Happy Halloween!

Once again we've made it through 31 days of great Halloween music, without even a murmur of "The Monster Mash" echoing from the dungeon!  So what is 2012's most hallowed Halloween song?

Well, it's not just one song, but two: "Halloween 1 & 2" by The Misfits!  The first is an ode to all things both fiendish and nostalgic about the holiday (the "brown leafed vertigo" line gets me every time), and the second is mostly in Latin and seems to be a sort of incantation for becoming a werewolf. Last year the band's ode to horror hostess great Vampira was featured on this blog, and in my opinion they are the greatest horror rock band ever. 

Today's songs are Halloween itself distilled into a few short minutes.  The bonfires are burning bright, pumpkin faces are in the night... and I don't just remember Halloween, I'm living it right now!

That's it for another great month of fun and scary music!  Hope to scare you again next year, but until then, bad dreams darlings, stay sick, and good night, whatever you are!!!

T-minus 1

Only one day until Halloween, and things are getting spookier by the minute!  In today's song we'll hear the tale of a myseriously missing carny and his unforunately present horse Sorrow, courtesy of spook-master Nick Cave and his Bad Seeds.

"The Carny" first appeared on Cave's 1986 album Your Funeral... My Trial, but also gained recognition as one of the songs Cave performed in the 1987 Wim Wenders film Wings of Desire.  That film concerns invisible angels in Berlin who listen in on human thoughts and comfort those in distress, and sometimes desire to become human themselves.  In a sublime chain of influence, both "The Carny" and Wings of Desire inspired animator Marc Craste to make 2004's Jo Jo in the Stars, which is a dazzling 12-minute animated film featured below.

"The Carny" is pretty much a short story itself, and features the usual blend of menacing, gothic weirdness and disparate music styles that we've come to know and love from Nick Cave.  And one must wonder, where did that carny go?  I say it's funny how things go. 

Jo Jo in the Stars:

T-minus 2

Seen any good horror movies this month?  Today's song asks all those pesky questions that we're not supposed to ask during horror movies, like why do lovers always park down deserted lanes near haunted houses and homes for the insane? 

"The Axe Murderer Song" comes from Camper Van Beethoven's 1993 album Camper Vantiquities, which compiled several of the band's B-sides and rarities.  Formed in California in the early 80s, the band became a college radio staple before disbanding in 1990.  Members then went on to play in several other influential 90s bands, such as Cracker and Counting Crows, but in 1999 Camper Van Beethoven reunited and have been releasing new work, touring, and asking the hard questions (like why do axe murderers only attack when you're partially nude?)  ever since. 

T-minus 3

It's the last day of the last weekend before Halloween -- do you have your tricks and treats ready to go?  Mine are bursting at their stitches, so ready or not, I'm letting one of my tricks slip out with today's song!

So you know how this weekend is a tribute to perhaps the eeriest city in the nation, right?  Well, although I do love New Orleans and all the songs that extol its spookiness, the real reason for this weekend's theme is that I also LOVE CHER. I don't mean that I love Cher ironically, or with the detached kind of appreciation that I might hold for, say, Neil Diamond; I really, truly, from the bottom of my black little heart LOVE CHER.  I think she's a great artist and a national treasure and should perhaps be on our money one day.

So what could be better than Cher singing a New Orleans-based spooky song that's suitable for Halloween listening?  Why, an animated Cher singing a New Orleans-based spooky song that's suitable for Halloween listening, of course!  "Dark Lady" comes from her 1974 album of the same title and was written by a member of surf rock group The Ventures.  The story concerns a woman who goes to see a fortune teller in New Orleans, from whom she learns about her lover's unfaithfulness.  Although Cher sings from the perspective of the cheating victim, in the cartoon she's the fortune teller, which makes for a bit of a meta-Cher experience.  I mean, who else could pull off being the yin to her own yang?  Cher today, Cher forever!

T-minus 4

Continuing our trip through the land of haunted bayous, today we're taking a ride a ride a ride a ride a ride with Southern Culture on the Skids in their Voodoo Cadillac! 

Southern Culture on the Skids appeared on this blog a couple of times last year, and have obviously made a number of creeptastic contributions to Halloween music.  In fact, in addition to their recently re-released album Zombified, which consists entirely of songs of a spooky nature, their first album from 1985 was called Voodoo Beach Party.  Although many of their songs hold true to the southern influences that the band's name suggests (such as the joys of fried chicken, banana pudding, and high, high hair), they also draw heavily from the look and sound of old horror films.

