BY: RACHEL WUMKES
Every holiday seems to have a plethora of musical selections to go along with the celebration. On Valentine’s Day, we listen to crooners serenade us about everlasting love. The 4th of July is filled with the sounds of big bands, tooting their horns in honor of the red, white and blue.
Of course, we can’t have this discussion without including Christmas music. I mean, it’s only the biggest holiday of all time with the widest array of musical selections to enjoy throughout the entire month of December!
While the Halloween songs vary from the Bobby Boris snappy hit “Monster Mash” to the ever-creepy, shivers-up-your-spine “Red Right Hand” by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds which was featured in the movie Scream… the vast array of cutesy and spooky makes this holiday a truly magical musical collection.
As I sat down at my computer this morning, all set to write about the various aspects of Halloween and all that it entails, the music seemed to keep floating through my psyche. I wanted to write about black cats and costumes and all things Halloween, but I just couldn’t make the music stop. And so, I turned to my Alexa and said, “Alexa, play Halloween hits.”
The first song on the docket was Michael Jackson’s Thriller. And it literally made me get up and dance. Because let’s be honest, unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 35 years, you all know at least a portion of the “Thriller” dance, right? It’s impossible to hear this song and not dance, even if it’s in your desk chair!
Released as the final single on the Thriller album on January 23rd, 1984, the hit song was an instant success. Written for the singer to showcase his love for film, Thriller was about as theatrical as you could get.
Though the song won Michael Jackson a Grammy Award, it was the iconic video that stuck in the minds of music-lovers for years. Even now, almost 40 years later, the video is hailed as one of the greatest of all time.
I remember seeing the video on MTV (replayed, of course, because I was only 4 years old when it released) when I was a preteen and was scared out of my ever-loving mind.
Still, whether you’re more of a bubble-gum type of music lover who enjoys snapping their fingers to a catchy tune or enjoy the gruesome sounds of something more Spooktacular, Halloween ranks high up there, just under Christmas, as a prolific holiday of musical feats.
You can look for the ghosts and ghouls to begin their descent into your neighborhoods on Saturday evening. Clear Lake’s official Trick or Treat will take place from 5-7PM. Turn your porch light on if you’d like a visit from the costumed crews.
And, as always, please be considerably careful while driving during this time. We want our kiddos to HAVE FUN and BE SAFE!
Happy Halloween, Clear Lakers. I hope you all have a Thriller of a good time!