New Playlist: 2020 Is The Worst Year In The History Of Existence

New playlist!

2020 is the worst year in the history of existence. Tunes that either came out this year, or that I discovered this year. 

Enjoy!

Rock Grrrls!

A tribute to the women in music that inspired (and continue to influence) me the most. 


Rock Grrrls!

1. Bruise Violet by Babes In Toyland
2. Everglade by L7
3. Heal It Up by Concrete Blonde
4. Slow Dog by Belly
5. Hole In The Ground by Helium
6. Supervixen by Garbage
7. Come On, Let's Go by Girl In A Coma
8. Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
9. What I Am by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians 
10. Skinny Love by Birdy
11. Don't Let It Bring You Down by Annie Lennox
12. Hazy Shade Of Winter by The Bangles
13. Call Me by Blondie
14. Stutter by Elastica
15. Lucky Guy by The Muffs
16. 50ft Queenie by PJ Harvey
17. Real Girls by Chantal Claret
18. All Falls Away by Eleven
19. Congratulations by Juliana Hatfield
20. Bachlorette by Bjork
21. Tourniquet by Evanescence
22. Fast As You Can by Fiona Apple
23. Dog Days Are Over by Florence + The Machine
24. An Ocean Apart by Julie Delpy
25. Digital Witness by St. Vincent
26. Yellow Flicker Beat by Lorde
27. Gone by Madonna
28. The Power Of Goodbye by Madonna
29. Car Song by Madder Rose
30. Like You by Kristin Hersh*
31. Tar Kissers by Throwing Muses*
32. I Love Rock 'N Roll by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
33. Girls Just Want To Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper

* These albums, for whatever reason, are not available on any streaming services, but both tracks are in the You Tube version embedded below. 


Spotify:



Apple Music:




You Tube:

For Dad...

Dad passed away on the morning of Sunday, October 18th.

I got great advice from a friend to find my favorite photo of my dad, how I’d like to remember him, and look at it before bed every night. This is the one I went with, above.

These are the songs that are helping me through. Cry along... 

For Dad...

1. What A Wonderful World by Malia J.
2. Cat's In The Cradle by Harry Chapin
3. Nothing Else Matters by Metallica
4. In A Little While by U2
5. Lean On Me by Bill Withers
6. Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel
7. The Living Years by Mike + The Mechanics
8. Forever Young by Alphaville
9. Forever Young by Rod Stewart
10. Release by Pearl Jam
11. One More Light by Linkin Park
12. Crawling (Live) by Linkin Park from the "One More Light Live" album
13. Hurt by Johnny Cash
14. Lazarus by David Bowie
15. Lateralus by Brass Against featuring Samuel Hope


Spotify:



Apple Music:



You Tube:

The Year That Was 2019... In Music!

Alright. Let's get down to it!

There are only a few more hours left in 2019, and I wanted to take a few minutes (or more accurately 2 and a half hours) to share with you some of my favorite new music this year.

For convenience, I've created an Apple Music Playlist. (Although for whatever reason, it doesn't always save all the tracks. So you may have to add them yourselves, and I encourage someone on Spotify to create this Playlist.)

There's also a You Tube playlist, but let's save that for the end of this blog!

Let's go over the track listing, and then I can delve into each track individually.

Here we go, the year that was 2019... in music!

