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October 15, 2018 · 7:25 am

Gimme some Horror Reggae!

It has recently come to my attention that there is a sub-genre of music called Horror Reggae. I don’t get a lot of Reggae in my diet, but the dollop of horror makes it quite delicious.

reggae vampire

Here is a handpicked list of Reggae, Dub, and Calypso horror songs for your Hallowe’en party. Caribbean scares come mostly in the form of Obeah (voodoo, witch doctors), Duppy (spirits) and jumbies (zombies, evil creatures). If you want to get political, however, you sing about vampires. Lots of vampires.

Gimme some Horror Reggae!

1) Dracula Prince of Darkness by King Horror.

King Horror seems less interested in metaphors for societal ills and political corruption and more interested in screaming about monsters.

2) Witch Doctor by Mighty Sparrow

3) Mr. Brown by Bob Marley & the Wailers

Mr. Brown is a clown who rides to town in a coffin.

4) Ketch Vampire by Lee Perry

Jah Jah sent us here to catch vampire
We have the chalice to light up Jah fire
When I-and-I a-go catch them vampire
I-and-I a go set them on fire

5) Obeah Man by Lone Ranger

6) Dracula by Desmond Dekker
Don’t trust a big butt and a smile

7)Duppy Conqueror by Bob Marley and the Wailers

8) Vampire by Lee Perry and the Upsetters

9) Frankenstein by King Horror

Only Frankenstein can bust up these vampires in the list

10) Vampire by Peter Tosh

11) Obeah Wedding by Mighty Sparrow
A diss track against a girl so ugly she needs necromancy. Damn.

12) Chase Vampire by Sancho

13) Zombie Jamboree by King Flash and Calypso Carnival

 

For my other Halloween playlists, click here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

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October 20, 2016 · 11:40 pm

Season of the Witch: 13 Songs for Halloween

The Season of the Witch is upon us, and once again I have conjured songs for your Halloween party. The theme for this year is Witches. There are too many great weird songs to choose from, so I used arcane magicks to pick my lucky 13.

witchdance

Turn on any classic rock station and you’re bound to hear Love Potion No.9, I Put a Spell on You, Black Magic Woman, Witchy Woman or a ditty by Fleetwood Mac. This list is not meant to be comprehensive. I’m scooping down deeper into the cauldron and tossing back any tune you can’t dance to.

Come, have a sip of strange brew and listen for a spell.

Season of the Witch by Donovan (This isn’t No. 1, it’s the introduction)

Devil Woman by Cliff Richard (The 60s and 70s- the golden age of witch songs)

Swamp Witch by Jim Stafford (I love these southern fried stories full of creepy bayou atmosphere. “Snakes hang thick from the Cyprus trees, like sausage on a smokehouse wall.”)

marie-laveau-painting

Marie Laveau by Bobby Bare (This is a novelty song, but it harkens back to the time when everyone knew about the Witch Queen of New Orleans.)

Marie Laveau by Dr. John (This song does the Witch Queen more reverence.)

Voodoo by The Neville Brothers (Voodoo songs are often songs about love)

Voodoo Woman by Curtis Knight (or love lost)

Voodoo Woman by Koko Taylor (The next chapter in Curtis’ story?)

One Eyed Witch by The 7th Court (The manic energy of the electric organ just sounds like Halloween)

Abracadabra by Steve Miller Band (The cheesy fx of this music video had me spellbound as a kid.)

She’s My Witch by Kip Tyler (Let’s down tune for some Rockabilly and a few rippin’ guitar songs)

Brujo by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (Screamin’ Jay is Halloween royalty, and he’s representing the Man-witches)

Wicked Old Witch by John Fogerty

19 Witches by Monster Magnet

 

The Witch by The Cult

Witchfinder General by Carl Douglas (It’s not all love songs. Pimps up, Witches down.)

The Salem Witch Trial by Kiriae Crucible (Dark days in Salem. But on the bright side: electric organ!)

It’s only right to give the last word on witches to the ladies who have been so persecuted and maligned. And who better than Yoko?)

Yes, I’m a Witch by Yoko Ono (the 1974 original is smoother, but this version brings the madness home)

Bonus: I Want to be Evil by Eartha Kitt

For five more curated lists, check out my other Halloween mixes here, here, here, here and here.

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October 26, 2015 · 8:11 am

Bloody Good Tunes – Music from Horror Movies

Here’s another 13 songs for your Halloween party. The theme for this year’s mix is Horror Movies, featuring songs from scary movies or about movie monsters. While there are many throat-shredding, head-banging heavy metal bands that write nothing but monster odes, this list will even appeal to mullet-challenged individuals.

If you think a song is missing from this list, you may find it included on a previous list here, here, here and here.

