On a Good Note

By Logan Hampsey

Hello all! My name is Logan, and this is my new music column, “On a Good Note,” here on the New Worcester Spy! 

For this first week, we will be *appropriately* going over some Halloween and spooky music that I have been listening to and that I recommend other people to take a listen to! 

It is that time of year again where we pull out the pumpkins, the skeletons, and some creepy tunes for Halloween/Samhain. I want to know what you guys listen to or have been hearing that has been getting you in the spooky spirit! 

Now, we all know ‘Time Warp’, ‘This Is Halloween’, ‘Spooky Scary Skeletons’, and ‘Monster Mash’, but I have some possibly new Halloween music for you guys to check out if you are getting sick of hearing the same old holiday songs! 

● Marilyn Manson’s eleventh studio record “WE ARE CHAOS” was released on September 11th, 2020. Manson is quite well-known for his dark, dramatic music and persona. He really knows how to bring the Halloween spirit in all of his projects. Since this record was released basically in the fall, many other listeners and myself could not help but listen to it and enjoy it for many reasons during this grim part of the year. Manson wrote/recorded this album before the coronavirus pandemic spiked up, so putting it out so much later after its recording kind of feels even more eerie because all the ‘chaos’ in the world had not even really started at the time. I truly recommend Manson’s latest work if you are into his music, or music alike, especially during these more gloomy parts of the year. 

● If you are looking to dance your haunted pants off this fall, then I recommend listening to Kim Petras’ second studio record, “Turn Off The Light”, released on October 1st, 2019. This creepy-electro dance album is perfect for this spine-chilling time of year. Petras’ morbid and devilish lyrics clash the loud and groovy production, but in a way that is listenable and still holds Petras’ more mature messages for the songs. 

● This next album I am about to talk about I am sure most people have heard at least one song on by now, but I feel is still worthy to mention! Billie Eilish’s debut album “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?” was a smash hit when it was dropped on March 29th, 2019. I mention this record as a Halloween or spooky record because of how Billie and her brother Finneas worked the production on it and gave the lyrics a deeper tone and message. The world has changed so much since the time of this album’s release, and not all for good. I think the darkness of the album still holds after this time and it is definitely worth a listen if you want to feel some spooky vibes and just jam out to some pretty intense music!