Those who know me probably wish they didn't know that I heart me some spoopy tuneage. So here's my YouTube playlist for Halloween 2024, with slightly over two hours of music to groove to while you're carving your pumpkin(s) and whatnot. I've written a blurb about each piece as well, but fortune favors the bold or some such motivational bullshit, so I'd recommend playing the tracks first.*
*Uh, watch out for that last video, tho, 'cause it's got some freaky film footage that might not be suitable for all audiences. Just sayin'...
- A thicc synth take on the theme from the Halloween franchise that you can shake your bootie to without fear of it being sliced off by Michael Myers.
- This tells a pretty messed up tale but it still kinda rocks, so... ::shrugs::
- This one was featured in the fifth installment of the Friday the 13th franchise and, though it's full of '80s goodness, it will not take you to funky town.
- This is one of two songs on the playlist that speaks to relationship trauma. I dig (and can seriously relate to) the thoughts expressed in the simple, though powerful, chorus.
- I'm feeling a bit vexed that the official video for this freaking fantastic tune was available on YouTube just a few days ago but is currently blocked from play in the USA. I found a live performance of it recorded by CBC Music, which isn't bad, though the singer's vocals get a little lost in the mix (a real pity, as she has such a distinctive and haunting sound). I thought about swapping it out for one of my (dis)honorable mentions but I just couldn't leave it out. Do me a solid and holler at me in the comments if you find this video's gone walkabout as well.
- AN UPDATE: there was some licensing BS between YouTube and the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC) which led to tons of videos being blocked in the US. It seems YouTube's sorted out its ish and the official video for Spellwork is back, so I've swapped it back into the playlist. Please LMK if it doesn't play and I'll put the substitute back in.
- All us hep cats were shakin' our rumps to this saucy-yet-deadpan bop waaaaaaaaaay before it was featured on a recent streaming service's series. (Which I'm annoyed at for its regular price hikes so don't ask me which 'cause I'll be ding-dang-donged if they get anything from me for free.) (Greedy tossers.)
- That hard-jangling guitar riff in the chorus, doubled by the bassline, goes right to my heart every time I hear it.
8 | Ghost of a Texas Ladies' Man ~ Concrete Blonde
- Johnette Napolitano's vocals ride this song raw, and the cheeky second verse cracks me up.
9 | Take Me Away ~ Frog the Dawg
- A fun, if short, mashup of Flo Rida's Right Round (feat. Ke$ha) (which itself borrows significantly from Dead or Alive's You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)) and the maniacal novelty song They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! by Napoleon XIV.
10 | Stop, I'm Already Dead ~ Deadboy & The Elephantmen
- Just some good old, rollicking, hard-livin', whiskey-swilling indie rock you may remember as the theme from iZombie.
- An hommage to Buffalo Bill from The Silence of the Lambs.
- I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure this song is basically about a cannibal singing to the chick he's having for dinner. (As it were.) Don't believe me? Check out the lyrics.
- There doesn't seem to be a consensus about this song's meaning so my read is literal--it's a deceptively lively invitation to dance your way into the darkness.
- You may recognize this one from A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge.
16 | Nemesis ~ Shriekback
- Probably the only tune ever played on US radio (or, indeed, any radio) to prominently feature the word parthenogenesis.
- In this mashup, the funky dance tune becomes positively sinister.
- For me, this song's about how even a breakup with "closure" can continue to haunt you...
- There was no chance of me leaving my fave new romantics off this list, folks. The original version of this tune was released on their first self-titled album in 1981, and its video serves as a horror-short in its own right. Then in 2023, they released a spook-tastic album with covers of eerie alt-rock, dance, and old school classics, as well as some re-tooled DD songs. On this playlist is the updated version of the song--I truly love both, but the lush arrangement of the recent release is so wonderfully creepy it legit makes the hair on my arms stand on end. (Chef's kiss, boys!)
- Because I'm ridiculous, I often* ask (of myself) the question of the chorus: "What's that coming over the hill, is it a monster?...Is it a monster?" *I honestly do, as I find myself utterly hilarious when I do it. (You're right, I need to touch some grass...)
- I've seen them described as a novelty band and have to say I agree. But why does this cover have to slap so hard? Here's the original, which is even drier in its delivery than TBB's cover. (And yes, I like it, too, bc I'm just as goofy as all these cats.)
22 | Fresh Blood ~ Eels
- And now for something completely different, and broody as heck. This one's gritty, and the hoots and howls in the chorus, positively chilling.
- Dudes, this was one of those songs that I fell arse over kettle for on the first listen and knew it'd be a big hit (another was INXS' Need You Tonight--best bootie call ever--and that was before I'd been beguiled by the sensual heat of Michael Hutchence, RIP, God Bless). The video for Heads Will Roll is totally terroriffic and I was today years old when I learned that Richard Ayoade directed it! (Love him!)
- Here's the second of two songs on the playlist to speak to relationship trauma. This one borrows an awful idea from a tried and true horror trope: the possibility that the nightmare you've just escaped isn't quite dead yet.
25 | Creeper ~ Islands
- Look, I don't know why I find the opening line of "Right from the start I was stabbed in the heart" so danged addictive, but it freaking is, OK? (Actually, the entire song is catchy af; I blame it on the beat. Just try to listen to this and not tap your toes/feet/appendage of your choice.) (Go on, I dare ya.)
26 | Dangerous ~ Big Data
- Stalkers are not cool, but this song about one of the blighters surely is. And soooooo sex-ay! (W00F!)
- This is the tune you and your BFFs in seventh grade came up with that day your music teacher was out sick and a sub with no musical ability whatsoever gave you busy work.
28 | Kiddies ~ sElf
- With a chorus of "Let's go trick-or-treatin' dressed up like Marilyn Manson...snatch up all the kiddies and then hold them all for ransom," this song was disturbing when it was initially released. It's even more so now.
- The Addams Family was the superior TV show (OK, and film franchise) but--and I'm sorry-not-sorry if this offends--the groovy surf-rock theme from The Munsters freakin' slays and that's all there is to it.
- Hey, man--I've never denied being a romantic fool. Hell, I've embraced the role. And this song is what I'd choose as my final girl theme, because I'm tired of fighting alone and long for the right someone to lift me up inside and fight by my side.
- You know how Independence Day fireworks shows tend to save the biggest, best-est display for last? That's what this sick mashup is--a rousing mix of Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Rob Zombie, AND MORE! This rocks hard but please, if you missed my note above, and the warning at the start of the actual video, DO NOT WATCH THE VIDEO IF YOU'RE NOT INTO HORROR MOVIES as there are VERY SCARY and/or DISTURBING clips from various horror flicks in it! DO LISTEN to the mashup, because it's frickin' amazing, but let it play in the background. (An additional warning for the audio of the intro, courtesy of The Babadook, which spooks the heck outta me whenever I hear it.)
I agree on the cannibal thing. What else could it be?
ReplyDeleteThank you! :-D
Delete