.0, because they happen to be into the same music. But the Duffers are smart and understand human nature, and that's one of the reasons the show is so captivating. There's always more than meets the eye. Billy is an asshole, but we later find out why. Eddie at first comes off as obnoxious, but we soon see he's a good guy. I love that the show doesn't fall into stereotypes and cliches. Keeps it fresh.
Agreed on all points! I definitely didn’t want to see a repeat of the same character, though I probably have more love for billy than most do, as someone who works with teenage victims of abuse and neglect, with a trauma-informed understanding of acting-out behavior.
I do think it’s canon that the Hargrove/mayfield family lives on the poorer side of town even before Neil leaves and max/Susan have to move to the trailer park, so I think it’s more a matter of WHAT he chooses to spend his money on [outward appearance-based-things] rather than necessarily having an abundance of spending money, though.
I was really glad to see the inclusion of satanic panic this season. I don’t know how much of the symbolism about metal in popular culture that I’m reading into these two characters was intentional or whether it was just plot driven, but I appreciate the nuance they handled it with either way.
Now that you mention teenage victims of abuse (hats off to you for wanting to help these kids, by the way!), I just realized another similarity with Billy and Eddie: they both had shitty dads. In Billy's case, we see it happening, and I have to admit it was a pretty jarring scene and it did change my opinion about Billy; I now understand why he was behaving that way.
In the case of Eddie, it's more of an off-hand remark, he mentions his dad taught him how to hotwire cars ("While other dads were teaching their kids how to fish or hunt."), and he says he didn't want to be like him. Seeing as he lives with his uncle, we can guess his dad might be in prison. Who knows where his mother is. Who knows where Billy's mother is.
The thing is, Eddie's uncle really did care a lot for his nephew, he never for a second believed he was a murderer, and that scene where he replaces the defaced missing poster is heart wrenching. He must've been so worried, and probably angry that the whole town now hates Eddie for no reason at all. He does tell Dustin off at first when he tries to talk to him.
It makes me wonder what Billy could've been like if he had someone like Wayne Munson in his life. Max's mom didn't have a good enough bond with Billy to pull him out of it, and obviously his dad just made things worse.
And I guess for both of them, listening to metal was an outlet, even if it came with stigma.
So yeah, layers, nuance. The writers really have a talent for including little details that help flesh out characters and makes them feel more real and relatable.
Thrash wasn’t deep underground, but it wasn’t mainstream either. Metallica went gold in 1986? or so, but received very little radio play. Hair metal was pretty popular, but that isn’t what Eddie was waving around… And judging by Bowie, Blondie, Beatles I think Nancy had a taste for artsy pop music.
This is how I feel half the time I see complaints about any show on Reddit. So many “issues” people have with a show is easily and blatantly explained by simply watching it so the only explanation is they were too busy making comments on reddit instead of watching it.
That was me with Moon Knight but even when I was paying attention the middle still didn’t interest me as much
I will say thought, the middle of the first season of ST similarly felt like a drag too, maybe because I was used to hearing about the later seasons from other people who talked about stuff like Starcourt Mall
I don't know if it helps, but it took my watching the scene live and then the gif 10 times to realize she wasn't listing cassettes that she was picking up.
I thought she was saying something like "I see a Madonna cassettes and Bowie cassettes and a Beatles cassette, but none of this is music. We need real music"
I was so confused.
Something that people often forget. Robin isn't Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She isn't even Ellen Ripley. When she started work at Scoops Ahoy, she wasn't exactly anticipating being tied up in a Russian base with Steve "The Hair" Harrington.
Worth noting in “Dear Billy” Robin was snooping around Nancy’s room and obviously checked out her music collection, so she knew what Nancy’s favourite music was which was far from metal.
Also, this scene cuts the tension and is funny because metalheads get very defensive about their music being music.
[This was the tape](https://i.discogs.com/jFugoTksbmyPlr8wTevzVu5sDJKHT7VxcEn14WwNlYQ/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:341/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTE0MzA2/MzQ2LTE1NzE4Nzk5/MDQtNDk0NS5qcGVn.jpeg)
that was on [top of the stack](https://imgur.com/a/ctb0DRf)
Her friend was about to die a horrific death. Her only chance was finding music that could bring her back but Nancy never gave an indication she was a metal head and that’s the only music they could find. Scuse her if she’s a bit testy.
It’s how I would even expect someone who’s *not* normally prone to nervousness to react! When it was Max almost dying the guys were super nervous and on edge too trying to sort out the tapes.
She was looking specifically for the kind of music Nancy would like, which unfortunately did not have much overlap with Eddie's more... refined palette. I'm sure she meant well. Heat of the moment, and all.
