the time has come for bitter things

Whoa baby...... can you guys feel that? Can you friggin feel it? Tonight is Devil's Night!! Pre-Halloween bash! Originally a tradition in Michigan where kids would fuck shit up before Halloween and it escalated to pretty severe arson in Detroit in the 1980's. I think it's a beautiful thing and it leads into my favorite celebration of the year, HALLOWEEN! The last surviving pagan holiday. A day that youth has complete control on society. The last truly communal celebration/activity we have. Every year little kids and teens dress up like things that go bump in the night and go door to door asking for tribute in the form of candy. The adults go along with this much like people who implicitly accept organized crime in their community. For if you do not give the children what they want you may be victim to petty vandalism. GOD DAMN IS THAT NOT BEAUTIFUL? People making lanterns or bonfires in other parts of the world and why? Because the nights are getting longer and even with all our science and reason the darkness still speaks to a primal part of our souls. This is why we dress up as ghouls and goblins, we are trying to reclaim our fears. A night where everybody gets to be something they're not and play a character. There is nothing I like better than Halloween and the fact it has survived Christianity's assaults is a testament to our primary instincts as well the energy of our youth. The theme today is obvious.

The first is the obvious choice. THE MISFITS - HALLOWEEN. I always talk shit about how their only good album is Static Age yet here I post another non Static Age track (3 in a row now I have posted). Exceptions prove rules, OK? This song is beautiful and really encapsulates the vibe I'm trying to communicate. "This day anything goes". No official video but a nice little youtube made clip.



Next up I'm going to school you on a failed Hip Hop experiment. HORRORCORE. Def Jam tried to find the next big thing in Hip Hop. Trying to find ways to bridge more gaps between white and black youth culture they pushed horrorcore. A brand of hip hop that talked about the themes of many metal bands. The problem is that white kids generally will follow black kids when it comes to urban music and well, inner city kids don't need to make up stories to be scared of what lurks in the dark corners of their streets. Death being much more real in their communities they had no need to fantasize about it. Needless to say it was a flop. Still though kinda cool to dig on at this time of the year, I give you FLATLINERZ - SATANIC VERSES.



Next up is one of the most important bands in my life. THE CRAMPS. When I first saw them on YTV's the anti-gravity room they blew my mind. It got me way into punk and more adult comic books. I still think their music is up there in my top 20 favorite bands ever. One thing that makes me feel even cooler is that one of my heroes Ian McKaye saw them live back in 79 and it pushed him into punk! He also met the Bad Brains at that show! Anyways The Cramps coined the word psychobilly and most of their songs evoke b-movie horror. If one band could actually be from Rod Serling's The Twillight Zone it would be them. I give you I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF.



Next up is the most Halloween guy of all. What Morrissey is to sappy love and depression, DANZIG is to skeletons and Satan. A universally loved figure. He's got the voice of Frank Sinatra but singing about death. How can you NOT like that? His biggest ever single MOTHER.