Spooky POP Playlist, Part 7

Holler!

This is my very last installation of Spooky POPNESS, so I'm making it as POPPY as POSSIBLE. Enjoy!

33. Justin Timberlake - Cry Me A River: We all know this as the song Justin wrote about his breakup with Britney, but it works perfectly on a Halloween playlist, too. That synthesized intro, with the man-voice singing "heeeeee" is super spooky. Also, when Justin coos, "You don't have to say / what you did / I already know / I found out from him," I'm reminded of I Know What You Did Last Summer. S to the CARY.

34. Britney Spears - Circus: The girl for whom Justin's track was written turned out her own Halloween worthy tune. The electronic intro on this one is creepylicious, too. Plus, it's one of my favorite songs, so any excuse to shake my booty to it works for me.

35. Beyoncé - Sweet Dreams: Beyoncé embraces her inner dance diva on this track, which is why it's my favorite Beyoncé single of all time. Can you hear the sample of Michael Jackson's Beat It mixed in? Also, when was the last time we heard such beautiful lyrics in a big POP piece? This is one beautiful nightmare I certainly do NOT want to wake up from. (Check out girlfriend's live performance from the 2009 MTV European Music Awards. WORK.)

36. Shakira - She-Wolf: I can't think of a better song with which to end this list. When She-Wolf was released, I listened to it NON-STOP (and I was never a Shakira fan). It's so undeniably catchy. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I'm not even into wolves (or animals in general - sorry PETA), but I'll be a She-Wolf any day! (Potential costume idea...)

This was fun! Hope y'all dance up a sweaty storm this Halloween. When in doubt, dance it OUT!

Unapologetically,

Gregory

Spooky POP Playlist, Part 6

Holler!

I have two more Spooky POP Playlists left for y'all! Here we go:


28. Spark - Revolving: This song is THE soundtrack to a haunted house with no exit. It has a psychedelic quality, making me feel like I'm actually revolving. (I swear I'm not high on anything.)






29. T.I. - Castle Walls ft. Christina Aguilera: Typically, I don't like when artists write about fame. They end up coming off as self-abosrbed, ungrateful pricks. Castle Walls is the exception. Why T.I.'s label didn't promote it at radio is a mystery to me; I know he was in prison, but this song is a surefire hit. Produced by Alex da Kid (who also worked on "Airplanes" and "Love the Way You Lie"), this track is ripe with emotion - you can feel the loneliness that T.I. and Christina refer to. It's relatable because of the sadness in Christina's voice. Plus, the synthesized instrumentation precisely matches the Halloween mood.

30. Bruno Mars - It Will Rain: Written for the upcoming Twilight movie, It Will Rain is a song I'll be absolutely sick of in two months after hearing it on radio rotation non-stop. However, right now, I'm savoring every sonic second. It possesses the same liquidy sense of space common to James Blake's music, which makes it just spooky enough to light your lanterns to.

31. Madonna - Devil Wouldn't Recognize You: Produced by Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, Devil Wouldn't Recognize You contains the electro-funk we've come to expect from these boys. It features an electronic intro and spooky bridge filled with a chorus of JTs (every girl's fantasy). Enjoy it while I cross my fingers, hoping that the devil won't recognize you on the night of October 31st. (I realize that I can be unbearably cheesy. Love me or leave me.)


32. Michael Jackson - Thriller: This choice needs no explanation. Enjoy the video's zombies.

Check in later this week for our very last installation!

Unapologetically,

Gregory

Spooky POP Playlist, Part 5

BOO!  ROAR!  HOWL!  We're baaack!

I wanted to end my portion of the Spooky POP playlist with some truly rockable, uptempo tunes.  I love Halloween & I hope, more than anything, that our readers enjoy this playlist as much as we have enjoyed making it for you!  So here we go:

23. The Kills - Future Starts Slow - Straight off their latest album Blood Pressures, ghostly pop-rockers The Kills absolve themselves of evil, singing "no longing for the moonlight / no longing for the sun / no longer will I curse the bad I've done."  The holler, they wail, they'll blow your mind.  Future Starts Slow will leave you suspended in time.

24. Lady GaGa - Monster - You knew we couldn't leave this song out! No Spooky Pop playlist is complete without Mother Monster's Anthem.  In Monster, Lady GaGa tells a morbid love story about a girl & a wolf in disguise, all amongst the backdrop of the New York City skyline.  From the very beginning, Gaga's a goner.  "He licked his lips / said to me / girl you look good, enough to eat," she tells us.  GaGa is a gifted storyteller, & in Monster no detail of the fairytale-gone-wrong is left out.  She tells of their dirty dancing, their make-out session on the Metro home, & her final realization that she brought a Monster into her bed.  GaGa creates a freakin' fantastic pop song about the true Monster among us.  And hey, isn't that what Halloween is all about?

25. Cut Copy - So Haunted - This song sounds like an alien invasion, pure & simple.  The lyrics evoke the image of jilted lovers standing in a desert, peering up into the midnight sky: "What's that you see? / there's all these satellites, satellites, satellites / orbiting you & me / One glimpse could change a life, change a life, change a life."  Eek.  Are they being abducted?  Were the boys of Cut Copy inspired by UFOs?  Who knows, but the song is flippin' freaky.

26. Fenech-Soler - Demons - We all know about my thing for electro-pop boyband Fenech-Soler, so can it come as a surprise that Demons made it on here? Besides the allusions to running from your demons / running into ex-girlfriends, I don't exactly know what is going on in this song.  However, like anything Ben Duffy sings, its full of sexy moaning & groaning.  So it's ace.

