Parsons Playlists: Halloween 2020

Welcome to the third installment of Parsons Playlists, back after a hiatus and featuring a Halloween playlist from Music Library Associate, Melanie Armstrong.

Halloween 2020

Melanie says: “Since Halloween 2020 is going to be a bit … different, I – your friendly neighborhood Music Library Associate – made a playlist in that vein.
I’ve left out some of the more obvious Halloween playlist picks (like “Thriller“, or “Spooky“, or “Ghostbusters“), and hope you’ll enjoy this idiosyncratic selection! I’ve included some songs for the Halloween blue moon (the first Halloween blue moon since 1944) among other things.”

Otis Redding – “Trick or Treat”

Billie Eilish – “Bury A Friend”

billie eilish

The Cramps – “I Was A Teenage Werewolf”

Missy Elliott – “Get Ur Freak On”

Missy Elliott - Get Ur Freak On

The Marcels – “Blue Moon”

(This doo-wop version is arguably the most famous version of “Blue Moon”, but it was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934!)

King Harvest – “Dancing in the Moonlight”

blue moon

Electric Light Orchestra – “Strange Magic”

Squirrel Nut Zippers – “Hell”

Vintage Halloween Dance

Van Halen – “Runnin’ With The Devil”
(in tribute to Eddie Van Halen who passed away this month)

Talking Heads – “Psycho Killer”

The Police – “Murder By Numbers”

Halloween dogs

The White Stripes – “Little Ghost”

Louis Armstrong – “The Skeleton in the Closet”

Le Squellette Joyeux

The Divine Comedy – “The Happy Goth”

They Might Be Giants – “Dead”

Groovie Ghoulies – “(She’s My) Vampire Girl”

Black Cat and Jack O'Lantern

Yoko Ono – “Yes, I’m A Witch”

Eels – “My Beloved Monster”

Buffy the Vampire Slayer stake

Billy Joel – “The Stranger”
(a song about masks feels EXTRA appropriate at the moment … plus fun with metaphors!)

R.E.M. – “It’s The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”

And here it all is as a Spotify playlist for you:

Plus here’s a bonus (not available on Spotify) cheese-tacular Halloween artifact from the 1980s featuring the inimitable Tim Curry:

We sincerely hope that everyone has a safe & fun Halloween (despite the particular weirdness of 2020).

jack o lantern

YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU94rco57Zew8nvrzDii5yoNOsWmj69_s

New CDs added – September 2020

New CDs for September 2020

Orchestral, Concertos and Chamber Music

Paul Ben-Haim – Symphony No. 2
Czech National Sympony Orchestra- 20th Century Visions

Paul Ben-Haim  - Symphony No. 2

Piano Music

Amanda Maier & Julius Rontgen – Amanda & Julius: Works for Piano

Amanda & Julius - Works for Piano

Jazz

Rez Abbasi – Django-Shift
Aditya Prakash Ensemble – Diaspora Kid
Avishai Cohen – Big Vicious

Aditya Prakash Ensemble - Diaspora Kid

Gigi Gryce – The Classic Albums 1955-1960
Mike Longo – Live from New York!
Alexa Tarantino – Winds of Change
Samoa Wilson with the Jim Kweskin Band – I Just Want To Be Horizontal

Alexa Tarantino - Winds of Change

Opera, Opera Excerpts, Choral Music and Art Songs

Lawrence Conservatory Contemporary Music Ensemble – A La Par
Will Liverman & Jonathan King – Whither Must I Wander
Sir Hubert Parry – Songs of Farewell & works by Stanford, Gray & Wood

Lawrence Conservatory - A La Par

Popular Music

Billie Eilish – When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
Gangstagrass – Broken Hearts and Stolen Money
Jake La Botz – They’re Coming For Me
Cary Morin – Tiny Town

Billie Eilish - When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go

Lou Reed – Lou Reed
Lou Reed – Transformer
SUSS – High Line
White Whale Records – The Land of Sensations & Delights: The Psych Pop Sounds of White Whale Records 1965-1970

Gangstagrass - Broken Hearts and Stolen Money

Percussion Music

Sandbox Percussion – And That One Too
UVA Percussion Ensemble – Speed of Sound

Sandbox Percussion - And That One Too