Boo!

It is almost the spookiest day of the year (Halloween!!!), and if you are still pining over whatever you are going to dress up as to your PBR-stocked parties, then I have created the perfect mix of upbeat and festive tunes to get you in the trick-or-treating spirit.

In this week’s Beats n’ Stuff vol. 4, “47 sounds from a haunted house,” the likes of Japan’s LLLL, Britain’s Joy Division, and America’s Grimes, Dead Man’s Bones, and the legendary DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince sit side by side to deliver ghastly tunes. Halloween’s the best time of the year, full of cheap candy, fun costumes, and best of all my annual Disneyland trip (sorry guys)!

1.) “Spider Web” by LLLL

LLLL are a noisy electronic band hailing from Tokyo. Their incoherent vocals and eerie sounding beats completely took me by surprise earlier this year when Zoom Lens put out their latest album, and I think the album as a whole, in particular this track “Spider Web,” is perfect for the Halloween season.

Recommended if you like: Fingers like snakes and spiders in your hair

2.) “Nightmusic” by Grimes

I was lucky enough to have the holy experience of seeing Grimes live at FYF this year in LA, and that girl is no joke. Grimes puts the most energy possible into her whisper-scream-pop, as she effectively does both with ease at the bat of an eye (or a swing of a ponytail, as I witnessed on that amazing night). Grimes has evolved her electronic music into a strange, unique brand of pop music, one that only she herself can command with such grace and attention. “Nightmusic” is the perfect blend of electronic music and spookiness.

Recommended if you like: Pumpkins screaming in the dead of night

3.) “Lose Your Soul” by Dead Man’s Bones

Ryan Gosling’s Arcade Fire-Funeral-era knock-off-with-a-weird-obsession-with-spooky-things-band does deliver the heebie-jeebies with their melodic, folk pop album. While I do not expect Gosling to ever really make music again, I always end up rediscovering this album around Halloween, probably because of the fitting skeleton-clad theme surrounding the band.

Recommended if you like: Riding with the moon in the dead of night

4.) “Shadowplay” by Joy Division

Joy Division are a legendary New Wave band and I highly urge anyone reading this column to watch Anton Corbijn’s brilliant biopic Control on lead singer Ian Curtis. But besides that, basically any Joy Division track will probably be a hit at a Halloween party, but “Shadowplay” has the word “shadow” in it, so it will probably go over the best.

Recommended if you like: The shadow of the moon at night

5.) “A Nightmare on My Street” by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince

Will Smith is the best.

Recommended if you like: Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the greatest sitcom of all-time.