Just as a powerful ending to a “Stranger Things” episode last year led to a massive upsurge in listens to Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” a similar incident has happened today.
Linda Ronstadt’s Grammy-nominated 1970 song “Long, Long Time,” which only peaked at 25 during its twelve week-stint in Billboard’s top 100 list, has seen a huge surge in popularity – all due to last night’s episode of “The Last of Us” on HBO.
The song, which is also the title of the episode, plays a key role in the twenty-year romantic relationship of survivors Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett) along with making an appearance at the show’s end as its main stars Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) drive off into wilder unknowns.
Immediately after the episode aired, popular music streamer Spotify reported that the song saw a 4,900% increase in plays compared to the previous week – and that’s just within the first day of the episode’s airing. In addition, the song has jumped out of nowhere into fifth place on the iTunes charts.
The episode was the third in a nine-episode run and, according to the showrunners, the one that contains the most significant deviation from the game in its new take on Bill and Frank’s story.
Reviews and social media reaction has been overwhelmingly positive towards the episode, with many calling it one of the best episodes of TV made in years. There has also been some critical reviews as well which had issues with the inclusion of Max Richter’s overused “On the Nature of Daylight” track, the overall sentimentality of the episode, and various nitpicks and/or issue with the show deviating from the game.
“Long Long Time” by Linda Ronstadt featured at the ending of #TheLastOfUsHBO EP3 saw a 4900% increase in streams on Spotify in the United States. pic.twitter.com/yXyQCXFikX
— Naughty Dog Central (@NaughtyNDC) January 30, 2023
