Playback the Music Podcast

Songs for Spooky Season

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Singer-songwriters and producers Nina Blu and J. Xander unpack their favorite songs they want to hear around the Halloween season. They go back and forth between party vibes and some seasonal favorites that are as comforting as your favorite pumpkin spice latte. 

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Nina:

Welcome to Playback, the podcast about what's hot and trending in music right now. I'm singer songwriter Nina Blu.

J. Xander:

And I am singer songwriter producer J. Xander.

Nina:

Alright J, this week we have decided to give a rundown of our favorite Halloween songs that you can add to your playlist for the upcoming spooky season. J, are you feeling spooky?

J. Xander:

Spooky as hell.

Nina:

Awesome.

J. Xander:

Let's get into it.

Nina:

Amazing. I saw this one girl on TikTok and she was talking about how she wished that Halloween music was a thing the way that Christmas music was a thing.

J. Xander:

Yes.

Nina:

And I was like, I feel seen, I feel heard. I totally wish it was a thing, but not like in the same way that Christmas music is, like I don't want to hear the same 12 songs over and over again like I feel we do every Christmas. Which is kind of like my beef with Christmas music. I love like new, fresh stuff when it comes out. Like when pop artists like have a Christmas album and they have an original song on it. So that's what I would want Halloween music to be. I don't want it to be like the same 12 things that I hear every year.

J. Xander:

Yeah. Cause a lot of those songs are like very on the nose. Christmas kind of stuff. You know what I mean? Where it's just like a lot of the songs we're going to be talking about today is like more so they fit the theme of being scary. They capture the vibe. I think that's what she probably meant, you know?

Nina:

I would agree with that. So you and I both have a list of 10 Halloween songs. I went for kind of a party vibe. What did you go for?

J. Xander:

I went, I did a mix I think of both of just like overall songs that I'm like during this time of year like. I feel weird if I don't hear these songs.

Nina:

Yeah, okay. Alright, so we'll, we'll have a good mix. So, we're gonna get into our top ten Halloween songs. Did you also have a hard time narrowing it down to ten? Because I felt like that was so difficult.

J. Xander:

Yeah. Yeah,

Nina:

I have five honorable mentions and it's not enough.

J. Xander:

I don't think I have quite that many, but I did, I did find it difficult to, to write this list. Yeah.

Nina:

All right. So getting into our top 10 Halloween songs, J, what is your 10 out of 10?

J. Xander:

So I have Sally's Song from Nightmare Before Christmas, but specifically Amy Lee. from Evanescence's version of it because she takes this song to a whole other level with like the drums and the new like guitar arrangements it makes it makes it just feel that much thicker but I've always loved even the original version of this song because it starts off with like a lot of interval skips and as you and I Both probably know Nina that in a lot of verses, like when a song starts, everything's kind of stepwise and conversational, but this one gives you this feeling of, I don't know where this song is going. Yeah. And there's also parts.

Nina:

I that way about that melody. It's very wandering, even though it's tight.

J. Xander:

Yeah. And it kind of captures the feeling of like, oh, she's really thinking about what is actually going to happen about. This guy or this person I really like which there's a lot of us I think a lot of the time we have wandering thoughts like that And it's also there's also parts of it where the seventh is flatted here So it creates like a mixolydian kind of feeling which for anybody that doesn't know that's one of the modes that kind of feels bittersweet

Nina:

Like you never quite reached the home note. I love Mixo. I wish I wrote in it more. Yeah, I love her rendition, Amy Lee's, because it like this song has so many leaps in it and that's just like child's play for her voice and she does it so, so, so well. It was a little somber so it didn't make my list.

J. Xander:

Yeah.

Nina:

But I do, that is my favorite rendition of that song for sure. And I love, I love that movie.

J. Xander:

Billie Eilish just put out a pretty good one too. She did it live.

Nina:

Oh, she would do that really well.

J. Xander:

Yeah, it's pretty good.

Nina:

Oh, that would fit her super well. Okay. So I cannot have a top 10 list for Halloween without having the queen of witches, as we know her, Stevie Nicks, on this list. So I have Edge of Midnight, the Midnight Sky remix, which is Miley Cyrus featuring Stevie Nicks. And it has Edge of Seventeen and Stevie Nicks' vocals. And the way that the two overlap would do so well at a Halloween party. I love both of those songs and they do give me, like, nice little Halloween vibes, so.

J. Xander:

You know what's funny? It's, I was like, I have to include Stevie Nicks on this list in some way, shape, or form, but I had a tough time picking like, oh, A, which song, and B, like, does it actually fit the theme? You know what I mean? Yeah. Um, but like, this one, yeah, I, I, I could see that for sure.

Nina:

And we got Miley in there and she hasn't like admitted to being a witch but that would not fucking surprise me Not even remotely.

J. Xander:

Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me either. Good for her.

Nina:

Yeah, good great for her Um, that was such a great album. I love I loved Miley's rock phase

J. Xander:

Same.

Nina:

It was so good. Alright J. What's your number nine?