1. Bulls On Parade by Denzel Curry
2. Medicate or Stimulate by Minutes Til Midnight
3. We Are The Dead by Fake Figures featuring Jonah Matranga
4. Destroy All Humans by Deadly Avenger
5. Higher Education by Cory Kilduff
6. Ripples by Alone In The Woods
7. Mother by Brass Against featuring Liza Colby
8. Sabotage by Brass Against featuring Sophia Urista
9. Lateralus by Brass Against featuring Samuel Hope
10. Invincible by TOOL
11. Unsainted by Slipknot
12. Come For Me by New Years Day
13. Stadium West by L7
14. Anthem by Michael Abels from the motion picture US
15. Pet Sematary by Starcrawler
16. Heart-Shaped Box (Orchestral) by Ramin Djawadi from WESTWORLD Season 2
17. Last I Heard (...He Was Circling the Drain) by Thom Yorke
18. Ill Wind by Radiohead
19. Ice Cream Party by Modest Mouse
20. You Had Your Soul with You by The National
21. The Best by The Muffs
22. Manic Monday by Prince
23. Ring by Carl Sagan from the motion picture IMITATION GIRL
24. My Friends by MaryLeigh Roohan from the motion picture IMITATION GIRL
25. Enough by Tygersounds from the motion picture IMITATION GIRL
26. Interroband by Bayside
27. Scars by Life Of Agony
28. Outshined (Live from the Artists Den) by Soundgarden
29. Iris by TR/ST
30. Stalker by Mr Eff
31. The Self We Keep Hidden by Mr Eff
32. Nun With A Motherf*&*ing Gun by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross from WATCHMEN
33. Seven Years Of Bad Luck by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross from WATCHMEN
34. Life On Mars? by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross from WATCHMEN
35. Opinion (Band Version) by Nirvana
36. I'm Still Standing by Taron Egerton from the motion picture ROCKETMAN

Pretty intense, huh?

At the beginning of the year, hip-hop rapper Denzel Curry blew all of our socks off with this cover of Rage Against The Machine's "Bulls On Parade." RAGE is apparently finally getting back together this year, and Crom knows we need them, but up until now I was dreaming of a Denzel Curry or Sophia Urista fronted RAGE for 2020. (Have you heard her version of "Wake Up?!") Bang your head to this!



The next two were introduced to me as opening acts to Jonah Matranga, who performed at the Hi Hat club in Los Angeles on December 14th, so these are newbies to me! But great tunes. The thing I love about a service like Apple Music is I can immediately dip into the discography of all the opening acts. Medicate or Stimulate by Minutes Til Midnight reminded me a bit of early MUSE. And Fake Figures was a totally rockin' heavy band in line with early FAR. "We Are The Dead" is the title track on their brand new EP and Jonah sings on it! Can't go wrong with those!



One of the great joys of 2019 was getting to work closely with Darren Page and Gary Dimes, the two madmen behind the UK record label Burning Witches Records. Yes, thanks to them, we got several soundtracks released on vinyl, including our most recent batch: SATANIC PANIC, TALES OF HALLOWEEN, and CANDY CORN. But I'd already been a fan of the artists they showcased, so these next few are from their roster. Deadly Avenger is one of my favorite electronic acts, and as if intended just for me, they released the 3D album "Your God Is Too Small." This track, "Destroy All Humans" should kick off every giant monster movie.



Cory Kilduff's "Higher Education" is my fave track off that album "When It All Gets To Be Too Much." And Alone In The Woods is also stellar music. Listen to "Ripples."



A year or two, I discovered the cover-band BRASS AGAINST, a mostly brass band that does primarily covers of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE songs, but this year, they grew bigger and better than ever expanding their singers and output! Here's Liza Colby doing her best Glenn Danzig with "Mother," Sophia Urista channeling her inner Beastie Boy for "Sabotage," and Samuel Hope giving Maynard a run for his money in this beautiful and energetic version of TOOL's "Lateralus."







And speaking of TOOL, after a 12 year absence they've finally returned with an epic new album "Fear Inoculum" where not a single track is under the 10 minute mark. I've chosen "Invincible" as my pick for this mix, because it's pretty darned awesome.



Keeping it heavy, we've got a new one from Slipknot, a band I loved when they first made their debut but now find kinda silly. Regardless, it'd been years since I listened to anything by them, but this first single "Unsainted" was pretty darned good. Then I saw them in the video with their masks on and found them silly again. Here's that video.



Here's a random new discovery from Apple Music. The band is New Years Day and this is the opening rocker from their album "Unbreakable," called "Come For Me." The "official" music video is new and kinda eh, so I'd recommend this lyric video instead.



