It’s here! It’s alive! It’s the third biennial Halloween Mix! Below is a brief (sorry that's a lie) rundown of the songs I picked this time around. But first, here's the link to this year's Halloween mix.
1. Night of the Blood Beast
This is a radio advertisement for a 1958 horror movie. Fun fact: they did an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 on this movie. So you know it’s good.
“You’ll know days of nerve-straining suspense! It’s first-degree terror when you see Night of the Blood Beast!”
This is the first track on Radiohead’s new album, A Moon-Shaped Pool. Making these Halloween mixes has given me an ear for even the vaguest references to paranormal or horrific subjects so it’s always exciting for me when my favorite artists put out a new album with Halloween-ish songs. Also Radiohead is my favorite. Also also this song has an excellent music video.
“If you float you burn.”
3. I Fall to Pieces – Patsy Cline
Body horror at its finest. I actually came across this song while watching an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (S1E12).
“You walk by and I fall to pieces.”4. Monsters – Electric President
This song has some really great nasty background sound effects: croaking zombie and dripping, slipping, peeling sounds. As with all of these songs, the paranormal aspect is a metaphor, but this metaphor is particularly vivid.
“But now you're a monster and your backbone is soft because you threw it away.”Kind of reminds me of some of those disturbingly soft elbows Lovecraft writes about in stories like The Festival (which is actually a Christmas story!).
5. Swamp Thing – Hiatus Kaiyote
This song has a sick base line. And it’s about the Swamp Thing. It’s maybe a touch too stylistically eccentric for some of yous out there, but this song grew on me like a sentient mass of swampland flora. And, let’s be honest, I’m probably going to be the one who listens to this playlist the most anyway. Also! People need to read Alan Moore’s comic run of Swamp Thing because reasons like it’s good and I said so.
6. I Thought I Was an Alien – Soko"A toothless grinned swamp thing is lurking, come get you."
“We met one day where I thought I was an alien. I told you to get a costume and dance with me like an alien. And you did.”I love this song for its off-beat, personal charm. Also aliens. If you listen carefully there are some nice laser, spaceship and alien sounds in the background.
7. Starman – David Bowie
I never listened to David Bowie until he died and I saw that his last album was on Amazon Prime. I gave it a try and discovered that it is 100% my jam. I’ve enjoyed exploring Bowie’s music this whole year. If you’re interested in giving Bowie a shot (which you totally are), I highly recommend “Nothing Has Changed,” a reverse-chronological 3-disc survey of Bowie’s career that he curated himself. This particular song was featured in The Martian, which is an excellent film adaptation of an excellent book.
“There’s a starman waiting in the sky. He’d like to come and meet us but he thinks he’d blow our minds.”Not a bad solution to the Fermi paradox, if I do say so myself.
8. The Mummy – Benji Hughes
“Whatever you do, don’t get the mummy. When the mummy gets drunk he unravels.”Some practical advice on selecting musicians for a prom. You’re welcome.
9. You’ve Haunted Me All My Life – Death Cab for Cutie
This track is from Death Cab’s latest album. The title says it all.
10. Wolfman – Dirty Bourbon River Show
This song features both an accordion and a sousaphone and it’s about a werewolf. If those aren’t in your list of the top ten things you look for in a song, then we can’t be friends anymore.
“The hair, it starts to grow. The teeth, they get sharp. And then the eyes glow green. And the howling starts.”11. Witchcraft – Frank Sinatra
I actually played this song way back in middle school jazz band. Also it’s in Hocus Pocus. So it’s an old favorite.
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| Hocus Pocus IS Halloween. |
“I’m such a total zombie and you’re gold.”This song is similar in sentient to “She’s so High” by Tal Bachman, except that this one focuses more on how terrible the protagonist is. Maybe less effective for swooning purposes, but at least the lyrics are more realistic for the average listener’s situation.
13. Somebody’s Watching Me – Rockwell
This one was a recommendation from my mom. This song features both Jermaine and Michael Jackson, so maybe next time I’ll just go ahead and use Thriller (or maybe the Bollywood version instead). Anyways, this song references both the Twilight Zone and Psycho. Also, the music video is great. Music videos need more zombie mailmen.
14. Dracula – Bea Miller
“Only one kiss, you’d be k-k-k-k-killing me.”This song was on the radio! I read Bram Stoker’s Dracula somewhat recently and one of the most interesting things about the Count is how ancient he is. The way that time doesn’t apply to him is terrifying. He’s not “forever young and wild.” He’s a calculating and patient serial killer, bound by strict and very inconvenient rules. Also he’s only young when he’s been feeding. Sure, he can seduce women with his magic powers, but it’s super gross and disturbing if you actually think about it. I feel like this song exemplifies the sexy vampire fad that became super popular recently thanks to the Twilight franchise. This song has a good hook though.
15. Vampire – Mu
“You tried to suck me dry, sink your teeth in and imprison me. But I’d die before you take your bite, cross my heart and hope to keep alight.”In my opinion, this is a much more appropriate reaction to the advances of a vampire than the last song. Don’t mess with the undead, folks!
16. Wolfman – Teddybears
“Sell your soul to a 45. Lose yourself to the other side.”17. Ghost Town – The Specials
I love the balance between synthetic and acoustic instruments in this track. Just when the synthesizers get to be a bit too much, you get some excellent brass punches. Fun fact: this 1981 song was a reaction against urban decay in the UK.
18. Stop, I’m Already Dead – Deadboy and The Elephantmen
This song is used in the opening credits for the show iZombie, which is a really funny show (it’s on Netflix).
19. The Changeling – The Doors
“Uh! Uha! Gedu!”Just out of curiosity I got into The Doors a couple of years ago. This song is only tenuously related to changelings from folk lore, but I really like the Doors, you guys. H.P. Lovecraft wrote an awesome short story about changelings called Pickman’s Model.
20. Graveyard – Feist
“Bring ‘em all back to life!”I came across this song in a roundabout but very Halloween-appropriate fashion: I bought Feist’s album Metals after hearing another song from the album featured on the soundtrack of a zombie movie, Warm Bodies (2013). Warm Bodies was not bad and its soundtrack was excellent.
21. Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) – David Bowie
“Scary monsters, super creeps keep me running scared.”22. Afterlife – Arcade Fire
“Where do we go?!”This track is from Arcade Fire’s most recent album, Reflektor.
Well that’s it for this year. Thanks for reading through this and maybe also listening to the mix! Feel free to message me with any recommendations for next time. Below are links to the 2012 and 2014 Halloween Mixes:
Halloween Mix 2012
Halloween Mix 2014
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