Posted By Amanda Lee on October 30, 2009

I assume most of us are adults here. But none of us is ever too old for the chips, dips, chains, and whips that go along with tricks and treats of Halloween—the single night of the year when everyone decides at once to push their boundaries and be someone else for a change. So go be someone else—preferably someone scary. And while you’re at it, Courtney and Tori have got your soundtrack covered. Boo!

Happy Halloween! Here’s a 7 song youtube mix to help you “ring in” the holiday! Remember, the call is coming from your house!

Tracy Morgan/30 Rock- Werewolf Bar Mitzvah
A direct descendent of the “Monster Mash.” I want to marry the entire staff of 30 Rock.

DJ Bobo- Vampires are Alive
Switzerland’s poorly fairing entrant to the 2007 Eurovision competition (perhaps because the competition takes place in May?), this might have done better in 2010, with the vampire trend in full swing. Either way, the song (and correspondingly choreographed video) remain hilarious—“Vampires, get alive!”

The Gothic Archies- Walking My Gargoyle
Originally written as accompaniment to one of the Lemony Snicket books, this is a wonderfully sweet little pop ditty about a pet gargoyle. Stephin Merritt’s voice can’t help but sound morose, despite the cheerful lyrics. Every word is perfect, but the last line is perhaps my favorite, a sly gothic wink: “I’m wagging my tails walking my gargoyle.”

Screaming Lord Sutch- Dracula’s Daughter
Screaming Lord Sutch was a British horror novelty act that was big in the 60s. You could make an entire Halloween mix just from his singles, no problem. “Dracula’s Daughter” is my favorite of his tunes, with its especially mod sound and the surprisingly sexual lyric, “She gave me a peck that left me erect.” Thanks, Lord Sutch.

Scott Walker- My Death (cover of Jacques Brel song “La Mort”)
Momus- What Will Death Be Like?
Momus, the Scottish singer/songwriter/writer/blogger/performance artist/jack rabbit/novelist, clearly carries a colossal torch for and owes a great debt to Jacques Brel, the legendary Belgian singer/songwriter. He most likely came to Brel at least partially via Scott Walker’s enormously popular covers of Brel’s work in English, translated by Mort Shuman and collected on Scott Walker Sings Jacques Brel. “My Death” is a compendium of similes describing how death is waiting for Brel, interrupted only by his love.

Momus’s riff on this theme is wonderfully darker– a compendium of anti-similes. Despite the title, Momus drafts us an enormous list (literally 56 items!) of what death will be unlike, arranged in couplets. Momus of this vintage is often too clever and too verbal for my taste, sacrificing musicality for lyrics, but in this song they serve each other well.
Some of my favorites, which also serve to really date the song:

Death will be unlike the great roller coaster, a plunge from a boast to a scream
Death will be unlike mahogany coffins great pianists play in their wildest strangest dreams
Death will be unlike the charge of the Light Brigade Alfred Lord Tennyson rhymed
Death will be unlike the thin piece of paper that Reagan and Gorbachov sign
Death will be unlike the marriage that bickers ’til death us do part
Death will be unlike the dreams of the young man who sang ‘Love will tear us apart’

Scott Walker- Jesse
After getting famous for his stint with the Walker Brothers and his solo work in the 60s, Scott Walker has been getting progressively less mainstream. This is from his most recent solo album, 2006’s The Drift. Elvis Presley had a stillborn twin brother named Jesse, who he occasionally would speak to in panicked outbursts during times of duress, and here the twins stand as partial metaphors for the Twin Towers destroyed in 2001. Since the album came out, this song has occasionally been referred to as “Jesse (September Song).”

Forget what you heard earlier with Walker’s cover of Brel—this song reaches beyond campy or even creepy, and is genuinely terrifying. The Drift is a horror album built from 21st century anxieties and horrors, and this song is no exception. Wait until it’s good and dark, turn off all the lights, and turn it up.

* You can read more of Courtney’s rantings and ravings here.

Tori Darr:

Jenny Lewis w/The Watson Twins – Run Devil Run
I am a huge fan of this one-minute-long song. Hell, there are only five words in the song, but it still gives me chills with each listen. I am also including this song because Hilly says, “Nothing scares me more than Jenny Lewis,” which might make me love this even more. (Just kidding.)

Cursive – The Recluse
The entirety of Cursive’s 2003 album, “The Ugly Organ”, would actually fit into my playlist, because it’s got that creepy-carnival concept that shrieks Halloween. This song in particular is cello-laden–and everyone knows that dramatic strings are essential to creating a spooky vibe–and oh, look. I also managed to sneak Jenny Lewis in my playlist again (as she complements Tim Kasher’s exasperated poesy with intermittent backing vocals).

Radiohead- Pyramid Song
I felt that Radiohead needed a mention on my list, because I love Radiohead and this song is so hauntingly beautiful. I’m finding it hard to expand on that, so. Yes.

Fever Ray – When I Grow Up
Swedish chanteuse Karin Andersson has been my favorite discovery this year. “When I Grow Up” leaves me feeling as though I’ve been entranced by some sweet-ass black magic. Seriously, go watch the video for this song on YouTube right now if you have never seen it, and have your mind blown. (Bonus points for watching it alone in the dark.)

AC/DC – Hell’s Bells
Well, Ben suggested that I include cheesy songs. In fact, his exact quote was, “The cheesier, the better.” And this pretty much fits that description of a cheesy Halloween tune.

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