Halloween '13

No one has influenced my mix-making more than Ellen, who gave me first ever mix CD. For years, she made one mix every Halloween season, each of which soundtracked much of my high school and college years. Ellen's mixes were the first place that I heard Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Nina Simone, Joanna Newsom and others.

It's been a few years since she's made a Halloween mix, but I'm hoping to get her back into the habit this year.



Halloween '13

1. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, "Papa Won't Leave You, Henry"
2. Daikaiju, "Attack of the Crab Women"
3. Fantômas, "Night of the Hunter"
4. Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, "Lil' Red Riding Hood"
5. Johnny Cash, "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky"
6. My Bloody Valentine, "Feed Me With Your Kiss"
7. Link Wray, "Jack the Ripper"
8. Danzig, "Mother"
9. Guns N' Roses, "You're Crazy"
10. Screamin' Jay Hawkins, "Frenzy"
11. Black Sabbath, "Supernaut"
12. Jarvis Cocker & Beth Ditto, "Temptation"
13. The Specials, "Ghost Town"
14. Public Image Ltd., "Flowers of Romance"
15. The Edgar Winter Group, "Frankenstein"
16. The Five Blobs, "The Blob"
17. Thom Yorke, "Black Swan"
18. Fiona Apple, "Dull Tool"
19. Bauhaus, "Bela Lugosi's Dead"
20. Pixies, "In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)"

Rather than compete with Ellen's mixes, which came with the aura of pumpkin-carving and costume-donning, mine are meant to sound a little more sinister. Black Sabbath's most underrated song gets a spot, as do the reliably creepy Hawkins and Sam the Sham. I'm also to playing Ellen's love for movies with Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead," Fantômas' tribute to Night of the Hunter, the Pixies' take on Eraserhead's "In Heaven" and the original Blob theme, which, amazingly, was written by Burt Bacharach.

Ellen is also a big Fiona Apple and Jarvis Cocker fan, so I've included non-album tracks from both of them. I'm hoping she'll appreciate the cabin fever horror of "You're Crazy" and the beautifully bleak "Black Swan," and I'm pretty sure she'll find Danzig hilarious. But if she doesn't, she can always rock out to "Frankenstein."

Sharp Dressed Bands

My sister is a costume designer who knows more about clothes than I do about music. She's responsible for most of my wardrobe that isn't band t-shirts, so the least I can do is send her a mix for her birthday.



Sharp Dressed Bands

1. Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins, "Rabbit Fur Coat"
2. Jerry Lee Lewis, "Chantilly Lace"
3. Shorty Long, "Devil with the Blue Dress On"
4. Run-D.M.C., "My Adidas"
5. Elvis Presley, "Blue Suede Shoes"
6. The Cramps, "Sunglasses After Dark"
7. Spoon, "The Fitted Shirt"
8. Bob Dylan, "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat"
9. Elvis Costello, "Green Shirt (acoustic)"
10. Charles Mingus, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat"
11. David Bowie, "Fashion"
12. Paul Simon, "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes"
13. Dolly Parton, "Coat of Many Colors"
14. ZZ Top, "Sharp Dressed Man"
15. James Brown, "Hot Pants"
16. The Kinks, "Dedicated Follower of Fashion"
17. Tom Waits, "Pasties and a G-String"
18. Screamin' Jay Hawkins, "Yellow Coat"
19. Prince, "Raspberry Beret"
20. Minor Threat, "Good Guys (Don't Wear White)"
21. Leonard Cohen, "Famous Blue Raincoat"
22. Mick Jagger and The Chieftains, "The Long Black Veil"
23. The Residents, "Boots"

How much do I care about my sister? Enough to submit the creepiest version of "Chantilly Lace," the loneliest "Long Black Veil" and the weirdest "Boots." Enough to pretend that I forgot about "Denim and Leather" and "Undone (The Sweater Song)." Enough to consult The A.V. Club. Enough to track down the original "Devil with the Blues Dress On." Enough to wonder if she thinks David Bowie's "Fashion" is about clothes, dancing or fascism. Enough to sandwich ZZ Top between Dolly Parton and James Brown. Enough to treat her to an Elvis Costello demo and a Tom Waits deep cut. Enough to remind her of Screamin' Jay Hawkins.