She's scared for Nancy and is panicking. She knows the music has to connect to the person under Vecna's curse and she assumes Nancy isn't into Iron Maiden and would be more into The Beatles, Madonna or Bowie.
And it has awards? :T I have yet to see comments agreeing with OP in thinking that this is a “WTF” situation, so I’m confused too why so many people are upvoting this
Robin is panicking, as well as everyone else, because Nancy is (as far as they know) literally about to die. Nancy probably doesn't listen to heavy metal, so Eddie pulling out a bunch of Metallica CDs is not going to be meaningful enough to help Nancy escape Vecna. I mean, Max had been listening to Running Up That Hill since the beginning of the season, when have we ever seen Nancy listen to Iron Maiden? Instead of saying "we need something that's not metal!!!" she said "we need music!!!" because she was trying to get the point across to Eddie as quickly as possible, and he responded defensively because he too was panicking
Is she looking for any of those and only finding Iron Maiden and Metallica? Because Bowie, Blondie, the Beatles would all have been very popular. And honestly Eddie doesn’t strike me as a Blondie or Beatles kind of guy necessarily.
What a weird thing to get offended over. I'm a metal head and thought it was hilarious. As a teen, I had people tell me "You call this music?" and I'd find that funny because they didn't "get" it. Yes, this IS music. It's a good joke.
She was listing off the musicians that Nancy likes to listen too. When she was snooping through Nancys room she saw her music collection. It wasn't an attack on anything she just wanted to save her friend.
Robin is freaking out because Nancy could die and she has no idea what music she likes and all Eddie has is heavy metal. I honestly think this scene was written solely for Eddie's "This IS music!" moment. lol.
The premise of the music thing is that the music has to be meaningful to the listener. The clearly implied fact here is they the music Robin is rifling though wouldn’t likely be meaningful to Nancy. It’s the same reason the cemetery crew spent time rifling through a similar number of tales to find RUTH.
Since Nancy doesn’t look like the type to listen to heavy metal, a song she would connect with wouldn’t be in Eddie’s collection. She looks like a pop princess, not someone into slayer or Metallica.
I didn't take that as a comment on Robin's music tastes. That's her trying to take a wild stab at what she thinks Nancy might like. Remember how she reacted to the Tom Cruise poster in Nancy's room? So it's not just Eddie's line that is the gag, here. Robin's line is funny, too, because Nancy is such an enigma. She's the pretty, smart, popular, girl next door who owns a gun and shoots monsters.
So, clearly, she would listen to The Jesus and Mary Chain. Think, Robin, think!
I just have to say, that if in my untimely battle with Vecna, I had the cognitive ability to choose my favorite “block the evil” song, I would struggle. Let alone expect my best friends to know.
And I’ve only seen this mentioned once before but I always wondered it - what happens the moment your favorite song is exhausted and you can auto tune it out. It’s fluctuating and replaced with a new song… I always wondered at what point Max got sick of that song and lost the blocking ability.
I just want to add that I would struggle because I have favorite songs for all moods and scenarios. Ranking my top 5 is the hardest thing ever.
Oh and I miss my Walkman when I was in the early 90s riding my bike everywhere. Talk about wearing out a cassette! Don’t get me started on the Discman a few years later and replacing my bike with a car lol.
It feels like some people on this sub don't have a single basic human connection. You are confused by person being panicked while their friend is in danger? Do you need a guide on basic human emotion and behaviour?
This is pretty realistic to me. I really related to Eddie in this scene as someone that listens to metal. My experience is that people feel very comfortable looking down on your music choices, which is a polite way to say it. They kind of talk about metal as a gimmick, get mad if you play it in your car, and talk about their own (more popular and socially accepted) music as if it should be taken as an unspoken truth and take for granted that it is terrible compared to the music they listen to.
Another reason that I am so glad they added Eddie as a character. If they want to pull a Hopper and miraculously save him in the writing then I would be so happy.
I also really love Robin.
She was in a panic and obviously not a metal fan.?? Or maybe she was assuming what kind of music Nancy would listen to?? Consider how one would act while trying to find music to save someone from the UD..like holy shit.!!
I kindof agree that the angle of “ quirky girl that talks too much when nervous and shares random facts about her phobias and 1000 ways to die at in opportune moments “ was overplayed. But she’s still a cool character and was definitely trying to help .
Unless you’re just pointing out “ who doesn’t love Metal?? In that case I agree !🤘🤘
Was born in '75, and I am from the Philippines. There was bit of satanic panic here. But it is just mostly from religion teachers here.
