Monday, October 1, 2012

Let's Trade Our Halloween Music Mixes!

Does anyone remember making mix tapes for friends back in the day? I guess that doesn't happen so much anymore, but I'd love to revive the trend, at least during October. I have a mix of my favorite Halloween songs on my computer and sometimes I make CDs of it for friends. If any of you happen to have made Halloween mixes, or are up for making one, I think it would be fun to have a Halloween mix CD exchange!


All you have to do is send an email to me at contactartgirl@gmail.com with your home address and I'll send you back an email with my home address. Then we can send one another a mix CD full of our personal Halloween favorites! I'm going to surprise you with my mix, but here are some clues. There's a little bit of classic rock, a little bit of lounge, and a little bit of classical music on there.


So, what do you say? Are you up for kicking it old school with a CD exchange? Hey, I'll take a literal mix tape, if you want to kick it really old school! I think it's fun and personal, just like when we used to trade handwritten notes.


Speaking of music, I'm going to leave you with a few songs I recently discovered on YouTube. These are old and strange, but I think you'll get a kick out of them. If you're reading this in email form, you'll have to go to my actual blog to watch the videos. For whatever reason, videos don't come through in email form.

Here we go, let's get started with Cab Calloway's "The Nightmare" (1931) A cute slideshow of retro Halloween photos accompanies the song:



This next one was totally new to me, yet I found many covers of it. Here's what I think is the best version:  "Punky Punkin'" by Rosemary Clooney (1950). I know it's a little goofy, but you'll find it stuck in your head for hours. It's sort of like the "Frosty the Snowman" of Halloween! There's a quaint, homey feeling to the video too.



The theme song for "The Bat" which starred Vincent Price and Agnes Moorhead in 1959. This video has more retro Halloween goodness playing as a slideshow:



This one I loved! It's a catchy song with a definite late 1960s/early 70s vibe. "Green Slime":



Another very 1950s goofball song ~ "The Rockin' Ghost" by Archie Bleyer:



This video is filled with fun old comic book images. "Ghost Walk" ~ The Rocking Ghosts (1965)



This one was so fun and unique! A Halloween Doo-Wop song by The Kac Ties ~ "Mr. Were Wolf" (The Kac Ties, get it?)



Here's a cartoon classic set to a sultry "Graveyard Rock" ~ by Tarantula Ghoul and Her Gravediggers:



Last but not least, a surprising disco song titled "Soul Dracula" (Hot Blood) from 1977! You cannot help but laughing during parts of this, or maybe dancing...



So, do you have any new favorite Halloween songs after listening to these? Maybe you remember some of these songs from your past. None of these will be on my mix CD, and I'd probably have trouble even finding a CD to burn them from! They're kind of obscure songs, but they brought a smile to my face.

I hope to be trading CDs with at least a few of you!

26 comments:

  1. This is a very cute scheme! I'm totally up for it, but I don't know if you want to post to Australia? I was only just thinking about making a Halloween mix. You must have been vibing the idea to me. :)

    Love the picture of the Monster and his Mate dancing! And, of course, you know I love Ophelia! ;)

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  2. Great idea! I promise if I can get time....I will participate!

    Cheers!

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  3. That is a very eclectic list of old Hallowe'en songs! I've heard the 2nd and 3rd last ones before but never the rest! The very last one is just so.. odd! SOUUUL DRACOOLA! Hahaha! So very weird but kinda funny, it's be great for a cheesey Hallowe'en party that's for sure!

    My favourites from the list would have to be 'The Nightmare' and 'Punky Punkin' Those are two I think I'll have to find!

    I'm definitely up for a swap! I'll have to get working on it right away! I bet there will be quite a few of the same songs on each others mixes but that doesn't really matter too much! Great idea Justine! :D ~♥~

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  4. What a great idea!

    The 50s/60s were prime time for monster novelty songs. I've got a couple cds filled with them.

    The Green Slime song is actually the theme to a sci-fi horror movie of the same name. I just saw it a few months ago.

