The candy procurement ritual is postponed in my area due to inclement weather, so I've plenty of time to jam retro.
Ministry | Everyday is Halloween
First up: Ministry - a trendy poseur band that all the kewl kids dug, singing about how they dress goth every day of the year. Whoop-dee-doo. But scary good à propos video, which seems to be repurposed footage from the Nightmare Before Xmas.
Oingo Boingo | Dead Man's Party
Classic Oingo Boingo from an era when Carrot Top sang lead.
Fun random fact: In 1985, by decree of the big 3 record labels, all snare drums in the Top 40 were replaced with this monotonous, patented, profit-maximizing snare sample. The Genero-snare 3500™ was installed in radio stations across the country, automatically replacing snares on the fly for bands who refused to comply.
Dead Kennedy's | Halloween (live)
Jello Biafra indicts conformity using Halloween—the one day of the year it's acceptable to express oneself freely without fear of ridicule.
Lyric sample:
"Remember what I did?
Remember what I was?
Back on Halloween!
But what's in between?
Where are you ideas?
You sit around and dream...
For next Halloween!
Whodini | Haunted House of Rock
The first Whodini song I ever heard, played on a mix-tape by cool older kid, Freshman James Carr. His comment: "This kicks Thriller's ass."
Do they know it's Halloween?
Not strictly retro, but this one's a clear homage to to Band Aid's 1984 "Do they know it's Christmas" - a song that urged listeners to "Thank god it's them instead of you."
Flashback Fun! Fundraising singles featuring gangs of pop superstars became a hot trend in the mid-80's. By all accounts, these projects fulfilled many needs, including alleviating trace feelings of guilt in over-privileged, excessively-rich rock stars. Count up the benefits:
- Rock's biggest superstars get a much-needed ego boost
- Child laborers in Angola get a care package in the middle of their 16-hour shift and
- you get an unforgettable rock experience.
Everyone wins!
For a deeper exploration into the 1980's charity rock phenomenon, see: We are the World, Band Aid, Farm Aid, Live Aid, Sun City, and Canada's failed attempt to find native superstars, "Tears are not Enough."
For similarly-pukeworthy arrogance, see Sting's: I hope the Russians love their children too. It's gross. It really happened.
Alkaline Trio | Over at the Frankenstein Place
Because covering anything from RHPS is cool.
