If you want to know what goes on in our house on a typical Friday night, just imagine this superimposed with various songs and punctuated by cries of "More!" and "Stop doing that!" as the kid vacillates between being fascinated and embarrassed by his ever so slightly crazed parents letting out the stress of the week. (He's, of course, more than welcome to join us, although he prefers to mostly stand still and do a modified Butabi brother move.)
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Halloween and dressing up for it was never really something I got into, for myself, mostly because growing up, I never lived anywhere that really celebrated it (even though I was aware of what it was), other than the one year in Spain when we went to an American international school. College was a different matter, though. There were some excellent parties to be found on and off campus at my school, and the best ones were thrown by the artsy undergrads of our school of arts and music, and almost all of them required costumes for admittance (or, er, crashing). My favorite getup is still the one from freshman year, when my roommate and I decided to dress as Axel Rose and Slash, respectively, which required very little effort on our part, other than rustling up some extra bandannas and a top hat--everything else came from our own closet. (This was just before I cut my hair, too, so I dyed it with some cheap temporary black spray from a dollar store and crimped the hell out of it, because it was too long and heavy to curl or frizz. It's a miracle it didn't all fall out; as it was, I probably would have needed to cut it, anyway, even if I hadn't already been planning to.)
What I've always liked, though, is music that Halloween-y in nature, not just for that night but in general. The one classical piece I always go back to is this one; it's not quite as popular as 'In the Hall of the Mountain King' from the Peter Gynt suite, or the 'O Fortuna' portion of Carmina Burana, and possibly not as visibly terrifying, but I think it's just as effective, especially given its story.
Symphonie Fantastique: 4th Movement ('March to the Scaffold') - Berlioz
This is also a special addition to tonight's Friday night playlist, because of Halloween (although, honestly? I play XTC on a regular basis around here, anyway!)
Peter Pumpkinhead - XTC
Finally, the kid's choice. He is still pretty much stuck on The Doors, but he has now moved on to a new song as "the sound of The Doors" (I still need to know where he picked up that line up). I am little tired of them, so let's go with the cover, shall we? (Plus the video makes it so much more Halloween appropriate)
People Are Strange - Echo and The Bunnymen (cover from The Lost Boys soundtrack)
