Halloween’s one of those holidays that has a little something for everyone: scary monster movies for the fear fans, costumes and candy for kids at heart, harvest festivals and Jack-o-Lanterns for those more about the seasonal spirit, and more. It’s also a great time for playlists, so we’re diving in and bobbing for tunes.
There are so many ways to go when putting together a Halloween playlist, ranging from dark to campy and everything in between. The main thing we’re looking to do with this playlist is to avoid the same old tunes everyone brings out. Nothing wrong with “The Monster Mash,” “Every Day is Halloween” or “Thriller,” but we all know those already.
We begin with a horror movie soundtrack classic, “Rosemary’s Baby,” done by Fantomas, the Mike Patton supergroup featuring members of The Melvins and Slayer. It’s horrifically creepy and sets the mood as we dive into what I think is the best genre and band for Halloween music: The Cramps. You could almost pick any Cramps song at random for this holiday.
After a couple more psycho-billy tunes, about zombies, Michael Myers and Dracula, we get to Things to Come with “Speak of the Devil,” which may as well be taking place at an actual black mass in some lost dark forest. The “Honky Tonk Horror” that follows maybe takes place in an abandoned cabin nearby, right after you ran from Satan into something even worse.
But it’s not all heavy as we get a fun little stomp in J.D. McPherson‘s “Wolf Teeth,” because werewolves are ultimately just party animals. the bird and the bee‘s plaintively seductive “Witch” is glamorous and chill. It’s a good time to show off your fancy, flamboyant costumes.
Then, we groove to a new kind of undead sound with Childish Gambino‘s “Zombie,” which is the socially conscious “Thriller” of this playlist. It’s a good time to drop the bass with Phantogram‘s “Howling at the Moon,” and really jam. And if we’re dancing, well, you have to at some point bring the Latin flavor. So along comes “La Vampirita” which has the power to summon moves from both the living and dead.
We wrap up this phase of the Saint Audio Halloween 2017 playlist with “Werewolf Heart” by Dead Man’s Bones, featuring Ryan Gosling and The Silverlake Conservatory Children’s Choir. The whole album is fantastic, but I digress. – Gerry Lopez
Check back for next week’s spooky selections from our team.
Looking for more haunting playlists? Listen to our Halloween Saint Audio Selects from 2015, and two from 2016.
Image not owned by Saint Audio.
Saint Audio 