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Best Halloween Soundtrack


indy4

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I know, it's not a poll this time!

I really like to get into the spirit of an upcoming holiday, particularly for Halloween. For me, the biggest way to get into the holiday is by listening to appropriate music. The only Halloweeny soundtracks I own are:

Nightmare Before Christmas (Danny Elfman)

Corpse Bride (Danny Elfman)

Prisoner of Azkaban (John Williams)

As well as these cues (but not the entire score):

Dance of the Witches (Witches of Eastwick)

Main Title from Tales from the Crypt

Overture from Phantom of the Opera

I also have Psycho soundtrack, but it isn't very Halloweeny, except for the Prelude. If anyone has any great Halloween soundtracks, that'd be great. Keep in mind that just because it's a horror movie, it doesn't mean it's Halloweeny - Jaws has never really sounded Halloweeny to me (perhaps because it takes place in the summer). I also have all the Potter soundtracks, but PoA is the only one I consider Halloweeny. And I guess I sort of consider Beetlejuice Halloweeny. Thanks in advance!

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I love my Japanese CD called "Italian Horror Showcase". I have only ever seen one copy of this and I paid 5 bucks for it at a Borders outlet. Basically it's a compilation CD of original film score music by Goblin. It includes music from Suspiria, Phenomena, Zombi, Tenebre, and others. Great CD and wonderful to have playing outside the house for when the trick or treaters come at night. It's scary stuff! Aaah, that 70s horror sound of Goblin!

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Beetlejuice, Corpse Bride, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hollow...basically every Tim Burton/Danny Elfman collaboration.

Can't wait for Sweeney Todd! (aka Edward Scissorhands turned Jack The Ripper)

Sleepy Hollow, that sounds interesting. Anybody know if the movie is worth seeing (I don't get scores unless I've seen the movies)?

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Halloween by John Carpenter.

you are obviously the smarted person to respond to this thread. Imaging talking about Halloween soundtracks and not actually mention Halloween.

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Sleepy Hollow, that sounds interesting. Anybody know if the movie is worth seeing (I don't get scores unless I've seen the movies)?

I really like it. Johnny Depp is (go figure) fantastic. Add in roles for Michael Gambon, Ian McDiarmid, and Christopher Walken... makes for a fun experience. As for the score, it didn't really stick out at me, but it's solid Elfman for ya.

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Sleepy Hollow, that sounds interesting. Anybody know if the movie is worth seeing (I don't get scores unless I've seen the movies)?

So you want to hear the score, but you can't do that if the movie isn't worth seeing? :music:

Anyway, it was quite enjoyable. Nothing great or anything, but it can be fun.

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This is straining my memory a lot......but I do remember an album by Kunzel and the clan which I think was called "Shivers".....it included some Phantom of the Opera stuff, Night on a Bare Mountain, some Sleuth, and other bits and bobs....for Halloween it would be ideal.....anyone track it down?

Failing that, I will make do with Poltergeist.....

EDIT - nope - not Shivers..........."Chiller".........

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Try out "Danse Macabre" by Saint Saens

Or if you want to hear some cool music that isn't specifically classica try this link:

Online Halloween Radio

Finally, look up a group called Midnight Syndicate. They do scores for a lot of Haunted Attractions across the globe. They have some really cool atmospheric tracks.

If you can't tell, I'm very into Halloween. Actually, I direct/run/own/act in/write a Haunted House every year. It takes quite a bit of effort, but for my favorite holiday, it's worth it!

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Try out "Danse Macabre" by Saint Saens

Or if you want to hear some cool music that isn't specifically classica try this link:

Online Halloween Radio

Finally, look up a group called Midnight Syndicate. They do scores for a lot of Haunted Attractions across the globe. They have some really cool atmospheric tracks.

If you can't tell, I'm very into Halloween. Actually, I direct/run/own/act in/write a Haunted House every year. It takes quite a bit of effort, but for my favorite holiday, it's worth it!

Danse Mecabre!!! My all time favorite classical piece!!! Just plain amazing, great Halloween. I'll check out the others you've mentioned, thanks!

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I just remembered that some of the best Halloween music comes from the movie "Hocus Pocus" by John Debney. I found it on eBay for only $326! What a steal! ;) I was just wondering if this is a normal price, and if I should just forget about it, or if it is usually a bit cheaper at least.

Please DO NOT PM me with a chance to download it - I'm not taking bootlegs unless the music is unreleased.

