Let’s be real here. Everyone is sick and tired of listening to a cassette tape of the Monster Mash or “Spooky Sounds” over and over again at a Halloween party. Here is an indie Halloween playlist astounding enough to ruffle your costume a little.
1. “You’re So Dark”- Arctic Monkeys
With lyrics such as “You got your unkind of ravens, and your murder of crows. Catty eyelashes and your Dracula cape. Been flashing triple A passes at the cemetery gates.” “You’re So Dark” encompasses the coolest girl on Halloween.
2. “Crunch Punch”- Julian Casablancas+The Voidz
The Strokes’ frontman Casablancas gives audiences a spooky track with lyrics such as “Devil’s evangelicals have opened my eyes. He is the creepiest guy in the sky. Rumors on the radio, the DJ is wrong. He’s just a creature who was playing this song.” The somber lyrics make it the perfect song for a Halloween playlist.
3. “Crystal Clear”- The Garden
With the drawn out, dark and pounding bass of Wyatt Shears, “Crystal Clear,” is a perfect opening track to a Halloween party because of its spooky and haunting nature.
4. “Voodoo In My Basement”- The Lovin’ Spoonful
Singer John Sebastian describes a creepy house with broken spirits destined to possess. With lyrics like: “If I rob and steal your presents, I’ll get them back before I go. It may look like holy giving, but it’s the devil in my soul. I got a banshee on my back porch and she plays with magic pearls. My father was a warlock and his son eats little girls. Voodoo in my basement, you’ll know that it’s true. All my dirty little people are gonna have some fun with you.” This song gives you a visual of that creepy broken down house.
5. “Howlin’ For You”- The Black Keys
Like a werewolf, lead singer Dan Auerbach states that he’s howling out for his lover.
6. “The Jeweler’s Hands”- Arctic Monkeys
Alex Turner’s sometimes over the top and poetic lyrics exist in “The Jeweler’s Hands” once again. With lyrics such as: “Fiendish wonder in the carnival’s wake. Dull caresses once again irritate. Tread softly stranger, move over toward the danger that you seek,” it makes the listener imagine a dark path with a strange entity looming closer on Halloween night.
7. “Hudson”- Vampire Weekend
The story of the ghost of a man who died in Hudson Bay is slowly and creepily presented in “Hudson.”
8. “Of Moons, Birds, and Monsters”- MGMT
Singer Andrew Vanwyngarden describes the gruesome mutilation of a monster in a desolate kingdom, coated in waves of black and setting it aflame in a funeral pyre.
9. “Boris the Spider”- The Who
One of the more random songs of Classic Rock’s pioneers The Who. “Boris the Spider,” is sung by bassist John Entwistle and literally documents the everyday events of the creepy-crawly.
10. “Dracula Teeth”- The Last Shadow Puppets
The side project of Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner and solo artist Miles Kane. This song is perfect for the creepiest season of the year with the lyrics, “I wake up in an ice cold sweat and my skin starts to creep. You’re hovering above my bed looking down on me. Haunted house sound effects, Dracula teeth,” with the intent of describing a wicked lover.
11. “Vacant Lot”- The Growlers
The entirety of The Growler’s album “City Club,” has the mood of a desolate evening out past the time when nothing good occurs, and “Vacant Lot” is not dissimilar. With lyrics like, “Gotta crawl out of the vacant lot. But the helping hands have all been burned. Cried wolf, a thousand times. Used up every line, lady Luck won’t turn again,” singer Brooks Nielsen intends on giving the listener a look into a muddy, bloody vacant lot where nothing positive happens.
12. “Devour”- The Garden
“Devour” is perfect to listen to on Halloween for costume inspiration if you’re too broke for a costume and must substitute with a sheet and a pair of flip flops. With lyrics like, “I live by my knife, I’m so petty. Like a ghost with flip flops, I’m not heavy.”
Turn this playlist up loud and proud at your next spooky get together and watch your friends’ eyes roll back in their heads and their feet start to move with the Halloween grooves.