Soundtracking: Halloween Spooktacular Playlist!

	SOUNDTRACKING Halloween Spooktacular Playlist!   Soundtracking is a weekly column featuring indie, alternative, and all around amazing music - published by music correspondent Laura Cushing on Gather.com. Soundtracking includes interviews, CD reviews, band and concert news, music trivia, playlists and much more!

This week on Soundtracking: Halloween Spooktacular playlist!

Click HERE to load the Halloween special playlist and listen while you read!

(note: Some songs cut off as samples. To listen to the full playlist, visit soundtracking.imeem.com and sign up for an Imeem account, then play the playlist from there. It's free, and will allow you to listen to all the playlists in their full format.)

Greetings, boys and ghouls - welcome to a haunted holiday edition of Soundtracking! This week, we bring you seventeen frightfully good songs from some monstrously talented musicians. 

  1. This is Halloween - from Nightmare Before Christmas
Boys and girls of every age
Wouldn't you like to see something strange?
Come with us and you will see
This, our town of Halloween
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Pumpkins scream in the dead of night

A Halloweeny intro to our playlist - from the Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack.

2. Witchcraft - Frank Sinatra

Those fingers in my hair
That sly come hither stare
That strips my conscience bare
It's witchcraft

Bewitched by love, or magic? This Frank Sinatra tune is timeless.

  3. The Monster Mash - Bobby "Boris" Pickett
I was working in the lab late one night
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my monster from his slab began to rise
And suddenly to my surprise
He did the mash
He did the monster mash

Nothing says Halloween like this bubbly one-hit-wonder about a monster that just wants to party. I had this on a 45 record as a kid, and played it every year.

  4. Thriller - Michael Jackson
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
You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it
You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes,
You're paralyzed
cause this is thriller, thriller night
And no one's gonna save you from the beast about to strike

Before he started living in Neverneverland and passing the Jesus Juice, Michael Jackson performed the spooky hit Thriller. Bonus treat: video on YouTube. 

  5. Do They Know it's Hallowe'en? - by The North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative
It's october 31st, could it get any worse?
Children on streets, begging for treats
drowning in a bucket of apples bobbing.
Parents are hiding, our babies are sobbing.
The undead have returned:
they're freaking us out.

A parody of Band-Aid songs, this single was released in 2005 with proceeds benefiting UNICEF. It features an all star indie cast, including Feist, Arcade Fire, Jenny and Blake of Rilo Kiley, Dntel, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, and Beck. Bonus treat: video on YouTube. 

  6. Werewolves of London - by Warren Zevon
I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand
Walking through the streets of Soho in the rain
He was looking for a place called Lee Ho Fook's
Going to get himself a big dish of beef chow mein
Werewolves of London

Ahh-oooh! Werewolves of London! Look out, it's a full moon - and the wolves are on the prowl in their nice suits and fashionable haircuts.
 

  7. Brains! - Voltaire
Well, hello there little boy.
Now don't be shy.
Step right up, I'm a reasonable guy.
Don't be frightened by the look in my eye.
I'm just your average evil meteor from outta the sky.
Well, I'm just shy and scared in this place
I'm just a fish outta water from outer space
You can see that the trip has left me tired and drained
So why don't you be a pal...
And bring me some BRAINS!

Zombies! Almost any tune by Voltaire is good for Halloween. This one was written for the Cartoon Network, so some of the little folk might recognize this jaunty brain-eatin' tune.

8. The Devil Went Down to Georgia - Charlie Daniels Band
The devil went down to Georgia, he was looking for a soul to steal.
He was in a bind 'cos he was way behind: he was willin' to make a deal.
When he came across this young man sawin' on a fiddle and playin' it hot.
And the devil jumped upon a hickory stump and said: "Boy let me tell you what:
"I bet you didn't know it, but I'm a fiddle player too.
"And if you'd care to take a dare, I'll make a bet with you.
"Now you play a pretty good fiddle, boy, but give the devil his due:
"I bet a fiddle of gold against your soul, 'cos I think I'm better than you."
The boy said: "My name's Johnny and it might be a sin,
"But I'll take your bet, you're gonna regret, 'cos I'm the best that's ever been."

Let's add a bit of devilish fun with this country classic from the Charlie Daniels Band!

