Halloween Music

By Rebecca the Bookseller

There is a time for every purpose under heaven. There is also music for every purpose on earth, or iTunes, depending.

I had to go back and double check, but I am pretty sure we've never done Halloween music. Sure, it's not the powerhouse of Christmas, or Valentines' Day, but it's got more music than Purim, or even Light-Up Night.

Personally, I shy away from the scary movie themes because scary movies just freak me out. I've never liked them - even the really campy ones. But I can appreciate them, and am happy to hear suggestions. My list tends to the fun ones, because I play them during trick-or-treat.

My street is full of old houses, and enough of us still decorate and carve pumpkins that we get a lot of kids. My rule: no costume, no candy. And I always dress up myself, so they don't even try the: 'But I'm too old to dress up.' Uh-uh. You want the treat? You wear the costume. And it's worth it at my house - we do the real size candy bars. Not those little miniatures. And I don't care what the school lunch lady says - I'm not doing apples or carrot sticks. Please. Where I come from, that's a good way to get your house egged.

We hang ghosts and bats from the trees, we line the walk with jack o'lantern luminaries, and we carve a bunch of pumpkins. Several years ago, we discovered the re-usable ones at Michaels (our local craft store). So every year we do one or two of those to build the collection. Then we each carve at least one real one. I started doing those complex ones with the design you poke through. I only do one of those a year though - they're hard. And no, I did not spring for the Williams-Sonoma special tool kit, although I was tempted. There's an electric drill in there!

Anyway, here is a list of songs suitable for blaring down the street on Wednesday. And as you know, I am always looking for new music, so please make suggestions if you have them!

1. Ghostbusters - Ray Parker Jr.
2. Superstition - Stevie Wonder
3. Monster Mash - Bobby "Boris" Picket & the Crypt-Kickers
4. Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revisited
5. Thriller - Michael Jackson (Yes, he's a freak. The song still rocks.)
6. I Put A Spell On You - Creedence Clearwater Revival
7. (Don't Fear) The Reaper - Blue Öyster Cult (I GOTTA have more cowbell, baby)
8. Runnin' With The Devil - Van Halen
9. Sympathy For The Devil - The Rolling Stones
10. In the Midnight Hour - Wilson Pickett
11. Werewolves of London - Warren Zevon
12. Highway to Hell - AC/DC (damn you iTunes - still no AC/DC)
13. Witchcraft - Frank Sinatra (for the young and young at heart)
14. The Devil Went Down To Georgia - Charlie Daniels Band (the kids love this one - where else can you sing son-of-a-bitch with no consequence?)
15. Spooky - Atlanta Rhythm Section
16. The Time Warp - The Rocky Horror Picture Show Cast
17. Somebody's Watching Me - Rockwell
18. Bad to the Bone - George Thorogood (every one joins in on the 'bah-bud-uh-bah-bump')
19. Addams Groove - Various Artists (including Puff Daddy who has more names than Erica Kane)

Comments

[Josh]

Not sure if this would fly in your neighborhood, but my son's current favorite song is "Code Blue" by T.S.O.L., which, alas, I introduced him to (see if you can guess my favorite line):

I never got along with the girls at my school
Filling me up with all their morals and their rules
They'd pile all their problems on my head
I'd rather go out and fuck the dead
'Cause I can do what I want and they won't complain
I wanna fuck I wanna fuck the dead
Middle of the night so silently
I creep on over to the mortuary
Lift up the casket and fiddle with the dead
Their cold blue flesh makes me turn red
'Cause I can do what I want and they won't complain
I wanna fuck I wanna fuck the dead
And I don't even care how she died...
But I like it better if she smells of formaldehyde!
Never on the rag or say leave me alone
They don't scream and they don't moan
Don't even cry if I shoot in their hair
Lying on the table she smiles and she stares
Chorus

[Josh]

Um, reading that now makes me see that it is just a tad inappropriate for this blog, so feel free to remove it, and this posting, too.

[Josh's punk kid]

Ok. Listen to just about every song by The Misfits, especially "Halloween", listen to "Halloween" by Dead Kenendys(different song), um...too many. "Code Blue" by T.S.O.L., "Fall Children" and "Totalimmoratal" by A.F.I., and...that's really all I got right now...

[ramona]

What's this, the invasion of the Simons???

I just read those lyrics. Oh dear god. I live in the same state as these guys, and it's a very small state. Help!

[Kathryn Reschini Sweeney]

I just love TLC. Hello, Josh's punk kid and welcome! Thanks for the suggestions, too.

Have you met William's nephew Mason? Because you guys could start a band together.

Here are two with lyrics that don't qualify you for a DSM Diagnosis:

Witchy Woman by The Eagles
Black Magic Woman by Santana

[William Simon]

'Invasion of the Simons'? I must have missed something, but as far as I know, I'm the only Simon from my family here..:)

After Josh's Wake-Up post, my suggestion of "Bewitched", as sung by Steve Lawrence is going to seem kind of weak....

[Rebecca the Bookseller]

William - I think Ramona was referring to Mason. And wasn't there another person named Simon who commented this week?

And I will take your Steve Lawrence and raise you Louis Prima's "That Old Black Magic". See? We've already balanced out Josh and his PK. Who, by the way, are going to make the high school contingent very happy this year. I think I'll skip those for the Catholic School party, though. I mean, I've never actually seen someone get struck by lightening, but it could happen.

That's the great thing about music - so many selections, but only a few hours for trick or treat!

[ramona]

By the by, this weekend is the Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans, a formerly underground event now so popular, it's expanded to three days. Here's more info, if anyone is interested:

http://blog.nola.com/keithspera/2007/10/who_do_dat_voodoo_the_9th_vood.html

I love the Plain White T's, even though they are all young enough to be my...oh, hell, now why did I go there?