L7 returned this year after a few years reunited with a brand new album and here's the second single "Stadium West," which isn't as heavy as some of the other tracks, but just quirky and catchy and different!



In the soundtrack world, one of my favorite genre movies this year was the ambitious sophomore feature from writer/director Jordan Peele, US. And Michael Abels' theme, simply titled "Anthem," evokes the creepy classic theme of something like THE OMEN. Love this one.



Then there's the new cover of "Pet Sematary" by Starcrawler from the new 2019 remake, and a stripped down version of Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box," which came from WESTWORLD Season 2. Followed by a handful of indie favorites: Thom Yorke, new Radiohead, Modest Mouse, and The National.

I was shocked and saddened that we lost the mighty Kim Shattuck from The Muffs. Hands down, my favorite voice in punk rock. And although I didn't know her, I got to interview her for my upcoming documentary project ANALOG LOVE, and she was sweet, energetic, and hilarious. "No Holiday" is the final Muffs album, all recorded while she was sick these last 2 years. I've spun it 2 or 3 times, and I still find it difficult to listen to. I'll share what I consider one of the albums most bittersweet and beautiful tracks, no doubt for her husband, "The Best."



It seems we're slowly but surely getting a ton of incredible stuff from the Prince estate, including the collection of songs "Originals." How'd I never realize that Prince wrote "Manic Monday" for The Bangles?! Here's the demo and video version.



Man, I know I'm biased, but I love the soundtrack for IMITATION GIRL, the directorial debut of Natasha Kermani. I say biased because I acquired and put out IMITATION GIRL in 2018, but I also helped Burning Witches Records get this one out on vinyl. The score itself by Kermani and Kevin Hufnagel is somber, ethereal, and beautiful, but what I really love are the opening 3 pop songs. Seriously, give them a listen below. Watch the flick on Amazon Prime. And look for LUCKY, Natasha's latest feature, written and starring Brea Grant and produced by yours truly, sometime in 2020!



If you want to get things heavy again, you can't go wrong with the first track off Bayside's latest album "Interrobang." New York's finest Life Of Agony returned with "The Sound Of Scars," a loose sequel to their original debut masterpiece "River Runs Red," and their first studio album with powerhouse drummer Veronica Bellino. We may have lost Chris Cornell in 2017, but this year saw the long awaited release of Soundgarden's flawless live performance as part of "Live At The Artists Den." "Outshined" is my personal favorite and you won't find a better live version of it anywhere!



Getting back to some electronic music, there's "Iris" from the band TR/ST, and also, another victory release from Burning Witches Records, "Eyes Down" by Mr Eff. My personal faves from that (which feel lifted straight from the grungy streets of NYC circa 1985) are "Stalker" and "The Self We Keep Hidden." I'm working on a film project now and this has been our unofficial soundtrack to get us inspired.



Holy smokes! Who would've thought that a sequel TV series to an 80's graphic novel masterpiece would end up being the best series of 2019, but it's true! WATCHMEN on HBO was a flawless victory. And on top of the strategically planned top-notch writing, it gave us a 3 volume score from NINE INCH NAILS' Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. And also, an unexpected instrumental cover of David Bowie's "Life On Mars?" which hit us at a seminal moment in the shows conclusion!







As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, another incredible discovery was a You Tube account that took some of Kurt Cobain's demos and added Dave Grohl's drum stems to them, hence reuniting Nirvana! This one you'll only be able to find on You Tube, so below is "Opinion."



Last, but certainly not least is a tune from one of my favorite films of the year, ROCKETMAN. Yes, the musical fantasy based on the true, unbelievable life of Elton John had me in tears by it's end, and a big part of it was the way they used this track "I'm Still Standing." Look, I was going through a lot at the time, and the movie and this song gave me the courage to take some big leaps of faith which vastly improved my life, so I'm glad for the inspiration.



