Music Mondays | Halloween Favorites

To celebrate the spooky season, the WDCE 90.1 FM DJs curated a Halloween Mix! Each DJ had the opportunity to submit songs of their choice to help create a monthly themed playlist and diversify our listening. Here are five wicked song recommendations pulled from the collaborative mixtape!

“Wuthering Heights” by Kate Bush

Haunting, yet captivating describes Bush’s melodic interpretation of the gothic novel, “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë. The tune embraces a textured composition, opening with a whimsical piano ballad, layering dreamy vocals, synths, percussions and strings and ending with a wailing guitar solo. Bush deliberately heightens the pitch of her voice to generate an ethereal effect – capturing and amplifying the eerie nature depicted in Brontë’s novel. 

The song is written from the perspective of the late Catherine Earnshaw, nicknamed ‘Cathy,’ as a yearning ghost who returns to and haunts her lover, Heathcliff. Bush even adapted dialogue from the book to authenticate her storytelling, painting vivid scenes and capturing themes of their toxic love affair through her songwriting. 

“Eyes Without a Face” by Billy Idol

Similarly to Bush’s “Wuthering Heights,” this Billy Idol track also contains a dreamy atmospheric synth, which is perfect to conjure up a transcendent vibe. This song makes me want to get chased down a dark, strobing hallway by a masked axe murderer – in a good way, of course. Jokes aside, “Eyes Without a Face” was a reference to a 1960’s French horror film “Les yeux sans visage,” and incorporates bits of the imagery and parallel metaphors of thematic concepts through melancholic lyrics. This new-wave hit contains hypnotic guitar tones and an airy feminine backtrack to compliment Idol’s low register vocals.

“Dear Prudence” by Siouxsie and the Banshees

The battle of British rock bands: this Siouxsie and the Banshees cover of The Beatles’ “Dear Prudence” knocks the original recording out of the water. Siouxsie and the Banshees’ signature sound generally emits gothic and psychedelic tones that curate an ominous ambiance – making this song perfect for an eerie night. The synth is menacing and head-whirling, which triggers a euphoric feeling. I personally consider this a post-punk masterpiece and a definite staple for your Halloween playlist.

“You’re Dead” by Norma Tanega

Folk singer Tanega’s “You’re Dead” is a fairly upbeat tune that juxtaposes its uncanny lyrics. This track features bluesy acoustics and percussion instruments like the tambourine. The first few twangs of the guitar strings are mesmerizing, and the dropped tuning she uses adds an essence of darkness to accompany her unique voice. Tenega’s vocals are terrifyingly monotone, sternly repeating “You're dead, you're dead, you're dead” and variations of that phrase throughout all seven verses of the song. Before giving this song a listen I never would have thought folk could be so daunting!

“Happy Colored Marbles” by Ween

Last but not least we wish you a Happy Hallo-WEEN (haha) with “Happy Colored Marbles!” This track also contains chilling tones of layered dark ambient sounds. The contrasting vocals create a pleasurable blend that contributes to the creepy mood of the overall song. The higher-pitched voice seems a bit childlike in a sinister way while the deeper pitched voice evokes a tense and dismal tone, complimenting each other well. I was frightened my first time listening to this song after experiencing the jump-scare screeching towards the end. It kind of feels like you are spiraling into a hell-hole– which does indeed sound miserable – but not if you consider the sense of excitement and adrenaline rush it would bring.

Honorable Mentions:

“A Child of a Few Hours is Burning to Death” by The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band

“Black Magic Woman” by Fleetwood Mac

“Black No. 1” by Type O Negative

“Blood of the Fang” by clipping.

“Dead Man’s Party” by Oingo Boingo

“Lust for a Vampyr” by I Monster 

“Nights Over Egypt” by The Jones Girls

“Sweet Transvestite” by Tim Curry

“Grimly Fiendish” by The Damned

“Witchcraft” by Graveyard Club

You can check out the playlist here!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/06PFIPU2QC7ItzqgWr9gFZ?si=b920ac4648ad44a7