Culture Crash: This Year’s Summer Anthem

Usually, the song of the summer is some trendy pop hit from a rising star or an already prominent household name – think “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber or last year’s “good 4 u” by Olivia Rodrigo. Some promising candidates this year were Harry Styles, Lizzo, and Beyonce, and yes, they made songs that went viral, scored #1 weeks, and have the culture in a headlock. True. Still, I would say the song of the summer is definitively “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” a 1985 synth-pop anthem by Kate Bush that had already secured its place at #60 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

In May, the Netflix sensation Stranger Things featured the tune in a tense, fan-favorite scene and from there, the song took off on social media. Just a few months later, the song has been covered endlessly, sped up, slowed down, and blasted on many a highways across the world. Summer 2022 has seen this 37-year-old pop smash soar to #1 on the UK’s song charts and become Bush’s first-ever top 5 song on the U.S. Billboard chart.

In an era when anthemic pop rock from Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, and Sabrina Carpenter has revived interest in female icons of yesteryear like Alanis Morissette, Avril Lavigne, and others, it makes sense. Kate Bush was primed for a revival and a hit Netflix series was just the catalyst it needed, but still, this is mind-boggling stuff.

Still, summer 2022 will always remain one for the record books – the summer when a song reached across time and resonated with a new generation. That’s the power of great art, so congratulations to Kate Bush and “Running Up the Hill” on a truly unprecedented journey.