MWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA
And so from this amateur poet comes another playlist, a list of some of the eeriest songs I know, older tunes and newer tracks, too. All here for you, before Halloween thankfully. Hope it doesn't frighten you... too much, mwaaahahahahaha.
[where's Vincent Price when you need him?]
Music: Eerie Halloweenie
Music: Eerie Halloweenie1. Jonny Greenwood - There Will Be Blood -- off the soundtrack to There Will Be Blood. The man was robbed of an Oscar nomination because of PTA's use of a track off a previous solo work of Greenwood's, and thus that year's best original score never received an award. This thing is haunting and taut, with a touch of humor to its suspense. Just what you want in your horror. Oh yes, there will be blood.
2. Dead Man's Bones - Dead Man's Bones -- off the reduntantly titled debut album, Dead Man's Bones. This album [from actor Ryan Gosling] is half full of immediately catchy tunes, with the other half merely needing a few listens to hit the same mark. It's perfectly timed for the season, it is dark and moody, but the best thing about this track [as well as most of the rest of it] is the fact that it is rumored to have been heavily influenced by Disney's Haunted Mansion experience, which is just amazing. You can hear it here, with the backing vocals, there's a little bit of campiness to it, a lighthearted look at the undead. It makes for a really charming and wonderful tone to the album. It must be all the dancing ghosts and hands popping out of graves.
3. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Red Right Hand -- off of Let Love In. The man is a genius. Screenwriter/Composer/Rock Icon, whatever you want to refer to him as, Nick Cave is pretty much the most badass person you'll find alive today. He always seemed a taboo to me growing up, like I shouldn't be allowed to listen to him. He looked kinda like a vampire, moved about strangely, sang about provocative subjects, and that voice. His voice is probably why I felt like I shouldn't be listening. It sounds dangerous. This track is pretty much the definition of Cave's danger for me. The album on the whole is one of his seminal works, and if you're interested after that, there's a massive catalog to sift through [also check out "Fifteen Feet Of Pure White Snow"]. Arctic Monkeys are currently covering this song live and have a recorded version of it on itunes, it's pretty good, but ain't nowhere near as scary as this one. Nick Cave scares me.
4. Jennifer Gentle - The Ferryman -- off of The Midnight Room. I once put this up for an old New Ears section. The album at first listen is a little strange, but I saw them perform it live perfectly and it put a whole new spin on it for me. They're an Italian band spearheaded by Marco Fassolo, and one of their main influences is Nino Rota, the Italian maestro behind Fellini's biggest hits [La Dolce Vita anyone? 8 1/2?] You can catch the sound a little bit here, it's whimsical, but at the same time very dark. It reminds me of the ending of Ingrid Bergman's The Seventh Seal when they're all doing the dance of death along the ridge. Great stuff when a song you're listening to in the 2000's reminds you of a Swedish avant garde film from the 50's.
5. Joy Division - Dead Souls -- off of The Best of Joy Division. This is just a pleasure, not quite eerie on the surface except for the title, but when you start to think of the saga of Ian Curtis the song takes on a different vibe. The dead souls that keep calling and eventually get through, ending in suicide. For the longest time I just couldn't get into Joy Division, didn't care for New Order, but about a year and a half ago I saw a doc on the start and end of the band at the AFI Dallas fest and all of a sudden a switch just flipped. I bought Unknown Pleasures the next morning on my drive back to Austin and a new fascination began. God I love music, and I love how different sections of your life change and allow old music to be heard again anew.
6. M83 - Car Chase Terror! -- off of Before The Dawn Heals Us. Probably the scariest song I've ever heard... which is perfect for Halloween. I first heard this about a week before the album was released, I was working for KTCU as a Senior at TCU. As the Modern Rock director for the station it was my duty to check out all the new music that was coming in, sift through all the shit and make playlists for the shifts. So one night I'm home alone, it's cold outside so i cuddle up in bed, put on the ear-muff-style headphones, throw this album on and [light up a joint]... Let's just go over the things not to do when listening to this song:
- Don't listen alone
- Don't listen at night
- Don't listen while under the influence of drugs
This song scared the living daylights out of me. I had to turn the album off as soon as it was over, sitting up in bed and saying outloud, "shit that was terrifying." Literally the scariest song I've ever heard. So enjoy!