J. Xander:

So my number nine is actually gonna be Don't Fear the Reaper by a small indie band called Keep Shelly in Athens and I think the really the reason why is because this to me sounds like if Fleetwood Mac were to cover this song today. It just feels very modern. There's like a lot of reverb and processing in the vocals and everything and I like that they took the tempo down a lot because I liked listening to the original and then this one back to back, and it's funny, the original to me is like, I love that song because I used to play it on rock band all the time with my brother, but it always felt like more of a fun song to me, and it had like a lot of cowbell, um, so it didn't register that this is supposed to be like kind of a scary song, um, but I got that more from this particular version of it.

Nina:

That's a really good point, because on my list of honorable mentions is the original by Blue Oyster Cult, and what a name. What a fucking band name. How odd. Anyway, it's a great spooky song, and it does take you a while to get into the lyrics. I'm gonna have to listen to this band's version again, because it did bother me. I was like, oh, it's too slow, it's too slow. But I'm gonna, I'm gonna have to check it out again. Give it some space. Alright J, my number 9, we've already talked about it, but I feel if this doesn't make it on your Halloween playlist for Halloween party, you have failed. It is She Wolf by Shakira.

J. Xander:

Oh, it's not on my list, but only because we talked about it last week. So for me, it would be like an honorable mention for sure.

Nina:

I almost didn't include it because we did talk about it last week. Um, but I, I can't, I can't leave this song. I love this song. I love the hook on it. It's so catchy. I was listening to it today when I was on the treadmill and I was having a blast listening to it. So it's a good, it's a good dance song. Yes.

J. Xander:

Yeah.

Nina:

For, for a good Halloween party if you want to get down.

J. Xander:

That's a good one for sure. I've already talked about why I like this song, but it's just like all the little like fun vocal inflections too. People don't really talk about that. But like in recording, it's the little things sometimes that you say in the background that elevate, elevate a song so much.

Nina:

And she nailed it. She found the humor in this and she went for it. I'm so impressed by this song every time I listen to it, but we did talk about it a lot last week, so, uh, listeners, if you're really curious how we feel about this song that we love and adore very much, you can go back. Alright, let's move on to number 8. J, what was your number 8?

J. Xander:

So I have Zombie by the Cranberries, cause I feel like this just has to be on my list. From the very first note, it just already gets you in the mood for what she's gonna be singing about. And also, I just love the lyrics here in general. A lot of the lyrics in these particular songs, I noticed do a really good job of something called sense bound writing. So they're not super literal in describing like a monster or something. It's more so describing the feeling that you get as you're getting scared, as you're getting chills about something. I love that about this song and a lot of the other songs we're going to talk about.

Nina:

J, that's such a good point. I just, I'm laughing so hard right now because Zombie is my number seven. It's my number seven. So we were so close on that. We were so tight. Yeah. Um, but you're right. Like these Halloween Spooky songs, they go for the feeling as opposed to really instead of image bound, they do that sensory thing. So that might be a really good tip for songwriters at home who want to write a good spooky song.

J. Xander:

And also, and also I'll bring this up because we're both fans of the show, but I feel like they played this in Derry Girls, like 50 times. I felt like I heard it a lot, which makes sense, which makes sense. But I'm like, I have to bring it up here. It has to be on this list.

Nina:

You know what? I'm going to rewatch the Halloween episode of Derry Girls, because that has to be one of the best episodes of television I have ever seen in my life. In, in my life. I won't spoil it for anyone, but it, it truly, it's y'all just go watch the episode and if you don't watch the rest of the series, like. That's fine, but you can just watch that episode and then go back and start over. It is so funny. Okay, so my number eight was Superstition by Stevie Wonder. I felt like I couldn't leave this song off the list. The song slaps, man, and it's Stevie Wonder for Christ's sake.

J. Xander:

It's an honorable mention for me.

Nina:

Really?

J. Xander:

Yeah, this would be like number 11, probably. Yeah. Okay. Alright. But I do really love this song.

Nina:

It's so good. This song is amazing. Um, the way that it moves and evolves and, ugh, the horn section. It's so fun to listen to and the way that it comes down into Superstition Ain't the Way it feels like a punchline, the way that the song rises and falls. I just, I love it. I love it.

J. Xander:

So almost more like a verse refrain kind of approach, maybe? Almost, yeah, a little

Nina:

bit.

J. Xander:

I think with this song,

Nina:

it's like It's a really punchy song. I love it.

J. Xander:

Yeah, I think also like this has a really instantly recognizable instrumental hook. That's a good point. Yeah, so another tip for songwriters and honestly, if you make music and you don't have an instrumental hook, like what are you doing? Like that's so important, but you see it missing all the time and I don't know why.

Nina:

I think it's because so many producers have gotten away from being instrumentalists and I don't, like, I feel like even producers who are singers the way that you and I are, we can, like, sing a hook, and if we don't come up with a lyric for it, then we're like, oh, well, let's program it, like, let's try and figure something out, but I think we've just gotten away from that and it's kind of unfortunate, but instrumental hooks are great, like, a hooky bass. Is incredible, that can drive an entire song.

J. Xander:

Mm hmm.

Nina:

Alright, J, what was your number 7?

