10/16/17 Halloween Music
It's now the middle of October, and we all know what October means. It's that time of year where folks put up decorations of dead bodies in their yard and cut up perfectly good pumpkins; which at any other time of year would probably land you a few visits from the FBI and most likely a search warrant on probable causes of homicide. But, like I said, it's October- where we actually can put up creepy decorations, get offended over someone's costume, and demand some stranger give us candy that they bought with their own money, because why not. Let's get away from that though and get back to music!
My focus is music, and while there's not per se a whole lot of Halloween music that would normally leave you legitimately paranoid that someone's watching your every move or at least scare you enough to the point where you have nightmares- I can try. This is yet another playlist. The MericaNotes Halloween Playlist.
1) The Beautiful People by Marilyn Manson
Let me start off by saying, I'm not really a Marilyn Manson fan. As someone who is a devout Christian, Manson's whole persona of being the "Antichrist Superstar" doesn't exactly appeal to me. But the reason I chose Manson is actually because of exactly that; he's creepy as hell. Really any song my Manson will work, but I decided to choose his best and likely most popular song; The Beautiful People. Drag already makes some people uncomfortable, then you add a Satanic edge to it and you have borderline terrifying. The song itself is pretty catchy, with its hard bass guitar lines repeating only adding to the effect of terror. Manson's lyrics criticize the church, which makes some people uncomfortable already. But what fascinates me is how Manson can go seamlessly from violent screaming one second to his trademark slow and raspy tenor the next. The music video for The Beautiful People is just as creepy as the song itself, if not more so. I recommend watching it at midnight with the lights out.
2) Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon
Not all Halloween music is scary, unless you count Warren Zevon's parody of "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. To be perfectly honest, I hate this song so much. The only thing scary about is how bad it is. However, it is a Halloween classic- so I just had to include it in this list. I feel as if though this song was slapped together within an hour or so, because it's catchy, but its REALLY annoying. I love Lynyrd Skynyrd, but this song really does an injustice to a southern rock classic I believe. Frankly, Werewolves of London isn't supposed to be scary, but it fits the Halloween theme well- so I must give Zevon props on that. Personally, I may not like the song, but I assume a lot of folks who aren't hardcore southern rock fans might be inclined to listen to this song a lot on Halloween. If you really want to play this track, then by all means more power to you.
3) One Of My Turns by Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd is arguably one of the greatest classic rock bands to ever exist, but what makes them so fitting for Halloween is their instrumentals in much of their songs. In the case of One Of My Turns on the 1979 album "The Wall", we're greeted by a man and presumably his girlfriend entering their new apartment. Reminiscent of the movie "American Psycho", the protagonist (or in this case, the antihero?) turns out to be a psychotic murderer, chopping his woman up with an ax and presumably throws himself out the window to kill himself. This is all just minutes after she's marveling at his collection of guitars on the wall. Pink Floyd took a song and twisted it into the dark and disturbing acid trip that is psychedelic rock with a Halloween twist. Waters' vocals sort of echo in parts of the song, making a progression from sad and dreary to downright unnerving as he picks up speed while he's chasing his girlfriend around with his "favorite axe". The fact that the antihero describes this behavior as one of his "bad days" is already concerning enough, thus it makes you take the mental health of this guy into consideration. But what really puts the cherry on top are the last couple lines to the song. "Would you like to see me fly? / Would'ya? / Would you like to see me try? / Would you like to call the cops? / Do you think it's time I stopped?" Then the melancholic last line sets in as the song fades away: "Why are you running away?" Yeah, this song takes a dark turn quickly.
4) Thriller by Michael Jackson
No halloween playlist is complete without Thriller. Obviously, its an absolute staple to halloween songs. While it may not be as scary today as it was in the 80s when the music video came out, at the time Vincent Price's narration at the end of the song and his unforgettable maniacal laughter was enough to make any kid pee their pants. Most of us don't think of Michael Jackson as scary, but watching him decompose into this zombie-like thing was completely unnerving. Not to mention the special effects used to make the video come to life (no pun intended) was actually really well done for its time. Thriller is a fun song, but its also universal in the sense that you could play it any time of year- so it's not strictly a halloween song. Truly, Michael Jackson's Thriller is an unforgettable contribution to modern pop culture in the 80s and even today.
