Note: I’m settling in to start my Halloween post. How very fitting that my hit count just hit 6,666. Yikes… that’s freaky!!

The trick to the quality Halloween post is to find those diamonds in the catacombs the are hidden under the all the dust and grime. Those tunes that haven’t been brought up every every year like some sort of obligatory carol; Monster Mash comes to mind. It’s difficult to mix quality music with Halloween.

I’ve got to give props to David Williams, every year he blasts Tom Waits over the ghetto blaster as the young ones cautiously tread up his walkway for the promise of a treat, in hopes that he will create a new generation of Tom Waits fans. This courageous soul breaks convention for the sake of bringing quality music to Halloween. With blatant disreguard for the looks he must receive from the young mothers taking their batman and princess dressed younguns out on their first Trick or Treat tour, Mr. Williams plays Waits’ darkest and scariest album. Bones and chains rattle as Tom’s gristly voice rambles on about apocalyptic horrors, murdering drifters and vultures circling families who get decimated in the pits of the Colosseum. Bone Machine has been one of my most loved albums for nearly one and a half decades. Good luck to you this year David Williams, your quest is noble!

In efforts to bring Halloween and quality music together, here are 4 tracks that are both good, and belong on your Halloween mixtape:

Halloween on the Barbary Coast – The Flaming Lips

Hit to Death in the Future Head (1992)

The Barbary Coast refers to the Northwestern coasts of Africa that were ripe with pirates and slave traders during the 16th to 19th centuries. Rumour has it that the Lips wrote this song after getting kicked out of one hotel, then getting heckled at the next: The Barbary Coast Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. I prefer to assume that the Lips hold a high standard of cleanliness, but this story does shed light on the perplexing lyrics.

Zombie Zoo – Tom Petty

Full Moon Fever (1989)

One of the lesser known tracks from Tom Petty’s classic 1989 album Full Moon Fever has a fear inspiring opening that conjures the image of the living dead, but the song itself is not about the zombies of All Hallows Eve. Dancing at the Zombie Zoo is referring to clubbing at the late night spots with the hardcores. Living a vampiric lifestyle while still being human. Playing the part of a zombie can take it’s toll, leading to head shaving that makes one look like Boris Karloff.

Season of the Witch – Donovan

From the1966 album Sunshine Superman, this classic track has stood the test of time, remaining one of the greatest tracks from the hippie era with lyrics containing several idioms of the time:

When I look over my shoulder,
What do you think I see ?
Some other cat looking over
His shoulder at me

And he’s strange, sure he’s strange.
You’ve got to pick up every stitch,
You’ve got to pick up every stitch,
Beatniks are out to make it rich,
Oh no, must be the season of the witch

I’m particularly fond of the Beatniks out to make it rich, but have no idea what the line “You’ve got to pick up every stitch” mean… any ideas? The best answer I found was that is means nothing because Donovan was likely stoned when he wrote it. I’m terribly dissatisfied with that answer! But, this can’t change the fact that this tune is a must play today.

Thriller (Richard Grey Remix) – MJ

Thriller

Since it’s the 25th anniversary of the track, and Thrill the World succeeded in on breaking the Guinness record with 4,177 simultaneous Thriller dancers… and because really, Thriller is a really good tune, I’ll include this banging remix. The regular Pacha DJ maintains the class and theatrics of the original, while bringing it up to date with beats worthy of today’s hottest dance floors. Check out his newest offering: a down tempo remix of Bob Marley at mySpace.

Happy Halloween!!!

I was  a little too young to appreciate David Lynch’s enigmatic series Twin Peaks when it originally aired. Once I had been shown the light back in the late 90’s I could not get enough. I believe I watched the full series 3 times over that year (I was a student with lots of free time… I miss those days!).

The series had a very devout following and for good reason: the show was a complete original! I’m sure the multitudes of ridiculously good looking people helped quite a bit as well, but the real draw of the show was the intriguingly strange story of what happened to Laura Palmer. The influence of Twin Peaks can still be found in every facet of the entertainment industry, including music.

