Halloween is one of the coolest holidays. It gives you the chance to eat lots of candy and become someone else for one night, because you have to admit that we all fantasize about becoming someone else for a moment. It’s part of the human condition.
But before I get more psychological here, I’ll introduce a Halloween mix tape especially prepared for this celebration. So grab a bunch of candy and listen to my mix tape, if you dare. Buahahahaaa!
Dexter Main Title, Rolfe Kent (2006)
TV series Dexter is basically an homage to Halloween: terrifying crime scenes and a serial killer who disguises himself everyday as a normal person in order to function within society and cover-up his murders. The theme song of the show may sound innocent and even simple, but it has a spookiness going on at the same time: just like our beloved anti-hero Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall).
Danse macabre, Op, 40; Camille Saint-Saëns (1874)
A beautifully creepy piece, Danse macabre is about Death. Every Halloween night, Death shows up playing his violin and calls the dead so they can dance alongside their tombs. All the corpses dance until dawn and return to their graves until the next Halloween. Personally, this makes me a bit sad, since it’s a way for the dead to get one more chance to “live” again and have some fun.
No es serio este cementerio, Mecano (1986)
“Y los muertos aquí la pasamos muy bien entre flores de colores…”
This song could be considered a sequel to Danse macabre: it’s about what happens once you’re dead and resting in a cemetery, and the opportunity to hang out a little in the afterlife. The lyrics are clever and funny, yet it has ghostly music and vocals that give ambience to the song.
Why so serious?, Hans Zimmer (2008)
Razor blades on string instruments = creepiness = pure genius. This piece served as a musical theme for The Joker in 2008’s The Dark Knight. It has a very haunting sound that describes perfectly the Clown Prince of Crime. It’s the kind of sound that gets under your skin and stays with you.
Imágenes retro, Soda Stereo (1985)
“Sueño con telarañas que cuelgan de mí…”
A song about a sleepwalker who dreams with spider webs that hang from him. This, along with the fact that the sleepwalker feels like he’s on a wax museum, evokes images of an old scary film (imágenes retro = retro images). Halloween at its best.
Witch Hunt, Rush (1981)
“The night is black, without a moon. The air is thick and still. The vigilantes gather on The lonely torchlit hill.”
Just the concept of the song itself (manipulators who control ignorant masses) is scary enough. The lyrics have a Halloweeenesque feel from beginning to end.
Los fantasmas, Menudo (1977)
“De pronto un esqueleto muy delgadito
Se puso a bailar salsa muy despacito.”
An innocent, cute look on ghosts.
Corazón delator, Soda Stereo (1988)
“Oh mi corazon se vuelve delator
traicionándome”
This song is not about monsters, werewolves, or ghosts. It’s about love, which can be even scarier than anything else. The song was inspired on Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tale “The Tell-Tale Heart” (Corazón delator is the Spanish translation of the title), in which a man murders and dismembers another one, and buries him under the floorboards of his house, causing the murderer to think that the victim’s heart is still beating. In this song, the musical voice is talking about how his heart gives away the fact that he’s in love with a woman, which happens when they see each other.
Monster, Kanye West featuring Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj and Bon Iver (2010)
“Everybody know I’m a motherfucking monster!”
Kanye and his pals tell us all about being a monster. The gore images of the video translate the gore sounds of the song, including Nicki Minaj’s mad lyrics.
Thriller, Michael Jackson (1983)
“The foulest stench is in the air The funk of forty thousand years And grizzly ghouls from every tomb Are closing in to seal your doom”
Every year in Halloween I have a tradition: watching MJ’s Thriller. No Halloween mix tape is complete without this song. If you ask me, this is the epitome of all Halloween songs. Vincent Price’s voiceover is truly classic, and it’s one of the essential components of the epicness of this song. Now if you excuse me, I have to go practice the choreography.
Happy Purple Halloween!
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