The 13 Days of Halloween: “The Scariest Songs” Hi Folks! Here is my suggestion for Number 1: What’s yours? #1: The Message Grandmaster Flash (Duke Bootie & Melle Mel), 1982 Same Set Playlist: The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead – XTC Silent Running – Mike & The Mechanics Inner City Blues – Marvin Gaye "Don’t push me, cause I’m close to the EDGE I’m trying not to lose my head It’s like a jungle, sometimes it makes me wonder How I keep from going under" “Peter Pumpkinhead” might have been a better seasonal choice, but no other song altered its genre as radically as this one. Besides, listen to the lyrics: if the fact that they’re more relevant now than they were 30 years ago doesn’t scare you, then you haven’t been paying attention. Moreover, look at the image: if you think this young man represents a specific demographic (his face is fashioned from avatar morphs that reflect the world’s three main ethnicities) or a specific community, then you REALLY haven’t been paying attention. Each of these songs has a continuing, timely relevance. As such, several others could join them on the list. “The World Is A Ghetto (War),” “The Ghost of Tom Joad (Bruce Springsteen),” “Ball of Confusion” (The Temptations), and some selections from Gil Scott-Heron come to mind. To keep this list manageable, I didn’t include jazz songs; but if I had, “Strange Fruit” (Billie Holliday) would be on it. “Night on Bald Mountain” (Mussorgsky/Rimsy-Korsakov) would have made it as a classical entry-- thanks to its legendary film interpretation by Disney. Earlier this year I was thinking that this would be the last edition of the series. But since some ancient calendars are predicting the End of the World in 2012, maybe I should run it one more time. And, if we all do make it through the year, it might be appropriate and timely to run “The 13 Days of Halloween” in 2013. Please let me know if you think I should. I close the 2011 edition with the words of Robert Louis Stevenson: “Keep your fears to yourself-- but share your courage with others.” Dr Zik