I loved the movie so much, I went to see it on the big screen a second time, this time dragging as many friends as I could convince to join me, including my buddy Christian James Hand who swore this off after the disappointing falsities of BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY. But he relented, and I bought his ticket. He was shocked when I told him "I'm Still Standing" was my favorite Elton John song, but look - I grew up in the 80's! This was the song and video I most remembered on MTV! And again, the way its used in the movie only solidified my love for it. So, he was kind enough to dedicate his "break-down" of that song on the radio to me. Listen to that right here!



And as promised, if you want to watch all these videos in one shot, I created the following You Tube Playlist for your convenience.



And here's my Apple Playlist version, although again, it's missing a few tracks, in particular the Deadly Avenger and Cory Kilduff tracks, and of course, the unofficial Nirvana track "Opinion."



With a few hours to spare, I hope these tunes help guide you into a prosperous, inspiring, and amazing 2020!

LOST NIRVANA - What Could and Should Have Been...

Back in the tail end of 1995, The Beatles had begun releasing their "Anthology" collections; 3 double disc volumes that featured many unreleased demos, studio sessions, live recordings, and more. And while it was beyond cool to hear all of that new stuff, the real highlight of the entire project were the 2 brand new songs.

John Lennon has, sadly, been gone since 1980, but the surviving Beatles were gifted by his widow Yoko Ono two long-lost demos, "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love." I could be mistaken, but I don't think a reunion like this has ever happened before or since.



If you're not a stranger to this blog, then you already know how much I love Nirvana. I've written several blog posts about them over the years. (And will link them again at the end of this article!) When the self-titled greatest hits collection NIRVANA hit stores 10 years after Kurt's death, it featured a never-before-heard finished track, "You Know You're Right." I can't even begin to express the mix of emotions I felt when I first heard that song.

You have to remember that the core time period of Nirvana-mania was very, very short lived. Nevermind came out on September 24th, 1991 and completely changed popular music, practically overnight. About a year later, to satiate demand for more Nirvana, the collection Incesticide dropped on December 14th, 1992, with their proper follow-up In Utero landing on September 21st, 1993. I attended the live taping of the Unplugged show in New York on Thanksgiving weekend of 93. And by April of 94, a mere 5 months later, Kurt Cobain was gone forever. All of Nirvana was only roughly about 3 years. (People also forget that the entirety of The Beatles was only about a 7 year stretch.)

The reason I bring this all up is because after the release of "You Know You're Right," I was afraid that was the last we'd ever hear of Nirvana. Sure, a box set of rarities called "With The Lights Out" was released, but I'd honestly already heard every rare track in that set on various bootlegs I'd collected over the years. After a 10 year gap, "You Know You're Right" immediately made me realize everything that was missing from music since Kurt died, and then it bummed me about because I knew that was it.



Then last month, my friend Padraig Reynolds pointed me over to a You Tube user named TheBeginningOfMusic. He's a sound engineer, and he took it upon himself to take rare acoustic tracks from various Nirvana releases, and add Dave Grohl's drum stems from other Nirvana songs. The first one I heard was "Opinion," which to the best of my knowledge was a song that Kurt only played once on a radio show. I've never heard or seen a mention it of it elsewhere in their career. And sure enough, on this version, when Dave's drums kick in, and the distortion pedal hits for the chorus, it feels like magic. I'm hearing new Nirvana again.



I couldn't believe it.

This wasn't like the surviving Beatles reuniting to finish John Lennon's tracks. This was something in the hands of a fan; an extremely talented fan who decided to take matters in their own hands while honing their own engineering skills. He reunited Nirvana... just because!

I skimmed around to see if there was anything nearly as strong as that feeling "Opinion" gave me. Sure enough, another acoustic demo from "With The Lights Out" that I loved was Do Re Mi. Now, we can only imagine what direction Nirvana would've gone in had Kurt survived. I think the Unplugged show was a clear indication of what Kurt wanted to do, and his love of R.E.M. is well documented. Hell, at the time of his death, he had studio time booked with Michael Stipe! But even with all that in mind, I couldn't imagine what a band version of Do Re Mi would sound like. And now that we have it, I can't hear it any other way.



