REWIND: Here’s five more songs for your Halloween party’s playlist
Michael Jackson in “Thriller.”
It’s finally Halloween! Well… it’s finally Halloween weekend. The important thing is it’s happening!
Last week was my 10th Halloween column in three years, and today is the 11th. I embedded a playlist of the songs from the columns at the bottom for your Halloween party needs. Though, I’ve gotta warn you, they’re not all party songs, unless it’s a very weird party. And if it is, invite me next year.
Without further adieu, here are five more Halloween songs. Get hyped, it’s here!
Classics IV — “Spooky”
Not gonna lie, I thought I’d listed this before. It’s so obvious. But apparently not! So it’s on the list now, you’re welcome.
If you’re not up on bands from the late ’60s and early ’70s—welcome, I’ll catch you up—you might think Classics IV is the title of a compilation album or something. But no, it’s a band. They were originally The Classics, a Ventures cover band in Jacksonville, in 1965. Then they discovered there was already a band called The Classics from the late ’50s that sang 1920s pop standards.
Long story short, there were four of them so they became Classics IV to differentiate. If you’re starting a band and you’re good, don’t worry, the name doesn’t matter.
Ghost — “Square Hammer”
Somehow I’ve only put two Ghost songs on the list so far. That cannot stand. This is Ghost’s time to shine! You could just put Meloria or Prequelle on at your Halloween party and it’d work just fine.
If you’re not up to date on Ghost, it’s basically a performance art project in addition to the best rock band of the 21st century so far. The premise is that it’s PR for a Satanic church tasked with taking down Christianity. The leader of this group, and of the band, is Papa Emeritus.
So far Papa Emeritus I, II and III have been fired, Papa Emeritus Nihil died, and Cardinal Copia ascended to become Papa Emeritus IV, the current frontman. Each album has a different Papa Emeritus, each with a slightly different vibe and style, except Prequelle, which featured Cardinal Copia on vocals. Papa Emeritus Nihil had an EP of his songs from the ’60s, Seven Inches of Satanic Panic, which is a great name.
In reality, all the Cardinals and Emerituses are the band’s founder Tobias Forge, who’s a madman and a genius. There’s something very wrong with him and we’re all better off for it.
Alice Cooper — “Welcome to My Nightmare”
Alice Cooper was already on the list with “Feed My Frankenstein.”
Some artists’ whole shtick is to act like it’s Halloween all the time, and Cooper is one of that group’s pioneers. It went from Cooper to KISS to Gwar to Marilyn Manson to Ghost, each one-upping the shock and outrage of the previous one, and pearl-clutching parents always fall for it. Always. Devoted members of the KISS Army whose parents just didn’t understand were appalled their kids listened to Manson and never got the irony.
On the one hand, Manson fans probably aren’t appalled by Ghost, so that chain is broken. But we’re well into the Satanic Panic part of time’s endless cycle, so there’s still so much outrage to be had.
Siouxie and the Banshees — “Halloween”
I had to check twice but, yeah, apparently I haven’t put this song on a list yet. And I listed 50 songs. Just shows why Halloween is the best holiday for music by a wide margin. Christmas wishes it was Halloween. Nobody listens to “Jingle Bells” in January but I listen to White Zombie all year. Checkmate.
Anyway, frontwoman Siouxsie Sioux had a surprisingly depressing and traumatic early life. I don’t want to get into it and bring you down on this most wonderful of days, but it definitely informed her music. She followed the Sex Pistols on tour before starting her own band and apparently she listened to them and said, “You know what, this could be weirder and more discordant.” And that’s why she’s a legend.
Michael Jackson — “Thriller”
Yeah, I hadn’t included “Thriller” yet. I didn’t want to go with the low-hanging fruit.
The amazing thing is that Michael Jackson wasn’t the biggest star in the world yet! He was popular but Thriller, the album, was what made him the King of Pop. And yet he still got the label to spend enough to make a short film as a music video, including extensive budgets for makeup, prosthetics and special effects. And they got horror legend Vincent Price to narrate the bridge!
It was obviously a good investment since we’re still talking about it. And obviously having one of the most iconic and instantly recognizable dances didn’t hurt.
Now don’t worry, that’s it for Halloween music until next October. Until then remember: Drugs are expensive, so nobody gives them away for free. The most dangerous thing to trick-or-treaters is cars, so keep them on the sidewalk and everything will be fine. And for the adults out there, forget you’re an adult for the weekend and enjoy yourself. That’s what it’s all about; putting on a costume, being someone else for a few days and letting loose. Don’t waste it.
Follow publisher Daniel J. Willis and tweet column ideas to him at Twitter.com/BayAreaData.