Halloween 1998

....With only three weeks to go until Halloween, I wanted to post something appropriate for the season before I go back to details of my old compilations. This blog normally forms the liner notes of catch-all mix tapes I made in the 1990's, but those tapes were really a way for me to step out of the constraints of single-artist and single-theme formats to which I ordinarily gravitated. One of the first themed tapes I ever put together was for Halloween back in the 1980's and it drew too often from the same artists (reflecting my much smaller stash of records and tapes back then) and the poor sound quality reflected my mostly-plastic department store all-in-one sound system. In the mid-90's, armed with an enormous library of recordings and a more versatile, though not state-of-the-art, component system, I set out to overhaul and expand the idea. After a few years, when my nephews were old enough to enjoy them, I made a consciously more kid-friendly version. If you want to scramble around to download this stuff (and good luck finding all of it-- most shouldn't be a problem, but some of it...) then you can put together two 45-minute CD's to replicate the 90-minute cassette. Actually, I'll throw in the approximate playing times if you want to pick and choose to make a 75-minute disc. Happy Hunting!

....."IF YOU'VE GOT GHOSTS, THEN YOU'VE GOT EVERYTHING!" Side A

01:00 SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? (Ben Raleigh, David Mook) [original television theme]

-------available on several compilations, incl. CD TELEVISION'S GREATEST HITS VOL.3: 70'S&80'S

04:12 SURFIN' DEAD (Lux Interior, Ivy Rorschach) by The Cramps

-------from soundtrack LP RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985) and CD bonus tracks

04:16 MY WIFE AND MY DEAD WIFE (Robyn Hitchcock) by Robyn Hitchcock

-------from LP FEGMANIA (1985) and compilations

03:59 MOON OVER BOURBON STREET (Sting; based on Anne Rice) by Sting

-------from LP DREAM OF THE BLUE TURTLES (1985)

02:37 I DON'T WANNA GO DOWN TO THE BASEMENT (Ramones) by The Ramones

-------from LP RAMONES (1976) and compilations

00:10 SUPERSTITIOUS [sampled movie dialogue]

-------from Monkees' soundtrack album LP HEAD (1968)

05:54 PAPA LEGBA (David Byrne) by Talking Heads

-------from LP TRUE STORIES (1986)

02:33 DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (John Entwistle) by The Who

-------B-side of "Magic Bus" (1968), more commonly on compilations and as bonus tracks

03:27 POOR SKELETON STEPS OUT (Andy Partridge) by XTC

-------from 2LP ORANGES AND LEMONS (1989)

04:33 KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE (Leonard Graves Phillips) by The Dickies

-------from EP KILLER KLOWNS (1988)

04:09 VOODOO CHILE (SLIGHT RETURN) (Jimi Hendrix) by The Jimi Hendrix Experience

-------from 2LP ELECTRIC LADYLAND (1969) and compilations

02:43 THE THING THAT ONLY EATS HIPPIES (Dead Milkmen) by The Dead Milkmen

-------from LP EAT YOUR PAISLEY (1986)

04:22 MISS MACBETH (Elvis Costello) by Elvis Costello

-------from LP SPIKE (1989)

01:45 HALLOWEEN (Glenn Danzig) by Misfits

-------A-side (1981), but more commonly found on compilation LP LEGACY OF BRUTALITY

.....I'll post Side B tomorrow. Remember all times are approximate. Have fun!