Freddy 1

Batman, Wolfman, Frankenstein or Dracula – The Diamonds

There are many songs about B-Movies from the 50s and 60s, but I like this one because it’s about a girl who can only be amorous when watching monster movies.

Beware of the Blob! – The Five Blobs

I don’t know what else Burt Bacharach and his band The Five Blobs sang about, but this is the definitive song about blobs.

Human Fly – The Cramps

Bzzzz bzzzz bzzzzzz!

The Creature From the Black Lagoon – Dave Edmunds

I like how simply the love story is laid bare in this catchy tune.

The Howling – Babel

This entire song is performed live several times in The Howling 2: Your Sister is a Werewolf.

Big Bad Wolf – Bunny and the Wolf Sisters

This is the song from the prom at Teen Wolf to which the Teen Wolf dance is choreographed. Dear God I love this movie.

Pet Cemetery – the Ramones

Sometimes Ramones is bettah. For bonus horror movie music, checkout  ‘Chainsaw’ about a certain massacreeee.

Drinkenstein – Dolly Parton & Sylvester Stallone

Not from a horror movie, not a classic monster, not stopping me from putting it on the list. The album has a bigger sound, but the outfit from the movie is not to be missed:

I Still Believe – Tim Cappello

This song was performed live in Lost Boys, and the saxophone player really brings the heat.

He’s Back (the Man Behind the Mask) – Alice Cooper

This movie is written about Jason Voorhees for Friday the 13th part 6. Not only does the music video have Cooper in a hockey mask running around a theater showing the movie, Jason himself makes a cameo.

Dream Warriors – Dokken

Not to be outdone, Dokken made a music video for Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3 where they rock out so hard they give Freddy Krueger a nightmare.

Do the Freddy – The Elm Street Group with Freddy Krueger

Freddy-record1

Did somebody say FREDDY? Two rap songs weren’t enough, so Freddy cut an album with The Elm Street Group that will definitely give you nightmares. Other highlights include ‘Dance or Else’ and ‘Down in the Boiler Room’.

Feel free to suggest more songs in the comments. I hope you enjoy the music and have a Happy Halloween!

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October 8, 2011 · 10:04 pm

Beyond the Monster Mash

The Monster Mash is awesome, nobody is disputing that, but it is not the only ‘Halloween Carol’.  This may come as a surprise to anyone who has ever tried to assemble a playlist for a halloween party.

If you are in a rush and only want to choose one album to set the mood I would recommend Halloween Hootenanny, Rob Zombie’s spooktacular record of original songs by the Ghastly Ones, Los Straitjackets, The Bomboras, Rocket From The Crypt, Zacherle, etc.  If you picked up an album from any of these contributing artists you are well on your way.

But if you want a hand picked list of rare gems I present the following list of terrifyin’ tunes from the crypts of Hip Hop, Trip Hop, Doo Wop, Disco, Cajun and…Thai Funk???

– Wolfman Jack by Binary Star.  Awesome story about a werewolf in the ‘hood, and the best you’re gonna find unless The Werewolf of Watts ever gets greenlit.

– Witch Queen of New Orleans by Red Bone.  This cajun rock song is about Marie Laveau, the voodoo queen of N’awlins.

– Are you ready for Freddy? by The Fat Boys.  I’m going to assume you already own ‘Nightmare on my street’ by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince.  If not consider this a two-for-one, because Are You Ready for Freddy? teams Freddy Krueger with the Fat Boys.  Unlike the Fresh Prince video that was filmed but never released, the Fat Boys video is on youtube!

-Dr. Frankenstein by Ice Cube.  People probably know this song but may forget to add it to their halloween mix.  What better way to get the party bumpin’?

– Fatal by RZA.  As long as we’re getting hardcore here’s the Wu Tang Clan’s RZA with the best (only?) thing to come out of Blade Trinity.

– Monster Crack by Kool Moe Dee.  Why not go old school with a rap about the crack monster?

– The Horror by RJD2.  From Hip Hop to Trip Hop, this is a groove I listen to year round.

– Do The Zombie by The Symbols.  Here’s a pre-Romero zombie Doo Wop song that’s great fun.

– Monster Beach by The Surf Trio.  This is the ultimate distillation of the ‘surf guitar’ vibe present in so many Halloween songs.  Possibly the greatest song ever.

To end this list here’s a 3-peat of Disco Dracula:

– Soul Dracula by Hot Blood.  The video alone is mind blowing.

– Soul Dracula by Messer Chups.  Now with added Surf guitar!

– Soul Dracula by Thai Beat A Go-Go.  In this version the melody is sung with lyrics in Thai!

There are thousands of wonderfully weird Halloween – worthy songs out there, and hopefully these will lead you down some interesting haunted trails.  Happy Halloween!

Get the rest of the Halloween Mixes here

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