Somewhere, Kate Bush is remembering Stranger Things‘ stratospheric boost of “Running Up That Hill” and nodding in recognition. But the songs suddenly re-popularized in the wake of Severance‘s second season finale are even older than her 1985 pop hit. That includes the stirring rendition of “The Windmills of Your Mind” that plays as Mark S. and Helly R. are sprinting into their uncertain future, and the jazzy “Work Song” that plays over the “Cold Harbor” end credits.
Both of these songs are standards that have been oft-recorded over the years. “Windmills” is specifically Mel Tormé’s 1968 version, while this take on “Work Song” is Bobby Darin’s from 1963. So these are not exactly ditties that’ve charted recently… until they became swept up in the Severance phenomenon, that is.
As Billboard reports, in the four days since the finale aired March 20, “Windmills” has since “racked up 215,000 U.S. on-demand audio streams,” which represents a 30,000% increase since the previous week. “Work Song” was streamed over 20,000 times, which is fewer than Tormé’s track, but is a 35,000% increase from the same span of days in the previous week.
In addition, the Alan Parsons Project’s “Sirius,” notable for its use by the Chicago Bulls for player introductions during the Michael Jordan ’90s heyday—and now forever linked with Mr. Milchick’s MDR celebration after Mark S. finally finished the Cold Harbor file—got a 16% boost to “just under 125,000 streams.”
So far, there’s no word on where we can stream the Choreography & Merriment’s marching band versions of Lumon’s most stirring anthems.
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