# How to use halloween and party music at the halloween party



## JohnnyD97 (Aug 18, 2006)

If it were me, and you absolutely have to have dance music and Halloween music, I'd have the outdoor music wired to the same source as the Halloween music. One amp feeding 4 sets of speakers. Then I'd play the dance music on a different sound source. Or just have the spooky music outside to build up the atmosphere as people come to the party or go outside to talk and have your dance music going on inside. 

I really don't like mixing the two though. Nothing would kill a creepy atmosphere like some pop tart singing about love in the next room! 

That being said, I have mixed beats into a few Midnight Syndicate tracks for a party. Kind of my own Halloween Mash Up. Definitely changed things up but I don't know if that's what your looking for either. Another time I used a mixer to mix some Halloween sound effects on top of an instrumental Dr. Dre Chronic 2001 album (back when it first came out of course). It wasn't timed together like what I did with the Midnight Syndicate tracks, but it was quick and easy. Basically screams and stuff on top of his beats. 

Good luck - that's a tough one.

...By the way - I love San Antonio. It's a great city.


----------



## Spats (Sep 21, 2006)

I have no problem mixing.

The evening is generally creepy ambient music, some familiar soundtracks, some Syndicate stuff, but every 3-4 songs a tune plays, like "Dead Mans Party", "Ghostbusters" "Don't Fear the Reaper", "Highway to Hell", etc.

And everyone starts singing with the tune, then they go back to socializing.

Caveat - we don't dance. We have about 60 people all visiting, eating and drinking. At some point we all divide into teams for Halloween trivia with prizes (and they get very competitive and cut-throat, good times!) but our group likes to chat, joke, act the fool, flirt and socialize.


----------



## JohnnyD97 (Aug 18, 2006)

Spats - I think the kind of music she wants to play would be more in line with Lady Gaga instead of the Crypt Kicker 5. That's the kind of mixing of styles I'm hesitant to do. 

If it's Halloween style dance music, you are right, no problems there at all. All I'm saying is that a little Kelly Clarkson after a couple of MS tracks might throw things off...

Korigril, can you elaborate on what kind of music you want to play?


----------



## talkingcatblues (Jan 30, 2009)

korigirl said:


> I'll have to play music that everyone (for the most part) will enjoy and possibly dance or at least have fun to. I DO want some halloween music though.


Can you borrow wireless speakers from anyone? If you could link up to your computer you could use that for a mix of upbeat but related-to-Halloween music in both your main rooms and backyard, and reserve the slower/creepy horror movie theme/metal/classical stuff for a regular player in the smaller break-out type areas...

If you tell the folks here what your taste in dance music runs to, they can probably start you up with some songs in that genre that reference Halloween type subjects but are still pretty lively. If you're into goth or electronica you're pretty much set, but even in pop songs there's probably enough to fill a couple of hours.


If you go here:

http://www.halloweenhaunt.moonfruit.com/#/monstermashup-cds/4535975755

you'll see a bunch of downloadable mashup CDs that might give you some ideas, or if it's pop songs you're after here's the playlist to a mix that I made last year - even if these particular songs aren't your musical taste, it might remind you of what you've already got that would work...

1) Cream - Strange Brew
2) L7 - Pretend We're Dead
3) Horrorpops - Walk Like a Zombie
4) Mental As Anything - Spirit Got Lost
5) The Ascetic Junkies - Dracula
6) Kate Nash - Skeleton Song
7) Suzanne Vega - Tombstone
8) Creedence Clearwater Revival - Tombstone Shadow
9) Eels - Lone Wolf
10) Jonathan Coulton - Skullcrusher Mountain
11) Chris Isaak - Voodoo
12) Skillet - Monster
13) The Lillingtons - Zombies
14) Less Than Jake - Ghosts of You and Me
15) Bis - Secret Vampires
16) The Jangle - She's A Real Good Kisser for a Zombie
17) Blue Öyster Cult - Godzilla
18) Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party
19) Dangerous Toys - Scared
20) Gabby La La - Be Careful What You Wish For 'Cause It Might Come True
21) Beyonce - Beautiful Nightmare
22) Madonna - Candy Perfume Girl (Mellow remix)
23) Rihanna - Disturbia
24) Shakira - She Wolf (English Version)
25) Shari Belafonte - Get Dead
26) Jack & Jim - Midnite Monster Hop
27) Heinz & The Wild Boys - Big Fat Spider
28) Lydia Lunch - Spooky (Classics IV cover)
29) Crash Test Dummies - I Never Fall Asleep At Night
30) Eels - Friendly Ghost
31) Tom Smith - When This Song Is Over You Will Die

There are even hip hop songs that have Halloween related subjects, if that's more your thing...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horrorcore, or if you're into more thrashy dance, Zombie Night In Canada albums 1 & 2 might work.


----------



## talkingcatblues (Jan 30, 2009)

If it's hard electronic, here's a Halloween set from the Chemical Jump site that's a good place to start...

http://chemicaljump.com/2009/10/15/halloween-playlists/


----------



## korigirl (Aug 28, 2010)

Thanks everyone! Let me clarify, we don't actually dance, either. Well, maybe when we're drunk enough... and even then it would only be a couple of girls. 

The type of music we'd normally play at a party varies - we all like different stuff so we normally put on Pandora and switch between stations. My favorite is The Raconteurs mixed with Cake and maybe a little Rilo Kiley in there somewhere and occasionally Alkaline Trio. We don't do metal or goth or anything of that nature. 




talkingcatblues said:


> Can you borrow wireless speakers from anyone? If you could link up to your computer you could use that for a mix of upbeat but related-to-Halloween music in both your main rooms and backyard, and reserve the slower/creepy horror movie theme/metal/classical stuff for a regular player in the smaller break-out type areas...