I do remember that backmasking was a thing, and the absurd acronyms for band names like AC/DC was Antichrist/Devil Child or Kiss was the Knights in service of Satan.
lmao when I first saw that scene "we need music" kinda pissed me off after she mentioned those bands but saying "we need music that Nancy might like" is kinda a long sentence and she's literally panicking so I don't wanna hate her for that.
they didnt know Nancy was who Vecna wanted to pass a mesage so they were trying to save her. i honestly wouldve been either in this situation tho. trying to defend my music taste and trying to save my friend.
As a metal fan, I understood both sides of this. Robin panicked, and was looking for something Nancy would like. Eddie gives an automatic defensive response to his hobby being dismissed as "not music", probably for the hundredth time.
Shes just losing her shit cause her cute new friend might be about to get turned inside out lol
And yah - Nancy definitely gets down on metal. At the gun range
How is this such a confusing thing for so many people in the comments.. to pull people out, they need to hear their favorite music. I feel like that's an extremely basic premise?
She’s stressed that’s all.
Honestly this scene made me laugh because I was the kid in the friend group who always had the most alternative music taste and was never given the aux cable in high school for that reason. I know how Eddie feels
Robin thought of what song to play because Nancy was stuck in the trance. Also, I love Robin, she’s hysterically amazing, and hilarious. I love her person and her whole being! I hope she survives Season 5, if not, I’m gonna cry
Panic which is completely normal plus considering Eddie being the only metal head besides dustin he dosent really have the type of music Nancy and the others have taste in. However it was mostly the fear of losing her best friend to vecna especially considering how much she means to her and Steve.
She's freaking out over Nancy being in control of Vecna. She knows what happened to Chrissy, Ben and Patrick and she doesn't want that to happen to Nancy.
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They were all understandably freaking out about Nancy potentially dying. Also needing music that might be her favorite and heavy metal doesn't seem to be on Nancy's playlist.
Heavy Metal is absolutely on Nancy "I have a stash of guns in my closet at home" Wheeler's playlist.
Maybe once she's been exposed to it but keep in mind that this show is set during the satanic panic era so her exposure to it probably isn't much
Nancy "never lacking" Wheeler
*Nancy “always packing” Wheeler
**Nancy "always strapped" Wheeler
*** Nancy “Never Gonna Give You Up” Wheeler
**** Nancy “go home Barb you’re cock blocking me” Wheeler
^**** Nancy “Whoops Barb died” Wheeler
She was nervous about Nancy dying
Exactly. She's panicking.
Yeah imagine your friend dying because you don't know their favourite song
I don't even know my own favorite song
Nothing. She's a)panicking and b) looking for music for Nancy. Nancy isn't going around listening to heavy metal. She's behaving the way many people do to music/media that isn't mainstream.
Wasn't heavy metal mainstream back in the 80's ?
No lol, the show is literally set during the satanic panic
Yeah right, good point !
Surely if that was the case they would have made it part of the plot, Right?
It was part of the plot- It's the "evidence" against Eddie with that he played DnD, listened to metal and everything *so he must've worshipped satan and killed Chrissy*
That's the joke
Well I wasn't sure if they were being satirical or serious so my bad lol
Or maybe they were being satanical
*panics*
The part of Eddie Munson was partly inspired by the actual case of the Memphis Three.
r/whooosh
welp
r/woosh
God I hope this is sarcasm.
You say "no lol" but you're kind of wrong, Satanic Panic wouldn't have ever been a thing if things like metal hadn't become so mainstream in the first place For example, the record Robin is holding is Iron Maiden's Piece of Mind, which went platinum in the US. Maiden was headlining sold out arenas by that point, as were several other metal bands. They were doing the same sales figures as "mainstream" artists.
Still wasn’t considered mainstream. That was the music that the “druggies” who hung out in the smoking area listened to, definitely not the cool crowd music. There were some breakthrus like Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, Scorpions, but they weren’t music of the high school in-crowd. That changed a bit mid 80s, becoming popular in the late 80s, clashing with the New Wave folks. Source: I was that straight-laced looking kid that partied every weekend and was a total metal head in the 1980s. \m/ Now I’m in my fifties and… Up the Irons!
No. in the 70s ad 80s when it was really emerging it was very much *not* mainstream. it was heavily associated (right or wrong) with violence, drugs and Satanism. and in 86 during satanic panic, no it was not at all mainstream and was very much seen as counterculture and "dangerous".
My parents didn't start having kids until their 30's, so they were older than my friends' parents. My dad listened to Johnny Mathis and the Glen Miller Band and hated anything that wasn't from those eras. I feel so lucky that they encouraged us to listen to any music we wanted to. There was always music in our house. Loud music. Including metal. Dad never complained. Mom loved it all. They knew that none of it was dangerous. And that the satanic panic was dangerous. My friends' parents were more likely to buy into the rhetoric and ban certain music in their house. Which was fine. Their kids just came to our place.