I've put together a little playlist; a mix if you will of "Lost Nirvana." A lot of the other tracks are from the "Montage Of Heck" documentary, which I still have mixed feelings about. As a fellow musician, I listen to the album that was released and I cringe at the private demos because I know Kurt probably wouldn't have wanted such raw ideas to go out into the world without proper development. Then again, this die-hard fan was able to find some cool snippets and add Dave's drums to them. Who would've thought "The Yodel Song" could be cool if it just had a band backing it?!

Here's the track listing, which includes an unrelated "band" version of something called "Burn The Rain." That one's OK. It has a weird guitar solo that doesn't sound like anything Nirvana would've done, but I included it anyways because it fits with the rest of the random tracks. Oh, and I closed it with "You Know You're Right," because that song still gives me chills.

LOST NIRVANA:
1. Opinion
2. Do Re Mi
3. Clean Up Before She Comes
4. Desire
5. Burn My Britches
6. Poison's Gone
7. The Yodel Song
8. What More Can I Say
9. Burn The Rain
10. You Know You're Right

Here's the Playlist on You Tube:



I never thought I'd hear any new Nirvana material, and then someone online surprised me by taking matters in their own hands, and I consider it a beautiful gift.

Who knows?

Maybe there are other surprises waiting for us in the near future.

Fin!

Christmas Is For Everyone! Albums To Get You In The Holiday Spirit!

'tis the season!

It's officially December of 2018 (can you believe it?!), and it's time for this hectic, exhausting, and challenging year to wind down and cut us all a break!

I won't get into the bad luck I've been hit with in the last month, because... it's Christmas season, and I'm feeling good, and listening to tons of groovy holiday tunes to get in the spirit. And while I don't have a suggested "mix" playlist planned, instead I have a whole bunch of holiday themed albums and EP's I've been spinning that I wanted to recommend.

Although I'm an avid vinyl collector, when it comes to listening to music digitally, iTunes has been my go to. I have the majority of my extensive music collection "in the cloud" as they say, so when it came down to subscribing to a monthly service, I opted with Apple Music, and let me tell you... I love it.

So, some of these are already available on Apple Music, others you'll find directly from the artists via their Bandcamp pages, and some are a bit more obscure, but I'm confident you can track them down fairly easily online in today's day and age.

Let's break out the (spiked) egg nog, and get into the Christmas spirit! First up...

Jr. Juggernaut - "XMas Is For Everyone" Single

This is the 3-piece band fronted by Mike Williamson, a long time friend from the horror community. One of the only dudes I know that loves 90's music as much as I do, and he put together this great 7 inch release with his band Jr. Juggernaut featuring the brand new track "XMas Is For Everyone" and the B-side "Silent Night," a slowed down, grungy cover of the classic holiday tune with some disturbing dialogue from the movie GREMLINS. (I'm sure you can guess which story from the movie is featured here!) The actual 7 inch releases were limited to 20 copies (!) and there are still a select few left. You can also get the tracks digitally via their Bandcamp here. There's also a killer deal for their entire digital discography on the Jr. Juggernaut Bandcamp as well! Take advantage!

Jonah Matranga - "Holiday-ish Fun"

One of my earliest Christmas memories is the 1984 video/single for "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by the super star-studded "Band Aid." It's always been a catchy tune. But a few years back, I discovered a cover version that was much more my speed! Jonah Matranga did a reinterpretation of this song with Grady Avenell from Will Haven and Chino Moreno from the Deftones. So, that's members of Far, Deftones, and Will Haven doing a Band Aid cover! Initially, this was released via Jonah's Bandcamp on its own, but eventually, he paired it up with a bunch of other sweet music for the "Holiday-ish Fun" EP. It's got a Charlie Brown cover, a John Lennon cover, and a wonderful duet with his daughter on The Beatles "With A Little Help From My Friends." You can get that right here.

