Halloween

Halloween is my second favorite holiday after Christmas, no questions asked. I LOVE spooky season - it's finally starting to cool down in most places here stateside, I'm super basic and live for pumpkin spiced everything, I've had a huge thing for skulls since I fell in love with Pirates of the Caribbean in the 5th grade, and how could I not love witches with how much I love Harry Potter and Wicked? I feel like Halloween is the gateway to the holiday season, since Thanksgiving is less than a month away from it which is then closely followed by Christmas and immediate after that is the New Year. TL;DR, spooky season rulez.

I got the idea to make a Halloween playlist about 3 years ago while I was browsing Pinterest, and it was my first holiday playlist that I cultivated (not counting Christmas because obviously I've had a Christmas playlist since playlists became a thing). Obviously this is just a small selection of a much larger product, but here are some samples from my Halloween playlist to get you in the mood for Halloweek.

Halloween by Aqua (written by C. Norreen, R. Dif, S. Hasted)

You probably recognize Danish-Norwegian Europop band Aqua from their classic 90's hit Barbie Girl. This appropriately named song was featured on their 2000 album Aquarius and is exactly what you'd expect from them based off of Barbie Girl - it's bright, it's high energy, and it's borderline goofy ridiculous and full of reference to classic slasher series Scream, but it's a super fun bop to get you in the mood for the holiday.

It's Friday night, so creepy outside, it's thundering and lightning/There's nobody home 'cause I'm all alone, it's scary and frightening/The sound of shoes, a shadow that moves, something odd is tic tac ticking/Someone's in here, I'm so full of fear, the telephone is ringing/Now I can see you - oh no, please, no/Now I can touch you - oh God, please, no/I'm right here now - oh please, tell me where/Ha, ha, ha, ha - I'm in a nightmare/You better run/I'm back to hunt you down/Halloween, in the death of the night/Hear me scream - I'm coming, I'm coming/Halloween is the fear that I fight/In my dream - keep running, keep running

My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark by Fall Out Boy (written by A. Hurley, B. Walker, J. Trohman, J. Hill, P. Stump, P. Wentz)

I mentioned that I love Fall Out Boy on last week's post, and here they are again. Featured on their 2013 album Save Rock and Roll, this song was also FOB's first single released after their three year hiatus and I think it served as a fairly triumphant return. This is a big hype up song for me - great beat, killer vocals from lead vocalist Patrick Stump, and awesome instrumentals create a perfect storm of a song.

Be careful making wishes in the dark, dark, can't be sure when they've hit their mark, mark/And besides in the mean, mean time, I'm just dreaming of tearing you apart/I'm in the de-details with the devil, so now the world can never get me on my level/I just gotta get you off the cage, I'm a young lover's rage, gonna need a spark to ignite/But my songs know what you did in the dark/So light 'em up, up, up, light 'em up, up, up/Light 'em up, up, up, I'm on fire/So light 'em up, up, up, light 'em up, up, up/Light 'em up, up, up, I'm on fire

Terminator Theme by North American Pops Orchestra (written by H. Williams)

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD (?)

The Terminator may be one of the most well known action/sci-fi film franchises and characters in popular culture, but a lot of people either forget or just genuinely don't know that the original 1984 film was meant to be much more horror than action. Directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton, I will admit that when I watched this movie for the first time in high school it did scare the bejesus out of me - I mean, come ON, that scene where he's just the metal skeleton walking towards Sarah Connor in that terrifying '80s stop motion animation? Unsettling. The instrumental theme from the film, composed by Hanny Williams, is appropriately intense and definitely deserves a place on the playlist.

Ghost Town by Shiny Toy Guns (written by C. Petree, J. Dawson, S. Treasure)

Indie rock band Shiny Toy Guns featured this single on their 2008 album Season of Poison, and it's definitely a bop. With an appropriately spooky video featuring animated versions of the band members fending off a zombie apocalypse, this song no doubt belongs on anyone's Halloween playlist. Shiny Toy Guns has a fun sound that I've really liked since I was introduced to them in high school, and this song did not disappoint. It's very high energy and is a great one to dance around your living room to to get your blood pumping.