J. Xander:

Uh, my number 7 is Disturbia by Rihanna, cause I am a big, big fan of non lyric hooks. Bum bum dee dum. Like, that's so catchy, and I like, never forget it. But I also love the lyrics that describe Disturbia, like what it is. Um, cause again, going back to the sense bound stuff, it like, describes it as a thief in the night that comes up. Comes up and grabs you, slowly consumes you, and I'm like, that's such a good way to Explain this thing, you know what I mean?

Nina:

The section contour in that song is just absolutely phenomenal. The way that the lyrics, the melody speeds up and it slows down with longer sustained notes, the way that they're like some more staccato notes. I mean, the section contour is just phenomenal, but J That was my number two song. I'm so offended that this is so far down your list.

J. Xander:

I think it, yeah, I mean, you might have some of mine that are higher up about to come up, so I don't know.

Nina:

I have always loved this song. I remember when it came out, I think I listened to it over and over again. It was so good. Do you remember her VMA performance too with the zombies?

J. Xander:

Yes. Uh huh.

Nina:

That was so, so good. That was such an iconic moment for her.

J. Xander:

I really wish she would make like more scary stuff in general. Like this.

Nina:

She can do it really well. Like Bitch Better Have My Money even has some of that like feel to it.

J. Xander:

Yeah. I was gonna say like this Russian roulette and even for me, even Stay has a little bit of that. Like it's a very haunting kind of song.

Nina:

That's an extremely haunting song. Yeah. Yeah, how, how very vulnerable and sad. It does have kind of a, yeah, I can't, I can't come up with another word besides haunting. It has a very haunting vibe to it. Um, but no, you're right. She, she does that really, really well. And I, I love that about RiRi. Like she can do the spooky thing. Like she can steer into it and I wish she would do it more. I wish we could get more music period from Rihanna.

J. Xander:

Honestly, yeah.

Nina:

But, but she's happy and, and we love and support our queen.

J. Xander:

Yeah, that's true. I love RiRi. I love that little clip of her when she was trying so hard not to get cancelled that was going around on TikTok because she was, she was talking about her all inclusive underwear I think it was. She made sure she got every pronoun in there. She said, y'all are not about to cancel me today. No, no.

Nina:

We love and admire her. I really love her collab with Fenty. That has just really taken off in a huge way for sure. So artists, there's a tip if you get to a certain level to start collabing outside of the music industry. It is. That can make you a lot more money. I'm sure she's making a lot more money on this Fenty collab. I don't know. She's made pretty good. Pretty good.

J. Xander:

And especially if it's like a brand that you would probably, like a product that you would probably use anyway. You know, I feel like a lot of artists are like, oh, when they, you know, think about or talk about that kind of thing, they're like, I don't want to sell out. But if it's something you would use anyway, and it's a part of your personality or every day, like, why not?

Nina:

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Um, and that's, if it, if it feels true to you, then it should feel true to the consumer as well. I've seen a lot of bad brand partnerships. Famously, um, but I've seen, you know, I wasn't, Bunny's Girlfriend, but, um, that collab makes sense from like a product and person perspective. Like they do go together, their brands go together to me, but that was truly some of the most disastrous writing I have ever seen in my entire life. Who let that, who let that go to?

J. Xander:

Yeah, very, very tone deaf.

Nina:

Enough about idiot ad executives. Uh, we're on number six, right? Okay. So my number six is Bad Romance by Lady Gaga. This doesn't exactly have like super spooky lyrics, but it has that vibe to it.

J. Xander:

Yeah, I could see that. It's not on my list. Cause I, for some reason I didn't. I think that it fit the theme, but it's like if, I don't know, it also That could be sold on it because if you've ever seen like the movie Misery I feel like that's kind of teetering the line a little bit with like an obsessed lover kind of theme.

Nina:

Yeah, and um, what I like about it, like, the verses are so deep and growly that it does give me that vibe, and then like, the chorus is just lifting. Off with that incredible non lyric hook that we were all singing on TikTok what, like, a year ago was the Bad Romance Challenge?

J. Xander:

Still, I don't know. I don't keep up with the challenges on there. But yeah, I did, I analyzed the song one time in school, and what I thought was so fascinating about it is, like, the extreme Levels of contrast in all those different sections you go from like this very talky speaky part to these whoa Like super long notes, and then you get back to the rah Like everything's kind of broken up So that kind of makes sense with this like weird up and down relationship that she's talking about and I think it's brilliant

Nina:

That song is brilliant from start to finish. It's actually, I think, one of my favorite pop songs of all time.

J. Xander:

I would, if we ever do that list, this would be probably top five for me.

Nina:

I don't think I could do a top 10. I could maybe do a top 10 for like year by year, but I don't think I could do it. I just love pop music too much. Rolling Stone keeps trying to do it and they keep disappointing people. And I'm like, maybe y'all should, maybe y'all should not do like 500. Maybe you should do super niche things, not to give them our ideas, but, um, but yeah, I mean, it's got like that really cool growl element to it. It does feel obsessive and it's a great beat. So I say it works really well for Halloween party, but J, what was your number six?

J. Xander:

I have something very different So my number six is A Thousand Years by Christina Perri from the Twilight series.

Nina:

I'm about to roast the shit out of you.

J. Xander:

Why? Is this your number one?

Nina:

No! Did you only put this on here because of Twilight?

J. Xander:

Yeah, that's immediately what I think of when I hear this song.