Bayside - "Angels We Have Heard On High" and "A Long December"

Two one off singles from Long Island's own Bayside, the first is their holiday theme tinged "Angels We Have Heard On High," which you can find on iTunes or Apple Music. And although it's not technically a "holiday" song, they also did an amazing cover of The Counting Crows "A Long December," which, quite frankly, I prefer to the original version!



Marc Martel - "Christmas Time Is Here" EP

I fell down the Marc Martel rabbit hole after discovering his incredible one-man Queen cover of "Bohemian Rhapsody" on You Tube. From there, I started poking around to some of his other music. Yes, he's got the voice of Freddie Mercury, but then I noticed he had a handful of holiday themed EP's and albums that he made his own. The one I'd personally recommend starting with is "Christmas Time Is Here," because it's got this beautiful rendition of "All I Want For Christmas Is You," which I immediately forwarded to my girlfriend once December 1st rolled around! There's plenty of other famous Christmas covers on here, but it's all about this song!



JD McPherson - "Socks"

Here's one that came out of nowhere for me! My buddy AJ Bowen is a big fan of both Christmas horror movies, and Christmas music. So, he texted me asking if I'd ever heard of JD McPherson, which I hadn't. This album "Socks" is such a brilliant, beautiful oldies-esque holiday album full of new songs that have quickly gone into heavy rotation for me this Christmas season. You can find this on iTunes, Apple Music, or via his official website. Highly recommended!



ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE Soundtrack

Holy smokes! I'm sure you've heard it a million times from a dozen horror fans, but if there's one thing I'm tired of, it's zombie films. And then trying to sell me on a horror musical on top of that? When has that ever worked? Low and behold, sometimes a movie comes along and just knocks your socks off in every way, and this year, that movie is ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE. Not only is it an incredibly charming and fresh take on the zombie sub-genre, while simultaneously being a great modern teen movie, but the songs are terrific, and the cast singing them is even more irresistible. I'd recommend avoiding all trailers, and just seeing the movie blind. You will want to get the soundtrack and celebrate it this December immediately after seeing the movie. Trust me!

Morgan Aimes - "SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT Christmas Songs"

Most horror fans have made it an annual tradition to revisit SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT every year. But, thanks to Death Waltz Recordings, we now have an incredible holiday album to celebrate every year as well! I'm not talking about the creepy score to the movie. A few years back, Death Waltz released a double LP set that featured both the score on one disc, and then all the Christmas songs written for the film by Morgan Aimes on the other disc. And guess what? The songs are some of the best Christmas songs ever! Now, I bought this on iTunes a few years back digitally. But it doesn't seem to be available there anymore! A quick Google search revealed that it may be available to stream on Spotify, but definitely do whatever you can to check it out!

Jackson 5 - "Christmas Album"

This was an Apple Music discovery, but did you know the Jackson 5 did a Christmas album?!? You probably did! But I didn't know. And it's great! There's something about listening to a 12 year old Michael Jackson singing these classic songs with such innocence and conviction that makes them wonderful and new! The Jackson 5 Christmas Album is a heartwarming winner.



Scott Weiland - "The Most Wonderful Time Of Year"

Did you know that Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland also did a Christmas album?! It's called "The Most Wonderful Time Of Year" and it's covers of all the classics! It makes sense, because Scott channels all the old-school crooners here for his renditions of these holiday classics. He even made a very IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE-esque video for "Winter Wonderland." You can find this pretty easily on iTunes or Apple Music.



TALES FROM THE CRYPT - "Have Yourself A Scary Little Christmas"

Last, but certainly not least, is the TALES FROM THE CRYPT Christmas album "Have Yourself A Scary Little Christmas!" For all the youngans out there, TALES FROM THE CRYPT was an HBO series based on the classic EC comic books that told great horror morality tales, complete with a shocking twist ending almost every time! The host was the pun-filled Cryptkeeper, voiced by comedian and actor John Kasir. His popularity was at an all time high during the show's run from 1989 to 1996, that he even had a rap single called "The Crypt Jam" (which is one one of my previous Halloween mixes), and eventually got to put out a Christmas album. It's classics but with the lyrics changed into horrific puns, such as, "Deck The Halls With Parts Of Charlie." It's silly, goofy, and fun! I'm surprised that one of these vinyl labels hasn't re-issued this sucker on LP over these last few years. I mean, if the truly awful Freddy's Greatest Hits could get a re-issue, which sold out so quickly that it required a repress, this should definitely be out on vinyl!