2. Dead Man's Bones - Dead Man's Bones -- off the reduntantly titled debut album, Dead Man's Bones. This album [from actor Ryan Gosling] is half full of immediately catchy tunes, with the other half merely needing a few listens to hit the same mark. It's perfectly timed for the season, it is dark and moody, but the best thing about this track [as well as most of the rest of it] is the fact that it is rumored to have been heavily influenced by Disney's Haunted Mansion experience, which is just amazing. You can hear it here, with the backing vocals, there's a little bit of campiness to it, a lighthearted look at the undead. It makes for a really charming and wonderful tone to the album. It must be all the dancing ghosts and hands popping out of graves.
3. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Red Right Hand -- off of Let Love In. The man is a genius. Screenwriter/Composer/Rock Icon, whatever you want to refer to him as, Nick Cave is pretty much the most badass person you'll find alive today. He always seemed a taboo to me growing up, like I shouldn't be allowed to listen to him. He looked kinda like a vampire, moved about strangely, sang about provocative subjects, and that voice. His voice is probably why I felt like I shouldn't be listening. It sounds dangerous. This track is pretty much the definition of Cave's danger for me. The album on the whole is one of his seminal works, and if you're interested after that, there's a massive catalog to sift through [also check out "Fifteen Feet Of Pure White Snow"]. Arctic Monkeys are currently covering this song live and have a recorded version of it on itunes, it's pretty good, but ain't nowhere near as scary as this one. Nick Cave scares me.
4. Jennifer Gentle - The Ferryman -- off of The Midnight Room. I once put this up for an old New Ears section. The album at first listen is a little strange, but I saw them perform it live perfectly and it put a whole new spin on it for me. They're an Italian band spearheaded by Marco Fassolo, and one of their main influences is Nino Rota, the Italian maestro behind Fellini's biggest hits [La Dolce Vita anyone? 8 1/2?] You can catch the sound a little bit here, it's whimsical, but at the same time very dark. It reminds me of the ending of Ingrid Bergman's The Seventh Seal when they're all doing the dance of death along the ridge. Great stuff when a song you're listening to in the 2000's reminds you of a Swedish avant garde film from the 50's.
5. Joy Division - Dead Souls -- off of The Best of Joy Division. This is just a pleasure, not quite eerie on the surface except for the title, but when you start to think of the saga of Ian Curtis the song takes on a different vibe. The dead souls that keep calling and eventually get through, ending in suicide. For the longest time I just couldn't get into Joy Division, didn't care for New Order, but about a year and a half ago I saw a doc on the start and end of the band at the AFI Dallas fest and all of a sudden a switch just flipped. I bought Unknown Pleasures the next morning on my drive back to Austin and a new fascination began. God I love music, and I love how different sections of your life change and allow old music to be heard again anew.
6. M83 - Car Chase Terror! -- off of Before The Dawn Heals Us. Probably the scariest song I've ever heard... which is perfect for Halloween. I first heard this about a week before the album was released, I was working for KTCU as a Senior at TCU. As the Modern Rock director for the station it was my duty to check out all the new music that was coming in, sift through all the shit and make playlists for the shifts. So one night I'm home alone, it's cold outside so i cuddle up in bed, put on the ear-muff-style headphones, throw this album on and [light up a joint]... Let's just go over the things not to do when listening to this song:
- Don't listen alone
- Don't listen at night
- Don't listen while under the influence of drugs
This song scared the living daylights out of me. I had to turn the album off as soon as it was over, sitting up in bed and saying outloud, "shit that was terrifying." Literally the scariest song I've ever heard. So enjoy!
Happy Halloween!
