Go beyond ‘Monster Mash’ with eerie local tunes
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (Oct. 18, 2024) — It’s that time of year again when you might find yourself tasked with creating a playlist for a Halloween gathering. Maybe it’s for your kid’s party, maybe an in-office event, or perhaps a private costume party just for the grown-ups.
No matter the Halloween festivity, the soundtrack is often predictable, with must-plays like “Thriller” and “Monster Mash” repeated throughout. If you want to give your spooky playlist a twist, consider adding some local music.
There is a treasure trove of self-released holiday singles from local musicians worth revisiting. Allow me to introduce to you some of Halloween-inspired tunes from recent years:
“Haunt Me Tonight.” This sinister 2022 single from Berkeley band Casachanclas opens with a Munsters-like feel: a twangy guitar boogie and classic surf-rock beat. It’s a fast-paced rock song with tasteful use of thunder and creaking door sound effects. The song even has a breakdown with a low-register voice reading Edgar Allan Poe’s “Spirits of the Dead.” I’d recommend this one for any fun Halloween playlist.
“Anything Can Happen on Halloween.” The 2023 single by Concord’s Delicious Nick is a synth-forward tune that’s both dramatic and playful, and even has a bit of a groove. To be honest, I initially liked this tune about as much as I like candy corn, but it’s surprisingly catchy and quickly grew on me. It’s become a Halloween go-to for my household. The silly imagery in the cover art helps prepare the listener for the campiness of the delivery. Frankly, this song is ridiculous, but so is Halloween, really. I’d recommend giving it a spin and seeing if it fits in your mix, especially if you’re putting something together for a children’s party.
“Ghosty and the Ghosts.” This 2022 single is from Pleasant Hill singer-songwriter So Cal Jack, who often performs his original music as a one-man-band with a small drum kit attached to his back. His acoustic tune about a haunted house attraction doesn’t have much of the familiar stylings of a Halloween banger, but it does include the unique perspective of the actual ghosts who feel trapped there and exploited, moaning “In this haunted house, it is you who haunts me.” As a somewhat melancholy mid-tempo song, it feels like a stretch to call this “party music,” but it’s fun and might fit nicely in your Halloween mix.
“Safety Rap 3 Halloween.” The 2023 single from Concord’s Sabertooth Unicorn is available exclusively on their BandCamp page, which you DO NOT want to play for your coworkers or your kids. It does have some yuks in it if your humor palate is as appropriately warped as theirs. “Safety Rap 3 Halloween” is Sabertooth Unicorn’s first official rap song. It employs a playfully cheesy beat reminiscent of very early hip-hop, with a bassline loop that sounds right out of an Atari game. Lyrics come from the eccentric mind of bandleader Vince Lay, who has a side project as a self-described “rap god” Gorillionaire. In this particular rap, Lay provides comedic safety tips for trick-or-treaters, while seemingly going out of his way to not land the expected rhymes, with lyrics like “Use the buddy system so you’re never alone / Have emergency contacts in your mobile device.” Typical of Sabertooth Unicorn material, some listeners may find parts annoying or offensive, while others may find it funny or amusingly stupid. At the end of the day, it’s fun, as Halloween should be.
Find a link to a 90-minute Spotify playlist featuring most of the aforementioned Halloween music and much, much more at thebeatofdiablo.com.
Contact Dave Hughes at MrDaveHughes@gmail.com.
Dave Hughes
Dave Hughes is a local music advocate with an extensive network of independent artists. He produces and hosts a local music program on KVHS called The Beat of Diablo, every Sunday at 7:00 PM on 90.5 FM. Dave also catalogs local music releases at ConcordRockCity.com.