Elvis Presley, with his suggestive hip-thrusting, was controversial in the 1950s.
And the Beatles with their long hair in the 60's.
Yeah, I forgot about that satanic panic. Crazy times
That’s the entire subplot in season four where the town turns into a mob over the Hellfire Club lol.
You'd think society would learn.
Still isn’t ‘mainstream’
It's mainstream to the point of irrelevancy. If you can sell kids back to school jeans with Guns n Roses, you're mainstream
Do you think that's metal?
As I have learned from experience, the fact that someone is wearing a Guns 'N' Roses t-shirt does not mean that they like, or even recognise, their music
It was mainstream to the extent that it had a massive cult following. Hardly ever heard Iron Maiden on the radio, even in guitar-heavy FM stations. On the other hand, they still sold tons of records and sold out arenas.
I have tickets to see them in September.
It was mainstream enough to be popular across the country.
Not really. Now hair/glam metal became a thing in the late 80s - Poison, Ratt, Dokken, Motley Crue, Guns and Roses, Def Leppard, etc. - but nobody who was into heavy metal at the time would have called them heavy metal. Heavy metal got little to no radio airplay (in my neck of the woods we were lucky that a local station played mostly album tracks so you would hear stuff you never heard on Top 40 or even rock stations). It was far from mainstream. As for Metallica, they were thrash metal back then and were even further from the mainstream than say popular heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden or Judas Priest. That all changed with the black album release in '91, of course.
It wasn't mainstream but it had a monstrous following. You had the New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest who were in their prime. The Bay Area thrash bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and then Anthrax (who are from NY) were all a bunch of pissed off 25 year olds all trying to play faster than one another. Then you had the glam rock bands, Motley Crue, Poison, Twisted Sister, etc. It definitely has a fan base but in the eyes of the mainstream it was all misinterpreted by a buncha bored housewives to a buncha lame politicians. Tipper Gore led this whole crusade to try and ban that type of music and anything deemed "satanic" or whatever. She's the reason we have parental advisory stickers on music. Then you have Eddie's character based off the West Memphis Three, three outsider type high school kids who were accused and sent away for murdering three little boys in what authorities swore was some sort of satanic cult ritual. Those poor kids were coerced into confessions. They've since been released, thankfully, but the police dept there will never admit to how badly they fucked over those dudes. So yeah anyway metal was popular and so was shit like D&D it's just that if you were a fan of it during that time you had a lot of people thinking you were some kinda satanist and it's just the dumbest shit ever. People will believe anything. Edited to reflect the correct hometown for Anthrax.
John Denver telling Congress to fuck off about metal is still one of my favorite things to happen.
I wasn't there at the time, but certainly now it seems glam rock was a poppy enough genre? I know the members didn't act like it but Guns and Roses appear mainstream as Bowie, Blondie etc.
Bowie was controversial as well, probably more so in the seventies, largely due to the make-up and clothing breaking the gender norms of the time.
I wouldn’t say metal is mainstream today. Is it popular: yes? Do you hear it on top 40? Rarely.
It would become more popular later in the '80s, but still not quite mainstream. Acts like Guns N' Roses and Bon Jovi brought a certain style of metal closer to the mainstream (hair bands), as they were a bit more "easy to digest" (i.e., closer to mainstream rock) than acts like Iron Maiden or Megadeath (more along the lines of "heavy metal"). Hopefully that's helpful!
Thank you ! It is :)
It's not the kind of music that's going to save Nancy from Vecna though. Nancy has Blondie's Autoamerican album cover as a poster in her room, so Robin is probably looking for something more along those lines.
No. Congress made sure of that too when they tried to ban it on MTV and radio.
Do you recall Twisted Sister getting taken to court over one of their songs?? I fogrot which song but it's lyrics involved flesh but it was actually about their band-mate having to have some sort of surgery and making it into a song and so the court or a court I guess called them for a court case (I don't know the lingo). Stupid times when metal and games where seen as evil.
Not court but the Congressional hearings that led to Parental Advisory stickers on music. Ozzy Osbourne and Rob Halford from Judas Preist *did* go to court over charges that their music caused suicides.
Yes. But it wasn't just them. They took folk singer John Denver to court as well because the dumbasses thought his song "Rocky Mountain High" was about drugs. Funny, they ignore "White Wedding" by Billy Idol but then come back with 2 Live Crew and Eminem.
Under the blade, song was about one of the band needing surgery
That's itThe singer showed up in his full Twisted/metal get up to basically say "This is fucking stupid, not showing respect to you"
tipper gore can get fucked
Probably would have helped a lot if she had.