Nina:

This is such like a soft, sweet song.

J. Xander:

Yeah.

Nina:

And I have separated it from Twilight. But wasn't it written for the movie?

J. Xander:

It was written for the movie.

Nina:

Okay,

J. Xander:

which is why like in my mind I can't separate it only because it's like when that came out It was like such a big thing. Like even if you didn't like It was popular just to roast Twilight, even if you weren't part of the fandom at all, like it was just a running gag to this day, to this day, I still say still a better love story than Twilight, whenever I'm trying to make fun of somebody's terrible toxic relationship.

Nina:

Have you, have you rewatched Twilight like recently?

J. Xander:

I've seen clips of people like roasting it.

Nina:

So I think I rewatched it like last year or something like that. I was just like, I'm gonna rewatch all of the Twilights. And they are so campy. Like, there's actually something brilliant about it. There are so many moments that I find so comical because they're so painful to watch.

J. Xander:

Yeah.

Nina:

There are so many moments in that movie that just crack, in, in those movies that crack me up. And I do like this song. I think it's a really well written song outside of the movie and it did really well in the movie too. Yeah. It was perfect for that scene.

J. Xander:

Cause I was thinking, like, what am I gonna say about this song that's good, but honestly, like, sometimes a song is just that good. You like, I don't feel like there's a need to, like, overanalyze or dissect what it, she's really saying with this one. It's just really well written, so.

Nina:

It is, it would make such a good wedding song if I didn't think of the damn Twilight wedding every time.

J. Xander:

Yeah.

Nina:

It would, I feel like it would do better if it wasn't their wedding song kind of thing, but the piano in it is beautiful, and it is a really, really good ballad.

J. Xander:

Gotcha.

Nina:

I can't believe you put it on your top ten.

J. Xander:

I absolutely did, yeah. This is a beautiful song. I almost put Jar of Hearts on here instead.

Nina:

Ooh, spooky.

J. Xander:

But just something, I don't know, just something about the Twilight reference, it was for me, I'm like, this is too campy like not to mention it on here.

Nina:

Oh my god. I Well, I have another reference coming up. All right, so my number five J is heads will roll by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

J. Xander:

This is my number one Yeah

Nina:

Oh my gosh! It's your number one spookiest song?

J. Xander:

Mm hmm. I'll explain why a little bit later, but go ahead.

Nina:

It took me years to divorce this song from the effing Glee rendition.

J. Xander:

See, I didn't even listen to that because after season one of Glee, I'm sorry. I was like, I can't follow this.

Nina:

I, if anything Matthew Morrison comes up on my feed, like I instantly, instantly scroll. I think I hung on to like season three and then it just got weird. Just constantly, like it felt edgy and new season one and then it got super weird. Yeah. And then they just had to keep getting like bigger and badder and worse and there were a lot of like, there was a lot of trauma to come out of that show. But they did do a Halloween episode. They did feature this song. This song is so good.

J. Xander:

Yeah, they mashed it up. Yeah, I did see like on Spotify. They like mashed it up with Thriller Which is also on my list later as it should be but I didn't listen to that I well, I'll just talk about it now since we're mentioning it. Yeah, but for me this song is Just from the very instant that it starts playing. I'm like, this is uncomfortable and weird

Nina:

The synths, just the organ, all of it, all of it, just gets me every time.

J. Xander:

Yeah, I am a huge, just like, whore for like, good sound design, I'm like, if this fits the theme, yeah, this one for me does it so much because I'm a Producer and that's like heavily based on I spend more of my time doing that than actually songwriting or performing sometimes For me that's like a critical thing, right? But also from like a songwriting perspective, there is not a moment. This song does not have a hook in it

Nina:

No, what the fuck is the song about? Who cares?

J. Xander:

I don't care.

Nina:

But it's got this amazing production and it's got so many hooks.

J. Xander:

Yeah, and it's like to start off a song by saying off with your head dance till you're dead. I'm like, I'm I'm sold. I don't I don't need any backstory any other that bull shit. Just yeah, whatever. I'm in.

Nina:

Yeah, this song is just is brilliant. What are the lyrics? Who gives a shit? If you have enough hooks, it doesn't matter. And they just went, like, they went fully into it. They got super weird. I would love to know more about the writing of this song, if the production, like, came first. Or if they had this weird idea for, like, heads will roll. I would love to learn more about this song. I regret not looking it up. Um, but, that was my number five.

J. Xander:

They're a very interesting band, very underrated, I think.

Nina:

They make so much good, solid... I don't want to say indie pop because you and I use that term, properly, which is independent.

J. Xander:

Yeah.

Nina:

But I guess, like, I would say alternative pop. They make such great pop.

J. Xander:

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Nina:

I've never been disappointed by them. Like, they're, they're just... They hit it every time. Like, they, they know how to write a damn hook. Instrumental, lyric, otherwise. Mhm. Alright J, what was your number 5?

J. Xander:

My number 5 is Building a Mystery by Sarah McLachlan. I talked about it a couple episodes ago, but I, I fucking love this song so much. It deserves to be like the theme of some horror X Files type of show, honestly, it's just written so well, and it, I love songs like this, that like describe another person and kind of serve as like a cautionary tale to like, you know, stay away from them, and it just does a really good job of engaging like that sense bound writing that we were talking about, using, really drawing the listener in by engaging their senses and kind of seeing and feeling what she's feeling while she's talking about this person.

