Last time I wrote this column we were just getting used to the fact that “back to school” and “vacation’s over” were the new reality again; summer had flown by in an instant. This year I think we almost (kinda sorta) had the rug pulled out from under our feet too, it felt like August was written off as soon as we got that black, hazy gift from the annual B.C. forest fire party. After that smoky, smothering, sooty, super smoke settled in, it signaled a Twilight Zone surrealism to the latter half of the season.
Thankfully, time flies; that’s definitely something I wouldn’t normally utter, but September was absolutely brutal and it looks like we’re back into some decent weather for at least a little while now. That’s a great thing for the onset of the sights and sounds of one of the most ridiculous celebrations of the year, Halloween!
Not only do we get to dress up, maybe drink a little more than normal and act completely foolish with no fear of backlash, but there’s also the parties, the candy, the tummy ache, and somewhere on the long list of Halloween essentials is … the music. Right?
No self-respecting party host should even consider throwing a monster bash without tweaking the party playlist, and adding some required Halloween classics, along with some not-so-classics. And whether you’re throwing a shocking shindig, or just handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters, there’s no shortage of tunes that can easily enhance your world’s greatest ghosts & goblins celebration. From Ozzy Osbourne to Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie to Marilyn Manson and everything in between, spicing up your music selection with just a few seasonal tunes can easily enhance your guests’ visit. So, let’s toss a few ideas your way to get you started.
We’ll kick it off with a couple of easy choices from Ozzy. Almost any song from the self-proclaimed “Prince of Darkness” (or his legendary band, Black Sabbath) would work, but the obvious selections are “Bark At The Moon,” “Diary Of A Madman,” “Children of the Grave,” and “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.”
Alice Cooper offers up “I Love The Dead” and “Welcome To My Nightmare.”
From Rob Zombie it’s hard to go wrong with his library, the comic-book rocker/horror-movie director has some timeless Halloween classics like “Living Dead Girl,” “Dragula,” and his wicked spooky groovy cover of the KC & The Sunshine band banger, “I’m Your Boogie Man.” Zombie is big into the whole dance remix thing too. Check out his remix album, “Mondo Sex Head” with alternate versions of “Superbeast” and “The Lords Of Salem.” As for Manson, much like Ozzy and Zombie, almost any of his tracks work, but “This Is Halloween” from the soundtrack to “The Nightmare Before Christmas” does the trick, along with “Long Hard Road Out Of Hell,” and “You And Me And The Devil Makes Three.”
There’s also “Hells Bells” from AC/DC, “Black Magic Woman” by Santana, the recently much-covered “Zombie” from The Cranberries, Van Halen’s “Runnin’ With The Devil,” “Bad Moon Rising” from CCR, “Sympathy For The Devil” by the Rolling Stones, “A Nightmare On My Street” from DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, Tom Petty’s “Zombie Zoo,” “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr., and perhaps the most well-known Halloween song ever… “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett.
In addition to all of the above Halloween-themed tracks, there are probably a hundred more I haven’t mentioned, so Happy Halloween! Share your playlist with me via email: ParkWardenVoice@gmail.com
Cheers, and keep rockin’
Park Warden is the Jack of all trades/utility player at 105.3 Rock. You’ll hear him weekends 10 a.m. -4 p.m., Wednesday-Friday evenings and filling in all over.
