Staff Pix 10/30: Spooky

“Phobophile” by Cryptopsy

Listen, I know it might be no “Monster Mash,” but “Phobophile” may as well be the best possible alternative. After all, Cryptopsy offer something for everyone here: eerie, atmospheric piano intro? You got it. Gut-busting levels of brutality? Absolutely. Vocals that sound like some sort of mutated rabid dog or bog monster? Here in spades. But the real question is: Is it danceable? Maybe, if you try hard enough. The guitar tone sure is filthy, though! It’s an all-around disgusting, vicious and punishing affair, one which is sure to lose you the aux at a Halloween party or some similar gathering. But all I know is that every time I hear Lord Worm belch out a sound approximating something like “RAAAH” or “GRAUUUGH” while the drums, bass and guitar play like they have a gun pointed at their heads, I feel myself become filled with an undeniable fervor for the Halloween season, i.e., a desire to go out and steal all of the candy from a trick-or-treating bowl. — Lucca Swain

“While We’re Young” by April March

Released in 1996, “While We’re Young” is a perfectly spooky cover of “Le Temps de l’Amour” that swathes in swirling retro dreams, sinking its teeth into the immortality of youthful romance. “Say it’s time for love, it’s time for a thrill and an adventure / Say you’ll drive me away, fast on the cliffs and we’ll be in danger.” April March delivers a timeless rendition of the 1960s French classic, revelling in the woes of reckless romance with plucked notes of serene surrender. “Tell me they’ll be no fear / As we walk to the edge / Stare at the void / While we’re young.” Every time I listen to this song I can’t help but imagine me and my blank-faced lover speeding to the edge of the world, no brakes in sight: “We’ll never grow old / The sun will expire / In our embrace.” Did I mention we’re both vampires? — Heather Thorn

“Good Morning, Captain” by Slint

Something is creeping up behind you in the darkness. The sound of waves crashing mixed with creaking boards and groaning metal makes you feel sick in the stomach. You can’t see what’s out there. You’re the only one left. You’re on your own now. “Good Morning, Captain” is the harrowing closing song of Spiderland, Slint’s second and final album. The song was recorded entirely in the dark, per vocalist Brian McMahan’s request. Through croaked spoken word lyrics that nestle among lingering minor keyed guitars, it tells the story of a lone captain searching and pleading for help after the rest of his crew has been wiped out in a horrific storm. It’s bleak and anguished, made to reflect the transition of childhood to adulthood, the captain standing as the last boy left with innocence as his peers have been swept away by the cruelty of adulthood. Outside of the storytelling and visualization within the song’s characters themselves, “Good Morning, Captain” holds haunting weight in Slint’s reality, too. The coda of the song explodes into intense, overpouring emotions and instrumental, McMahan screams out “I’m sorry / And I miss you” with guttural guilt and hopelessness as he feels the song’s deeper meaning. The collapsing walls at the end of the 7 minute song finally cave in. McMahan, just 20 years old, is driven off the edge—you can hear it in the splitting desperation of his cries—and Slint’s end follows shortly after. In McMahan’s words, “I was thinking about my brother having to go through the same experiences as me, when everything was just becoming too much. I don’t even remember being sick. That whole part is just a blur.” After recording “Good Morning, Captain” McMahan would go on to check himself into a psychiatric hospital, and no Spiderland tour would ever follow. — Julia Schramm

“Skin Peeler” by Mortician

Crunchy, distorted and uneasy, Morticians’ Skin Peeler was recorded specifically for Harmony Korine’s Gummo, blending right in with the likes of other sludgy bands on the soundtrack like Sleep, Bathory and Eyehategod. As a door creeks open and a high pitched screeching starts, we’re approached by a man, “I’m coming to get you…” A chainsaw revs up and then… a bloodcurling scream, the chainsaw is relentless. Morticians’ busted out bass opens up the song directly in your face from the first note. It’s unintelligible, produced horribly and with drums that sound like they’re played on trashcans. But be honest and tell me that isn’t the ideal condition for a perfect eerie, grimy tune. Better wash off all the blood and sweat off your clothes (and maybe your chainsaw) after this one ends! — Mario Sierra

“Black Milk” by Massive Attack (ft. Elizabeth Fraser)

While Massive Attack’s Mezzanine can be listened to any time of the year, it really comes to life during the colder, spookier seasons. As an album it’s very cohesive, maintaining an ambient, dark, and digital sound throughout each of its songs. Intended or not, it’s an album that feels like it was designed to be listened to exclusively at night. While “Teardrop” and “Angel” are the trendier favorites from the album, an underrated and more ambient pick is “Black Milk”. It’s eerie, whistful, and atmospheric with simple, haunting lyrics echoed by Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins. Fraser’s vocals are truly what make the song stand out giving it a more ethereal sound than many of the other tracks on the album. If I was a ghost and I was looking for a song to listen to while haunting a house, “Black Milk” would definitely be a compelling option. — Fiona Cunningham

