By What does a Russian literary critic and philosopher have to do with Halloween? Plenty, if you celebrate traditions of dressing up and believing in the power of costume. Mikhail Bakhtin believed people practice Carnivalesque traditions to release the pressure of living under repressive regimes (in displays of power and aggression that were Church-sanctioned, as long as everyone atoned for them during Lent). And people didn’t hate their king as long as they got to dress up like one now and again.
So maybe Halloween comes just in time for schools, as a way to let loose after midterms.
Or all of us feeling the repressive squeeze of certain governmental bodies. Orange bodies and their enablers.
This explanation doesn’t help my mom like Halloween any more than the 0.0% that she does.
October 15
Release the Bats—The Birthday Party
Burn the Witch—Queens of the Stone Age
October 16
There are a lot of birthdays and anniversaries on this day, so it gets three songs.
Cat People—David Bowie
Little Ghost—White Stripes
Ghost of Stephen Foster—Squirrel Nut Zippers
October 17
Slow 30s Room—David Lynch. Creepiest episode.
I’d Rather Be Burned as a Witch—Eartha Kitt. Horrifying is also the cover of this “album.”
October 18
Bad Moon Rising—Creedence Clearwater Revival. This is the closest my mom will get to Halloween.
Zombie—Cranberries. Sure, it’s more political than thriller, but these days, politics have blurred the line between reality (TV) and horrorshow.
October 19
People Are Strange—Echo and the Bunnymen. Yes, the version by The Doors is great. But this one has Kiefer.
Black No. 1—Type O Negative. Remember when I discussed how some people, like vampires, life in a perpetual Carnivalesque? This guy. This guy does.
October 20
I Walked With a Zombie—Roky Erickson
Wonders Pt. 2: The Devil Appeared in the Shape of a Man—Nico Muhly. Modern classical, but this isn’t Beethoven’s fates knocking at the door.
October 21
Fearless Vampire Killers—Bad Brains
Cruella DeVil—Los Lobos. The main takeaway is that Los Lobos did a Disney album.
October 22
Monster Mash—Misfits. So much better than creepy Bobby Pickett.
Frankenstein—New York Dolls
The Carr Port 