It's the time of year when lots of people are putting together a playlist of songs for Halloween and Halloween parties, and plenty of spooky tunes to choose from. But rather than just throw on a bunch of novelty songs like "Monster Mash," it might be more fun to try to find tunes that are played less often.
For some reason, even though Halloween is gaining on Christmas in popularity, there are a ton of Christmas songs, and not so many paying tribute to the darker holiday. Yet we can always hope for more.
"This Is Halloween," Danny Elfman In 1993, Tim Burton and a crew of very talented artists created The Nightmare Before Christmas, which remains one of the most ambitious stop-motion puppetry films ever made. The story of Jack Skellington and his town of monstrous pals, all responsible for scaring people on Halloween, has since become a huge cult classic.
Besides the movie's amazing visuals, thought, the score and songs by Burton's collaborator Danny Elfman also stand out. "This Is Halloween" remains one of the finer songs celebrating the holiday.
"Everyday Is Halloween," Ministry Originally released in 1984, during the influential industrial rock band Ministry's very early days, this catchy tune a perennial favorite at underground industrial and gothic dance clubs such as Houston's own Numbers. It defends those of us who were into darker things and out of step with "normal" society. To this day, myself and quite a few of my friends really do feel like every day is Halloween.
"Halloween Girl," Seraphim Shock Combining elements of gothic, industrial and metal, Seraphim Shock packs some heavy riffage into several songs that name-drop our darkest holiday. This rockin' song from their 2004 album Halloween, Sex 'N Vegas seems to describe the types of women I usually dated in the past. It's a fun tune, and perfect for that Halloween-party mix tape.
"Halloween," Siouxsie and the Banshees When the Banshees' seminal album Juju was released in 1981, it was a thematic move into dark territory. "Halloween" adequately fit that bill with a spooky post-punk sound and downbeat lyrics evoking past memories of trick-or-treating and a suggestion of murder. The creepy, rolling bass line and atmospheric guitar work as a perfect backdrop for Siouxsie's unique vocals.
List continues on the next page.