"Voodoo Cadillac" is the first track off their most commercially successful album, 1995's Dirt Track Date, and has the bluesy, little-bit-dangerous sound one might expect from a song about a trip to New Orleans in a possessed muscle car.  Let's ride!

T-minus 5

Halloween in New Orleans

Today is the first day of the last theme weekend of the year, and kicking off our tribute to the spooktacular city of New Orleans is the title song of Concrete Blonde's most commercially successful album, 1990's Bloodletting.  Technically the song is called "Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)," which gives you an idea of where this is going.




New Orleans has become infamous for Anne Rice's vampires, but it is also home to numerous vampire tours, balls, and legends, and even a vampire film festival.  In "Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)," a poor soul seems to have had a bad case of vampirism slapped on her and is now headed down to New Orleans to think the situation over.  Don't you just hate that?  You think you can trust somebody and then it turns out they're undead.

T-minus 6

As Lou Reed says, Halloween in New York City is something, to be sure, and part of what makes it so special also happens to be the title of today's song: "Halloween Parade."  The Village Halloween Parade has been taking place every Halloween night since 1974 and is currently the country's largest public Halloween event. 






The parade is put on by the people and for the people, and is renowned for its unbounded creativity.  Giant puppets, live bands, circus performers, and thousands of costumed participants walk the parade route (Sixth Avenue from Spring St. to 21st St.) every year.  


Lou Reed's song (from his 1989 album New York) pays homage not only to the Halloween Parade itself, however, but also uses the parade's revelry as a lens to chronicle friends he lost to the AIDS epidemic.  Flamboyant characters are mentioned in each verse, then lamented in the chorus: "This Halloween is something to be sure/Especially to be here without you."  This creates a somber tone, but the joy of the event and the people who take part in it still comes through.  

Having attended the Halloween Parade several times myself, this song puts me right back there amongst the "born again losers and lavendar boozers," and makes me wish I could be in New York this Halloween to experience the show again. 

T-minus 7

Hell's bells, Halloween is only a week away!  That means there is only one theme weekend left, and today's song previews the homage we are going to pay to a place that has given us all manner of monsters, from vampires to zombies to voodoo queens: New Orleans! 

Every time I've been to New Orleans, some weirdly unsettling thing happens, such as when an older lady in my hostel room stayed up all night whispering chants while worrying a canister of salt she kept under her bed.  Of course, the land the city is built on was exhumed from a swamp and the area is known as the land of voodoo, so it's not surprising that odd things of an uncanny nature tend to happen there. 

In keeping with the city's penchant for the mysterious, today's song is about a particular purveyor of New Orleans dark arts, voodoo priestess Marie Laveau.  Born in 1794, she worked as a hairdresser for wealthy white people, whose gossip may have helped increase Marie's diviniation "powers."  Although she died in 1881, her legend lives on, with her name gracing New Orleans tourist shops and trinkets, and her grave still drawing pilgrims who hope her spirit will grant them a wish. 


Bobby Bare & Shel Silverstein

She's of course been a presence in books and music as well, such as this classic 1974 hit written by Shel Silverstein and performed by Bobby Bare.  As the song says, she'd go ooooo-weeee!  Another man done gone.

T-minus 8

Although horror pop-punk band the Groovie Ghoulies broke up in 2007, chief ghoul Kepi Ghoulie is still around and keeping his signature brand of undead bubble-gum punk alive and well.  Since 2008, Kepi has released several albums and EPs and also makes adorable monster-themed art, as you can see here.
 

Today's song, "Sleepy Hollow," is a romantic little number about the difficulty of maintaining a relationship in Headless Horseman territory, and comes from Kepi's 2008 album Hanging Out.  He is currently on tour in support of his 2011 album I Bleed Rock 'n Roll, and although he is a great act to see at any time, his Halloween shows are sure to be something special!  Make sure to check him out if he comes to a town near you!

T-minus 9

Okay, so I know it seemed like yesterday's song would be the last one about Satan, but surprise!  He's back today for one more.  This is really, seriously, no-foolin' the last one, as it says right in the title: "Last Song About Satan."  It's performed by country gothic group Slim Cessna's Auto Club, which formed in the early 90s in Denver, Colorado.

