We're having a Halloween party this year. Nothing big, mostly because I think according to my lease I'm not really allowed to. So, OK, it's a Halloween gathering of a few friends. If you want to come you totally can. Even if I don't know you. But if my landlord asks, I've known you for years, right? We go way back. We're cousins, in fact. But anyway I have been thinking about the right music for a Halloween party, and here are a few decisions I have made.
"Satan Said Dance," Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Invoking the devil is a little obvious, and a little reductive. Like, I bet there are some Wiccans or whatever who would be pissed at me for doing this; ignoring the positive messages about Autumn and Hallow's Eve or something in favor of the easy stuff. Wiccans: you are usually girls and usually hot, so I don't mean to offend you. Including songs about the devil is here and elsewhere done as a little winking joke, not an actual endorsement of associations between Satan and Halloween. Also, this song is danceable but in a friendly, non-sexual way.
This one is danceable in a VERY sexual way, and should be used with caution. Like, I'm putting it up front in the playlist because I DON'T want an orgy to break out at this party. If I DID want that, I'd put it a few drinks deeper down. Anyway I love, love, love the Kanye beats where people are rapping over other voices. "Gold Digger," and "Otis" are my jams, and "Jesus Walks" is also, to a lesser extent, my jam. This is the kind of track you would KNOW Kanye produced even if Jay didn't announce it over the opening credits. Sampled voices are his calling card, and it's a really good calling card to have! Other producers must be so jealous! I bet it's like that scene in American Psycho.
Jay-Z takes big risks with beats, and I always appreciate his willingness to do so. Also, there are people on YouTube who say if you play this song backwards you can hear someone saying "666, murder Jesus" over and over. COOL!
You have to diffuse the tension after Jay-Z, so why not kick it to Jack White for a hoedown? (I was going to make a weird joke about Jay-Z putting the hoes down, but it sounded like he was euthanizing them, not getting them to give BJs.) It would be perfect if cute little trick-or-treaters started to show up during this song.
CLEAR EYES FULL HEARTS CAN'T LOSE! Oh man, how good was that montage on Friday Night Lights? Was it the moment that sold you on the series for good? It was for me. What's weird is FNL uses a different cover, by a guy named Tony Lucca, which is more or less identical to this version/arrangement. But it's originally a Daniel Johnston song, and the original doesn't feature a lot of the elements Conor Oberst introduced which also show up in Lucca's rendition. So Lucca's cover is a cover of Conor Oberst's cover! Weird, right? I think it's weird. But anyway, this song is great. And Friday Night Lights is great too!
OKAY so I might have just searched the word "devil" on my iTunes library but you have to start somewhere, right? This is one of those songs that just impresses me so much that it exists? A six minute song that is mostly bongos and piano about the devil that cheerily evokes mass slaughter? What? Great!
So, what are your favorite songs about the devil? Do you have any guaranteed panty-droppers on your Halloween playlist? What are you doing to contain all that sexual energy? Let's discuss.
4 comments:
"When You're Evil" by Voltaire doesn't QUITE fit, as it's not really ABOUT the devil, but it mentions the devil and Beelzebub and it's basically about being proud of being a Complete Monster, so I'd still have it on my Halloween playlist. It's not really a danceable song, but it's fun to sing along to!
I'd also have "Zombie Prostitute", "Cannibal Buffet", "Reggae Mortis", "Hell in a Handbasket" and maaaybe "Riding a Black Unicorn" (which are all also by Voltaire) on my Halloween playlist, even though they either mention the devil/hell only briefly, or they're simply about monsters and other dark, Halloween-y things.
Not my favorite Queen song, but Bohemian Rhapsody probably counts.
~Bob Caron
Since I am attending said party, I feel like I should contribute to the list...obviously I always listen to, "This is Halloween" from the Nightmare Before Christmas, and sometimes I indulge in a little, "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr. but I listen to that stuff at OTHER times of the year too so...what does that say about me?
Here are my others:
1. Kanye West, "Devil in a New Dress" NOT really about the devil or halloween, but has it in the name and it's Kanye!
2. The Traveling Wilburys, "The Devil's Been Busy".
3. Neil Young, "Vampire Blues". I can't believe you didn't list that one!
4. Blue Foundation, "Eyes on Fire" that's off the FIRST Twilight soundtrack but I find it really creepy and I always play it at Halloween.
5. Marc Perreault, "Dancing with the Ghost Upstairs" sort of spooky...has a good vibe. Morgan or I could send you that one if you don't have his bandcamp EP.
6. Florence and the Machine, "Heavy", which isn't Halloweeny but kind of creepy and dark sounding so I associate it with October.
I am looking forward to this party and playlist! And my (husband's) jack-o-lantern display, which is what your wife preapproved as our contribution.
I love Monster Mash. It's not subtle, but I like it so much I'll listen to it any time of year. I also like Season of the Witch by Donovan.
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