Ahh yes. Halloween is quickly approaching us my friends. Not typically a holiday I choose to celebrate - but many people do. And what better way to celebrate than coming up with some sick, twisted All Hallow's Eve playlists? Today a challenge was brought forth by follower janis! to spring into action on some spooky tracks. The challenge in all reality was to come up with songs that had anything to do with Halloween. Not necessarily scary songs - anything that has to do with the darkness, monsters, has names in the title that are Halloween-ish. You all get the idea.
First I want to say this was a hard list to come up with. I'm so proud of what I thought of I'm going to post my honorable mentions:
Bad Moon Rising - CCR
Black Magic Woman - Santana
Don't Fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
People Are Strange - The Doors
Twilight Zone - Golden Earring
I'm Your Boogieman - White Zombie
War Pigs/Iron Man - Black Sabbath (kind of a stretch, but maybe they work)
Now on to the classic Friday Top 5!
5. Squirrel Nut Zippers - Hell: How could this not be on the top 5? It's a song about well, hell. Except this version is upbeat and swing style. It really is a great song. I know I reviewed the album a long while back - but it's worth checking out if you missed it.
4. Edgar Winter Group - Frankenstein: Another track that had to be in the top 5 just based on name. Oh yeah, it also features probably one of the most recognized signature guitar riffs in music history. Not a fan of Edgar overall - but this track makes it happen.
3. Highway To Hell - AC/DC: Was there ever a band that conveyed more of a tough image than these guys? And I mean classic rock too - not new stuff where you have morons on stage spraying faygo dressing like clowns. AC/DC will rock your face off - then kick your a**.
2. Battle Of Evermore - Led Zeppelin: Did you think of this one? I bet you didn't. This song is about - uhh, a battle. Perhaps at Evermore? Arrangement wise, it's very brooding and different. Lyrics are very dark and set a very cool vibe. This track is amazing, and you should listen to it right now!
1. Zombie - The Cranberries: Yeah. It's a track called Zombie! What gets more Halloween than that? Zombies have pretty much taken over the pop culture scene - everywhere you turn there is another zombie movie, people are dressing like them etc etc. Vampires tried to dethrone the zombie - but there is just too much quality in eating brains. The cadillac of halloween villains!
I know Heidi has an opinion and will be chiming in later too. Give us what you got B Siders! Oh yeah, and Happy Halloween!
How PERFECT!!!! Most of your songs can be found on a playlist I made to have at a Halloween party tomorrow (and I added the ones I didn't have on it!)
ReplyDeleteHere are my top 7:
1. Oogie Boogie's Song (from Nightmare Before Christmas)
2. Thriller - MJ
3. Bad Moon Rising - CCR
4. Dragula - Rob Zombie
5. Somebody's Watching Me - Rockwell
6. Werewolves of London - Warren Zevon
7. The Time Warp - Rocky Horror Picture Show
and here is the playlist:
http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/playlist/Halloween/37731458
I have been listening to it for over a week!! :)
I would also like to share a Disney Special Favorite... in the 80's the Disne channel used to put on specials that involved popular music of the time and Disney cartoon clips... I watch this one every year! Here's part one of five: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi_d0q2866U&feature=related
Happy Halloween!!
I know a couple of your tracks Heidi will have on her list. (we do confer a little before posting - only so we don't double up on tracks. After all, how lame would that be?)
ReplyDeleteBut great list! Dragula is a great song and I didn't even think of it. The playlist you linked only pulled up two songs though. I would love to listen to it!
I'll check out the video too!
Thanks for the post!
Well let's try this again then:
ReplyDeletehttp://listen.grooveshark.com/#/playlist/Halloween/37731458
It worked for my sister... you can always go to grooveshark and search for jenintosa under people and find all my playlists too!
Yay! That one worked perfectly! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI'll keep that in mind going forward. Then I can listen to what Jen is grooving on.
Hey Jen, I see you like grooveshark too. When your pasting the URL, do you just select any playlist you want any paste?
ReplyDeleteSimple question I know, just curious so I don't paste the wrong one.
No comments on the Halloween songs? Jeez Ashley. =)
ReplyDeleteThere is an OPTION button in the top right, click that, then hit SHARE. Then a new window pops up with the URL or an option to send it as an email! Or you can opt+click (right click for PCs) right on top of your playlist on the left and then hit SHARE. Easy-peasy.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'd like to add another song to my list: "A Nightmare on My Street" by Will Smith!
I saw that song on a list. I can't recall hearing it before. I'm going to have to give it a go.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jen!
i've got, well, alot of songs on my halloween mix. i'll try to list only what i think is essential to the halloween mix, and alphabetically, because that's how i am currently displaying the list in itunes.
ReplyDelete*american witch - rob zombie. there are none more appropriate for halloween overall than rob/white zombie. maybe alice cooper. i would accept that.
*boris the spider - the who
*creeping death - metallica
*dracula's wedding - outkast, this is my #2 required song.
*dragula - rob zombie
*feed my frankenstein - alice cooper
*frankenstein - edgar winter, this is my #1 required song, and really one of my all time favorites in genre.
*halloween - dave matthews band
*hangin' tree - queens of the stone age. i have lots of their stuff on this mix. they are awesome.
*hocus pocus - focus, this is my #3 most required song.
*i put a spell on you - screamin' jay hawkins, but i actually have the CCR version too. the screamin' jay hawkins version is just more bad ass.
*killing time - metallica
*living dead girl - rob zombie
*meet the creeper - rob zombie
*monster mash - the original and the cover by the misfits.
*rotting vampire eyeballs - tsunami bomb, this is my #4 required song.
*scary monsters (&super creeps) - david bowie
*the spider - kansas
*spookshow baby - rob zombie
*theme from halloween - john carpenter
*this is halloween - nightmare before christmas, this is my #5 required song, and has been stuck in my head on repeat for most of the month of october.
*thriller - michael jackson, of course.
*transylvanian concubine - rasputina
*tubular bells - mike oldfield, from the exorcist. this is by far the creepiest song on my mix, and i can't usually sit through all of it. it only has 2 complete plays in my itunes. i will try to sit through all 3:02 now, results at the end of this post.
*vampires - godsmack
*voodoo child - jimi hendrix
*werewolves of london - warren zevon, this is my #6 required song. i love the line 'saw a werewolf drinkin' a pina colada at trader vic's, his hair was perfect' which i may have mentioned elsewhere in the comments to another post.
*witch - cold. actually this is probably tied for #3 most required song for this playlist. whatever happened to cold? they were so good.
and during the posting of this blog, i just added in spellbound - lacuna coil, just got wicked - cold, and a bunch of new stuff from rob zombie's hellbilly deluxe 2. and i can't believe i had not originally included zombie by the cranberries.
i didn't include any hell songs, that's a different playlist.
and i did make it all the way through tubular bells. turns out there's kind of a cool guitar part in there that i never made it too before. and probably won't make it to again.
Wow. Huge list. There are a couple tracks in there I'd never even heard of before. I'll have to give them a go.
ReplyDeleteNot being a big Halloween fan, I can't say I'll listen to them often - but every now and again for a change of pace.
Thanks for the suggestion!