It's no secret - I love Spooky Szn. Halloween rocks, whether you're the type of person who loves to go to haunted houses and watch scary movies to feel that rush of adrenaline from experiencing fear or if you're like me and take a cozier approach with a mug of apple cider, a pumpkin scone, and handing out candy to adorable trick-or-treaters. 2023 has been a wild year in so many ways, but not in my love for this holiday. Skeltons, witches, and pumpkins are once again covering my home, my husband and I discovered the BEST bad slasher movie (check out Slotherhouse on Hulu, it's a riot), and my Halloween playlist is in full swing.
As in previous years, the full Halloween Playlist can be found on Apple Music under my profile @audioaesthetic, but the following is a sampling chosen at random to serve as our 2023 Halloween Playlist. Let's see what we've got in store this year!
Gloomy Sunday by Billie Holiday (written by L. Jávor, R. Seress)
Released as a single in 1941, Holiday's version of this song is arguably the most well-known though it's been recorded by numerous artists since the early '30s. The song itself has a bit of a dark urban legend attached to it (this blog post is definitely not the time or place to dive into that, but proceed with caution if it makes you anxious), but Holiday's cover is beautifully spooky and just melancholy enough for a rainy October day.
Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless/Dearest, the shadows I live with are numberless/Little white flowers will never awaken you/Not where the black coach of sorrow has taken you/Angels have no thought of ever returning you/Would they be angry if I thought of joining you/Gloomy Sunday
Freakshow by Britney Spears (written by B. Muhammed, B. Spears, C. Nelson, C. Karlsson, H. Jonback, P. Winnberg)
Originally featured on Spears's 2007 album Blackout, this is a classic Britney Spears dance song you could hear fitting in at most clubs. It doesn't hit quite as hard as Circus eventually would a few years later, but it's still a fun one to listen to, with a title that perhaps invokes images nowadays of the hit TV season American Horror Story: Freak Show.
Ten p.m. to four and I came to hit the floor/Thought you knew before, but if you don't then now you know/Yo, tonight I'm 'bout to mash, make them other chicks so mad/I’m 'bout to I shake my ass, snatch that boy so fast/It's all about me and you, doin' how we do/Tear the floor up, up, tell 'em to make room/If they wanna know, tell them mind their own/But if they wanna look, we can give 'em a encore/Make it a freakshow, freakshow/We can give 'em a peepshow, peepshow/Don't stop it, let it flow, let your inhibitions go/It's a crazy night, let's make a, make a freakshow/Make it a freakshow, a freakshow, a freakshow/Make it a freakshow, a freakshow, a freakshow
Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival (written by J. Fogerty)
Originally featured on CCR's 1969 album Green River, this iconic song has since been covered by at least twenty different artists spanning numerous different genres. There's something so satisfyingly spooky about a full moon falling on Halloween, and while this year we missed it by three days it's close enough for me.
I see the bad moon a-risin’/I see trouble on the way/I see earthquakes and lightnin’/I see bad times today/Don't go around tonight/Well, it's bound to take your life/There's a bad moon on the rise
Witchy Woman by Eagles (written by D. Henley, B. Leadon)
Originally featured on the Eagles' 1972 self-titled album, this song is not only a Halloween shoe in but also one of the band's all-time best songs. From its great guitar lines to its spooky lyrics and incredible four part vocal harmonies, it's an excellent classic rock song to have on at your Halloween get together.
Raven hair and ruby lips/Sparks fly from her fingertips/Echoed voices in the night/She's a restless spirit on an endless flight/Woo-hoo, witchy woman/See how high she flies/Woo-hoo, witchy woman/She got the moon in her eyes
Time Warp by Glee Cast (written by R. O'Brien)
Originally featured in the 1973 musical The Rocky Horror Show, Glee covered the song in the season two episode The Rocky Horror Glee Show and performed by the members of New Directions. Rocky Horror is completely unhinged, yes, and the most iconic part of the whole spectacle is this song, which makes a perfect edition to any Halloween Party playlist.
It's so dreamy, oh, fantasy free me/So you can't see me, no not at all/In another dimension, with voyeuristic intention/Well-secluded, oh, I see it all/With a bit of a mind flip, you're into the time slip/And nothing can ever be the same/You're spaced out on sensation, like you're under sedation/Let's do the time warp again/Let's do the time warp again
Black Cat by Mayday Parade (written by C. Bundrick, D. Sanders, J. Lancaster, B. Betts, J. Lenzo, A. Garcia)
Originally featured on Mayday Parade's 2007 album A Lesson in Romantics, this is a fun addition to the playlists for all our punk and/or emo rock music fans out there. While the lyrics do reference black cat fireworks as opposed to the physical animal itself, it still works and is a great high-energy number for your Halloween party.
Close up, camera one, the hero sings in this scene/The boy that gets the girl gets to go home where they get married/But stop the tape, the sunset still looks fake to me/The hero looks like he can't breathe, the damsel just left everything/You're like a black cat with a black backpack full of fireworks/And you're gonna burn the city down right now, whoa, whoa/You're like a black cat with a black backpack full of fireworks/And you're gonna burn the city down right now, whoa, whoa
Small Town Witch by Sneaker Pimps (written by C. Corner, I. Pickering, L. Coverdale-Howe)
Originally featured on Sneaker Pimps' 2002 album Bloodsport, this to me felt like a song you'd hear in a spooky episode of a show on The CW. It's an interesting mix of electronic and alternative or indie, and definitely fits into both the '00s decade and the Halloween theme.
See black, see bloom, died on an impulse over you/Caught like a corpse crawling 'round a dream and loving you/And she hangs on youth, crushing any feet to fit the shoes/Stepping it out with a size 12 mouth and cursing you/Small town witch come to mess me up/Small town witch come to mess me up/Small town witch come to mess me up again
If you're celebrating tomorrow, I hope you have a fun, safe Halloween night! Happy listening, and see ya'll next week!
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