Everyone living in Ghost Town, everyone buried in wasteland/We don't want to, we don't have to be like that/Living in a ghost town/All the boys shout it out loud now, all the girls scream it out louder/We don't want to, we don't have to live like that/Hold me back, you know we're never gonna back down/Hold me back, you know we're never gonna back down/We're dead in this ghost town/You better let go, so let go, let go of me/We're dead in this ghost town, you better let go, so/Let go, let go of me/Let go, let go of me/Let go, let go of me

Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites by Skrillex (written by S. Moore)

One of DJ extraordinaire Skrillex's most well known songs, Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites is pretty much on this playlist for the title only because I personally haven't heard a dubstep style song that makes me feel scared or spooky or anything - but feel free to show me one if you know one, I'm all ears. Featured on Skrillex's 2010 EP Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites, most people recognize the sampling of the YouTube video of Rachel Nedrow, the Speed Stacking Girl, screaming in excitement after she breaks a speed stacking record. There's not much here lyrically, but I do like the beat and Skrillex does, in my opinion, incorporate some sick drops in his songs as well so they're usually fun to listen to.

Yes, oh my gosh!/Look at this/I'm a coward, too/You don't need to hide, my friend/For I'm just like you

Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me by Susan Sarandon (written by R. O'Brien)

MORE POSSIBLE SPOILERS (?)

If you were wondering if it's possible to dislike a movie or musical as a whole but still enjoy the music from it, take from me - it totally is, because that's how I feel about the infamous Rocky Horror Picture Show. I can be thoroughly unsettled by a chopped up Meatloaf in a dining room table or Dr. Frank-N-Furter himself but still get HYPED for the Time Warp. The movie (based off of the 1973 musical of the same name) was released in 1975, directed by Jim Sharman and starred Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon among many others. Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me is Sarandon's big solo number, where as the heroine Janet she sings to Rocky Horror (played by Peter Hinwood) about how she's ready to, for lack of a better term, get her freak on for the very first time. It's a classic, and honestly my favorite rendition is Jayma Mays' cover she did on Glee, but the original is of course iconic.

I was feeling done in, couldn't win/I'd only ever kissed before (You mean she? Uh huh)/I thought there's not use getting into heavy petting/It only leads to trouble and seat wetting/Now all I want to know is how to go/I've tasted blood and I want more (More, more, more)/I'll put up no resistance, I want to stay the distance/I've got an itch to scratch, I need assistance/Touch-a, touch-a, touch-a, touch me/Oh, I wanna be dirty/Thrill me, chill me, fulfill me/Creature of the night

Ghost Man on Third by Taking Back Sunday (written by M. O'Connell, E. Reyes, S. Cooper, J. Nolan, A. Lazzara)

Let's throw a little bit of actual emo music on this Halloween fire, shall we? This song was featured on alt rock emo band Taking Back Sunday's 2002 debut album Tell All Your Friends, and it has everything your little millennial heart could want out of an early 2000's emo song. To paraphrase my favorite SNL character ever, Stefon, "This song has everything: depressing lyrics, minor chords, band members with long hair dressed in black, and even lyrics that don't rhyme." This song is good for what it is, and works for the playlist as well.

Jinx me something crazy, thinking if it's there/Then I'm a smooth as the skin rolls across the small of your back/It's too bad it's not my style, if you need me/I'm out and on the parkway, patient and waiting for headlights/Dressed in a fashion that's fitting to the inconsistencies of my moods/It's times like these when silence means everything/And no one is to know about this/It's times like these when silence mans everything/So no one is to know about this/It's a campaign of distraction, revisionist history

I know we're still in the middle of this bs COVID pandemic, but Happy Halloween to everyone - I hope we're all able to find fun, safe ways to still celebrate all of the holidays this year. Happy listening, and see ya'll next week!