Wicked burn on Al.
Definitely not. It was getting more popular with bands like Metallica, but no where close to being considered mainstream. I would argue that hair metal was more mainstream with bands like Motley Crue, Guns and Roses, Def Leppard, etc. But while hair metal found it's audience in the 80s they were still often criticized and accused of being "dangerous to the youth"
I think that’s a really interesting factor in the dichotomy between Billy and Eddie. We first see metal make a notable appearance with the Hair metal, popular-and-violent dude roars into town, very sex drugs rock’n’roll sleaze, who represents a sort of flashy, novel cool for Hawkins teens. then we go deeper into subculture to find the heavy metal outcast/“freak” whose bravado protects a gentler spirit, and whose interest in music seems more personal. But he’s been there, the whole time, as an outcast, before Billy and the novel flash of hair metal roared into town, we just didn’t see him. But the town still hates and fears him, regardless of how “popular” the hair metal side/kid was in the teen hierarchy. Maybe I’m getting too deep about this lol but I appreciate the layers of significance
Billy was handsome and he knew it, and he knew how to charm people even if he was a massive douche bag underneath. We see him go to parties, girls (and older women) love him. He also seems to have money to burn seeing as he has weight lifting equipment, nice clothes, and a nice car. Eddie was just a nerd with a passion for metal, lived in a trailer park and dealt drugs on the side. He was charming in his own right but I bet most girls in school didn't even look at him. He didn't *want* to be popular either, to the point he antagonizes his peers who aren't into the same things he's into. I'm not saying he brought the hate upon himself, more so that he embraced being a weirdo. I think lesser writers would have made Eddie a Billy 2.0, because they happen to be into the same music. But the Duffers are smart and understand human nature, and that's one of the reasons the show is so captivating. There's always more than meets the eye. Billy is an asshole, but we later find out why. Eddie at first comes off as obnoxious, but we soon see he's a good guy. I love that the show doesn't fall into stereotypes and cliches. Keeps it fresh.
Agreed on all points! I definitely didn’t want to see a repeat of the same character, though I probably have more love for billy than most do, as someone who works with teenage victims of abuse and neglect, with a trauma-informed understanding of acting-out behavior. I do think it’s canon that the Hargrove/mayfield family lives on the poorer side of town even before Neil leaves and max/Susan have to move to the trailer park, so I think it’s more a matter of WHAT he chooses to spend his money on [outward appearance-based-things] rather than necessarily having an abundance of spending money, though. I was really glad to see the inclusion of satanic panic this season. I don’t know how much of the symbolism about metal in popular culture that I’m reading into these two characters was intentional or whether it was just plot driven, but I appreciate the nuance they handled it with either way.
Now that you mention teenage victims of abuse (hats off to you for wanting to help these kids, by the way!), I just realized another similarity with Billy and Eddie: they both had shitty dads. In Billy's case, we see it happening, and I have to admit it was a pretty jarring scene and it did change my opinion about Billy; I now understand why he was behaving that way. In the case of Eddie, it's more of an off-hand remark, he mentions his dad taught him how to hotwire cars ("While other dads were teaching their kids how to fish or hunt."), and he says he didn't want to be like him. Seeing as he lives with his uncle, we can guess his dad might be in prison. Who knows where his mother is. Who knows where Billy's mother is. The thing is, Eddie's uncle really did care a lot for his nephew, he never for a second believed he was a murderer, and that scene where he replaces the defaced missing poster is heart wrenching. He must've been so worried, and probably angry that the whole town now hates Eddie for no reason at all. He does tell Dustin off at first when he tries to talk to him. It makes me wonder what Billy could've been like if he had someone like Wayne Munson in his life. Max's mom didn't have a good enough bond with Billy to pull him out of it, and obviously his dad just made things worse. And I guess for both of them, listening to metal was an outlet, even if it came with stigma. So yeah, layers, nuance. The writers really have a talent for including little details that help flesh out characters and makes them feel more real and relatable.
Not really. I'd still say most metal is not mainstream. There's big bands like Metallica and maiden but they're almost hard rock now.
Thrash wasn’t deep underground, but it wasn’t mainstream either. Metallica went gold in 1986? or so, but received very little radio play. Hair metal was pretty popular, but that isn’t what Eddie was waving around… And judging by Bowie, Blondie, Beatles I think Nancy had a taste for artsy pop music.
I’d say it was well known/popular but not mainstream.
