by Julian Spivey As we welcome October with its cool breezes, and - now socially distanced - festivities, we often think of scary movies, pumpkin patches and killers in masks. Rarely, if ever, do you hear anyone say what they’re looking forward to most about the season, is the music. Granted, Halloween music has nowhere near the mega-market that Christmas music has, but it seems that quality trumps quantity in this particular situation. With songs like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” Halloween season is a heavy hitter when it comes to music! That’s why we’re celebrating 31 Days of Halloween Hits here at The Word for the entire month of October. Every day we’re going to bring you a great song that fits right in on your Halloween playlist. Some are songs specifically written for the holiday, but others are great selections you can listen to year-around but have a great theme for the spookiest of all holidays. Some of these songs you’ve certainly heard and some are lesser known that we hope to familiarize you with. It’s the ghosts and ghouls and witches and werewolves that we absolutely love about Halloween, but sometimes the scariest stuff in the real world are things many of us struggle through in life – the thoughts and worries that live inside our minds. Country Music Hall of Famer Porter Wagoner delved into the dark recesses of one’s mind in his 1972 song “The Rubber Room,” which is one of the strangest country songs I’ve ever heard. While it’s not typical of the country genre to go deep into one’s head, what truly makes “The Rubber Room” strange and eerie and perfect for a Halloween playlist is it’s echo-heavy sound that really gives off the feeling of one losing their mind inside a psychiatric hospital in a room with walls padded with rubber so one doesn’t hurt themselves slamming up against it. It’s a feeling Wagoner must have known well when he wrote the song as he spent some time in a mental health institution in Nashville. Wagoner was no stranger to songs with dark themes, recording hit songs about death row inmates waiting to be executed, murder ballads and deathly car accidents. Some of these dark themed songs were put into a compilation by the Australian record company Omni Records some 15 or so years ago that shared its name with this truly creepy song.
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by Julian Spivey As we welcome October with its cool breezes, and - now socially distanced - festivities, we often think of scary movies, pumpkin patches and killers in masks. Rarely, if ever, do you hear anyone say what they’re looking forward to most about the season, is the music. Granted, Halloween music has nowhere near the mega-market that Christmas music has, but it seems that quality trumps quantity in this particular situation. With songs like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” Halloween season is a heavy hitter when it comes to music! That’s why we’re celebrating 31 Days of Halloween Hits here at The Word for the entire month of October. Every day we’re going to bring you a great song that fits right in on your Halloween playlist. Some are songs specifically written for the holiday, but others are great selections you can listen to year-around but have a great theme for the spookiest of all holidays. Some of these songs you’ve certainly heard and some are lesser known that we hope to familiarize you with. It was just two lines in a television show spoofing Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s “Monster Mash” and other Halloween novelty songs, but “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah,” by the fictional character Tracy Jordan played by comedian/actor Tracy Morgan on “30 Rock,” instantly became one of my favorite pop culture Halloween moments. Those two lines: “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah, spooky, scary/Boys becoming men, men becoming wolves” still have me in stitches nearly every time I hear them 13 years after the “30 Rock” episode “Jack Gets in the Game” aired. The lines were written by that episode’s screenwriters Robert Carlock (one of the show’s showrunners) and Tami Sagher, who wrote much of the lyrics according to an oral history of the song conducted by LAist. It was literally just an eight-second clip from the episode, but it hit so big among the fans of the series that it was decided to record a full-length version. Carlock and Sagher were joined by the “30 Rock” musical director Jeff Richmond (also the husband of the show’s creator Tina Fey) and writer Donald Glover (who’s now a multi-talented musician as Childish Gambino and award-winning actor and showrunner of FX’s “Atlanta”) to fledge out the lyrics of the song. When it came time to record the full-length “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah” Morgan wasn’t around, so Glover – who did a good Tracy Morgan impression – stepped in and did some of the vocals and ad-libbed some of the talking in the song. “30 Rock” is one of my all-time favorite TV comedies and this was my single favorite moment from the show. It’s just so absurd, and so mocking of these ridiculous Halloween novelty hits that I couldn’t get enough. In the end it became its own sort of Halloween novelty. by Alea Jeremiah As we welcome October with its cool breezes, and - now socially distanced - festivities, we often think of scary movies, pumpkin patches and killers in masks. Rarely, if ever, do you hear anyone say what they’re looking forward to most