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