Dead Man’s Party Vid

Since Google feedburner has screwed up my feed, why shouldn’t I publish a second post today? This is too cute not to share. Thanks to my cousin-in-law, Jonell!

Oingo Boingo plus Corpse Bride plus Nightmare Before Christmas = total Halloween fun!

from Dead Man’s Party (1985)
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Halloween Mix, Pt 5: Day of the Dead

Halloween! I wish you a night of fun and treats, and I hope you have enjoyed all my Halloween Mix posts this week as much as I have enjoyed finding the songs. Tomorrow, of course, is also a day of deep tradition: the Day of the Dead, celebrated locally by our Hispanic friends. The [...]

Halloween Mix, Pt 4: the Unexpected

This song from Alberta Cross’s debut full-length Broken Side of Time has turned out to be a favorite of mine, with its spooky instrumentation and Petter Ericson Stakee’s ghostly hoots and wolfy howls. This is a pretty decent album too–a good way to use up your eMusic downloads.

from Broken Side of Time (2009)
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Halloween Mix, Pt 3: Ghosts

People in general like to believe that some essence of themselves or loved ones continues after death. For some, ghosts provide both reassurance and fear. The Deadly Syndrome think it wouldn’t be so bad to be a ghost, but Armor For Sleep think it sounds lonely.
from Live Mondays at Spaceland, June 2007
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Halloween Mix, Pt. 2: Creepy

Sometimes the scariest part of a movie is when it is dark and quiet. The same is true of music, and that is what these selections for my huge Halloween mix have in common.
Liz Durrett’s Outside Our Gates was my 3rd favorite album of 2008, and sometimes I think it should have been first. [...]

Halloween Party Mix, Pt 1

I have been working on a party mix for Halloween, for no reason other than I just like to do that kind of thing. It currently consists of 132 songs, and I am trying to wittle it down but it seems like every time I take one out, I put another one in. [...]

Fever Ray at the Musicbox 10.07.09

Fever Ray, aka Karin Dreijer Andersson, brings overwhelming visual and olfactory sensations into the auditory experience as well as tapping into the human desire to connect with a force of creation.

When the curtain at the Musicbox (10-07-09) rose, a thick cloud of sandalwood incense billowed out over the audience, propelled by equally thick clouds of [...]

Nosaj Thing and Vuk at the Musicbox

Last Wednesday night, I took my grandson, He Might Be Giant, to the Henry Fonda Musicbox Theater in Hollywood for Fever Ray’s last U.S. show from her current tour. It was HMBG’s first concert, which was very exciting for both of us. He became a Fever Ray fan when he spent his Spring [...]

Rainbow Arabia

The genre-bending duo of Rainbow Arabia are Danny and Tiffany Preston, married couple from Echo Park. Their music is unlike my usual folky, rustic, guitar-band fare, but the beats and upbeat attitude are irresistible. The more I listen, the more I like it. It’s like Sgt. Pepper parties at Mardi Gras in [...]

Contrast Podcast: 1-2-3-4

Long before the Beatles kicked off “She Loves You” with a now-famous count, Lawrence Welk was doing it with “a-one and a-two.” A lot of musicians do a count at the beginning of a song, but that isn’t necessarily the part of a song you recall. That made finding a contribution for this [...]