Edited to replace an accidentally-included live version of Zombie with a studio version in the Grooveshark widget.

Also edited to post a complete version of Thriller, as the one up before cuts off near the end, thereby saving everybody the horror of hearing Vincent Price cackle. And who wants that?

Before we get to this week’s playlist, which is occasionally directly related to, but mostly tangentially (at best) related to Halloween, a couple of music news notes:

• of Montreal is performing a show tomorrow during which they’ll be playing all (ALL) of Hissing Fauna. The show will be in Georgia. This angers me, as I’ve only seen them after they’ve released Skeletal Lamping, then False Priest, which meant the shows had a good amount of shit mixed into the setlist. I would pay upwards of $40, and no more than $50, to see this show, and I’m very jealous of everybody who gets to dance to a live performance of, hmm… eh, let’s go with it: one of the best albums of the last decade.
• Speaking of shows tomorrow, the only one I’d actually prefer to the Hissing Fauna extravaganza is going to be performed by Jeff “He’s Not Real” Mangum at the Town Hall in New York City. Everybody there’s going to sing along, some people might weep, and I’m pretty sure a person or two will have their eyes roll to the back of their head as they convulse, unable to process what they are witnessing. If you didn’t get tickets to this show, as I didn’t, don’t worry. Jeff, likely, isn’t a real person, so everybody who’s going is getting gypped. If not, would anybody like to join me in occupying Town Hall tomorrow? WE ARE THE 99%.

I originally had a “normal” list for this week, but I didn’t want to post it just yet, and I have another themed list that I’m working on that I’m not quite comfortable with yet, so I decided, “hey, let’s go with a Halloween theme!” Of course, I had a harder time coming up with actual festive, Halloween-y songs than I thought I would, so I cheated. A lot. These songs make references to monsters and ghouls and Hell, and a couple only do so in the title, but hey. There were a couple of songs I ended up leaving on the cutting room floor for various reasons, like Amityville by Eminem and Bizarre, due to lyrics that I find pretty vile. I, still, will try my damndest to justify each song as it pertains to the theme by asking myself why they were included, possibly (probably?) with some bullshit sprinkled into the answers.

SPOTIFY. GROOVESHARK:

We Are Scientists - Ghouls

So, what’s so frightening about it anyway?

I’m going to deflect the question by saying how great I think this song is. It starts off an album, playlist, or in one case that I experienced, concerts in about the best way possible, with its atmospheric slow build. I heard this song live all of one time (consider that I’ve seen them in concert maybe 6 times), to open a show when they were supporting Brain Thrust Mastery, and I’ve always wished they’d do it again. But alas.

Bad Meets Evil - Welcome 2 Hell

So, what’s so frightening about it anyway?

The speed with which Eminem and Royce Da 5’9” attack the listener with rhymes of “hot fire,” to borrow a phrase spoken by the 5 greatest rappers of all time: Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, and Dylan. Eminem began his resurgence with Recovery, an album on which he ditched the toilet humor and silly accents, and completed it with this deadly-sharp and quick album with someone who matches him in every way possible on the mic. When the song is over, I feel like I need to take a deep breath.

Lady Gaga - Monster

So, what’s so frightening about it anyway?

Hm. I’m frightened by the fact that I don’t altogether hate this song.

Spoon - The Ghost of You Lingers

So, what’s so frightening about it anyway? This is another total stretch of an inclusion, isn’t it?

What, no! It’s… a haunting song that’s stripped down to nothing but vocals and piano. I mean, it fits, right? Sure!

The Flaming Lips featuring Karen O - I Can Be a Frog

So, what’s so frightening about it anyway?

This is my “pet song” of the week, right here. It’s a quiet, subtle song featuring Karen O providing the animal sound effects in the background, while Wayne Coyne describes the different animals he can be. She roars, yaps, and, for my favorite part of the song, howls. It’s cool to realize, as Karen and Wayne do chuckle a couple of times, that it sounds like this song was a lot of fun to record. I wonder how spontaneous Karen’s sound effects were.

The Cranberries - Zombie

Oh, come on. This is another total stretch isn’t it?

Yup. But YOU come on. This song’s great.

Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, Jay-Z, and Bon Iver - Monster

So, what’s so frightening about it anyway?

2 words: Nicki Minaj. I learned just this week, while listening to the excellent Slate Culture Gabfest, that Nicki came in to record a verse that was actually rejected by Kanye. He apparently told her that she hadn’t “brought it” enough. Determined, Nicki went ahead and redid it, and the result very likely launched her career. Her verse is incredible, and I never get over how impressed I was to hear her switch from voice to voice, from cutesy to fierce, in the same breath.

Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood

So, what’s so frightening about it anyway?

I always thought the way Damon sang the chorus to this song was at least slightly creepy. Plus, the music video kept showing me the following image. Though I like the song a ton, I always found the video creepy.

Michael Jackson - Thriller

So, what’s so frightening about it anyway?

That’s easy. Vincent Price’s fucking laughter at the end, and the image that I’m pretty sure I still occasionally have nightmares featuring some version of:

He’s not human but is instead some kind of cat-human creature or something GET IT AWAY.

Bobby “Boris” Pickett - Monster Mash

So, what’s… why even ask, really?

Seriously. You can’t have one of these lists without featuring Monster Mash. I’m pretty failing to do so breaks some kind of law.

Enjoy your Halloween!

Next week: Mostly a normal list, with a couple of excellent collaborations mixed in.

Coming soon: We’re headed back to the 90s!