Spooky, Scary
Christmas reigns supreme when it comes to holiday music. On both sides of the table - religious and secular - there are dozens, probably hundreds of great tunes. Besides Happy Birthday, I plan to assume some Christmas song is the most widely known and sung in the world. Feel free to weigh in on that.
So why is it the other holidays get such short shrift? Easter has quite a few songs, but I think they're mostly religious. I assume there are some Easter bunny tunes, but not nearly as many as there are about Santa Claus. I can't think of a single Thanksgiving carol, unless you count Alice's Restaurant. Oh, and that Adam Sandler nonsense. Fourth of July songs are generally patriotic marches, or other USA! USA! rants. But we don't sing them for the holiday. Much. Valentine's Day? St. Patrick's Day? As Hallmarked as they've become, they still seem to lack a defining song, as well as a list of karaoke songs. There's not a "holidays" genre - there's just a holiday genre. And that holiday lasts most of December.
But wait. There is another holiday, and although it only has two songs I know of, both are "masterpieces" in exactly the same way. Halloween is neither the king, nor the prince, nor even the archduke of holidays. If anything, it's sort of like the best friend of a baroness of holidays - she gets tarted up, drinks way too much, thinks she's having fun, and forgets everything that happened the night before.
And the anthem for that strumpet of a holiday, the greatest Halloween song ever committed to vinyl? The Monster Mash, duh! Now that I listen again, I guess it's only implied that this is a Halloween song, because it's about monster costumes. Jingle Bells isn't necessarily about Christmas, as Halph will have you know. In fact, that would be a good LJ subject for him. But because it involves zombies, vampires, and Wolfman, how could those mad men not spin it for Halloween?
If you've been following my posts, it should be obvious what the second greatest, perhaps even greater than the greatest, song for Halloween is. And it's specifically NOT about Halloween, unless Halloween happens to be falling on the same day as a bar mitzvah. I have gotten to season five of 30 Rock, and I still think this is the funniest thing I've ever seen on the show. It makes me laugh out loud to think about, to hear, even to hear as someone else's reference. It is Werewolf Bar Mitzvah by Tracy Jordan. Here's a link to a video someone made, with the full song. Enjoy the novelty song genre, because it's a precious one, whether real or imitation.
I'll save some other thoughts about potential holiday songs a DJ might spin at a party for the comments section. Add what you will.
So why is it the other holidays get such short shrift? Easter has quite a few songs, but I think they're mostly religious. I assume there are some Easter bunny tunes, but not nearly as many as there are about Santa Claus. I can't think of a single Thanksgiving carol, unless you count Alice's Restaurant. Oh, and that Adam Sandler nonsense. Fourth of July songs are generally patriotic marches, or other USA! USA! rants. But we don't sing them for the holiday. Much. Valentine's Day? St. Patrick's Day? As Hallmarked as they've become, they still seem to lack a defining song, as well as a list of karaoke songs. There's not a "holidays" genre - there's just a holiday genre. And that holiday lasts most of December.
But wait. There is another holiday, and although it only has two songs I know of, both are "masterpieces" in exactly the same way. Halloween is neither the king, nor the prince, nor even the archduke of holidays. If anything, it's sort of like the best friend of a baroness of holidays - she gets tarted up, drinks way too much, thinks she's having fun, and forgets everything that happened the night before.
And the anthem for that strumpet of a holiday, the greatest Halloween song ever committed to vinyl? The Monster Mash, duh! Now that I listen again, I guess it's only implied that this is a Halloween song, because it's about monster costumes. Jingle Bells isn't necessarily about Christmas, as Halph will have you know. In fact, that would be a good LJ subject for him. But because it involves zombies, vampires, and Wolfman, how could those mad men not spin it for Halloween?
If you've been following my posts, it should be obvious what the second greatest, perhaps even greater than the greatest, song for Halloween is. And it's specifically NOT about Halloween, unless Halloween happens to be falling on the same day as a bar mitzvah. I have gotten to season five of 30 Rock, and I still think this is the funniest thing I've ever seen on the show. It makes me laugh out loud to think about, to hear, even to hear as someone else's reference. It is Werewolf Bar Mitzvah by Tracy Jordan. Here's a link to a video someone made, with the full song. Enjoy the novelty song genre, because it's a precious one, whether real or imitation.
I'll save some other thoughts about potential holiday songs a DJ might spin at a party for the comments section. Add what you will.