Happy Halloween all! I’m a sucker for holidays, especially now that I am getting to relive my childhood through a second generation. Unfortunately, trick or treat has been postponed in my little town in Central Indiana and rescheduled for Saturday. Well, Saturday happens to be the day that my younger son and I are going to see Bob Dylan while my older son and his wife go see Tool. That leaves daughter-in-law #2 and Grammy to take the two little ones out for Halloween fun. Regardless, our family Halloween party is on for tonight, which means that if we want a FAIR playlist for the party, I have to make it. My older son, bless his heart, is my musical Frankenstein, a little of a musical snob. So, instead of a constant barrage of excellent musicianship, I take over the music to interject some levity into the mix.
Now, why do I enjoy Halloween? I am not sure. Scary movies are fine. Playing tricks is fun. Eating candy has always been an unfortunate hobby. My recently departed mother loved to dress my brother and me in her homemade costumes only to enter us in Halloween costume contests if only to reinforce her artistic abilities. I had to endure many stupid costumes in my day. But, when I got to college, that’s when I found my voice in my Halloween costumes in addition to my classic mixtapes. Outside of my costume my freshman year, the rest were a cast of classic musicians. Probably, my finer two costumes were Boy George and Captain Fantastic-era Elton John. My sophomore year was Sid Vicious, and the year before was a juvenile attempt at a very inappropriate object. However, it was the mixtapes that became my calling card.
1982 was the year during which I hit my stride with these things. And, that was mainly due to the release of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. After that, a deluge of Halloween-themed songs were finally released, and, since I am a huge music nerd, I started my collection. With that said, here’s my Top 30 Halloween songs.
30. “Candy” – Cameo
29. “Shout at the Devil” – Mötley Crüe
28. “Dead Man’s Party” – Oingo Boingo
27. “Spiderwebs” – No Doubt
26. “Dragula” – Rob Zombie
25. “She Wolf” – Shakira
24. “Clap for the Wolfman” – The Guess Who
23. “Heads Will Roll” – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
22. “Disturbia” – Rhianna
21. “Magic” – Olivia Newton-John
20. “Monster” – Kanye West
19. “Kill for Candy” – Dreamcar
18. “Halloween” – Dead Kennedys
17. “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” – Charlie Daniels Band
16. “Supernature” – Cerrone
15. “A Night with the Jersey Devil” – Bruce Springsteen
14. “Devil Inside” – INXS
13. “Black Cat” – Janet Jackson
12. “Season of the Witch” – Donovan
11. “Magic” – Pilot
10. “Dance with the Devil” – Prince
9. “Psycho Killer” – Talking Heads
8. “The Killing Moon” – Echo & the Bunnymen
7. “I Want Candy” – Bow Wow Wow
6. “Bella Lugosi’s Dead” – Bauhaus
5. “Magic Man” – Heart
4. “Maniac” – Michael Sembello
3. “Freak on a Leash” – Korn
2. “Thriller” – Michael Jackson
1. “Every Day Is Halloween” – Ministry
If My Records Could Talk 