Spooky POP Playlist, Part 4

18. Imogen Heap - Hide & Seek: You may recognize this tune from Jason Derulo's Whatcha Say. It's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard, and the video isn't hard on the eyes, either. The auto-tune used on Imogen's voice makes the track hauntingly beautiful. Usually, the software is blamed for draining music of its emotion, but in this case, it maximizes the ballad's gloomy atmosphere.

19. Bon Iver - Woods: This little masterpiece is extraordinarily similar to Imogen's Hide & Seek. In fact, that's the first song I thought of when I listened to Woods. Some of you may recognize this track as a sample in Kanye's Lost in the World off of his most recent album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Just like Ms. Heap's creation, this track is mysteriously dazzling. Justin Vernon (Bon Iver's real name) keeps repeating the same two lines throughout the whole song, "I'm up in the woods, I'm down on my mind / I'm building a sill to slow down the time." He most likely wrote them in reference to the time he spent composing his first album, For Emma, Forever Ago, in his father's Wisconsin cabin in the woods after suffering a heartbreak.

20. Oh Land - Wolf & I: I wrote about this track in detail here, but I'll provide a brief synopsis in case you missed it. It's a hauntingly simple love song in which Oh Land is the moon and the wolf is her lover. (Sometimes the wolf isn't so big and bad.) To know the rest, give the song a spin.

21. James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream: Like many of Mr. Blake's songs, this one sounds like pure water. It's about self-doubt, which is often the scariest of sentiments. James coos, "I don't know about my dreams / I don't know about my dreaming anymore / All that I know is I'm falling, falling, falling, falling / Might as well fall in." 

22. Little Boots - Hearts Collide: This is a sparkly, spooky dance track. Its sound is simultaneously icy and warm. The lyrics are exquisite, "I don't mind being alone / Keep myself to myself / I walk the streets in the rain / And keep my head down." Everything about it, from the glistening production to Little Boots' wolf-like howls, is slightly spine-chilling.

23. Jennifer Lopez - Hypnotico: I figured I should end this portion of the list with a club banger, considering #18 - #22 could keep you in therapy for a month. Hypnotico, a bonus track co-written by GaGa and Akon on JLo's last album, Love?, is dark, dancey and sexy. My favorite line is, "Hungry for some yum, yum / Gonna get me some, some." Just listening to it, I want to work my way over to the club and get all sweaty. Enjoy!

And don't worry. We have more Spooky POP on the way to keep you HOT and HAUNTED.

Unapologetically,

Gregory

Oh Land is Oh So Good!

Holler!

Oh Land’s “Wolf and I” (click here to watch her perform the track) is yet another song that you can add to your Haunted Halloween Mix. It’s not outright scary, though; rather, it’s a beautiful love song. I don’t know if I’ve seen lyrics that are more poetic then these. Just listen to the first verse:

Before the world you know was like it is /

I held a lover once and I was his /

And we walked along the river in the sun /

But he’s a lonely man, so this was done /

The only place we had to meet was night /

While the sun he sleeps in shadows we can hide /

On the mountainside we spent our time together /

But it is gone when morning comes

Oh Land ‘s birth name is Nanna Oland Favricius. As you can see, her stage moniker plays on her middle name. She’s a Dane (yet ANOTHER Scandinavian) who danced for about ten years until she suffered an injury that effectively ended her career as a ballerina. In order to cope, she began making music and was eventually signed to Fake Diamond Records, an indie label in Denmark, which released her debut, Fauna. Eventually, she was signed to Epic Records, a division of Sony, which has released her self-titled sophomore effort. This album features “Wolf and I,” as well as many other intricate indie-pop tracks, like “Son of a Gun” (click here to listen) and “White Nights" (click here to listen).

I love that Oh Land is a visual artist. Her fashion and performance art contribute to the overall power of her music. If you watch her performance of “Wolf and I” (click here to view), you can see she uses stunning visual elements, such as white balloons that light up to show wolves’ faces! It might sound creepy, but once you check it out, you’ll be able to appreciate her attention to detail. Also, her body moves in such a visceral way. Her emotions are 100% real, NOT from concentrate.

This is the perfect track for a rainy afternoon. (I should make a rainy day mix that also includes Mr. Little Jeans’ cover of Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs” – click here to read our review of that track.) It truly twinkles. Enjoy!

Unapologetically,

Gregory