Chilling songs for the spooky season
By Sonam Kaloti, Arts Editor
Octoberâs almost over already! Hopefully youâve been able to enjoy the seasonâs festivities with all the safety procedures limiting what we can do out and about. For when youâre home and trying to get in the (spooky) mood, hereâs the start to a Halloween playlist!
âForever & Ever Moreâ– Nothing But Thieves
For a rock band, this songâs theme is pretty much mandatory. Vampires and⌠well thereâs only vampires. (Donât forget the humans!)
Itâs heavy and Halloween-y: the perfect combo (year-round!) if youâre anything like me. Over-compressed electric guitar riffs, heavy kicks, and mysterious vocals come together to create this absolute beauty for ears.
âWhen You Dieâ – MGMT
âGo fuck yourself / You heard me right / Donât call me nice again.â Well, arenât those the most fitting lyrics to represent the collective October mindset?
MGMT has one of the most unique sounds in alt-pop without getting too experimental (they retain a beatâamazing!) Fun saw-modulated synths run arpeggios in the back, a surprisingly calm acoustic guitar keeps melody, while the vocals do their⌠thing. This oneâs a bop to sing with friends while youâre carving pumpkins.
âWitching Hourâ – Rezz
Firstly, anything by Rezz is a spooky song. âWitching Hourâ gives âWhen You Dieâ a run for its money when it comes to saw-modulated synths. Truly, the combination of the delayed synth lead up front with the atmospheric glass synth sustained harmony in the back makes you feel like youâre floating around Goosebumpsâ fictional âHorrorLandâ amusement park.
âLove Potion No. 9â – The Clovers
In for an oldie? âLove Potion No. 9â is a 1964 pure dance grooveâitâll have you doing the twist in no time. I honestly believe it could be just as good for Valentineâs Day, and you donât see that Halloween crossover often.
âThe Killing Kindâ – Marianas Trench
âThe ghost in me was true but / You were haunted too just / Didnât see it all along / I know my love can be / The killing kind.â
While Josh Ramsayâs ghost never wants to leave wherever he is, I never want this song to end! It begins soft and chilling, with minimal instruments and a focus on the lead vocals, likely to accentuate the lyrical message before everything gets too wild.
About two minutes into the near seven-minute piece, the brass and kick drum come in, followed closely by the rest of the orchestra and, of course, the iconic Marianas Trench vocal harmonies.
âDisturbiaâ– Rihanna
Throwback time! Donât even bother pretending this music video didnât scare you when you were younger.
This could be played anywhereâI personally recommend listening on your headphones when youâre walking somewhere. The beat is perfect to add a confident strut to your walk.
âDrunk on Halloweenâ– The Wallows
A far softer song than the rest on this list. This oneâs for the senti-spooky trick-or-treaters out there. To all the party goers who hide under a ghost sheet and stick to the corners, and to all the heart-broken ghouls.
âA Cold Freezinâ Nightâ– The Books
âI need to think of something, so you stay alive / As long as I want you to, because so I can kill youâ âI can kill you with a rifle… / A shotgun, any way I want to / Probably by cutting your toes off and working my way up / Towards your brainâ
An extremely experimental song with beeps and boops and especially unique vocals. The audio from the song consists of a brother and sister threatening each other with phrases that are extremely unnerving! The story behind this is that the musicians behind this masterpiece would collect old tape recorders from thrift stores to acquire audio for their music.
Now get to listening and have a super scary rest of
the month. Oh, and donât look behind you, trust me.