I actually don't know any of our friends that have some...although we did see some at Tuesday Morning the other day that we wanted to get. Maybe we'll do that. 



JohnnyD97 said:


> ...By the way - I love San Antonio. It's a great city.


=D


----------



## talkingcatblues (Jan 30, 2009)

korigirl said:


> My favorite is The Raconteurs mixed with Cake and maybe a little Rilo Kiley in there somewhere and occasionally Alkaline Trio.


"Pentagram" is an upbeat yet Halloween themed song. And there's "Calling All Skeletons"... not so lyrically related, but it's in there... 



korigirl said:


> The type of music we'd normally play at a party varies - we all like different stuff so we normally put on Pandora and switch between stations.


It would definitely depend on whether you've got the time & resources to make a mix, but you could also segregate your music by time rather than place... ie, have the more atmospheric Halloween stuff playing when people get there and as the party would be warming up, then work up in intensity to the harder stuff (thematically related if possible) when you think it'll be at it's height, then go to cool-down & back to the original stuff for hanging out and chatting at the end.

If you're not confident enough in the timing for a continuous mix, you could make a separate cd or playlist of some favorites and hold it back till the time is right to throw it on.

Or if you want to stick more with online streaming, there are Halloween themed shows that people here can suggest... you could check them out before the actual night and see if you find a couple that fit ok, then switch between that and the regular stuff when it seems appropriate.


----------



## JohnnyD97 (Aug 18, 2006)

talkingcatblues said:


> If you go here:
> 
> http://www.halloweenhaunt.moonfruit.com/#/monstermashup-cds/4535975755
> 
> you'll see a bunch of downloadable mashup CDs that might give you some ideas...


Thanks for posting the link! I had the Son of Monster Mash Up and really like some of the mixes. I had no idea there were so many other Mash Up CDs! Many thanks!!!


----------



## talkingcatblues (Jan 30, 2009)

You're welcome! If you go to the 2010 CDs link, they look like they're putting one out this year as well.

http://www.halloweenhaunt.moonfruit.com/#


----------



## Halloweiner (Oct 2, 2003)

Try the "Those Ghoulish Things" CD. It is popular 1950's and 60's music that had somewhat of a Halloween theme to it.


----------



## 2E151 (Sep 10, 2009)

Your looking for something in the Electro-goth range. I recommend Collide, hands down. Try songs like Wings of Steel, Halo, & Black


----------



## HauntedHorror (Aug 8, 2006)

No one usually dances at my Halloween parties, and I don't really care what music they like-- it's my party, my music player(s) so it is my music choice, and I choose Halloween related and other spooky-sounding music. I usually use my computer in one room as the music player, and this year I'm planning to use an mp3 player in the bathroom. The main room (living room) will be playing a horror movie most of the time so I usually don't have any music in there.


----------



## cathartik (Apr 27, 2010)

This year I've decided I have no problem mixing in a lot of pop music to round it out and make it a party.

About every 3 of my Halloween songs there will be a dance or hip hop song to get people moving a bit. Then back to normal hahaha.


----------



## Dinosaur1972 (Mar 28, 2007)

I have a "Halloween Haunt Megamix" mix from 2009 mixed and produced by "Laptop Punk". It is very good, it has all the pop music you'd expect, but it is pretty cleverly mixed into a 67-minute long track. I bet it is still available online somewhere.


----------



## CMK4425 (Oct 16, 2006)

What I do is: Front Yard=Creepy Ambient(Midnight Syndicate/Nox Arcana)
Carport/Laser Vortex=Same as front yard but different tracks
These two are on one track with right and left channels 
feeding each area.

Cemetery=sound effects played from its own stereo

Thunder/Lightining= sound effects played from its own stereo

Patio/Dance Floor= Party music using Virtual Dj on the laptop 
and pro speakers

We wouldn't have a party without good music. So we play a wide mix of music and using the laptop it can be changed on the fly. I also have the ability to download songs if I don't have a request. Of course as the night goes on the technical stuff gets harder and the laptop screen gets harder to read.


----------



## Tjordan (Sep 17, 2010)

Agree with JohnnyD97. Spooky sounds outside - great music (talkingcatblues recommendations) inside.
Maybe even a few surprise areas piped in with spooky music inside (low enough to creep the heck out of your friends - but not noticeable elsewhere inside) like in the bathroom. Everyone forgets to decorate the bathroom! Eyeball soaps, blood writing on mirror, dark figures across from mirror so when your guests look at themselves (they all do) there is a face behind them - great place as you KNOW everyone has to use the bathroom!

Good Luck!

/tJ


----------



## Rich B (Sep 23, 2005)

Dinosaur1972 said:


> I have a "Halloween Haunt Megamix" mix from 2009 mixed and produced by "Laptop Punk". It is very good, it has all the pop music you'd expect, but it is pretty cleverly mixed into a 67-minute long track. I bet it is still available online somewhere.


found it - http://halloweenhaunt.moonfruit.com/#/download-megamix/4535778038


----------



## DJ John (Sep 24, 2010)

There's some good advice written so far.
Here's my suggestion.
I've been DJ'ing for over 20 years and despite my best efforts to program "Halloween" music at a Halloween party, people end up just wanting to hear their favorite tracks at the moment, whether they are "Halloween" oriented tunes or not. Some Halloween staples are necessary like Michael Jackson's "Thriller", but stick to the genre of music your generation likes, whatever that might be. Trust me, that will make it a lot more fun for your guests.


----------

