Friday Five : |ˈfrÄ«dÄ – fÄ«v| : On the sixth day of every week, I hit the shuffle button in iTunes and share the first five tracks and thought for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, occasionally we’ll have a guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up the media player of your choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.
The Five:
Merry All Hallows’ Eve, my faithful ghosts and goblins! As is customary when the Friday Five falls on a holiday, we’re shuffling through a specific corner of the laboratory… I mean, library. So let’s queue up the shuffle and see what frights it has to offer, I see you shiver with antici…
“Everyday is Halloween” by Ministry (from Just Can’t Get Enough: New Wave Halloween, 1998)
I don’t know that I ever considered Ministry to be New Wave (Darkwave, maybe), but I’m not going to complain. According to iTunes I own no less than five different versions of this song, which may provide some insight to my dedication to the early machinations of what would eventually become Industrial/Goth music. While I never really bought into the goth sub-culture whole-heartedly, I certainly embraced large portions of it. Wax Trax! may have well been the official record label of Halloween.
“Godlike (12″ Version)” by KMFDM (from Black Box: Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years (disc 2), 1994)
I was just saying! Take one riff from Slayer’s ode to Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, add a driving beat, and a lyrical dash of disenfranchisement and you have the recipe for one of the most crushing industrial tracks ever recorded.
…and no, KMFDM does not stand for “Kill Mother Fucking Depeche Mode.”
“Trick or Treat” by Justin Roberts (from Jungle Gym, 2010)
Sure, this might be “Kindie” music, but it’s in keeping with the theme. Halloween is for the children, after all. (Right?)
“Halloween” by Dave Matthews Band (from 1994-03-26: DMBLive: Irving Plaza, New York, NY, USA, 2009)
If there were one truly uncharacteristic tune in the DMB catalog, it would be “Halloween.” Lyrically the tune deals (frankly) with Dave’s relationship with his early muse’s (Julia Grey) rebuttal of his multiple marriage proposals, and resolves in Dave howling “Love is hell.” Musically it is as stripped down as DMB gets, with the early versions being played nearly exclusively by the trio of Dave (guitar, vocal), Carter (drums), and Stefan (bass). Until recently, this track was a rarity in the live setting.
“Sweet Transvestite” by Tim Curry (from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 1989)
“SAY IT!”
…pation
Yes, I do hold a yearly Halloween viewing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Yes, I can recite (from memory) nearly every bit of crowd participation.
Happy Halloween, folks!
What’s on your shuffle today?
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