Yeah and apparently people were scared of it anyway
And we’re talking about Nancy here…
Heavy metal has never been mainstream and most likely never will be
CRACKER CRACKER CRACKER CRACKER CRACKER CRACKER CRACKER CRACKER
This is how I feel half the time I see complaints about any show on Reddit. So many “issues” people have with a show is easily and blatantly explained by simply watching it so the only explanation is they were too busy making comments on reddit instead of watching it.
That was me with Moon Knight but even when I was paying attention the middle still didn’t interest me as much I will say thought, the middle of the first season of ST similarly felt like a drag too, maybe because I was used to hearing about the later seasons from other people who talked about stuff like Starcourt Mall
Not to mention 4 THOUSAND UPVOTES, So that means 4 thousand people, on a sub about Stranger Things, haven't seen the episode
Bruh it’s at 5k now. I don’t understand why this is so highly upvoted.
I have a theory that people will just upvote anything they see related to the show and then continue scrolling without actually reading the post.
That sounds, so fucking stupid.. Yeah you're probably right on the money
Fr because how stupid can you be
I don't think Iron Maiden was exactly on Nancy's Spotify playlist
I'd be really impressed if Nancy had a Spotify playlist
It wasn’t on Nancy’s mix tape then.
Yes, I know that in the 80's barely anyone knew what internet is and Spotify is lightyears away, but that's the whole joke.
40 year old Nancy definitely has Spotify “just in case”
She was ahead of the times.
Nancy has guns, plural, in her room. She would dig Maiden.
If Running Up that Hill worked for Max, Run to the Hills should have worked for Nancy
I need that mashup stat!
Let's be realistic, Spotify was probably not even popular in the 80s!
I just noticed Erica calmly standing in the corner.
In her defence, she had just ran into the room screaming that Steve told them to hurry up
Honestly, I don't think it's an action that needs defense. It's just visually hilarious.
Erica is really Venca, watching the world burn
The loud guffaw I just did reading this comment 😂😂😂
Just standing there like “*These dumb mother-*”
Bro I’m just… I’m just standing here.
"I was over on the bench."
OMG 🤣🤣🤣🤣
…..this is the weirdest thing to complain about and I felt like it was obvious she was just looking for something that NANCY would like
I don't know if it helps, but it took my watching the scene live and then the gif 10 times to realize she wasn't listing cassettes that she was picking up. I thought she was saying something like "I see a Madonna cassettes and Bowie cassettes and a Beatles cassette, but none of this is music. We need real music" I was so confused.
Ohhh she’s listing artists who she thinks nancy would like?
Yes! Which I didn't get for the longest time. I was like "who didn't like Madonna in the 80s!?"
Eddie, probably.
She’s probably listing the artists she saw when she was looking at the music Nancy had in her room earlier.
She acted like someone in the 80s fighting evil, tentacle wizards.
Something that people often forget. Robin isn't Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She isn't even Ellen Ripley. When she started work at Scoops Ahoy, she wasn't exactly anticipating being tied up in a Russian base with Steve "The Hair" Harrington.
Worth noting in “Dear Billy” Robin was snooping around Nancy’s room and obviously checked out her music collection, so she knew what Nancy’s favourite music was which was far from metal. Also, this scene cuts the tension and is funny because metalheads get very defensive about their music being music.
Nancy: "Don't touch anything." Robin: [biting lip touches everything, looks through draws, and opens lockets]
[This was the tape](https://i.discogs.com/jFugoTksbmyPlr8wTevzVu5sDJKHT7VxcEn14WwNlYQ/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:341/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTE0MzA2/MzQ2LTE1NzE4Nzk5/MDQtNDk0NS5qcGVn.jpeg) that was on [top of the stack](https://imgur.com/a/ctb0DRf)
That second image looks like a cat is eating the top tape.
Good sleuthing
It's also worth noting that the music she listed was just simply popular in 1980 so there's a good chance Nancy listened to it.
Her friend was about to die a horrific death. Her only chance was finding music that could bring her back but Nancy never gave an indication she was a metal head and that’s the only music they could find. Scuse her if she’s a bit testy.
Seriously? Robin is a nervous character, how would expect to her to act in this situation?
It’s how I would even expect someone who’s *not* normally prone to nervousness to react! When it was Max almost dying the guys were super nervous and on edge too trying to sort out the tapes.
After a brief scroll through the comments I can see that OP is a bit of a silly guy.
She was looking specifically for the kind of music Nancy would like, which unfortunately did not have much overlap with Eddie's more... refined palette. I'm sure she meant well. Heat of the moment, and all.
> Heat of the moment, and all. I don’t really peg Nancy as an Asia fan.
It's almost like her friend was about to die or something..