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  5. It may be a Halloween cliche, but "Monster Mash" will always hold a special place in my heart. :) I'm all for doing a Halloween CD mix!!

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  6. Just a PS to all, there are apps out there that can download youtube videos into mp3 format...

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  7. Oh MY! I LOVE this idea!!! Ok, I'm going to see if I have any blank CD's at home and see if I can figure out how to burn one on my Mac (never tried that on a mac yet) and then I'll email you to do the exchange :) I'm super-duper excited!

    Oh and my Witch Tea is this weekend! So, I'll have plenty of pictures to share with you next week ;)

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  8. Little Gothic Horrors ~ Thanks! That's awesome! Yeah, I'm totally up for trading with you. Yeah, maybe I'm in your head. :) I look forward to listening to the mix you put together!

    Yeah, I knew that if anyone reading this would know who Ophelia was, it would be you. I always thought it was so hilarious for that character to be more or less Carolyn Jones in a blond wig! I'm trying to remember which episode had her playing the violin. It's fun to watch that little moving image of her while playing some of the music posted here!

    The Frog Queen ~ Thank you! :) Yeah, I know you have your hands full, from reading your blog. That's one hefty project you have going! If you get a moment of downtime, it would be fun to exchange CDs with you.

    Bella Morte ~ Haha! Yeah... Eclectic is a word. ;) So you knew about Punky Punkin' and The Bat? Honestly, every one of these songs was new to me. That list of songs began because I was listening to the Cab Calloway song on YouTube. Then some related videos appeared. So I just kept listening to the related songs up until I got to SOUUUL DRACOOLA! One thing leads to another. :) Oh yeah, I love the sexy voice in that song. Haha! Hot Blood, indeed.

    As far as finding 'The Nightmare' I'm sure there are some Cab Calloway collections out there. I wonder how hard the 'Punky Punkin' song would be to find? I'm not really up on Rosemary Clooney's greatest hits. :) I read in a YouTube comment that there was a spooky B-side to that record of hers, so I might need to look for that.

    I'm glad you're up for a swap! I'd wondered if you would be, because I remember talking Halloween music collections with you last year. Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised to see a few of the same songs on our mixes, but I bet we'll end up sharing some new ones too!

    Dex ~ Thanks! It would be fun if you'd take part, especially with some of those 50s/60s songs you just mentioned. :) It does seem that there were a lot of novelty songs during those years. I can't think of many modern Halloween novelty songs.

    I saw some comments under the Green Slime video about the movie, otherwise I wouldn't have known about it. Is the Green Slime movie worth watching? I really ended up liking the song!

    In answer to your PS ~ I'm sure that will help some people, since these songs I found on YouTube are fairly obscure. At least as far as I know. :) I'm not one to do anything with apps or mp3's, but that's good information to know for when I decide to get modernized...

    Shawn ~ Thanks! E-mail received and reply sent. :) I look forward to your mix!

    Marisa ~ Awesome! I'm glad you're taking part in this. I think you'll like a lot of what's on my mix! Oh, I think "Monster Mash" holds a special place for everyone. :) By the time we were kids, that was pretty much the only Halloween novelty song around! I now know how much we missed out on from decades past. Oh well, that's what YouTube is for. :)

    Countess ~ I'm so glad to hear it! :) I've had a better time with burning CDs on a Mac than a PC, so I think you'll be fine. Do you use iTunes? That's step one. If you need any help at all with burning a CD on your Mac, just shoot me an email and I'll try to walk you through it.

    Oh, how exciting! Do you have your outfit all picked out? I'm really looking forward to seeing your photos! It will be fun for me to see another set of party witches. :)

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  9. I really liked Green Slime. It was a lot of fun in an old sci-fi monster movie kinda way.

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  10. I loved making Mix Tapes for friends! Count me in I'm out of cds but I have a blank tape someplace. I'll send and email soon.