[Nancy Martin]

Okay, I admit it. I have never completely grasped how to download music. Somehow I got charged an extra $300 once, and then the same credit card was charged $2000 to Western Union, and the only place I decided could have stolen the numbers was the music download site I was using. But this list of Halloween songs makes me want to try again! I've been making do every Halloween with the Ghostbusters soundtrack. Thanks for the list, Rebecca.

[j renee stuart]

Josh, I hope you have room on your mantle for that 'Father-of-the-Year' award. Just a guess - but in high school, were you voted 'Most Likely To Develop An Escalating Corpse Fetish' ? Just wondering...
Nothing to add to the music list - but here's a great way to waste time on the computer (warning... it's addicting)http://dedge.com/flash/hangman/hangman.swf?a=300

[Lori]

Here's an obscure but great Halloween song contribution:

What's He Building In There? by Tom Waits

[susan c]

on the corpse theme, a month dead - stephen lynch

frankenstein - aimee mann
back from the dead - spinal tap
green hornet - al hirt (kill bill soundtrack)
dude look like a lady - aerosmith
muskrat love - captain and tennille (that way you'll get to keep some of those full-size candy bars for yourself)

[Pam aka SisterZip]

Love Potion #9 The Clovers
Hotel California The Eagles
Purple People Eater Sheb Wooley
Thriller Michael Jackson

Just a few.

I miss the days of my daughter & the her friends trick or treating and their parents tagging along. More adults than kids, we would drag a cooler of beer in a wagon (one neighbor-a mechanical engineer-invented a 'beer can quick cooler' to quickly cool a warm can. It was a remote control truck and you strapped the can onto the wheels, put it on the ice...well it actually worked), bags of candy to give away to the other kids (we even gave an occasional beer to their parents), and had more fun than the kids I think.

[Maryann Mercer]

Two spooky songs come to mind:
Swamp Witch by Jim Stafford (I think it's a kids' song but scary)
and
Wicked Annabella by The Kinks
I second Witchy Woman too!
We don't get many kids, but I get to dress up because I'm working Halloween Night at B&N...fun!
PS.Did anyone mention the theme from Jaws? Or something from Peer Gynt (In the Hall of the Mountain King comes to mind) or the music Mickey and the brooms dance to in Fantasia (I think that's Night on some kind of Mountain)?

[Kerry, the Martial Tart]

Maryann - Mickey et al. dance to The Sorcerer's Apprentice; the really scary one was Night on Bald Mountain (and I always get chills at the segue from that to the Ave Maria). Anyway, I think both of those would be totally appropriate.

[Clea Simon]

How about "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Bauhaus? Serious goth - and very danceable!

[Marianne]

Dark Lady by Cher?

I like all of the other offerings. :-D Hmm. We heard about so much of Halloween in Australia, but it seems a bit of a disappointment in our area. I'd love to come visit some of your neighborhoods.

Marianne
PS: Seriously thinking of a robot carving a pumpkin painting at this moment. Now I only wish I had the time to paint it. Back to editing dinosaurs.
PPS: And to those of you who might remotely make it to the World Fantasy Convention in Saratoga Springs next week, maybe I'll see you there. :-D

[Maryann Mercer]

Thanks Kerry...I knew somehow there was a mountain someplace, but go figure that the hat on Mickey's head didn't give me a clue :o) I need Halloween candy!

[Jeanna Schilling]

How about Marie Laveau, by Bobby Bare? Love that song!

[michele]

Late to the game here, and all my pick have already been listed. Great blog, Rebecca!

Josh, that song is completely sick, and yet it's appealing because of the sheer raw honesty of the sentiment. I wonder how many men wouldn't rather have sex with dead women because they don't complain. Maybe we should take a poll.

[michele]

That's picks. Or, if you prefer, pix!

[Rebecca the Bookseller]

What great suggestions - "Dark Lady" is one of those songs that just sticks in my head - I still remember the lyrics years later.

Renee - thanks! I now have one more addiction to deal with!

Lori - got it on iTunes - I love his voice so thanks. I also 'discovered' Stephen Lynch thanks to Susan C - great song!

Pam - I've got Love Potion No. 9 and Hotel California - didn't even think of them for Halloween!

Jim Stafford - I have Spiders and Snakes, but not that one - back to iTunes, Maryann.

Nobody does scary music like Disney - I heard a speaker in Orlando talking about the use of flat and sharp notes - some are more 'scary' than others. There is some science in the art.

And I have never heard of Marie Laveau, so that's on my iTunes list too.

Got a couple of suggestions via e-mail:

Boris the Spider by The Who
Frankenstein - Edgar Winter Group
Who Let the Dogs Out - Baha Men
This is Halloween - from The Nightmare Before Christmas

This is already a 2 CD set!

BOO!

Clea - okay - we have a William Simon who posts all the time - any relation?

[William Simon]

No relation I know of, Rebecca! But nice to meet you, Clea...:)

[Buzz]

Rebecca, Thanks for getting us in the spirit of the season. BTW, Larry David has a hilarious sub-plot, which I think is in a 2003 episode, involving his strict adherence to the "no-costume, no-treats rule". He got TP'd. (In that show Larry also asserts the seldom-considered opinion that people who shave their heads are not embraced as true members of the "bald community", but I digress).

Peace and Boo!

[Pam aka SisterZip]

A real obscure choice but the title fits a costume motif...Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves-Cher. Guarenteed to chase the kids away! Also Ironman-Black Sabbath. Very scary.

My daughter absolutely hated hearing the song "Dreamweaver", she said the music scared her.