Welcome, foolish mortals, to a very special edition of Strawberry Skies Weekly Jams! This entire episode is dedicated to my favorite spooky-themed songs just in time for Halloween.
If you're reading this between 3:00 and 4:00 PM EST on Thursday, October 21st, you can listen live right now here. If you're not reading this during that timeframe, you can listen to what I played using this week's Spotify playlist here!
“1980s Horror Film” - Wallows
I am the absolute worst person to hate horror movies with since I am scared of everything, but I really like this song! Wallows is a super fun generally underrated band that I like a lot.
“Queen of Autumn” - Rare Candy
This is one of the only songs on here specifically about Halloween rather than just kind of named after something Halloween-themed, so I wanted to play it towards the beginning. Rare Candy is my good friend Alex Wieringa's solo project and his band Belmont just put out a new song and announced a new EP - go show them some love!
“Halloween” - HUNNY
HUNNY's "Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes." album was one of my favorites around this time last year, and this song is a big reason why. They're on a tour right now that looks like a ton of fun, I hope to get to see them soon.
“Halloween” - Elder Brother
I've definitely played this song on this show before, but we're getting festive, so it's okay. I got to see Elder Brother live for the first time earlier this month and they were absolutely phenomenal.
“Halloween” - Phoebe Bridgers
This is another track that I know I've played on this show before but, again, it fit the theme so we're rolling with it. If you've listened to this show before you already know how much I love Phoebe Bridgers, and if you haven't, welcome! I love her quite a bit.
“Drunk on Halloween” - Wallows
I almost included three Wallows songs on this playlist (the version of "1980s Horror Film" that's on this list is the superior one and I will defend it to the death) but I went with two. I was obsessed with this song during my junior year of high school and it brings back a ton of memories.
“Haunted” - Taylor Swift
This is either my favorite Taylor Swift song of all time or my second favorite Taylor Swift song of all time (I go back and forth between this and "New Romantics") but since it's even vaguely Halloween-related, I knew I had to play it. "Speak Now" is my favorite record of hers and I can't believe it just turned 11 years old.
“I Hope This Comes Back To Haunt You” - Neck Deep
I called Neck Deep's "Life's Not Out To Get You" my favorite album ever for years, and I have so many memories of playing this song in the car with my mom or in my bedroom after school. I'm really excited to finally get to see them live again at the end of this year.
“Haunt Me” - Counterparts
On the topic of all-time favorites, Counterparts' "You're Not You Anymore" is one of my favorite hardcore/hardcore-adjacent albums ever and probably will be forever. The title track gets all the hype, and deservedly so, but I think this one deserves a lot more love than it gets.
“Haunting” - Halsey
Halsey's debut full-length "Badlands" was just about every teenage girl's soundtrack when it came out in 2015, and I'll always be willing to argue that it still holds up however many years later. There isn't one bad track on this record.
“Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met)” - Panic! At The Disco
I'll use any excuse to listen to some old Panic! At The Disco, and I knew I had to play this one this week since it has the word "witches" in the title. The whole record that this song is on, "Vices & Virtues", is incredibly underrated.
“Baby You’re A Haunted House” - Gerard Way
This solo track from My Chemical Romance's frontman has been a Halloween staple for me since it came out around this time in 2018. I'm beyond glad that MCR is back together, but Way and Frank Iero's solo projects are both worth a listen if you've never checked them out.
“Ghost Face” - Sam Pollet
In some ways, I feel like I've grown up with Sam Pollet - I went to her record release show for "Solace" towards the end of my sophomore year of high school and I'm still going to her shows and listening to her music as a freshman in college. This is very obviously a Halloween song lyrically, and I think that's why it's so much fun to listen to. You can check out my full review of it from when it came out last year here!
“Misguided Ghosts” - Paramore
When making this week's playlist, I didn't mean to end with back-to-back songs by Paramore (both somewhat related to Halloween), but I'm glad that it worked out that way. This is one of my favorites by them and definitely my favorite track from "Brand New Eyes."
“Monster - Transformers Soundtrack Version” - Paramore
This is another one of those songs that I have a ton of memories connected to - it was one of my most played songs on my purple iPod Nano back in middle school. I feel like no one really talks about it when discussing Paramore songs, probably because it's from a movie soundtrack, but I think it's one of the strongest moments in their catalog.
What songs do you want to hear me play next week? Let me know by tweeting me at @JENSESSlON or the blog at @StrawbSkiesBlog! The blog can also be found on social media @StrawberrySkiesBlog on Instagram and Strawberry Skies Blog on Facebook.
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