9. All You Zombies - The Hooters
Holy Moses on the mountain
High above the golden calf
Went to get the Ten Commandments
Yeah, he's just gonna break them in half!
All you zombies hide your faces
All you people in the street
All you sittin' in high places
The pieces gonna fall on you

Zombies make another appearance on our Halloween playlist because you can never get enough of the brain eating undead. A bit of trivia - Rob Hyman of The Hooters co-wrote Time After Time with Cyndi Lauper.

10. Witchy Woman - The Eagles
Raven hair and ruby lips
Sparks fly from her finger tips
Echoed voices in the night
She's a restless spirit on an endless flight
Wooo hooo witchy woman, see how
High she flies
Woo hoo witchy woman she got
The moon in her eye

Witchy Woman is the second single from the Eagles debut album - the only single from the album to feature Don Henley on lead vocals.

11. The Addams Family Theme - Vic Mizzy
They're creepy and they're kooky,
Mysterious and spooky,
They're all together ooky,
The Addams Family.

Halloween just wouldn't be right without a visit to the creepy, kooky Addams Family! Bonus treat: Watch the opening credits of the 1964 show with theme on YouTube.

12. When You're Evil - Voltaire
I'm the fly in your soup
I'm the pebble in your shoe
I'm the pea beneath your bed
I'm a bump on every head
I'm the peel on which you slip
I'm a pin in every hip
I'm the thorn in your side
Makes you wriggle and writhe
And it's so easy when you're evil

Another offering from Voltaire - this one is an ode to evil. (I was considering including Zombie Prostitute here, but that one's just a bit too raunchy...)

13. Black Magic Woman - Santana
Got a black magic woman
Got a black magic woman
I've got a black magic woman
Got me so blind I cant see
That shes a black magic woman
Shes trying to make a devil out of me

Originally performed by Fleetwood Mac, the Santana version released two years later is, in my opinion, a much better arrangement of this song. This version is also featured in the video game Guitar Hero III.

14. Walking with a Ghost - Tegan and Sara
No matter which way you go
No matter which way you stay
You're out of my mind
Out of my mind
I was walking with the ghost
I said please, please don't insist

Once you get over the way they pronounce 'which', this is an enjoyable song. The White Stripes did a version of this song as well - but I prefer the original. Bonus treat: watch the video.

15. Vampire Blues - Neil Young
I'm a vampire, babe,
suckin' blood from the earth
I'm a vampire, baby,
suckin' blood from the earth.
Well, I'm a vampire, babe,
sell you twenty barrels worth.

Oil industry vampires are the scariest thing on this playlist, 'cause they're a little less fictional than I'd like for them to be.

16. Dead Man's Party - Oingo Boingo
I was struck by lighting
Walkin' down the street
I was hit by something last night in my sleep
It's a dead man's party
Who could ask for more
Everybody's comin', leave your body at the door
Leave your body and soul at the door . . .
(Don't run away it's only me)

Oingo Boingo was one of the most popular new wave bands in the 1980s. Bonus treat: wach the video .

17. Bela Lugosi's Dead - Bauhaus
White on white translucent black capes
Back on the rack
Bela Lugosi's dead
The bats have left the bell tower
The victims have been bled
Red velvet lines the black box
Bela Lugosi's dead
Undead undead undead
The virginal brides file past his tomb
Strewn with time's dead flowers
Bereft in deathly bloom
Alone in a darkened room
The count
Bela Logosi's dead
Undead undead undead

Frequently considered to be the very first gothic rock song, this Bauhaus dirge is over nine minutes long and was recorded live in a single take. This song was recorded in 1979. Horror legend Bela Lugosi died in 1956. He was buried in his Dracula cape.

For More Musical Halloween fun:
Haunted Midis - free downloads of Halloween midis
Free Halloween midis and sheet music
Fangdango by Zyzzybalubah - a free Halloween music EP
13th Track Halloween radio - listen to free streaming Halloween music
( click the play button on right of site, loads in a cute animated flash player)

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		Laura Cushing, Music Correspondent  - Soundtracking
	Laura's column, 'Soundtracking' is published every Saturday in Gather Essentials:Music. Soundtracking is your guide to indie and alternative music -- featuring musician interviews, CD reviews, MP3 mixes, and discussions. Laura Cushing is a 37 year old writer from the New Jersey Pines. In addition to music journalism, she writes fiction and poetry. Keep up with Laura's music series by joining her network, or subscribing to her content.