about the season, is the music. Granted, Halloween music has nowhere near the mega-market that Christmas music has, but it seems that quality trumps quantity in this particular situation. With songs like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” Halloween season is a heavy hitter when it comes to music! That’s why we’re celebrating 31 Days of Halloween Hits here at The Word for the entire month of October. Every day we’re going to bring you a great song that fits right in on your Halloween playlist. Some are songs specifically written for the holiday, but others are great selections you can listen to year-around but have a great theme for the spookiest of all holidays. Some of these songs you’ve certainly heard and some are lesser known that we hope to familiarize you with. If “Season of the Witch” by folk singer and Rock Hall of Famer Donovan isn’t on your Halloween playlist, it’s not complete yet! What’s more festive than witches? “Season of the Witch” has a nice beat and great lyrics. Halloween time is for sure the season for witches so it’s only fitting there is a song about it. Lana Del Rey also recently covered the song for the movie “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” and it’s worth giving a listen, as well! by Tyler Glover As we welcome October with its cool breezes, and - now socially distanced - festivities, we often think of scary movies, pumpkin patches and killers in masks. Rarely, if ever, do you hear anyone say what they’re looking forward to most about the season, is the music. Granted, Halloween music has nowhere near the mega-market that Christmas music has, but it seems that quality trumps quantity in this particular situation. With songs like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” Halloween season is a heavy hitter when it comes to music! That’s why we’re celebrating 31 Days of Halloween Hits here at The Word for the entire month of October. Every day we’re going to bring you a great song that fits right in on your Halloween playlist. Some are songs specifically written for the holiday, but others are great selections you can listen to year-around but have a great theme for the spookiest of all holidays. Some of these songs you’ve certainly heard and some are lesser known that we hope to familiarize you with. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is not only a great Halloween song, it is THE Halloween song! "Thriller" has been No. 1 on my Halloween playlist since I created it. From the moment "Thriller" begins, it feels like you are stepping into a scary movie. I don't mean a low-budget horror flick that went straight to DVD, but a masterful work of art reminiscent to a Hitchcock film. You immediately feel transported to a dark night where you feel like someone is following you. The song begins with: "It's close to midnight/And something evil's lurking in the dark/Under the moonlight/You see a sight that almost stops your heart." With lyrics and a sound that instantaneously grab your attention, you are immediately sucked into this world and there is no escaping it. The song also uses sound effects, such as wind, thunder and footsteps to heighten the experience. When "Thriller" begins, you cannot turn it off and why would you want to? The song is absolutely "Thrill"-ing! by Julian Spivey As we welcome October with its cool breezes, and - now socially distanced - festivities, we often think of scary movies, pumpkin patches and killers in masks. Rarely, if ever, do you hear anyone say what they’re looking forward to most about the season, is the music. Granted, Halloween music has nowhere near the mega-market that Christmas music has, but it seems that quality trumps quantity in this particular situation. With songs like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” Halloween season is a heavy hitter when it comes to music! That’s why we’re celebrating 31 Days of Halloween Hits here at The Word for the entire month of October. Every day we’re going to bring you a great song that fits right in on your Halloween playlist. Some are songs specifically written for the holiday, but others are great selections you can listen to year-around but have a great theme for the spookiest of all holidays. Some of these songs you’ve certainly heard and some are lesser known that we hope to familiarize you with. There’s probably not a soul alive who hasn’t heard the Charlie Daniels Band classic “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” after all, it’s been a staple on both country and rock radio for more than 40 years now – a feat that rarely happens in our world of radio stations formatted by genre and songs typically being deemed to fit in one or another. But “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” is timeless and belongs on every Halloween playlist. The spoken verse performance by Daniels tells the tale of the devil winding up in Georgia looking for the best fiddle player there is to win his soul in a competition of strings and bows – because, of course, the devil likes a mean hoedown! The song features two fiddle solos: a rocking one by the devil that features CDB in their Southern Rock glory with both fiddle and guitars blazing and a more traditional one played by the Georgia boy Johnny. This is where some controversy actually comes in based on the opinion and musical tastes of fans. Many, myself included, think the solo by the devil and his band of demons is actually the better sounding solo of the two – though I don’t