Halloween - traditionally the Celtic festival of Samhain. It marked the time between summer and winter where the boundary between this world and the world of the dead became a wee bit fuzzy and the dead could mosey on over here for a gawk to see what was going down. If such a thing could happen, the dead wouldn't have a flipping clue what was going on... obviously they don't get Keeping up with the Kardashians in the underworld. Awful reception.
Halloween these days is more about taking any sort of a job or person and making it sexy. It's Sexoween. Nurse? Make it sexy. Lumberjack? Sex the crap out of it. Grumpy Cat? You make that a goddamn sexy grumpy cat right now or you're not invited to my party.
When all of these sexy things come through the door, you have to have something for them to sexy dance to, right. Well i'm here to help. Actually, Spotify is.
I know my job is to work on the radio and everything but coming up with a themed playlist, god, THE PRESSURE! So, the lovely people at Spotify went through 21,000 Halloween playlists to come up with the ultimate soundtrack that has someone sort of a flimsy tie to All Hallows Eve.
Michael Jackson – Thriller - 'Cause, obviously. Make sure it's the single version, otherwise you'll have a lot of people swaying awkwardly when the talky bit kicks in.
Ray Parker, Jr. – Ghostbusters - from "Ghostbusters" - It has Ghost in the title. Winner.
Bobby "Boris" Pickett – Monster Mash -Cheesy as f**k and you get to put on a funny voice during the 'Mooooonster Mash' bit.
Richard O'Brien – Time Warp - this song may only be forth on the list but it should be first. The instructions to the Time Warp dance are IN the song. Drunk people proof.
Blue Oyster Cult – (Don't Fear) The Reaper - fierce upbeat song about a guy who walks around with a scythe.
The Cranberries – Zombie - if you plan on playing this at your party, notice should be given to neighbours as everyone is going to absolutely lose it and screech their heads of at the 'in your hhhhEEEAAAAAddd, in your hEAEAEAEAEAEAd. Zooom-bie, zooom-bie' bit.
Warren Zevon – Werewolves Of London - Warren howls and he orders a chow mein. What a tune.
The Specials – Ghost Town - after the Cranberries and the howling from Warren, you need The Specials to chill everyone out.
Ken Page – Oogie Boogie's Song - If you haven't seen 'The Nightmare Before Christmas', this song will mean nothing to you. Step one: rectify that immediately because it is a brilliant movie. Step two: Play song at party.
The Rolling Stones – Sympathy For The Devil - What's to say. The devil is telling you his story through song. It's brilliant.
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bad Moon Rising - This is an incredibly upbeat song. It sounds like a road trip song... a road trip to the apocalypse.
Talking Heads – Psycho Killer - Ok, he's a psycho killer. But if I'm going to be viciously murdered, let it by someone speaking French.
Rob Zombie – Dragula - Look at the name. I don't think I have to explain. It's heavy metal, man.
Rob Zombie – Living Dead Girl - See above. Also this song would fit well in Charmed/ Buffy/ The Matrix. Much more accessible than Dragula. Zombie's are obviously way more chill than vampires.
Skrillex – Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites - After all the heavy metal, you need get people dancing and this will do it. Amazing bass beats that will have people dancing really badly but in a brilliant way. This is the dance to film for posterity.
Lady Gaga – Monster - This isn't straight up about a monster. It's a metaphor, daaaarling but feck it, it's called Monster so it qualifies.
Alice Cooper – Feed My Frankenstein - Heavy eye make up - check. Literary monster - check. Wayne's World cameo - check.
Marilyn Manson – Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) - The Eurythmics original version was class but this is a Halloween playlist. Marilyn Manson is the personification of halloween and, to paraphrase Tina Fey, the star of all of my sexual nightmares.
Jace Everett – Bad Things - You might not recognise the artist or song name. If I said True Blood theme music, would you know what I was talking about? That's this song. I love it. It's country. It's creey and reminds you of Alexander Skarsgard being naked. I don't care if you're a man or a woman; straight or gay, that's just a beautiful thing.
Happy Halloween.
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