To answer the original question

"Nightmare Before Christmas"

"Overture" from Phantom

The only Halloweeny soundtracks I own are:

Nightmare Before Christmas (Danny Elfman)

Corpse Bride (Danny Elfman)

Prisoner of Azkaban (John Williams)

As well as these cues (but not the entire score):

Dance of the Witches (Witches of Eastwick)

Main Title from Tales from the Crypt

Overture from Phantom of the Opera

Thanks for the input, though! ;)

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"Overture" from Phantom

The only Halloweeny soundtracks I own are:

Overture from Phantom of the Opera

Thanks for the input, though! ;)

You two listen to Pink Floyd's "Echoes". Maybe you'll grow out of the trash that is Phantom.

Also, if you want Halloweeney music be a good chap and get Tom Waits' Beautiful Maladies.

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If you think Phantom is trash, I really suggest you listen to it a little more carefully and perhaps see the show....

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In sleep, he saaaang to meeeee, in dreams, he caaaaame

That voice which caaaaallls to meeee and speaks my naaaame

And do I dream again, for nowwww I fiiiiind

The Phaaaaaaantom of the Opera of theerrrreee inside my mind.

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Exactly.

If you think Phantom is trash, I really suggest you listen to it a little more carefully and perhaps see the show....

I've had the London cast CD for seven years. I have the soundtrack for the movie. I've seen the show twice (in Madrid, which I know wasn't a good representation, but it was still the show). I have the movie on DVD, which I also went to see to the movie theater in its opening weekend. I guess, if I tried, that I still can sing through both CDs from the London cast without looking up the lyrics.

I know this is contradictory to the fact that I consider the show to be "trash", but as a teenager I was a big fan. So I owed it to the kid in me to see the movie and give the soundtrack a spin. But for the past three years, the more I listen to any version of the show, the more sappy, unoriginal, and silly it feels. There are virtually no characters of interest, except for Christine's relationship with his father relating to the Phantom, and even that's way far-fetched.

What changed between my liking of the show was basically that I listened to more music. More Andrew Lloyd Webber music (which, I then realized, was always the same, shamelessly lifting melodies from himself and, to a lesser extent, others, as is the case with the main theme from Phantom and that Pink Floyd song), and more classical and rock music. And my conclusion was that Phantom of the Opera is trash. Romantic, lush, and singable in the worst sense of the word.

So I really suggest that you listen to it a little more carefully. And do watch the movie.

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I love Phantom, I think it's Webber's masterpiece (speaking mostly in terms of the music - while I've seen the show twice and enjoyed it, the music is what I come back to). The songs aren't very complex or groundbreaking, no, but I think they're great nonetheless...their various vocal and instrumental renditions really capture the mystery, beauty, romance, and darkness of the show. And the way they work together, weaving in and out of the score is wonderful . Other than that and Joseph, though, the only other music of Webber's I've been impressed by is "Memory" from Cats.

Ray Barnsbury

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If you think Phantom is trash, I really suggest you listen to it a little more carefully and perhaps see the show....

Aaaah!!!! Greg!!! You and I are so similar in all other tastes, but I'm afraid we disagree on the Webbmeister. Phantom SUCKS! The only ALW I like is his earlier more rock-style musicals like "Jesus Christ Superstar", "Evita", and "Tell Me on a Sunday". His faux classical stuff makes me cringe (and hurl!)

Oh, and both ALW AND Pink Floyd stole that chromatic descending melody from Vaughan Williams' London Symphony (Symphony #2), first movement.

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Exactly.
If you think Phantom is trash, I really suggest you listen to it a little more carefully and perhaps see the show....

I've had the London cast CD for seven years. I have the soundtrack for the movie. I've seen the show twice (in Madrid, which I know wasn't a good representation, but it was still the show). I have the movie on DVD, which I also went to see to the movie theater in its opening weekend. I guess, if I tried, that I still can sing through both CDs from the London cast without looking up the lyrics.

I know this is contradictory to the fact that I consider the show to be "trash", but as a teenager I was a big fan. So I owed it to the kid in me to see the movie and give the soundtrack a spin. But for the past three years, the more I listen to any version of the show, the more sappy, unoriginal, and silly it feels. There are virtually no characters of interest, except for Christine's relationship with his father relating to the Phantom, and even that's way far-fetched.

What changed between my liking of the show was basically that I listened to more music. More Andrew Lloyd Webber music (which, I then realized, was always the same, shamelessly lifting melodies from himself and, to a lesser extent, others, as is the case with the main theme from Phantom and that Pink Floyd song), and more classical and rock music. And my conclusion was that Phantom of the Opera is trash. Romantic, lush, and singable in the worst sense of the word.

So I really suggest that you listen to it a little more carefully. And do watch the movie.

:cool: A reasoned argument which I can do little to pick apart! My love of the show may stem from the fact that I grew up as a fan of both the original book and Susan Kay's fantastic novel "Phantom".....however I think the sheer power and quality of the show to be at a level far above what you re suggesting.....for me it is one of ALW's 2 really great musicals - the other being Jesus Christ Superstar....the rest of his canon has been pretty forgettable for me....but as I've said may times it would be a crappy world if we all had the same tastes!

