Songs to Get Into the Halloween Mood

Music Wed, and I am suspending the "greatest band" series with a Halloween tribute. I am not sure that at this season of my life I am a real lover of Halloween. Sure, as a kid I lived for getting that large pillow case filled to the top with candy (even if I never ate even a fraction of it, it was the thrill of the "haul" that counted). And when my children were young, and dressing up was such a big deal, I loved walking the streets to trick or treat with them and holding their hands as we visited one of those special streets where everyone lives for Halloween and the whole street is transformed into a "spook alley". We were lucky enough to live next to (but thankfully not on!) the aptly named Raven Ave which was our special spooky street. Now I am a bit of a Halloween Scrooge of sorts - the whole thing feels a bit like a hassle. Bah humbug - I am going to use music to get me in the spirit of the season, and let's start with a truly creepy, slinky, atmospheric song by Concrete Blonde, "The Vampire Song" http://youtu.be/NFc2Qs49VkA. I love the opening riffs that set the mood, and when Johnette starts to sing over a spare bass groove, the song really kicks into gear. Pay particular attention to when this notoriously spartan band gets rolling and even adds a bit of production tricks (e.g., notice the groovy organ playing softly over the third verse) to create a totally cool song that captures the true Lestat-vibe that others tried to find, but sadly came up short, sounding either campy or just lame. Now, let's get really heavy with two classic examples of the so-called "devil's music" with Metallica ("Enter Sandman" http://youtu.be/_W7wqQwa-TU) and the original line-up of Black Sabbath ("Black Sabbath"  http://youtu.be/cyVWpqCLYgY). This is some heavy s*#t. I love Metallica, and even though Mo Rivera's retirement threatened to make this great song a cliche, there is no denying it is a metal classic with monster-under-the-bed scary lyrics. And as for Sabbath, this song makes u really wonder if Ozzy, Tony and Geezer (yes, I am intentionally leaving out the drummer since he refuses to join the others in their reunion efforts in a bid to extort money, and all he proved is that he was the only dispensable member of the band) had a Crossroads-type moment when they were promised heavy metal immortality if they sold their souls to Satan and played his music forevermore. This song is that foreboding. The final picks fall into the "what the heck"/"just for fun" basket. First, while u r putting on ur costume, listen to all 11 mins and 31 secs of Elton John's "Funeral for a Friend" http://youtu.be/z314pQhLb2Q (I can assure u that u will be ready to have a good time at the end of this hard rocking tribute to the death of a friend and a love affair), then put on The Doors' "Riders on the Storm" http://youtu.be/EJ9oHLqO0Vc to get into the mood as u drive to ur holiday party (this song, when played loudly in a car driving on a dark, rainy night will send a lil fun chill up ur spine), and finally, what Halloween party would be complete without playing Oingo Boingo, "Dead Man's Party" http://youtu.be/mdBiKCoT7d8. For all the Boingo haters, all I can say is that this pop, lightweight confection is a seriously fun song that has brightened up many a Halloween party (not to mention a huge number of late '80s/early 90's teen movies, starting with the great Weird Science!). Get ur ghoul on, and as always, Enjoy!