Take a Trip Back to 1994 With Our ‘Fear Street’ Playlist
The Fear Street trilogy is bringing the scares to Netflix this summer, but the real draw of the series isn’t the horror and gore, it’s the soundtrack.
If you haven’t watched Fear Street yet, here’s the synopsis: “After a series of brutal slayings, a teen and her friends take on an evil force that’s plagued their notorious town for centuries.” The three-film arc is chock-full of jump scares, brutal deaths, and horror tropes, which is cool. But what’s cooler is that most of the action is set in 1994–with a good-sized flashback to 1978–and it’s the music of those two years that provides the bulk of Fear Street‘s soundtrack.
I chopped up a bunch of choice cuts that are featured in the three films below. Slash your way through and pretend its the summer of ’94 (or ’78) all over again.
Nine Inch Nails “Closer” – The first song featured in the show, from NIN’s 1994 smash The Downward Spiral.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNTV3Q39tco
Iron Maiden “Fear of the Dark” – They took it back to ’92 for this one.
Bush “Machinehead” – Bush’s debut Sixteen Stone was another ’94 staple
Cypress Hill “Insane In The Brain” – This can’t be the first time the Hill’s big hit has been used in a horror flick.
Radiohead “Creep” – Another early ’90s gem used to good horror effect.
White Zombie “More Human Than Human” – Are you sensing a theme here? “I am the Astro Creep…”
Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dog “Nuthin’ But A G Thang” – Yes, the kids were still bumpin’ The Chronic in the summer of ’94.
https://youtu.be/0F0CAEoF4XM
Cowboy Junkies “Sweet Jane” – Everyone in the comments is like: “I heard this on Fear Street…” hahaha.
The Prodigy “Firestarter” – Fear Street’s music director is playing a little fast & loose with this one: it didn’t come out until 1996.
Soundgarden “The Day I Tried To Live” – Big 1994 energy from Superunknown.
Pixies “Hey” – Lots of love for Pixies on Fear Street. They’ll return after we jump back to 1978.
Nirvana – “The Man Who Sold The World” – A nice dovetail here, with Nirvana covering a ’70s Bowie tune in ’94.
The Runaways “Cherry Bomb” – Sure, it’s from ’76. But you know kids were still rockin’ it in ’78.
Blue Oyster Cult “Don’t Fear The Reaper” – A horror flick soundtrack staple.
Kansas “Carry On My Wayard Son” – Another soundtrack staple, horror or otherwise.
Buzzcocks “Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve?)” Believe it or not, the message of this song lies at the heart of the entire Fear Street story arc.
Foghat “Slow Ride” – Pretty sure they used this one in a sex scene, which is funny.”
Lou Reed “Sweet Jane” – They used the cover in Part 1 and the original in Part 2, both to great effect.
David Bowie “The Man Who Sold The World” – Bookending Part 2 with the cover and original. Brilliant.
The Offspring “Come Out And Play” – The main action in Part 3 takes place in 1666, but it ends in 1994, so they snuck in a few more gems from that era.
Oasis “Live Forever” – Come on. These are horror movies. No one’s living forever.
Pixies “Gigantic” – I told you they’d be back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-6QcRZqhOk
Pixies ‘Mr. Grieves” – And another Pixies tune over the closing credits? I told you, the music was the best thing about Fear Street.