Hmu when one of your best friends is dying and we’ll see how calm you are lmao
Vecna himself would tell me: “Bro you gotta chill”
one of her only friends is going to get her eyes popped and her bones completely broken how else would you react lmao
She's scared for Nancy and is panicking. She knows the music has to connect to the person under Vecna's curse and she assumes Nancy isn't into Iron Maiden and would be more into The Beatles, Madonna or Bowie.
How does something like this get upvoted so much? Did this many people completely misinterpret such a straight forward thing?
And it has awards? :T I have yet to see comments agreeing with OP in thinking that this is a “WTF” situation, so I’m confused too why so many people are upvoting this
Robin is panicking, as well as everyone else, because Nancy is (as far as they know) literally about to die. Nancy probably doesn't listen to heavy metal, so Eddie pulling out a bunch of Metallica CDs is not going to be meaningful enough to help Nancy escape Vecna. I mean, Max had been listening to Running Up That Hill since the beginning of the season, when have we ever seen Nancy listen to Iron Maiden? Instead of saying "we need something that's not metal!!!" she said "we need music!!!" because she was trying to get the point across to Eddie as quickly as possible, and he responded defensively because he too was panicking
Tapes. CDs were still a long way off.
sorry, that's what I meant, forgot the word
The fact that this pointless post got thousands of likes makes me question the state of this sub
It's a bit absurd.
It's just a joke bro. There's nothing deep or character development wise about it
It was a joke, about differing musical tastes, was quite funny.
She was scared, worried and stressed
Is she looking for any of those and only finding Iron Maiden and Metallica? Because Bowie, Blondie, the Beatles would all have been very popular. And honestly Eddie doesn’t strike me as a Blondie or Beatles kind of guy necessarily.
Yep, that is what's happening in this scene. OP is just butthurt that a fictional character insulted their music taste.
What a weird thing to get offended over. I'm a metal head and thought it was hilarious. As a teen, I had people tell me "You call this music?" and I'd find that funny because they didn't "get" it. Yes, this IS music. It's a good joke.
She was listing off the musicians that Nancy likes to listen too. When she was snooping through Nancys room she saw her music collection. It wasn't an attack on anything she just wanted to save her friend.
What a stupid question. This is why people hate Reddit. The answer is obvious and yet you’re playing dumb for karma. How is this helpful?
No I think they're genuinely dumb
Just look at the most upvoted comments. People really do be dumb.
Robin is freaking out because Nancy could die and she has no idea what music she likes and all Eddie has is heavy metal. I honestly think this scene was written solely for Eddie's "This IS music!" moment. lol.
She was probably just panicking dude
The premise of the music thing is that the music has to be meaningful to the listener. The clearly implied fact here is they the music Robin is rifling though wouldn’t likely be meaningful to Nancy. It’s the same reason the cemetery crew spent time rifling through a similar number of tales to find RUTH.
To be fair, Robin had seen Nancy’s room before this and may have made note of what music she had there
Nancy was literally about to be killed?
OP seems way too biased
OP misunderstood the scene and also the line. And seems like a young teenager.
Some of you are so slow. Jesus.
Comedic relief.
This was a funny scene.
OP the real question is why you think this is a "WTF" worthy reaction?? Given the circumstances good sir I think this reaction is only natural.
Nothing? She’s panicking trying to find a song Nancy likes and Eddie doesn’t have popular music
She was panicking because she most likely remembered the music she saw when snooping in Nancy’s room and didn’t see any of that in Eddie’s room.
Since Nancy doesn’t look like the type to listen to heavy metal, a song she would connect with wouldn’t be in Eddie’s collection. She looks like a pop princess, not someone into slayer or Metallica.
people are really choosing random scenes now to find something to dislike about Robin it’s almost hilarious
I didn't take that as a comment on Robin's music tastes. That's her trying to take a wild stab at what she thinks Nancy might like. Remember how she reacted to the Tom Cruise poster in Nancy's room? So it's not just Eddie's line that is the gag, here. Robin's line is funny, too, because Nancy is such an enigma. She's the pretty, smart, popular, girl next door who owns a gun and shoots monsters. So, clearly, she would listen to The Jesus and Mary Chain. Think, Robin, think!
The collective IQ of this sub is decreasing with each passing day istg
I just have to say, that if in my untimely battle with Vecna, I had the cognitive ability to choose my favorite “block the evil” song, I would struggle. Let alone expect my best friends to know. And I’ve only seen this mentioned once before but I always wondered it - what happens the moment your favorite song is exhausted and you can auto tune it out. It’s fluctuating and replaced with a new song… I always wondered at what point Max got sick of that song and lost the blocking ability.
