I was a teenager of the mixed tape generation, and so the whole concept of a mix – sharing music as a form of communication with other people you care about, has always been something I hold very close to my heart. While cassettes are now obsolete, nowadays, it doesn’t take much to order a spindle of CD’s, queue up a batch of tracks on your iTunes and burn a gift! And that’s exactly what I did this October.
The last time I did such a mix was for my birthday party last year. On top of a wealth of horror soundtracks in my vinyl collection, I also have a slew of the soundtracks to my favorite 80’s movies, a lot of which aren’t available in any other format. So I transferred a batch of those tracks and created my ultimate 80’s Movie Music Mix. And I just had to share it with anyone I crossed paths with. It would be a tough act to follow, but I decided I had to try to do the same for Halloween!
And so, after much deliberation, I came up with my Halloween Hits! A 2015 Rob G Mix and have been handing CD’s out to people whenever I see them at local events.
Alas, I can’t get a mix to everyone, so it’s time to divulge my track listing, and encourage you to create your own spotify playlist of these tunes to rock out to for the last week of October leading into Halloween day! Here we go!
HALLOWEEN HITS! A 2015 ROB G MIX:
1. The Crypt Jam by The Crypt Keeper (TALES FROM THE CRYPT)
2. On Our Own by Bobby Brown (GHOSTBUSTERS 2)
3. Nightmare On My Street by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
4. Dream Warriors by Dokken (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS)
5. He’s Back (The Man Behind The Mask) by Alice Cooper (FRIDAY THE 13TH 6: JASON LIVES)
6. Living Dead Girl (Naked Exorcism Mix) by Rob Zombie (THE CROW: SALVATION)
7. Pet Sematary by The Ramones (PET SEMATARY)
8. Wolf Like Me by TV On The Radio
9. Cry, Little Sister by Gerard McMann (THE LOST BOYS)
10. Psycho Killer by Talking Heads
11. Just Another Psycho by Motley Crue
12. Everyday Is Halloween by Ministry
13. Dead Man’s Party by Oingo Boingo (BACK TO SCHOOL)
14. Thriller by Michael Jackson
OK, let’s do a quick video break down if you want to just sample a few tracks. But trust me! They work together and in this order!
THE CRYPT JAM: About a year or so ago, I picked up Mondo’s 7 inch release of the TALES FROM THE CRYPT theme by Danny Elfman, and much to my surprise, this is was on the B side. It was such a wonderful relic from the 90’s and I loved every second of it. You’ve got to admit, the Crypt Keeper’s got game!
ON OUR OWN: I could’ve gone for the original GHOSTBUSTERS theme, but I opted for the theme to Part 2. Just flows better with The Crypt Jam and the next track Nightmare On My Street. Plus, look at all these crazy cameos in the video! Christopher Reeve, Rick Moranis, Donald Trump! Come on, you all know the words to the opening/closing rap!
NIGHTMARE ON MY STREET: I’ve always been disappointed that there wasn’t an official video for this track, but from what I understand, DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince didn’t exactly get permission to do their Freddy homage. Regardless, it’s hilarious and I break out the 7 inch record every year around this time. OK, maybe I listen to it all year round. Can you blame me?
DREAM WARRIORS: Alright, we’ve gotten through the late 80’s/early 90’s rap portion of this mix. And what better way to bring on the metal than from going from Nightmare On My Street straight to Dream Warriors! The best of the NIGHTMARE sequels, and probably the best accompanying theme song. Plus both Patricia Arquette and Robert Englund pop up in the video reprising their roles!
HE’S BACK (THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK): OK, if Freddy’s getting a lot of love on this mix, we’ve got to give it up for Jason too, right? So let’s roll right into Alice Cooper’s theme song from FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 6: JASON LIVES. CJ Graham makes an appearance in the video as Jason Voorhees! It’s a fun one that you have to watch.
LIVING DEAD GIRL (NAKED EXORCISM MIX): Who can possibly follow up the great Alice Cooper? Well, Rob Zombie of course! And for most Halloween themed mixes, Dragula and Living Dead Girl seem to be the go to tracks. I’m opting for the “Naked Exorcism Mix” of Living Dead Girl which appeared on the soundtrack to THE CROW: SALVATION because it’s a bad-ass remix done by Charlie Clouser, formally of Nine Inch Nails, and also responsible for all the great music in the entire SAW franchise!
PET SEMATARY: Where do you go from Rob Zombie? Well to The Ramones of course! Probably one of the catchiest pop songs to appear in a horror movie ever, let’s sing along now. “I don’t want to be buried, in a pet sematary….”
WOLF LIKE ME: Well, from a song about the undead, let’s go to a song about werewolves, shall we? And while the mix has the studio version of this song, I wanted to share this amazing live performance of the track on the David Letterman show.
CRY, LITTLE SISTER: Well, if we’ve got a song about werewolves, let’s then turn to vampires. And to me, the theme of THE LOST BOYS is the quintessential vampire pop tune!
PSYCHO KILLER: OK, we’ve got dream demons, unstoppable killers, the undead, werewolves and vampires covered on this mix so far. How ’bout a misunderstood real life monster? My favorite of course, Norman Bates. Long thought to be written about the boy next door, here’s a live version of Psycho Killer by Talking Heads from the film STOP MAKING SENSE.
JUST ANOTHER PSYCHO: When it comes to PSYCHO, let’s do double or nothing! Here’s the Motley Crue track Just Another Psycho cut to scenes from all 4 PSYCHO movies starring Anthony Perkins!
EVERYDAY IS HALLOWEEN: Technically, this isn’t really a song about Halloween, but it’s more Ministry’s commentary on people who dress differently and get made fun of for dressing up everyday as if it’s Halloween. But what the hell? Ministry f-ing rules, so they’re on here too.
DEAD MAN’S PARTY: This is just one of my absolute favorite tracks and if you’re having a Halloween party, or just a regular party for that matter, it’s mandatory. Danny Elfman for the win!
THRILLER: Last but not least, this one meant a lot to us horror kids growing up. It still works as a great party closer. (Or starter!) And the video holds up as the greatest horror music video every made. Let’s do the thriller dance, shall we?
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