So, that's what I've been listening to this December!

What about you?

This Is HALLOWEEN! A 2018 Playlist

"It's almost time, kids!"

Yes, it's that magical time of year where every one celebrates all things spooky, scary, and weird. It's Halloween! And although most of my friends and I tend to celebrate horror all year round, it's nice to see every one else getting in the spirit.

Regarding local haunts and mazes, I've already hit up: Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights, Knott's Scary Farm, Haunted Hayride, Rotten Apple 907, and The Backwoods Maze.

Movie-wise: whereas last year, I challenged myself to watch 31 horror anthologies, one per day; this year, I've done a deep dive into Hammer Horror, one of my many blind spots for all these years! I strongly recommend this set as your starting point. BRIDES OF DRACULA, THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, and PARANOIAC have been stand outs. (Now onto the Christopher Lee DRACULA movies!)

But it wouldn't be a proper Halloween if I didn't make a mix to share, right?

For reference, I think you should go back to some of my previous Halloween mixes.

- Recommended Listening: Halloween Hits - A 2015 Rob G Mix
- Deep Cuts & Spooky Songs: A 2017 Halloween Mix
- 6 Non-Soundtrack Recommendations You Have To Hear!
- A Normaltown Halloween 2014 Mix

For this one, I did something a little different.

Previous playlists have been catered to a specific theme, or keeping with a certain tone or flow, this one I consider more of a snapshot. Some of it is very Halloween-specific, some of it is not. It just happens to be what I'm listening to right now in October of 2018. And so, this one's a bit more personal in that regard. Old stuff, new stuff, remixes, soundtrack cues, covers, pop rock songs and beyond. This is what my Halloween for 2018 sounds like...

Track listing:

This Is HALLOWEEN! A 2018 Playlist!

1. Vortex (Uniform Remix) by John Carpenter from LOST THEMES REMIXED
2. The Shape Returns by John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies from HALLOWEEN 2018
3. That Moment You Gave To Me by Ludrium (aka Cody Carpenter) from REFLECTIONS
4. One 60 Clone by Daniel Davies from EVENTS SCORE
5. Superuser by Netrvnner from EPISODE 1 (and the EXTREMITY Soundtrack)
6. Thought Contagion by Muse from SIMULATION THEORY
7. A Nightmare Reimagined - Overture by Joe LoDuca from THE EVIL DEAD - A NIGHTMARE REIMAGINED
8. The Shape Hunts Allyson by John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies from HALLOWEEN 2018
9. John Carpenter's Halloween by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
10. Nightmare Isn't Over (HALLOWEEN II Rework) by Le Matos
11. Chariots Of Pumpkins by Umberto from Death Waltz Recording Company
12. Pam Grier's Head by John Carpenter from GHOSTS OF MARS
13. Rats by Ghost from PREQUELLE
14. Cry Little Sister by Marilyn Manson
15. Theme From Killer Klowns From Outer Space by The Dickies from KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE REIMAGINED
16. The Rules by Jeremy Zuckerman from SCREAM: THE TV SERIES
17. Main Title Theme by Daniel Hart from THE EXORCIST TV SERIES
18. Constantine Main Theme by Bear McCreary from CONSTANTINE: THE TV SERIES
19. Metallica T-Shirt by Wolfie's Just Fine from PERFECTION, NEVADA EP
20. Revenge by Rob from REVENGE
21. Halloween Triumphant by John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies from HALLOWEEN 2018

John Carpenter's music has become somewhat synonymous with the season at this point. I'm a huge, huge fan of his "Lost Themes" albums, and knew I had to kick it off with a remix of his track "Vortex." This track could get any party going.

