Mix Disc Monday: This is Halloween
10/23/2006
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Welcome to the debut of our newest installment, Mix Disc Monday. It is exactly what you think it is. We won’t even bother to insult your intelligence by explaining the concept to you. In this age of iTunes playlists and podcasts, we know that you’re a step ahead of us. Fifteen songs about…well, whatever inspires us that day.
It therefore seemed fitting that we kick off this weekly event with a timely list of songs whose titles evoke images of All Hallow’s Eve. Most of the songs aren’t dark or scary, but do they have to be? If that’s what you want, listen to the main theme to “Requiem for a Dream” over and over again, if you have the guts. Oh, and feel free to pepper the proceedings with “Bring out your dead” quotes from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”
Ministry: “Everyday Is Halloween” (Early Trax)
Mmm-mmm bop mmm bop bop. Mmm-mmm bop mmm bop bop. Al Jourgensen says he hates this song now. Fool.
The Jazz Butcher: “The Devil Is My Friend” (Bloody Nonsense)
This long lost B-side (I won’t lie, you’re gonna have a hell of a time finding this one) is still the only song I know by the Jazz Butcher. But any band that’s friends with Frank Sinatra, Love & Rockets and the devil is a friend of mine.
Bow Wow Wow: “I Want Candy” (We Are the ‘80s)
Not everything about Halloween involves scaring people, you know.
Squirrel Nut Zippers: “Hell” (Hot)
I found a version of this on Napster back in the day that was filled with quotes from “The Simpsons.” Innnnnn the afterlife (“D’oh!”), you could be headed for the serious strife (“D’oh!”). Now you make the scene all day (Buuuuuurp), but tomorrow there’ll be hell to pay. Best, mash-up, ever.
The Killers: “Bones” (Sam’s Town)
Tim Burton was the perfect person to direct this video. If only he could have done something about the rest of the album…
Oingo Boingo: “Dead Man’s Party” (Dead Man’s Party)
While we’re talking about Tim Burton, we may as well give a shout-out to his composer’s former day job.
L7: “Pretend We’re Dead” (Bricks Are Heavy)
Girls can do grunge too, you know. Come on, come on, come on.
Concrete Blonde: “Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)” (Bloodletting)
How a lazy cover of “Sympathy for the Devil” by Guns ‘n Roses played over the credits of “Interview with a Vampire” instead of this is not just a mystery but a crime.
Dead or Alive: “Something in My House” (Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know)
Here’s the thing that people forget about Dead or Alive: their guitarist could shred, dude. For extra creep factor, find the 12” mixes, which have quotes from “The Exorcist” in them.
Book of Love: “Witchcraft” (Lullaby)
There’s something about the sound of Samantha wiggling her nose that gets me every time. That, and Susan Ottaviano’s voice, which my wife once described as “beautifully bored.” Yep, that sounds about right.
B-52’s: “Devil in My Car” (Wild Planet)
Heeeeeeelp!
Jellyfish: “The Ghost at Number One” (Spilt Milk)
It was a tossup between this and “The Ghost in You” from the Psychedelic Furs, but in the interest of keeping the energy levels up, we chose this mash note to Queen about a dead rock star who still dominates the pop charts. Awfully prescient, since this predates the deaths of Tupac and Biggie. Jellyfish were prophets.
Roger Joseph Manning, Jr.: “Creepie People” (The Land of Pure Imagination)
I probably should have put David Bowie’s “Scary Monsters and Super Creeps” in this slot instead of back to back Jellyfish-related tunes (Manning played keys for the’Fish). But hot damn, I just love this new record of his. And you should, too.
Gnarls Barkley: “The Boogie Monster” (St. Elsewhere)
You either love or hate this one. I’m in the former group, if only because it reminds me of Mike Wazowski, Sully and Boo from “Monsters Inc.” Kitty!
Divine Comedy: “The Happy Goth” (Absent Friends)
And on what day would Goths be happier than Halloween? The chorus to this is just money: “Well, her clothes are blacker than the blackest cloth / And her face is whiter than the snows of Hoth / She wears Doctor Martens and heavy cross / But on the inside, she’s a happy Goth.” The snows of Hoth? God, I love Neil Hannon.
P.S. To see the most unintentionally funny Goth clip ever on YouTube, click here.