want to take anything away from the more traditional performance, as given by Johnny in the song. Now the devil, apparently being the good sport (whodathunkit?), admits his defeat at the hands of Johnny and doesn’t get to take the boy’s soul back to Hell with him. Johnny even gets a golden fiddle out of the deal. by Alea Jeremiah As we welcome October with its cool breezes, and - now socially distanced - festivities, we often think of scary movies, pumpkin patches and killers in masks. Rarely, if ever, do you hear anyone say what they’re looking forward to most about the season, is the music. Granted, Halloween music has nowhere near the mega-market that Christmas music has, but it seems that quality trumps quantity in this particular situation. With songs like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” Halloween season is a heavy hitter when it comes to music! That’s why we’re celebrating 31 Days of Halloween Hits here at The Word for the entire month of October. Every day we’re going to bring you a great song that fits right in on your Halloween playlist. Some are songs specifically written for the holiday, but others are great selections you can listen to year-around but have a great theme for the spookiest of all holidays. Some of these songs you’ve certainly heard and some are lesser known that we hope to familiarize you with. “Heads Will Roll” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is always on my playlist! First of all, it’s spooky with lyrics like “dance till you’re dead” and, of course, “heads will roll”. Second, t’s a fantastic dance song for any Halloween party! And if you like it, you should also check out the excellent mashup of “Heads Will Roll” and “Thriller” that was featured on the Fox television series “Glee.” It’s so much fun! by Julian Spivey As we welcome October with its cool breezes, and - now socially distanced - festivities, we often think of scary movies, pumpkin patches and killers in masks. Rarely, if ever, do you hear anyone say what they’re looking forward to most about the season, is the music. Granted, Halloween music has nowhere near the mega-market that Christmas music has, but it seems that quality trumps quantity in this particular situation. With songs like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” Halloween season is a heavy hitter when it comes to music! That’s why we’re celebrating 31 Days of Halloween Hits here at The Word for the entire month of October. Every day we’re going to bring you a great song that fits right in on your Halloween playlist. Some are songs specifically written for the holiday, but others are great selections you can listen to year-around but have a great theme for the spookiest of all holidays. Some of these songs you’ve certainly heard and some are lesser known that we hope to familiarize you with. Many people likely know Shel Silverstein as a children’s author for award-winning works like The Giving Tree and Where the Sidewalk Ends, but he was also a successful songwriter – mostly with songs with a bit of black humor to them. Among his notable songwriting works are “A Boy Named Sue,” one of Johnny Cash’s biggest career hits, and “The Cover of the Rolling Stone” for Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show. But his number one hit country song “Marie Laveau,” as recorded by Bobby Bare (on an album of Silverstein songs titled Lullabys, Legends and Lies), is his most perfect tune for a Halloween playlist. The song tells the tale of unsightly looking voodoo witch named Marie Laveau who has a “bent, bony body and stringy hair” and is looking for a man to give her love to for $1 million. When “Handsome Jack” takes the witch up on the deal but attempts to stiff her by leaving with the money she lets go this horrifying screech and well, as the song says, “another man done gone.” “Marie Laveau,” co-written with Baxter Taylor, was first recorded by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show in 1971, but Bare’s version that went to No. 1 on the country chart in 1974 is the most famous version. The Marie Laveau in the song is fictitious, but there was a real Louisiana Creole practitioner of voodoo in the 1800s by the same name that probably gave some inspiration to the song. by Tyler Glover As we welcome October with its cool breezes, and - now socially distanced - festivities, we often think of scary movies, pumpkin patches and killers in masks. Rarely, if ever, do you hear anyone say what they’re looking forward to most about the season, is the music. Granted, Halloween music has nowhere near the mega-market that Christmas music has, but it seems that quality trumps quantity in this particular situation. With songs like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” Halloween season is a heavy hitter when it comes to music! That’s why we’re celebrating 31 Days of Halloween Hits here at The Word for the entire month of October. Every day we’re going to bring you a great song that fits right in on your Halloween playlist. Some are songs specifically written for the holiday, but others are great selections you can listen to year-around but have a great theme for the spookiest of all holidays. Some of these songs you’ve certainly heard and some are lesser known that we hope to familiarize you with. I know what you may be thinking. How is "Haunted" by Taylor Swift a great Halloween song? Hear me out. "Haunted" is an extremely dramatic song that opens with violins and other string instruments to give it