Nina:

The language of that song is brilliant. Like, absolutely brilliant. I would find it a little somber to have on, like, a party playlist, but in terms of a Halloween playlist, this would be a great one to drive around town. I was listening to it while chopping a salad in the kitchen, and I was having a great time listening to it. So, I love it. I mean, it is, it's, I think it's one of her most, like, lyrically brilliant songs. Most lyrically sound.

J. Xander:

Yeah, she won a Grammy for it. So good for her.

Nina:

I didn't know that. All right, moving on to number four My number four, J, I can't get away from this song ever. It's maybe not like spooky Halloween, but I'm putting it on here anyway. It's Toxic by Britney Spears.

J. Xander:

I thought about that one too, just on principle. It's not on my list, but I mean, it is, I could see why you would put it. On yours, especially if you're going for more like a dancey Halloween theme.

Nina:

Yeah, those violins give me horror movie every time. They're just like slightly too grating to be like James Bond ish, which I think was the vibe that they were going for. But the violin, like the string part to me feels, feels horror. Like it's, it's in between action and horror. And the way she sings it, the way it goes up so high. I mean. I don't think it would do really well in a horror movie, but maybe. I don't know. I haven't seen it. Uh, but it does have like, danger vibes. It does have like, some kind of spooky, mysterious element to it, and I love this. This song still goes so hard. Like, Hozier sang it to acoustic guitar and killed it. Like, there's something brilliant about the writing of this song in that it translates. I've heard multiple covers of it, um, I've heard different productions of it. Like, it, it just, it works. It's so good.

J. Xander:

Have you heard the Cathy Dennis, like, original demo of it?

Nina:

No!

J. Xander:

It's on YouTube. I, I think give it a listen. It's, cause it's, for me it's always fun to see, like, The inception or like the first version of a song.

Nina:

Yeah, I always forget to like look up demos. Because it does give you a lot of insight into what the songwriter was feeling and thinking.

J. Xander:

Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And the production on it is almost, like, those same strings are on it. It's, like, very similar. So it's just really, it's really cool to see.

Nina:

That song, I feel, was so ahead of its time. It was so good.

J. Xander:

Yeah.

Nina:

And the video, iconic. If you're looking for a Halloween costume, pull up that video. You'll do fine.

J. Xander:

Mm hmm.

Nina:

All right, J. What was your number four?

J. Xander:

My number four? It's okay. This is where I put in Stevie Nicks. So I chose Rhiannon. Again, going back to I love cautionary tales like this, like Bette Davis Eyes type of songs where it's like, stay away from this person. I don't know why. It's just there's something about like that particular like song format. I think it's either second person or direct address. I always confuse those two to be completely honest with you, but it's just, it's like really effective, especially for like this, um, format. Well, kind of song that we're talking about. That's supposed to be like creepy or spooky. It just works. It's very effective for. Getting that kind of song, I think.

Nina:

Yeah, Cautionary Tale, that's funny, that does kind of play with like, the line between second person and direct address. Because oftentimes, um, the singer is talking about you, you want to stay away from them, but the main character is really the person you want to stay away from and then sometimes they'll like the singer will pull themselves into the world of like I was burned so I'm warning you so it's a little it is and that's funny. I'm actually working on a cautionary tale song right now.

J. Xander:

They're fun.

Nina:

And so they are fun. They're they're fun They do have spooky vibes Riannon and especially talking about like the black cat and this and that I mean, oh I love this song. Moving on to number three, I'm really, I think this is, I think we have the same thing here. I'm willing to bet money actually.

J. Xander:

Really?

Nina:

Yeah.

J. Xander:

What?

Nina:

Okay. Oh, wait, maybe not. Cause yours could be another one. Anyway, sorry. Um, my number three is Unholy by Sam Smith and Kim Petras.

J. Xander:

Oh, no, but mine is a Kim Petras song.

Nina:

Oh, dang. Okay. So this song has Such great, spooky, like, but spooky, seductive vibes to it. It's amazing. I, it won a Grammy for a reason, right? Have we talked about Unholy before? I think we have.

J. Xander:

Um, we did in the, uh, non binary episode. Uh, that's right. LGBT and non binary.

Nina:

Yeah. Um, so, In terms of like Halloween, this gives me great spooky vibes. Phrygian is a great way to write a spooky vibe because of that, um, because just the way that it moves, it just slides really well, I feel, which is also I think why you hear like a lot of metal songs in Phrygian too.

J. Xander:

Yes.

Nina:

The slides just work really well. I couldn't get into it at first. And then I think enough people were like, It's amazing. It's amazing. It's amazing. And finally I listened to it and I was like, Oh, okay. I see. I see.

J. Xander:

This one had to grow on me too. Yeah. It took

Nina:

me a while to get on board and now I'm on board forever. All right, J, what was your number three?