“Shallow Then Halo” by Cocteau Twins

In this spectral echo chamber of undeniable spiritual galore, Cocteau Twins incantate spells of the most allusive degree. With a deep dark atmosphere chalked full of ominous scratches and tears, there is a shedding of the skin, a being transformed by what they have witnessed, whether willingly or by chance. Surrounded by melodies marked by the same spiritual tones, “Shallow Then Halo” exists in its own singularity, so unsettlingly unique in its production that it continuously forms its own environment, a place of sacred skies and lush earth. There is an inherent transformation, or rather rebirth, to behold as the subject’s voice shakily warbles into obscurity. —Sophie Parrish

“You and Whose Army?” by Radiohead

Off their 2001 Album Amnesiac, “You And Whose Army?” is a song that I really hope plays at no Halloween party I’m at this year. It’s a very simple, eerie tune that would surely kill the mood of any get-together that decides to add it to their playlist. The distortion on Thom Yorke’s lyrics make his already uneasy vocal performance sound like it was recorded for an Ink Spots song in the 40s, and until the second half of the song where some percussion picks up, it is pretty much just him and a lowly piano accompaniment. There really isn’t a world where I would want to listen to this on anything other than an eerie playlist concocted for Halloween time, but please do not add this to any party mix for the spooky season. — Nick Hendrickson

“Get Naked (I Got A Plan)” by Britney Spears

In 2023, pop auteur Caroline Polachek described her song “Crude Drawing Of An Angel” as “scorny,” meaning scary and horny. I love that song and that term, but no song better exemplifies it than the princess of pop’s “Get Naked.” Producer Danja sings prominent backing vocals over razor-sharp synths, melodies as swirly as cobwebs, and ooky-spooky theremin. The song is sex as satanic ritual, a call to surrender to one’s most primal urges. “GET NAKED! GET NAKED! GET NAKED,” Britney chants, her vocals pushed to the back of the mix so that the chorus becomes as percussive as the strings in the Psycho shower scene. Blackout as a whole is a dark pop album, but it’s never as spooky as it is on “Get Naked.” — Bennett Himmel

“Goblin Girl” by Frank Zappa

“Goblin Girl” by Frank Zappa is a fun, eccentric, and spooky song. Released in 1981 on Zappa’s album “You Are What You Is”, “Goblin Girl” is about “untraditional” women. Throughout the song you can hear high pitched ghoulish laughing and goblin noises. This song is a great choice if your looking for an eccentric and spooky song to listen to this halloween. — Makayla Markus

“Army of Me” by Björk

Björk’s “Army of Me” is the perfect addition to any Halloween playlist of mine. With its heavy, almost throbbing bassline, eerie vocals, and hauntingly robotic production, the song feels like the soundtrack of a villain’s grand entrance. There’s something dark, unsettling, and slightly otherworldly about it, which also isn’t abnormal for our queen Björk. It makes you feel like you’re wandering through an artsy haunted house or being chased through a horror movie in a swan dress. But beyond its spooky atmosphere, the song is almost intimidatingly confident. It gives you an uneasy, hypnotic, yet empowering feeling all at once, making it the perfect soundtrack for getting ready for your very own Halloweekend adventures. — Oona Schulweis 

“My Own Mistakes” by Snow Strippers

“My Own Mistakes” off of Snow Strippers’ second album April Mixtape 2 sets the perfect vibe for Halloweekend. An eerie feeling creeps over you as a cackle echoes in the background. This song was recently recommended to me by my girlfriend and it’s quickly made its way into my Halloween party playlists. “I see every move you make / I’m tormented by my own mistakes” Tatiana hauntingly sings. The song is a mix of Snow Strippers’ usual dreamy EDM sound with spooky sounds, providing that perfect mix between scary and party ready. — Andy Brown

“Spooky” by Atlanta Rhythm Section

It’s in the name man. Atlanta Rhythm Section (ARS) might be known for their big hit “So Into You,” but this is where the juice is at. This yacht rock banger is the perfect song to slide in the deep pocket of your halloween party playlist, it’s groovy, it’s about love, it’s guitars are sonically smooth yet tight as the 70’s come. The lyrics, cheesy, “I proposed on Halloween.” “Just like a ghost, you’ve been a-hauntin my dreams.” And if you can’t stand the shit they’re singing about, welp, the back half jams out, leave your troubles at the door of the graveyard. — Sam Shipman