Back in 2021, we put together a list of 10 outside the box songs that you could add to your Halloween playlist. Everyone knows Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” or Bobby Pickett’s “Monster Mash.” Then there’s other standards like the theme from the movie “Halloween” or Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” But we went outside the norm to really mix things up and we’re going to do it for you again this year. So turn down the lights, and brace yourself for some more foreboding melodies!
Interpol – “Evil”
In 2004 American indie rock band, Interpol released their second album, “Antics.” The second single from that album could make this list just based on the content of the song itself, fittingly called, “Evil.” While not officially confirmed, it’s highly suspected that the song is about Fred and Rosemary West, a husband-and-wife serial killer team from the UK. The opening lyric of, “Rosemary, Heaven restores you in life” may not seem ominous at face value but becomes increasingly so as the lyrics become more cryptic. And then there’s the music video with one of the more disturbing puppets you’ll ever see that was not directly made to be in a horror film. Oh, and the song just rocks in general.
Bryan Ferry – “I Put a Spell on You”
Few people can sing with the kind of sensuous allure that Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry manages to project. Whether in his work with Roxy Music or his solo career there’s just something about him that’s magnetic. That’s why his version of the Screamin’ Jay Hawkins classic, “I Put a Spell on You” is so special. While the original is directly threatening, this cover is like the call of a siren. Ferry’s voice is so suave that it sounds like its beckoning to you; the song itself is the spell. The slick production and the way the instrumentation subtly builds as the track continues makes it compelling from start to finish.
Crazy World of Arthur Brown – “Fire”
Not many songs begin with the singer directly screaming at you, but Arthur Brown doesn’t hold back. “I AM THE GOD OF HELLFIRE, AND I BRING YOU… Fire!” The lyrics are destructive, insinuating that everything about you and your actions will be consumed by the flames. Is it being sung by a spiteful lover? Perhaps it really is the god of hellfire coming to claim you. The instrumental mix is pretty simple, relying on the organ, drums, and a brass section that grows in intensity as the song goes along. The vocals of Brown steal the show though, showing off his incredible range.
Tom Waits – “What’s He Building?”
There’s a number of songs by Tom Waits that could make this list, but we’re going to go with one of his spoken word pieces here. “What’s He Building” is the ranting of a paranoid man who is highly suspicious of someone he lives nearby. The narrator examines nearly everything this person does with an extremely negative eye. Whether it’s the kind of magazines he subscribes to or the chemical he keeps under his sink. And while it’s a spoken piece, it opens with the sound of radio interference and continues along with eerie noises in the background. It’s a sinister little piece where the subject is not the potential threat, but the narrator, and by extension, us.
PJ Harvey – “The Words That Maketh Murder”
Movie monsters and killers are one kind of horror but real-life horrors like war are far more terrifying in their reality. PJ Harvey tackles this subject in occasionally gory detail on her track, “The Words That Maketh Murder.” The arrangement isn’t especially terrifying with its jangling guitar riff and bright horns, but the lyrics are macabre and bleak. There’s also something creepy about the chanting, “These, these, these are the words, the words that maketh murder…” To contrast this, the song ends with a different chant, “What if I take my problem to the United Nations.” This line is a paraphrase of a lyric from the song “Summertime Blues” by Eddie Cochran. While it was song in jocular fashion there, it’s no longer funny when the context is changed, and there’s certainly a horror to be found in that.
Kate Bush – “Get Out of My House”
In 1982, Kate Bush released “The Dreaming,” an album that is delightfully crazy in all the best ways. Many of the tracks feature characters that are in some sort of desperate plight, and that desperation is captured in both the arrangement and Bush’s screaming vocals. The peak of this is on the album’s final track, “Get Out of My House.” While the lyric is cryptic, the one thing we do know is that something is in Kate’s house, and she wants it OUT. Fittingly enough, Bush has stated that the song was heavily inspired by “The Shining.” Adding this to your Halloween playlist won’t just up the creepiness factor, but give you some arthouse music credibility too.
Boomtown Rats – “I Don’t Like Mondays”
Of all the songs on this year’s list, this one is the poppiest and least threatening sounding. However, it’s also the most directly horrifying in its subject matter. The lyric was inspired by the mass shooting committed by Brenda Ann Spencer on January 29th, 1979. When she was taken into custody the explanation for her actions was simply, “I don’t like Mondays.” And thus the name of the song came into being. Today we’re more likely to see a miniseries or film about a serial killer or murderer, but here’s a piano led ballad instead.
David Bowie – “We Prick You”
David Bowie wasn’t called the musical chameleon for nothing. In 1995 he released the album “Outside,” a concept album about a murderer who uses killing as an art form. A detective named Nathan Adler is seeking to catch this killer and each song is from the perspective of one of the characters or group of people involved. It’s a pretty dark album that bounces between genres with effortless ease. One of the tracks, “We Prick You” is an electronica/drum and bass song where a group of characters is demanding for someone to “Tell the truth.” There’s various different voices being used and odd imagery about nightmares, toys, parents, sex and death.
Victor/Alex Lifeson – “Victor”
During the 1990’s the recording output of the band Rush was not as pervasive as it was in the ‘70s and ‘80s. During one of these gaps between albums, lead guitarist Alex Lifeson recorded an album titled, “Victor” under the pseudonym, Victor. One of the tracks on said album is also called “Victor,” marking one of the few times we have an artist with a self-titled album with a matching title track. It’s a mostly spoken word piece set to an unsettling instrumental backing. The lyric actually consists of an edited form of the poem “Victor” by W.H. Auden. It’s a very dark piece that sees the titular character having a psychotic break amidst his overtly religious upbringing.
Sisters of Mercy – “This Corrosion”
We close out this year’s list with a heavy dose of ‘80s bombast. Nobody did over the top epics like the late, great, Jim Steinman. This is the man who wrote and produced all of Meat Loaf’s biggest songs in addition to “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler. Here he was brought in to produce for Sisters of Mercy. The end result was 11 minutes of epic rocking with a full choir and sinister tone. Allegedly the song is about the departure of band member Wayne Hussey, which could account for the caustic nature of the lyric, “sing this corrosion, to me.” And of course, because it’s a Jim Steinman production the layers of instrumentation and vocals just continue to build over time, meaning not one of this tracks’ 11 minutes feels wasted.