J. Xander:

So my number three is turn off the light by Kim Petras featuring Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Um, so there's like, Again, there's great sense bound writing in this lyric, but what I like about this song is that it's all done in a way that's very alluring, like a lot of the other songs are talking about how this is, you know, it's subtly describing how this is scaring you or making you feel a certain type of way, whereas this one is kind of drawing you in, and I love how she used Elvira's appearance here in the middle. So this, for me, it feels like the female or like modern version of, uh, of Thriller. So Elvira really is doing like the Vincent Price section.

Nina:

Yeah, I was thinking that when I listened to it earlier. I was like, Oh, this reminds me of Vincent Price.

J. Xander:

Yeah, that's exactly what

Nina:

it is. Yeah. I love that song my only beef with that song is I wish it were 5 BPM faster. Just like slightly more upbeat.

J. Xander:

Yeah.

Nina:

I just, the, I don't know why I want it to be just like a little bit... more upbeat, but you're right. Um, there, there are a lot of like theories that there's a seductive element to a lot of gothic horror because it came out of a period of time that had such strict morals around sexuality. And so this plays into that. This plays into the seductive Dracula vibe. This, it totally goes for all of that. And I love, I love this song. I just do wish it was like a little bit more upbeat.

J. Xander:

I could see that.

Nina:

I think it's because I want that from Kim Petras, like, I just want her to seduce me while also, like, dancing super fast. Alright, J, you knocked out my number two. Which was Disturbia. What was your number two?

J. Xander:

Oh, okay, so then I think I know what your number one is. So my number two is Thriller.

Nina:

That is my number one. That is my number one Halloween pick.

J. Xander:

That's very appropriate then. We can end talking about this song.

Nina:

We can end talking about Thriller. What was your number one again?

J. Xander:

Heads Will Roll.

Nina:

Heads Will Roll. Okay, so I knocked that out. Um, so Thriller. Iconic. Left, right, and center. I mean, I knew the dance when I was in middle school because all the girls wanted to learn the Thriller dance because of the movie 13 going on 30.

J. Xander:

Yeah, with Jennifer Gardner.

Nina:

Yes. And so we all learned it when we were like in the seventh grade. And what a weird dance to do. Let me just say, I can't believe anybody did that in a club, but everybody was doing that dance.

J. Xander:

Yeah, I, I, I remember when I was in choir, we had like this big spring show thing where I was not one of the people that did this dance.'cause I could not dance back then But it was like, it was like a whole thing and it felt, you know, I have just very fond memories of this song in general, but that's not really why I chose it. I just chose it because it's like, how could you not have this song on this list? You know?

Nina:

it is the spookiest of spooky songs. Well, one of the spookiest of spooky songs. Mm-hmm. um, it. It was such a moment in pop culture history. I mean, it was huge. Quincy Jones, that song, like, he took it to the next level, and when you have a talent like Michael Jackson, like, you can really do something this bizarre and this weird, but I was listening to it today, and the melody just flows so nicely, and the contour between the sections is still really good. Like, you know when you're in the chorus, and you know when you're in the verse, but there's just such a, like, a natural flow to it. Yeah. That, like, that I think of when I think of Quincy Jones, I think of, like, very natural progressions. They just feel like they, they level up and they elevate throughout the song, each section that you come to.

J. Xander:

Yeah. And that's very true. And I know I've been mentioning a lot of like the sense bound writing, um, throughout, but like this song is kind of the reason why, um, so Eric Leva, one of our professors at Berklee was actually, he actually used this song as an example, um, for, uh, Kind of spooky song I was trying to write and his advice was like you want to keep it to the emotions and the sense bound stuff Just like the lyric you start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes. You're paralyzed That's first of all, that's a good rhyme uh scheme that's kind of not a you know, not expected and also it just paints such a good picture and immediately like puts the listener into the story

Nina:

Yeah, oh Eric. Sweet, wonderful Eric, one of the best, best professors ever, best people ever, fantastic songwriter, always has the best advice I think I've ever gotten in my life.

J. Xander:

I have to tell you a quick story about him. So, okay, I remember I had him last year like around February ish when the Grammys happened So during our like private session, he said something along the lines of oh did you happen to catch any of the Grammys and I was like, I saw some of it like the Kim Petras and Sam Smith performance. And I was like, how about you? And he was like, oh, I was there. I was there. I was there. I was there with my friend Diana, who helped write, um, Bad Habit by Stevie Lacey. And I was like, damn, way too one up me.

Nina:

No, I mean, he's so humble too. Like you don't see it coming. And then he has like all of these great, amazing things happening for him, which good. He deserves all the good that this world has to offer. But, uh, so back to thriller and. I had never really thought about how spooky songs were about sense bound language, but you and I tried to write a spooky song last year about this time. And I think that's what we were really missing cause we got too into the metaphors and we got too into like looking for spooky language as opposed to just talking about how we feel when we feel scared. Or how we feel when we're uncertain, which are all very human traits. And I think that's a lot of the reason why I watch. Things like true crime or horror. Well, I guess I don't really watch like horror. I specifically don't like gore. I like suspenseful things. But I think that's a great way to tie into this for songwriters who do want to. Let's please start. Like Halloween music as a thing. I want it to be a competition every year of who can write the spookiest song. Yeah. Like I said, I don't want to repeat the same things. I want the classics there for sure, but I don't want to repeat the same thing over and over again. I want to see like, I want to see spooky songs coming out.