Go – Moby One of Moby’s tracks from his self-titled release, from way back in 1992, directly sampled Laura Palmer’s Theme from the Twin Peaks soundtrack. Go was Moby’s first tune to hit the charts. The haunting ambient tones from the series mixed with Moby’s unique production and rhthyms create an interesting, and very dancable tune. You can definitely hear the early 90’s in this track, which I suspect Moby was well aware of when he re-did the popular tune for his compilation CD in 2006: Go – The Very Best of Moby.

Country – Empire of the Sun Empire of the Sun broke out on to the scene hard with their super catchy tune Walking on a Dream. Since their album’s release in early Auguest the blogosphere has been ripe with rave reviews for the Australian pop duo. Their track Country, has the same haunting feel as the theme to Twin Peaks, with a similar slow and low base line. I figure that they must be fans of the show (who wouldn’t be really?). The track is both an eerie and beautiful instrumental that illustrates the diversity of the band. I expect to be hearing lots from this group in the future.

In writing this post I discovered that the complete Twin Peaks collection was released on DVD a year ago! I don’t know how I missed this one, but the Twin Peaks – The Definitive Gold Box Edition (The Complete Series) on it’s way to my mailbox now! Now, I must go, my backwards-speak talkin’ doppelganger is beckoning from behind the red curtain! I leave you with the intro to the much loved show Twin Peaks:

The current Canadian Hip Hop scene seems to have a particular love for 1990, and really, I can’t blame ‘em. 1990 was a bright, colourful and fun year, just before the brooding Seattle grunge scene took over. Two particular Canadian rappers have embraced 1990 and spun it with their own fresh style.

The Old Prince (2007)

Shad has fully embraced 1990 with his recent video The Old Prince Still Lives at Home. The video is is a full re-enactment of the opening sequence to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Shad’s tongue and cheek impression of Will Smith is accompanied by his witty rhymes about ways to save cash, like skipping the trips to the dentist:

Well thanks a lot doc but listen
I can brush my teeth all on my own
So you ain’t gon hustle me!

Now that’s some excellent advice for the kids! Part way through the video a Windows error pops up and the beat stops. Shad informs his crew, and the audience, that he couldn’t afford the rest of the beat. So he finishes off the track a cappella. Slick!

Shad has a pretty cool story! Originally from Kenya, Shad was raised in London, Ontario. He entered and won The Rhythm of the Future talent competition, and created his debut album When This Is Over with his winnings in 2005. While he continues to pursue his Hip Hop career he is also working towards his master’s degree up at SFU. I expect to see lots more from this young man in the future.

The Old Prince Still Lives at Home – Shad

For your reference and easy comparison here is the opening credit sequence to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Everyone sing along!

Our second strapping young Canadian rapper who has embraced 1990 is Cadence Weapon, dropping rhymes reminiscent of another strapping young Canadian rapper from a whopping 18 years ago (yes 1990 was that long ago!). With his clean cut style and slick rhymes he reminds me of the great Maestro Fresh Wes. I certainly wouldn’t say that Cadence Weapon is biting The Maestro’s style, but the influence is evident. Cadence Weapon’s video for Real Estate, from Afterparty Babies, is complete with fabricated backgrounds and classy black suits that harkens back to Maestro’s classic video Let Your Backbone Slide. Both tracks share quick flowing lyrics, fine female vocal samples, and dynamic beats with fresh scratching. See for yourself:

Real Estate – Cadence Weapon

The video that made “threading the needle” the hottest challenge on the dance floor:

Let Your Backbone Slide – Maestro Fresh Wes

Afterparty Babies (2008)

Cadence Weapon comes from a prominent Albertan family with his grandfather having been an Edmonton Eskimo, and his father having brought Hip Hop to the northern city via the University of Alberta’s campus radio station CJSR. I would normally find this to be impressive, but as I’m originally from Calgary, I get far more excited about the fact that Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) used to be a Stampeder! Even though Cadence Weapon is from my hometown’s rival city, I’ll have to admit that I have a bit of a crush on the fine young man, so handsome, funny and charming! Shhh… don’t tell Perfect!

