Halloweeny Tunage

While, as my interview with Mr. C made clear, I don't do the whole dress up thing for Halloween, I'm not beyond using it as a cheap excuse/organizing principle for a playlist at work. So here's what keeping me spooked at the office today.

First up, the longhair stuff:

• Grohg, by Copland - an early ballet about vampires inspired by Nosferatu
• Symphonie Fantastique, by Berlioz - the very definition of early program music, it tells the story of Hector's fevered opium dream that ends with an unholy dance of death
• Night on Bald Mountain, by Mussorgsky - anybody who's seen Fantasia knows how this plays out

Of course, I still gotta' rawk:

• "Zomby Woof" and "Titties n' Beer," by Zappa - I swear the second one is a modern retelling of Stravinsky's Histoire du soldat (as is "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"!)
• "The Musical Box" and "Return of the Giant Hogweed," by Genesis -a ghost story and a twisted zoological monster's tale
• "Man-Erg," by Van der Graff Generator - in truth, Peter Hammill's vocals are so intense he could make a vegan's grocery list sound menacing, but he's at his spooky best unpacking the devils inside us all
• "Day of the Cow I/Snowcow/Day of the Cow II," by Mike Keneally - a bovine revenge fantasy, right out of PETA's dreams
• "Poisoned Youth," by England - a tale of eternal youth gone awry (think The Picture of Dorian Gray in epic prog form)
• The Fear "Trilogy" ("The Enemy Within"/"The Weapon"/"Witch Hunt"/"Freeze"), by Rush - can't have Halloween without fear
• "Karn Evil 9," by ELP - by the end of its 30+ minutes, machines are giving the orders
• "Grendel," by Marillion - Beowulf's nemesis gets his say (which is almost as scary as the dumbed down ripoff of "Supper's Ready")
• "Moon Over Bourbon Street," by Sting - more vampires, with a debt to Ann Rice
  
• In the Court of the Crimson King - An Observation by King Crimson - the debut album from a band named after the Devil

Happy Halloween!