J. Xander:

Yeah. But what I like about that, even with just the ones that we have, I feel like there's a lot more variety too. You know, because we've had everything from like ballads to super hyper pop anthems in between, so I feel like there's a lot more to explore there. With Christmas, it's like, you can only get so sad before people are like, oh, I don't like this.

Nina:

Yeah, that's true. That's very true.

J. Xander:

But you can have a really fun Halloween song.

Nina:

I think the saddest Christmas song that is tolerable is probably Hard Candy Christmas by Dolly Parton and the way she sings it just makes it fun. Yeah. But we can do a Christmas episode much later. Halloween. I feel is superior when it comes to the music because there is so much freedom to explore and to have fun with it. And that is, I think, the takeaway from today. J, do you have any extra honorable mentions?

J. Xander:

So this would be a good precursor to a future episode, but Out of the Woods by Taylor Swift.

Nina:

Oh, yes. That has, that has great spooky elements to it. Yeah. And the way that she keeps repeating herself, it sounds like someone's like chanting to themselves in a horror movie.

J. Xander:

It's very Evil Dead, the video, too.

Nina:

Yeah, it is. Oh, that's right. I haven't thought about that video in so long. Oh my god, I can't, I can't wait. I cannot wait for our 1989 episode. I'm so stoked to hear Taylor's Version.

J. Xander:

But no, I had, uh, She Wolf and Superstition as well on there. Okay. I also thought about, um, E. T. by Katy Perry.

Nina:

I did too. I, oh my gosh, that, it's not on my list of honorable mentions, but that is a really good Halloween song because of the vibes. And what an album. What a fucking album. Teenage Dream forever. I need it on vinyl. Like, I want, I want like a collector's edition. Yeah. I remember I was like, this is pop. I was like, oh my god, this is so good. All right, so my honorable mentions, I mentioned Don't Fear the Reaper. Um, I feel like I have to put another witchy song on here, which is Put a Spell on You. My recent favorite rendition is by the artist IZA. And girl hits it. Like, she just goes for it. It's incredible. I have Sweet Dreams Are Made of This by The Eurythmics with Annie Lennox. Because I feel like that's a really good, I feel like you see it in a lot of horror comedy now, like in the background during like a chase scene. I feel like I've seen that recently.

J. Xander:

Yeah. Another one of theirs that I think like fits the theme really well is a song called In The City, um, which is like a very, that song is very unsettling.

Nina:

Yes. Oh, I haven't thought about that song in forever.

J. Xander:

Yeah, that's great. I think it's an, I, In the movie, Nine and a Half Weeks with Kim Basinger. Because it's a very, it's a very like sensual, but creepy song.

Nina:

Yeah. Um, so another one, and I have to, this is on my list of like things to rewatch in October. I feel like I have to rewatch it every October is Time Warp from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. I have yet to go to a Rocky Horror Picture Show, but I want to, like, I want to do the dress up thing. I want to throw bread, like I want to do the whole shit. And I was listening to that song today, and it makes me laugh every time. Yeah. It popped on, like, while I was in the shower because I made a playlist of my spooky songs and it just, like, happened to come up and I was like, I forgot about this song. You know how you get to the end of a playlist and it's like, ah, let me just play similar vibes. Yeah. It came on.

J. Xander:

Yeah, for sure.

Nina:

And my final honorable mention is W. I. T. C. H. by Devin Cole. It blew up on TikTok like last year. It started as a duet, which was really precious. And it's cute, and it's funny, and it's very girl power pop, and I hope it keeps resurfacing every year because it's precious. She's a woman in total control of herself. I think it came up at a really good time too. I think. A lot of women were feeling pretty beat down and we kind of needed that moment. So, so it was good. Anyway, I had like half my like, I had 15 songs. This is impossible to do with Halloween. It's just, it's too fun.

J. Xander:

This was a hard one. I would say, yeah,

Nina:

I tried super hard not to overthink it. And just like, go with vibes. But, ugh, it was difficult. Alright, J, you ready to wrap it up?

J. Xander:

Yup.

Nina:

Okay, getting into our final segment, our Playback Picks of the Week. J, what is your playback pick this week?

J. Xander:

So I've been using this song as a reference track, cause I wanna get one of my vocal students, uh, writing some music, but... Mine is Space Cowboy by Kacey Musgraves. Yeah, and one of the reasons I like this song so much is because it it has a really intriguing title but it uses it in like not, at least not how I was expecting. I was expecting this song to be like, literally about like a cowboy in space or something like that. But she

Nina:

Like the NSYNC song, Why-yi-yi-yippie-yi-yay-yippie-yi-yo-yippie-yi-yay?

J. Xander:

Yeah, something like that. Cause I mean, she's, she's a cowgirl. So I'm like, maybe she's, you know, it's an intergalactic love story. I don't know, but it's not, it's not about any of that. It's about kind of just moving on from a bad situation, which. Everybody, you know, has, a lot of people have been through, so.