27. Ladyhawke - Magic - Magic, the opening track to Ladyhawke's eponymous first album, is a whimsical journey across the ocean in pursuit of love & adventure. It's kind of like a theme song for everyone's favorite uber-creepy 1980s kids' movie, The Neverending Story (remember the evil wolf monster Gmork?  That sh*t gave me nightmares). "One journey for you but it's worth it / one life here with me & it's magic," sings Ladyhawke wistfully.  You truly don't expect the journey to ever end.  Magic conjures up nostalgia for the dreamworld of childhood, where imagination is reality...

We're almost to the end.  Keep coming back this week for our final installation.  We guarantee you'll be spooked!

Unapologetically,

Minna

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

Spooky POP Playlist, Part 3

Part 3 is here: get ready to dance in the dark!  I must say, making this playlist has been one of my favorite posts so far.  I threw in 2 tracks at the end to give you the SuperSpooks (BEWARE).  Here we go:

11) Natalia Kills – Zombie –Natalia Kills, the indisputable Queen of Dark Pop, falls hard for a heartless zombie who wants nothing more than to feel her up & eat her brains.  As she sings “cold cold, freezing freezing / got my heart beating, beating…” Natalia is seduced by the living dead into a world of sex, mortality, blood, & violence.  It's totally twisted... and bewitching.

12) Kerli – Walking On Air - Estonian singer-songwriter Kerli is a master at her craft; she manages to create hauntingly melodic yet undeniably Gothic pop music.  The lyrics to Walking On Air are personal & delicate, while the song is as freakin' creepy as a Hot Topic porcelain doll collection.  The light-heavy tension makes Walking On Air a warped & fantastic song.

12) Katy Perry: E.T. – I’m really not diehard for Katy, but E.T. has a massive beat.  Personally, aliens terrify me, as does the music video which features impressive visuals.  "Take me/ Ta-ta-take me / Wanna be a victim / ready for abduction!" cries Katy. In E.T. she shows a darker side, & it's endearing.  Plus, who can miss Kanye rapping about "alien sex?" Ugh, the idea alone gives me the shivers.

14) Röyksopp – The Girl and the Robot ft. Robyn – All night long Robyn lies awake, waiting & waiting for her robot-lover to return home & satisfy her.  It isn't easy.  Her lover is mechanical, perfunctory, emotionless... a byproduct of a world running on automatic.  Robyn's collaboration with Norwegian ambient musicians Röyksopp is simply brilliant, creating a bizarre but genius dance track.

15) Bat For Lashes – Moon and Moon - The husky voice of Natasha Khan accompanied by piano create something foreboding & mystical in Moon and Moon.  "I am a huntress" she sings, "for a husband lost at sea."  The song is softer others on our playlist, & oddly eerie, like a flock of bats underneath the moonlight...

I promised you 2 extra songs!  Warning, listen if you dare... 

X-Rated Bonus Tracks:

16) The Knife – We Share Our Mother's Health - Swedish band The Knife is quite possibly the iciest pop music you will ever hear (are Karen & Olof singing or are they fornicating?).  We Share Our Mother's Health is a strange & sexual track.  It makes you want to dance with loads of black lipstick & eyeliner on.  My roommate Meg put it aptly when she warned never to listen to The Knife alone in the car - you will drive off the road.

17) Miss Kittin & the Hacker – The Womb – I went through a huge Miss Kittin phase in college, much to the mortification of my roommates (sorry about Reqiuem For a Hit Meggie).  In The Womb, French feminist & professional ass-kicker Miss Kittin declares “I am not the silent woman!” & chants “evolution, evolution” over the Hacker’s super-slick production.  Frightening is an understatement.  You half-expect a possessed demon-child to come at you with a switchblade… which is probably what they were going for in the first place.

Are you spooked?  

Unapologetically,

Minna

Spooky POP Playlist, Part 1

Halloween is almost upon us, so Gregory & I decided to compile the ultimate Spooky Pop Playlist to get y'all in the mood.  We chose the very best pop songs to get you dancing and give you creeps.  Here are the first 5 tracks:

1) Sneaker Pimps- Bloodsport: This song is simply a classic.  It’s a super creepy 90s throwback that deals with the dark and sinister forces of sex & death.  "My mother never told me that love is just a bloodsport..." totally contagious.  The perfect opening track.  Listen to its breathy creepiness here.

2)SBTRKT – Wildfire: In “Wildfire,” the mysterious masked SBTRKT one of my favorite new London DJs, warns us not to play with the paranormal.  Check it out here.

3) Florence + the Machine – Howl: The transformative power of love turns Florence Welch into a flesh-hungry beast.  “I hunt for you with bloody feet across the hollow ground” Florence yowls.  She’s on the prowl, baying at the moon!  Listen here.

4) Ladyhawke - Dusk Til Dawn: – Things that go bump in the night - footsteps in the hall, banging on the wall - keep Ladyhawke up all night!  This song is pop-perfection, and explores about the eerie forces of ghostly love. Rock out to it here.

5) Lykke Li – I Follow Rivers: The songstress Lykke Li composes a dark and ominous stalker song like only a Swede can.  (Listen here)  Watch out, someone’s coming for you…

Stay tuned, we have many more spooky songs on the way... what will be next on the playlist?

Unapologetically,

Minna