It’s officially Hallo-WEEK, and we’re here to help you get your spooky on. Nothing says Halloween like a super dope playlist. Whether you’re going to a party, hosting a party, or just looking for some fun tunes to sing along to in the shower, you need a great Halloween playlist.
When building a playlist, you really need to consider the ebb and flow of the situation. There are, of course, some Halloween classics that MUST be included. You can never go wrong with anything from the Rocky Horror Picture Show Soundtrack. If your party is edging toward Ann Perkins style boring, The Time Warp will turn it around. Anytime you can introduce the chance that more than three people will burst into synchronized dancing, you should do it. Why not? It’s weird in a good way, and you’ll maybe feel like you’re in that movie Enchanted. Give it a shot.
Rather than bore you with the classics, I’ve decided to focus on three absolute bops that are not Thriller. A word about Thriller. It’s a dope song. It really is. I mean, come on, there’s a Vincent Price monologue. But then there’s the whole Michael Jackson of it all. If you are one of those people who can separate the artist from the art the create, I applaud you. I’m just not there yet. It pains me, but I can no longer enjoy Harry Potter, and, with or without my soul, I can’t get down with Thriller. People would argue that Thriller is THE ultimate Halloween song but, guys and ghouls, do you even know Dracula’s Wedding?
Dracula’s Wedding, Outkast featuring Kelis
I think we can all agree that, of the traditional Halloween monsters, the vampire is the most mysterious and, honestly, the most played out. But I love it when an artist – songwriter, novelist, whatever – can take the classic and turn it on its side. So long as it makes sense and it’s dumb. Looking at you, Stephanie Meyer. Glitter. My god, woman. What’s wrong with you? Anyway, Outkast does a real fun song about Dracula getting married. And there’s literally no one cooler than Andre 3000. He’s Chick-Fil-A nuggets, McDonald’s French fries. The spicy Popeye’s and Red Lobster biscuits. Yep. He wrote a rap about how he’s as cool as very popular fast food items, and he isn’t wrong.
Somebody’s Watching Me, Rockwell
It is a yearly tradition for me to listen to this absolute bop on October 1, and then continue to listen to it obsessively for the rest of the month. It’s so damn fun. The Twilight Zone references. The Hitchcock references. The IRS dig. It does not get any better. And it’s super dancey. Perfect for your Halloween shindig.
Werewolf Bar Mitzvah, 30 Rock
I guess most people wouldn’t consider this a real song since it’s a spoof for a sitcom, but someone wrote it, someone produced it, and someone sang it. If that isn’t a song, I don’t know what it is. Less spooky, scary, more downright hilarious. The scariest thing about it is how deeply lodged in your brain it gets. The rest of the world will have long moved on to Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You, and you’ll be doing your holiday shopping singing, “Boys becoming men; men becoming wolves” under your breath.
Other Halloween essentials include, but are not limited to:
Bad Romance, Lady Gaga (Hitchcock reference and bonus points for Yiddish in a pop song)
Disturbia, Rhianna
Monster Mash, Bobby Pickett
Psycho Killer, Talking Heads
Halloween, Siouxsie and the Banshees
What are some of your favorite Halloween tunes? Hit us up in the comments so I can add them to my list.
See ya’ later, witches.
Ryanne
Holland + Harper Productions 