I wanted to keep it in the family, literally! And so the next few selections reflect that, starting with "The Shape Returns" from the new 2018 HALLOWEEN movie, composed by John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies. From there, why not hear one of Cody's solo tracks? "That Moment You Gave To Me" is pure pop bliss ala ERASURE from Cody's alternate moniker LUDRIUM. And from there, let's hear a cut from Daniel Davies new solo album "Events Score," the track "One 60 Clone!"

After that, I went with the closing credits song to EXTREMITY, the latest film by director Anthony DiBlasi (LAST SHIFT, Clive Barker's DREAD) that I just put out through the Dread Central Presents label via Epic Pictures. (Multiple ways to check out EXTREMITY right here!) This track has been one of my go-to pieces of music all month.

The new MUSE album doesn't come out until November, but for those that pre-ordered it, we've been treated to a few advance tracks, including this one "Thought Contagion."

From there, I wanted to delve into some fun score tracks, starting with Joe LoDuca's newly reimagined theme for EVIL DEAD. LoDuca has been a part of the entire EVIL DEAD franchise, minus the remake, but including the recently wrapped ASH VS EVIL DEAD series. Last Halloween, he performed a new live re-score at a special screening of THE EVIL DEAD, and now, that music is available both digitally and on vinyl! The "Overture," which is reminiscent of the Showtime MASTERS OF HORROR theme, is beautiful and haunting!

Hey, it's HALLOWEEN, right? Let's hear a bunch of variations on the HALLOWEEN theme. First up, "The Shape Hunts Allyson," my favorite new cue from the HALLOWEEN 2018 score. Followed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' reinterpretation of John Carpenter's original theme. Going in chronological order, that brings us to LE MATOS curious track "Nightmare Isn't Over," a tribute to HALLOWEEN II's theme that changes the infamous 5/4 timing of the theme to traditional 4/4!

The main HALLOWEEN III cover comes from Umberto! Sadly, I couldn't find this version on You Tube, so there's an alternate cover by Andrioux embedded below, but you can hear the version I intended streaming right here.

A new vinyl release of John Carpenter's GHOSTS OF MARS soundtrack arrived earlier this year, and it's a pretty rockin' collaboration with the guys from ANTHRAX. So next up is (spoiler-alert) "Pam Grier's Head."

GHOST is a band I have tried countless times to get into. I rather liked my starting point, which was the EP "Popestar." But... I just find their music kinda silly. That said, their new single "Rats" is pretty cool, so I included it here. And who better to follow that than Marilyn Manson with his cover of "Cry Little Sister," made famous by THE LOST BOYS! John Massari and The Dickies re-recorded the theme song and score for KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE for this special 2018 version. That's up next.

Then, a handful of horror TV themes! Jeremy Zuckerman's music for MTV's SCREAM series was always a highlight for me, melding Bernard Herrmann's strings with a touch of Marco Beltrami's modernized 90's style score for the movies. "The Rules," you'll recognize as the opening title music. Then we hear Daniel Hart's excellent opening theme for THE EXORCIST TV series. Hoping one day we'll get the rest of his excellent score from season one. And capping it out is possibly one of my favorite TV themes in ages, Bear McCreary's CONSTANTINE main theme!

A few years back, remember Jon Lajoie's acoustic act WOLFIE'S JUST FINE? They made that incredible tribute to FRIDAY THE 13TH PART V: A NEW BEGINNING. He's back with a new EP called "Perfection, Nevada," and the stand out here is "Metallica T-Shirt."

As we wind down, I wanted one intense modern score, and when it comes to that, look no further than the mysterious ROB with his theme to REVENGE. And lastly, if we're starting with Carpenter, we should end with Carpenter. From the new 2018 HALLOWEEN movie yet again, "Halloween Triumphant."

There you have it!

Below you'll find a You Tube version of this playlist, but I encourage you to make your own Spotify, Apple Music, or whatever else version! Hope this gets you in the mood for Halloween.

After all, we're all entitled to one good scare, huh?