Although their fire and brimstone tends to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, their devotion to various traditional country music styles is true and their energy is whiskey-charged.  "Last Song About Satan" comes from their 2000 album Always Say Please and Thank You. Despite the song's irreverent title, it actually presents a pretty solid argument against the Demon in Chief.  So this is my last song about Satan (for this year).

T-minus 10

Although we've been having some fun at Satan's expense the last couple days, I thought we might all need a little churching this Sunday to counteract any bad juju we may have conjured during our Say You Love Satan theme weekend.  Here to remind us that Satan is real (and that he ain't to be messed with) are The Louvin Brothers, with the title song from their classic gospel album Satan is Real.

Don't be fooled by the campy cover of this album (or the provocative title); Satan is Real is a masterpiece that can be enjoyed by people of any or no faith.  The album has been reissued several times since it first debuted in 1959 and songs from it have been covered by artists such as Johnny Cash, Gram Parsons, and Emmylou Harris.  In addition, the Louvin Brothers helped popularize close harmony singing in country music and wrote many other songs, both gospel and secular, that are now considered standards, such as "Cash on the Barrelhead" and "If I Could Only Win Your Love."

Here they are at their most plaintive and pious, though, to remind us of all of the danger of our folly.  Take a hint, you sinners!

20: A Score!

Since this is Saturday and we all need a vacation once in a while, today Satan is taking a holiday!  This song was written in 1937 by bandleader Larry Clinton and has been recorded by many big band jazz greats, such as Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Tommy Dorsey.  For the purposes of this weekend's devilish theme, however, and to keep things especially evil, the version we're featuring today was performed by Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey.

Before inventing a religion (and arguably perfecting the art of con), LaVey learned to play the organ and worked as a roustabout at carnivals and circuses.  An album of his music was released in 1995, which takes its name from today's song: Satan Takes a Holiday.  Many of the songs on it are well-known and considered standards, and were even performed by LaVey during his days of playing the organ professionaly in various venues of ill-repute. 

His singular style is quite different from how the songs are often played, though, and today's creates a much more mischievous/sinister vibe than most big band versions.  Can't you imagine Satan jaunting through the evening countryside in Grandpa Munster's Drag-U-La hot rod with this song on the hi-fi?

Nineteen (84)

Another Friday has rolled around, so that means it's time to roll out another theme weekend!  Are you ready to flash those devil horns and sell your soul for rock 'n roll?  This weekend is all about celebrating the original Man in Black (or red, I guess), the Santa Claus of Halloween, ol' Scratch himself!

To kick it off, today's song is by self-proclaimed "Greatest Rock Band in the World," The Supersuckers!  This group has been around since the late 80s and lives in Seattle, but their sound is pretty far from the angsty grunge associated with that town during that time period.  They fall much more on the mindless fun side of rock 'n roll and also have a sizable country influence, even recording an entire country album called Must've Been High and collaborating with Willie Nelson and Steve Earle.

"Born with a Tail" is from their 1995 album The Sacrilicious Sounds of the Supersuckers and shows off their hard-rocking, good-timing metal side, with all the  devil-loving swagger that entails (pun always intended).  Oh yeah, you know I'm in league with Satan!

18: Barely Legal

Is today's song actually a song?  Is it a story?  A prose poem?  With Tom Waits it's hard to say, but one thing's for sure, this track is creepy.  It comes from his 1999 album Mule Variations and is stamped with Waits' signature whiskey-soaked gravel voice and atmospheric recording touches that conjure up an eerie seediness like none other. 

Waits is known for depicting grotesque places and people in his work and this song is no exception.  I mean, what exactly is that guy building in there?  We have a right to know!

NC-17

Don't you hate it when people say they love Satan, but they don't really mean it?  Da Grimston & Mist-E have those poseurs' numbers in today's featured song, "Pentagram Sam." 

I have to confess that I don't know a lot about this group (other than they are hilarious), and can't seem to find much about them on the interwebs, but I do know that they are associated with a genre of house music called Witch House, which also includes groups like Salem and oOoOO.  Here's hoping they keep writing songs about the sorry state of devil worship these days.  In the meantime, however, enjoy this song as an appetizer for this weekend's upcoming theme: Say You Love Satan!

*Note: As I said, this group is hilarious, so I highly recommend you open the clip in YouTube, where you can read the lyrics along with the song.