Nina:

It's, I think, a lot of people have, and Casey too. The most recent album is the best case for that. But, I love that song, that's on the Golden Hour album, right? What a brilliant song, because she's like, you can have your space. Cowboy. Like she really gives him the space. That moment there is so brilliant. I love that song. I always associate space and cowboy because I grew up in Texas and we have NASA and like my grandparents worked for NASA. So I feel like. NASA and Rodeo go together in like a weird way and we always talk about like astronauts as kind of space cowboys like out in In the final frontier. Yeah, we use a lot of that language. And so it always tracks well for me Kacey is also from Texas She's from closer to Dallas more like Central Texas.

J. Xander:

I think there's a good lesson in that where it's like if you start off with like a really interesting title Or just like phrase, something like that. That's a good way to like start a song. You don't necessarily have to start with like a track or like a full on section. Sometimes ideas just generate and we'll talk a little bit more about that in the 1989 episode because that's how Taylor Swift wrote Blank Space.

Nina:

Oh, I love. So that now that you mentioned it, that does feel like a song that was written from the title. And that she did a lot of work with language and stuff and then the track kind of came along and they gave it some spacey vibes. Spacey Kacey is her name on Instagram. I love Kacey Musgraves. So J, what a great Playback Pick. Oh, this one. I need to

J. Xander:

revisit Golden Hour. Yeah, this one also has a really good key change in it, which I'm a sucker for.

Nina:

Yes you are. You so are. I love those. From like the first few months we were friends, I was like... J is a key change guy.

J. Xander:

Which is funny. Okay, so Nina's referring to this one assignment I did where I had like five key changes in it. I was going for like a Love on Top kind of thing. I was like, I'm going to do spooky Beyonce in this song. That's like the vibe.

Nina:

And you did it.

J. Xander:

Yeah, that's the vibe I was going for.

Nina:

You totally did it. Like every key change I was rooting for you. Like, I saw the lyric as I was listening to it and I was like. Go, go again, go again.

J. Xander:

That's amazing. But that was the first time I had ever used the key change, but I was like, I'm going to do it as much as I can.

Nina:

Yeah, it doesn't always work, but when it does, it works really well. It's, it's one of those you use it sparingly kind of things. And yeah, you just got to wait for the right magic moment.

J. Xander:

Exactly.

Nina:

All right, J, my playback pick of the week because it is October and I cannot help myself. Things are finally cooling off in Texas. I'm actually really bitter because a few weeks ago it was too hot to go lay by the pool and now it's too cold to go lay by the pool.

J. Xander:

Damn.

Nina:

I'm just so upset. But, it's October, spooky vibes, pumpkin spice, the whole shit. I have to turn on the Rumors album, I can't help myself. That album is like, I think my favorite pop album of all time.

J. Xander:

The whole thing?

Nina:

And, the whole day, I can't, I have it on repeat. My man, like all like today I was listening to the stuff that we wanted to listen to you like for the for the podcast.

J. Xander:

Uh huh.

Nina:

Yesterday, Rumors. And it's also like my go to when I'm really stressed out. So I got home from a trip at like one in the morning and I played Rumors to like calm me down on this hour long drive home. I landed at the airport at midnight and the part of the highway was shut down on the way home. So it took an hour and 45 minutes to get home So I didn't get home until like right before 2 in the morning and I just played Rumors on repeat Just to get me through.

J. Xander:

Let me tell you I had yeah, that's one of my favorite albums ever. Probably top 10. Um, well, actually I would say yeah, definitely top 10 somewhere. Dreams, especially, got me through like one of the worst breakups I think I've ever had.

Nina:

Really?

J. Xander:

Yeah, that song has a really special place in my heart.

Nina:

It does me too. Um, Silver Springs has gotten me through. And there's that TikTok trend right now that if you sing Silver Springs, then you will always haunt your ex.

J. Xander:

Let's do it. Let's do it. That'll be If

Nina:

If you sing it with your ex in mind, you will always haunt them. And so, people are saying, like, oh, that song is a spell, and so you'll cast a spell upon your ex if you think about them and you specifically you sing the bridge. So you'll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you is apparently like the spell part of the song and there are all these girls saying I used to sing this with my ex in mind and he always came back kind of thing. Like, I will always haunt you and I just love that. So finishing off our Halloween episode with my spooky queen bitch of all, Stevie Nicks. I love her. And I love Miss Christine. Broke my heart, but the album will live in my heart forever.

J. Xander:

Aw. Yeah, same. Honestly, at some point we can plan like a Top 10.

Nina:

We should do a Rumors episode for sure.

J. Xander:

I was almost gonna say, like, just straight up Fleetwood Mac, but I feel like that would be too much, so yeah, maybe.

Nina:

That's so hard. And then do we talk about Stevie, do we not? We could do a whole Stevie episode. And that's all that I have. J, do you have anything? Last thoughts?

J. Xander:

No, I don't, but go out and write a spooky song. Have fun with it. That's what I like about Halloween music is that it can be like super fun or it can also be super just edgy and in your face too. It can be anything.

Nina:

It can be whatever you want it to be. That's that's the joy of the holiday. All right. I hope that everyone has a very safe Halloween weekend. If you have any songs that you're upset that we didn't mention, please feel free to leave it in the comments and hit us up. Other than that, J, I think it's time to sign off. All right. Bye. All right, guys. Go out and create some good in the world. Love y'all.

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J. Xander

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Nina Blu

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