BY MIKEY MIGO
The day of goblins, ghouls, little fake ass Johnny Depp pirates, emo vampires, outdated Joker costumes, and an excuse for normally reserved females to get their "slut-look on" has arrived!
The Halloween season is the favorite holiday too many people I know. They get to celebrate the "spooky" and let their freak flag fly. I enjoy the festivities as well, but I'm not all into what I'm going as this year or what parties I won't be attending. This doesn't mean I'm a prude about it. In fact, the topic of "Halloween music" came up about a month ago and it got me thinking. The traditional Halloween music lists are all pretty lame. It's like the "spooky" equivalent to the "YMCA" and "Chicken Dance". They're all in good fun and great for drunken parties. They just lack the substance. To most the main perk about this holiday is dressing up. There's a variety of popular costumes, but the only ones that never go out of style are the monster costumes. Putting more thought into it, "monster songs" probably have the best shelf life of the "Halloween genre". I wanted to narrow it down to be "rock songs with a monster in the title" and racked my brain for awhile.
Maybe I'm just a little "too into music", but this is what I feel most diehard music nerds do. I'm not that lame with "the rules", but making it a general "What's your favorite Halloween song?" thing would be lame. Narrowing it down like this just makes me/us have to think harder and pull out more novelty goodness. So with that, I had to rethink my list.
With keeping it all rock, it automatically eliminates some old school Halloween party classics. That means the hokey "Purple People Eater" and Boris Pickett's "Monster Mash" would be number one on most list, but it's not even on this list. Call it criminal, but we're being specific here. Same goes for two more "monster" songs that I like, but don't fit the genre. "Dracula's Wedding" is a hidden gem on Andre 3000's Speakerboxxx/Love Below disc. Then of course I'd not be a breathing mammal if I didn't mention Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters". Classics! All of em!
Then I found myself in a debate whether Satan/The Devil is a "monster". Probably more of a mythical creature or demon depending on what you believe. This eliminates A LOT of songs. Specifically "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Number of the Beast" are odd the list because of this. Since there's no "monster" in the title it takes out Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and Credence's "Bad Moon Rising". It's a shame, but I'm trying to hurt my brain here.
9.) "Zombie"
By: The Cranberries
I don't think this one is about the undead zombie's that we all know and love, but I had trouble filling the list. My bad. This song is still worth noting because of the title. I've not thought about or listened to The Cranberries much at all in my life. I'm actually surprised I thought of this one off the top of my head to begin with.
8.) "Burn the Witch"
By: Queens of the Stone Age
I love me some Queens of the Stone Age. They've become a band that I'm always excited to hear or see in concert. Their work often goes without getting a hundredth of the respect it should. They're EASILY one of best active bands in music today. They should be and hopefully will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in the upcoming decade or so. That being said, this is probably my favorite track of theirs. With their catalogue that says a whole lot.
7.) "Werewolves Of London"
By: Warren Zevon
For the longest time I just considered this the "Aaaaahhh-Ooooooooh" song. I hate myself for not knowing who originally sang this song. My respect for Zevon is very high, but I'm just not very familiar with his work. It's a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it's still a very catchy and overall great song.
6.) "Dragula"
By: Rob Zombie
I could of went with a good amount of Zombie songs, but "Dragula" is that bad ass. Rob Zombie has made a career off monsters, creatures, and Halloween and no one comes close to his work. The song is over ten years old now, but is just as awesome as it was then.
5.) "Enter Sandman"
By: Metallica
Remember when Metallica was still brutality at its best? I never really put much thought into it over the years of head banging to this song, but the "Sandman" IS a monster. Kind of like a classy Freddy by the description provided in the lyrics. Being a huge old school ECW fan, the first thing I think about when I hear this song is Sandman's entrance. Then my thoughts go to the creepy music video and then Napster. Never "Wow… is this about a monster?" It is!
4.) "Feeding My Frankenstein"
By: Alice Cooper
I thank "Wayne's World" for this one. This song was drilled into my ears over and over again after repeat viewings and listening of the soundtrack. Alice's work is timeless, but this one has more of a contemporary sound to it. Almost like it could have easily been a Rob and/or White Zombie track. I mean that with respect to all involved.
3.) "Scary Monsters(and Super Creeps)"
By: David Bowie
This has to be one of my favorite Bowie tracks. It's probably one of his best harder rock songs. I know it's kind of cheap to put it on here because the title simply has the word "Monsters" in it, but it's still eerie and creepy. I've seen and heard better versions than the one shown above, but it's still a good taste. If I were making a Halloween playlist, this would be on it for sure.
2.) "Bela Lugosi's Dead"
By: Bauhaus
The video above is obvious not the classic Bauhaus version, but a live performance of TV on the Radio, Trent Reznor, and Mister Peter Murphy himself. I've seen the man in recent years and will still proclaim that if I had to money down on one human being a real vampire that I'd have to go with Peter Murphy. Granted, Lugosi isn't a monster's name by literal terms it very much is if you're an old black and white horror fan. This is one of the best paced songs to go over six minutes. It slowly drags your unconscious mind through a very dark place. I'm not sure if it's something that'd fit the tone of a normal Halloween party, but it stands out to me when thinking about this topic.
1.) "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"
What's scarier than the reaper? This Blue Oyster Cult classic is the epitome of a creepy Halloween song. You can never have too much cowbell.
I'm sure I missed some obvious ones. It sure feels like I did.
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