And - for the record - as an ex-Phantom myself (albeit as a lowly understudy) I loathe the movie with every pore of my being.....I tried with it, I really did....but it is just plain hateful....

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for me it is one of ALW's 2 really great musicals - the other being Jesus Christ Superstar

I really, really like Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar. Those two I think are milestones in the history of musical theater. And I also have a very soft spot for the blatantly-over-the-top Aspects of Love, which features Webber's best (chamber) score. El Webber has also penned one of my guilty pleasures, By Jeeves, but that's just because I'm sucker for P. G. Wodehouse.

Oh, and both ALW AND Pink Floyd stole that chromatic descending melody from Vaughan Williams' London Symphony (Symphony #2), first movement.

Yes, well... that is a completely different situation!

All you Phantom haters can think what you want, but your opinions are going against millions of people.

So I should start liking American Idol to compensate?

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All you Phantom haters can think what you want, but your opinions are going against millions of people.

I'm a Phantom fan, but why should it matter if someone dislikes it when millions of others like it? It doesn't make the critics or haters wrong. Another example, I loathed the last two Harry Potter books, yet millions of others ate them up like Pringles, but that definitely doesn't make the haters and disappointed fans' opinions wrong.

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All you Phantom haters can think what you want, but your opinions are going against millions of people.

I'm a Phantom fan, but why should it matter if someone dislikes it when millions of others like it? It doesn't make the critics or haters wrong. Another example, I loathed the last two Harry Potter books, yet millions of others ate them up like Pringles, but that definitely doesn't make the haters and disappointed fans' opinions wrong.

Yes, but many people on this topic are trying to proove us "Phantom-enjoyers" wrong.

Oh, and for the Potter thing:

:)

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Yes, but many people on this topic are trying to proove us "Phantom-enjoyers" wrong.
Who is?
And - for the record - as an ex-Phantom myself (albeit as a lowly understudy) I loathe the movie with every pore of my being.....I tried with it, I really did....but it is just plain hateful....
Phantom SUCKS!
my conclusion was that Phantom of the Opera is trash.
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I've heard terrible things about the movie, and from the sound clips I've listened to, it does sound pretty bad. Plus Emmy Rossum can't act her way out of a paper bag, so that doesn't help. And they should've used Michael Crawford for the phnatom.

Ray Barnsbury

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  • 11 months later...

Well, the decorations are out in stores already, so here's my Halloween collection!:

Nightmare_Before.JPG

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B000002LIM.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

B000002LUH.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

sweeney-todd-soundtrack.jpg

sound.jpg

21MPN32RCFL._SL500_AA180_.jpg

poasoundsml.jpg

855829.jpg

Also:

"Grim, Grinning Ghosts" from Disney's Happiest Celebration on Earth.

"Danse Mecabre"

"Overture" (Phantom of the Opera)

Main Titles (Beetlejuice)

Main Titles (Tales from the Crypt)

Would anybody reccomend Ed Wood for some good Halloween music?

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Who's this John Carpenter fellow? Tyler Bates Halloween music is awesome!!111!!

only you would go for such trash.

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I find Corpse Bride to be almost totally useless as Halloween music (though I like it in all other respects). I'm not sure why I felt the need to point that out, but there you have it.

Here are a few good Halloweeny scores: Philip Glass's Candyman, Lalo Schifrin's The Amityville Horror, and John Harrison's Creepshow. Patrick Doyle's Needful Things is also not bad, although it covers pretty much the same ground as Goldsmith's The Omen. I'm a big John Carpenter fan, and you obviously can't go wrong with his Halloween music. But he also did good creepy music for The Fog and Prince of Darkness and Christine; and even though it's not a horror movie, Escape From New York is probably suitable.

You should also not forget songs like "Ghostbusters" and "Killer Klowns From Outer Space" and "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" and TV themes like The Addams Family and The Munsters.

There are also a number of great non-movie-music options out there. Any Halloween playlist that doesn't incldue "Thriller," for example, or "Dead Man's Party" (Oingo Boingo) is just a waste of a playlist. I'd also recommend "Monster Mash" (Bobby Pickett Jr.), "Nature Trail to Hell" (Weird Al Yankovic), "Werewolves of London" (Warren Zevon), "Halloween (She Get So Mean)" (Rob Zombie and The Ghastly Ones), "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" (Dave Edmunds), and "Creature with the Atom Brain" (Roky Erickson & The Aliens). Those are the ones on my own Halloween playlist. I'm sure there are other good ones I'm not thinking of, too.

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