Good Folk of Vancouver (Raphael Borja)

Today is Blog Action Day! Bloggers all over the world, including myself, are focusing their efforts on the important topic of poverty, to change the conversation for one day.

Living in Vancouver, BC I see a great deal of poverty in my day to day life. Living next to one of the many bridges in the city, I often have to tip toe under the bridge on my way to work, careful not to wake the varied homeless individuals who have been able to find a dry place to sleep for the night. I’ve habitualized the emotionless head shake in response to the many panhandlers that pepper the downtown streets just like everyone else. Though, my heart does ache every time I see the look of desperation and hopelessness in the eyes of an old man on the streets who’s options have clearly dwindled down to very few.

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives recently calculated the living wage in Vancouver to be $16.74 an hour. This living wage is the hourly wage a two income family of four needs to make ends meet. There is consideration for savings or debt repayment in their calculation of this figure. It takes nearly $17 per hour to cover the basics in this city, yet the minimum wage in BC remains at $8 an hour, where it has been since 2001. Reading these figures it’s really not surprising that there are so many people living on the streets.

Lets, at least for one moment, turn our attention from the well dressed sad and happy Wall Streeters who are fretting over billions of dollars, and consider the millions of people who are fretting over hundreds of dollars. Here are 3 great tracks that tackle the issue of poverty each in very different ways.

Fast Car – Tracy Chapman

Tracy Chapman (1988)

A heart wrenching telling of one woman’s struggle to make ends meet while working a dead end job and dealing with inescapable problems. Chapman won a Grammy in 1988 for this now classic track that highlights the generational nature of poverty. Impoverished children are born to impoverished parents; a very difficult cycle to break, except in the imagination, where one can drive away in a fast car to escape the weight of poverty.

Mr Wendle – Arrested Development

3 Years 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life of– (1992)

This uplifting take on poverty sheds light on the individuals behind the faces of the homeless on the streets. Speech, the leader of Arrested Development, tells about getting to know a particular homeless man who offers him wisdom and makes him think differently about ‘civilized society’. Arrested Development’s unique style of hip hop is both fun and playful, despite the fact that they are constantly tackling serious issues. Where are Arrested Development now? Still working their butts off making music and touring the world! Find out more and send them some love over at mySpace!

I had to include the video for Mr. Wendal, because it’s so colourful!

All Tomorrow’s Parties – The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)

One of The Velvet Underground’s greatest songs that showcases Nico’s unique vocals. All Tomorrow’s Parties asks the question of:

What costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow’s parties
A hand-me-down dress from who knows where
To all tomorrow’s parties

Highlighting the pressure to keep up with ones peers, wanting to have the great outfit to show off on Saturday nights, while not having the means to purchase such extravagances. The never attainable goal of keeping up with the Jones’ underlines this song. The blind greed that entices people to constantly want more perpetuates and increases the gap between the rich and the poor, creating more want for the rich, and more need for the poor.

Do Your Thing – Basement Jaxx

Rooty (2001)

I don’t need no TV, I don’t need no news
All I need is a bumpin’ beat to bump away my blues
I don’t give a damn what the people say
I’m gonna do it, gonna do it my way
Gonna let it all out an do my thing
Boom boom boom an a bang bang bang

This is my “Cheer me up” song. When I get into a funk, I give this song a listen, and by the midpoint I’m feeling great and dancing along to the upbeat tempo. The track boasts confidence and an unconventional sexiness with unforgiving abandon. The upbeat piano and percussion is peppered with fun electronic bleeps and bloops that are brought into full splendor with soulful vocals.

The creative pair, Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe that are Basement Jaxx, hail from the UK, where they have been releasing their unique blend of House music since 1999. They have recently released the EP Planet 2 in the UK, and have announced that they will be touring through the UK in February 2009. Too bad I live 4700 miles away!