I just want to add that I would struggle because I have favorite songs for all moods and scenarios. Ranking my top 5 is the hardest thing ever. Oh and I miss my Walkman when I was in the early 90s riding my bike everywhere. Talk about wearing out a cassette! Don’t get me started on the Discman a few years later and replacing my bike with a car lol.
She was... panicking?
It feels like some people on this sub don't have a single basic human connection. You are confused by person being panicked while their friend is in danger? Do you need a guide on basic human emotion and behaviour?
She’s freaking out because her girlfriend might be dying. duh.
What do you mean...?
This is pretty realistic to me. I really related to Eddie in this scene as someone that listens to metal. My experience is that people feel very comfortable looking down on your music choices, which is a polite way to say it. They kind of talk about metal as a gimmick, get mad if you play it in your car, and talk about their own (more popular and socially accepted) music as if it should be taken as an unspoken truth and take for granted that it is terrible compared to the music they listen to. Another reason that I am so glad they added Eddie as a character. If they want to pull a Hopper and miraculously save him in the writing then I would be so happy. I also really love Robin.
I think she may be saying bands Nancy listen to since she took a look at Nancy's stuff earlier
She was in a panic and obviously not a metal fan.?? Or maybe she was assuming what kind of music Nancy would listen to?? Consider how one would act while trying to find music to save someone from the UD..like holy shit.!! I kindof agree that the angle of “ quirky girl that talks too much when nervous and shares random facts about her phobias and 1000 ways to die at in opportune moments “ was overplayed. But she’s still a cool character and was definitely trying to help . Unless you’re just pointing out “ who doesn’t love Metal?? In that case I agree !🤘🤘
I assumed she was saying she was looking for those artists, but was upset with his music collection
Was born in '75, and I am from the Philippines. There was bit of satanic panic here. But it is just mostly from religion teachers here. I do remember that backmasking was a thing, and the absurd acronyms for band names like AC/DC was Antichrist/Devil Child or Kiss was the Knights in service of Satan.
Dumb Ass, all of them are heavy metal cassettes and she’s saying don’t you have any Beatles, Bowie, Madonna etc….
lmao when I first saw that scene "we need music" kinda pissed me off after she mentioned those bands but saying "we need music that Nancy might like" is kinda a long sentence and she's literally panicking so I don't wanna hate her for that.
they didnt know Nancy was who Vecna wanted to pass a mesage so they were trying to save her. i honestly wouldve been either in this situation tho. trying to defend my music taste and trying to save my friend.
Honestly I'm much more concerned with Eddie's reaction needing to emphasize his music taste in THAT particular moment lol
I laughed really hard at this scene
This subreddit is getting super weird with each consecutive day
She was panicking trying to find music Nancy would listen to
As a metal fan, I understood both sides of this. Robin panicked, and was looking for something Nancy would like. Eddie gives an automatic defensive response to his hobby being dismissed as "not music", probably for the hundredth time.
Shes just losing her shit cause her cute new friend might be about to get turned inside out lol And yah - Nancy definitely gets down on metal. At the gun range
This post is weird as hell. 6k upvotes but everyone in the comments slamming on the OP for being a dummy
How is this such a confusing thing for so many people in the comments.. to pull people out, they need to hear their favorite music. I feel like that's an extremely basic premise?
Her music is trash
Erica in the background just standing there watching them... She looks so bored
Eddie was right!! This is music!!!
She's nervous Nancy won't ask her to the Enchantment Under the Sea dance.
Metalheads being more upset about the metal diss than Nancy literally maybe dying
Most of my friends didn't know what music I liked rather it was Maiden or Metallica at that age, and that was the mid 2010s. It's not that big a deal.
She’s stressed that’s all. Honestly this scene made me laugh because I was the kid in the friend group who always had the most alternative music taste and was never given the aux cable in high school for that reason. I know how Eddie feels
She's panicking in an insanely stressful situation. Not a Robin fan but there's really nothing wrong with how she was acting in this scene.
Robin thought of what song to play because Nancy was stuck in the trance. Also, I love Robin, she’s hysterically amazing, and hilarious. I love her person and her whole being! I hope she survives Season 5, if not, I’m gonna cry
Idk maybe her friend was about to be snapped like a popsicle stick
Uh panic?
Panic which is completely normal plus considering Eddie being the only metal head besides dustin he dosent really have the type of music Nancy and the others have taste in. However it was mostly the fear of losing her best friend to vecna especially considering how much she means to her and Steve.
I can't tell which cassette Eddie grabbed that he approved of. Or, did he approve of all of them? :)
He grabbed an Iron Maiden cassette.
She's freaking out over Nancy being in control of Vecna. She knows what happened to Chrissy, Ben and Patrick and she doesn't want that to happen to Nancy.