a sense of urgency. You almost imagine someone running through the woods before Swift even begins singing. The song is about a man choosing to leave the relationship with Swift and how he turned out to be someone that she did not think he was. Lyrics like "It's getting dark and it's all too quiet/And I can't trust anything now" and "Holding my breath, won't lose you again, something's made your eyes go cold" definitely gives the song a spooky feel. The song also features an orchestra, which adds to the drama. He has left her and now she feels haunted. On Halloween night, we watch movies like "Friday the 13th" that scare us but we are normally over it shortly after the credits roll. The ending of a relationship definitely haunts us for much longer than a day. This is why "Haunted" by Taylor Swift is definitely on my Halloween playlist every year. by Julian Spivey As we welcome October with its cool breezes, and - now socially distanced - festivities, we often think of scary movies, pumpkin patches and killers in masks. Rarely, if ever, do you hear anyone say what they’re looking forward to most about the season, is the music. Granted, Halloween music has nowhere near the mega-market that Christmas music has, but it seems that quality trumps quantity in this particular situation. With songs like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” Halloween season is a heavy hitter when it comes to music! That’s why we’re celebrating 31 Days of Halloween Hits here at The Word for the entire month of October. Every day we’re going to bring you a great song that fits right in on your Halloween playlist. Some are songs specifically written for the holiday, but others are great selections you can listen to year-around but have a great theme for the spookiest of all holidays. Some of these songs you’ve certainly heard and some are lesser known that we hope to familiarize you with. Did you know that country music had its own “Monster Mash”? It’s true! In 1974 Buck Owens released “(It’s A) Monsters’ Holiday.” What’s even more surprising is the song, despite being a novelty song, was actually the title track to Owens’ 1974 album, which was filled with non-novelty songs. Owens was one of country music biggest stars of the ‘60s, but by the turn of the ‘70s his hits started to fade and he became known more for being the co-host of the hayseed comedy/music variety show “Hee Haw.” “(It’s A) Monsters’ Holiday,” would reach No. 6 on the country charts in ’74, the last time he’d chart that high until his No. 1 duet “Streets of Bakersfield” with Dwight Yoakam in 1988. “(It’s A) Monsters’ Holiday” was actually cut by Owens and his band The Buckaroos one day before Halloween in 1973, so the spooky season must have been on the group’s mind when they cut this track Rolling Stone called, “a kitschy cross between “Monster Mash” and George Jones’ “The Race Is On.” All the monsters from the old black and white Hollywood horror classics are here: Frankenstein’s monster, Dracula, the Wolfman and more all show up while the narrator’s trying to sleep to give him a good fright. “(It’s A) Monsters’ Holiday” is just as fun as Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s “Monster Mash,” but unlike that memorable Halloween hit, it didn’t really survive to become a yearly hit among listeners, but if you’re looking for some twang for your Halloween playlist you can’t go wrong with Buck Owens. by Julian Spivey As we welcome October with its cool breezes, and - now socially distanced - festivities, we often think of scary movies, pumpkin patches and killers in masks. Rarely, if ever, do you hear anyone say what they’re looking forward to most about the season, is the music. Granted, Halloween music has nowhere near the mega-market that Christmas music has, but it seems that quality trumps quantity in this particular situation. With songs like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” Halloween season is a heavy hitter when it comes to music! That’s why we’re celebrating 31 Days of Halloween Hits here at The Word for the entire month of October. Every day we’re going to bring you a great song that fits right in on your Halloween playlist. Some are songs specifically written for the holiday, but others are great selections you can listen to year-around but have a great theme for the spookiest of all holidays. Some of these songs you’ve certainly heard and some are lesser known that we hope to familiarize you with. So, “Werewolves of London” is a riotous good time and “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner” is spooky and ghostly, but “Excitable Boy,” the title track off Warren Zevon’s 1978 album, is the creepiest tale of the trio – because unlike werewolves eating little old ladies or headless mercenaries seeking revenge it’s something that could actually happen in the real world. “Excitable Boy,” written by Zevon and LeRoy Marinell, tells the tale of a young man, possibly suffering from mental issues, who can’t control his urges. The titular character rapes and murders his prom date and then takes the body home, in a Norman Bates-esque way. The young man is captured but instead of prison is placed in an insane asylum – because as the song sarcastically exclaims, “he’s just an excitable boy!” The song turns even more ghastly when the man is let out of the asylum after 10 years, digs up the girl’s body and builds a cage out of her bones. Well, he’s just an excitable boy. |
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