    Maybe I'll but a sven song on it just for you. Maybe even Mummy related :)

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  11. It Came From The Man Cave ~ Wasn't making mix tapes fun? I always enjoyed decorating the tapes/tape cases too. I have one Halloween cassette tape that I made during high school from what was playing on the radio on Halloween. It's fun to revisit, because all the songs represent that time. It will be fun to receive another cassette, because it will be just like old times. :)

    Aww! You have a Sven song handy? That would be awesome. Mummy related! Haha! We've actually been spared the mummies lately. I don't know if Sven got a good deal on a collection of mummy movies or what, but that theme lasted a while... I received his newsletter the other day, and it looks like we're going to have a great Sven movie schedule for October!

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  12. What an amazing idea!!! I love making Halloween mixes so I am in! I might end up sending you a couple mixes! :D

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  13. Spooky Vegan ~ Thank you! :) Well, that's what I like to hear! I'm glad that you're going to be a part of this. I can't wait to hear what you put together!

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  14. I love the idea and wish I could join in. We are looking for a house to rent, and packing. Our lease is up at the end of this month. I will think of you whenever a Halloween song (such as Monster Mash) comes on the radio. Lots of luck with trading CD's.

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  15. Adsila ~ Aww, I'm sorry that this trade came at a time when you're moving! I totally get how frantic that can be. Lots of luck to you too with finding a new place! :)

    If you're ever up for trading CDs later, once things have calmed down a bit, I'm still up for it! You know I'm in the Halloween spirit year round. :)

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  16. This is a seriousy FABULOUS list of Halloween tunes ... great job!!

    I used to love doing mixtapes as a kid (and later mix cds). BTW, how cool is that skeleton tape graphic ... Love it!

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  17. Wendy ~ Thanks! :) I had fun finding all these old songs, and I'm glad that you enjoyed listening to them. It's amazing how many Halloween novelty songs were made back in the 50s/60s.

    Yeah! I couldn't believe my luck in finding that spooky cassette tape illustration. It fit the whole theme of this post perfectly, and I like the way it matches my blog. :)

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  18. I love the picture of Frankenstein & his bride dancing! How cute!! ^_^ You definitely know how to get everyone in the Halloween spirit with aweesoooome songs!


    Also! I'm doing a giveaway for a pair of red/black heels! I hope you enter! :P

    http://www.realqueenofhorror.com/2012/10/giveaway-dollhouse-redblack-heels.html

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  19. Real Queen of Horror ~ Yeah, I had fun finding some pictures for this post! Thanks. :) It makes me happy to think that I've helped people get in the Halloween spirit!

    I hope you have time to take part in this CD exchange! I just got my mix put together. I took a peek at your contest and those shoes are amazing! Unfortunately, they're not in my size. I'll pass your contest along on Twitter. Maybe there's a size 9 out there with fun taste in shoes. :)

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  20. I emailed you!

    Lol. I hope that there is too! I feel like I'm on a search for Cinderella. x_x

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  21. Cool! :) Actually, someone on Twitter told me that the shoe tweet caught her eye, so maybe she'll be just the Cinderella for those shoes! If not, you could always leave one on that severed foot as a decoration...

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  22. thank you for the great songs! I love halloween music mixes. always looking for new tunes x

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  23. Priscilla ~ Hi there! I'm glad you enjoyed this old music mix. It was fun to hear some Halloween songs for the first time! I wish more of these goofy novelty songs were being recorded now. What's funny is that you can guess when these were all made from the style of music.

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  24. Just wanted to pop in and say thanks again for trading mix tapes! IT was a blast. Your mix has not left the car cd player yet.

    Happy Halloween Justine.

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  25. Bob ~ Thanks so much for letting me know that! :) I'm really happy to hear that my CD was that appreciated. I've been enjoying listening to your CDs too. I love the eclectic mix of rock, oldies, country, movie themes, and spoken word you assembled. I've listened to it again and again! Happy Halloween to you too. :)

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