5) Bark At The Moon by Ozzy Osbourne
No surprise, one of the most badass songs I've ever heard came from the same guy who dresses in all black and bit the head off of an actual live bat in front of God and everybody at a concert in 1982 in Iowa. Bark At The Moon is another great heavy metal song on this list that sees Ozzy turning into a werewolf, then followed by a lot of mad rampaging through a town where Werewolf Ozzy kills just about everybody and their mother. (What is it with werewolves today?) This whole song reflects a sort of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde kind of theme with Ozzy supposedly taking on a role as this mad scientist who is then admitted to a mental hospital. The actual lyrics describe someone who has lived in sheer torment for years, and it finally "letting loose". This song is downright weird, but its also really catchy.
6) Revolution 9 by The Beatles
I know what you're thinking. "How could the Beatles, the same people who sing about love and peace and yellow submarines, be creepy?" The thing is, this is by far the creepiest video I've ever watched. There aren't even any real lyrics, just muffled screaming followed by the repeated phrase "number 9" for several minutes, along with spoken word that is barely audible in some parts. The actual song as described by John Lennon was actually still pretty bizarre. Lennon described it as "an unconscious picture of what I actually think will happen when it happens; that was just like a drawing of revolution...All of the thing was made with loops, I had about 30 loops going, fed them onto one basic track. I was getting classical tapes, going upstairs and chopping them up, making it backwards and things like that, to get the sound effects..." There is even a rumor that if you supposedly play Revolution 9 backwards, there are hidden messages within he lyrics. Something like "Paul is dead" and some other creepy phrases I'd rather not look into. To be perfectly honest, Revolution 9 makes Marilyn Manson sound like the theme to Elmo's World. Mother of God, I never thought I'd get nightmares from listening to a song by the Beatles. Cocaine's a hell of a drug kids, just say no.
4) Thriller by Michael Jackson
No halloween playlist is complete without Thriller. Obviously, its an absolute staple to halloween songs. While it may not be as scary today as it was in the 80s when the music video came out, at the time Vincent Price's narration at the end of the song and his unforgettable maniacal laughter was enough to make any kid pee their pants. Most of us don't think of Michael Jackson as scary, but watching him decompose into this zombie-like thing was completely unnerving. Not to mention the special effects used to make the video come to life (no pun intended) was actually really well done for its time. Thriller is a fun song, but its also universal in the sense that you could play it any time of year- so it's not strictly a halloween song. Truly, Michael Jackson's Thriller is an unforgettable contribution to modern pop culture in the 80s and even today.
5) Bark At The Moon by Ozzy Osbourne
No surprise, one of the most badass songs I've ever heard came from the same guy who dresses in all black and bit the head off of an actual live bat in front of God and everybody at a concert in 1982 in Iowa. Bark At The Moon is another great heavy metal song on this list that sees Ozzy turning into a werewolf, then followed by a lot of mad rampaging through a town where Werewolf Ozzy kills just about everybody and their mother. (What is it with werewolves today?) This whole song reflects a sort of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde kind of theme with Ozzy supposedly taking on a role as this mad scientist who is then admitted to a mental hospital. The actual lyrics describe someone who has lived in sheer torment for years, and it finally "letting loose". This song is downright weird, but its also really catchy.
6) Revolution 9 by The Beatles
I know what you're thinking. "How could the Beatles, the same people who sing about love and peace and yellow submarines, be creepy?" The thing is, this is by far the creepiest video I've ever watched. There aren't even any real lyrics, just muffled screaming followed by the repeated phrase "number 9" for several minutes, along with spoken word that is barely audible in some parts. The actual song as described by John Lennon was actually still pretty bizarre. Lennon described it as "an unconscious picture of what I actually think will happen when it happens; that was just like a drawing of revolution...All of the thing was made with loops, I had about 30 loops going, fed them onto one basic track. I was getting classical tapes, going upstairs and chopping them up, making it backwards and things like that, to get the sound effects..." There is even a rumor that if you supposedly play Revolution 9 backwards, there are hidden messages within he lyrics. Something like "Paul is dead" and some other creepy phrases I'd rather not look into. To be perfectly honest, Revolution 9 makes Marilyn Manson sound like the theme to Elmo's World. Mother of God, I never thought I'd get nightmares from listening to a song by the Beatles. Cocaine's a hell of a drug kids, just say no.
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