The Savage Animal 10.28.09: 9 Rock Songs About Monsters

Posted by Mikey MiGo on 10.28.2009

In this Halloween edition of The Savage Animal, 411’s Mikey MiGo takes a look at nine songs with monsters, ghosts, and demons in their title.


What a long and great weekend. I was a groomsman in one of my best friend's weddings. It was a toll taking weekend on the body, from being covered in the layers of the tux, going in and outside chain smoking all weekend, and the wet weather as it is I find myself feeling like I got hit by a bus. I consider it well earned battle wounds because it was a great time. I drank a bit more than I thought I did at the reception. I was very lucky to be one of the very few people there that lived within a few minutes away. Lots of close friends, a little bit of family, people I've not seen in years, and some new friends. Despite the fact of being forced to "dance" to a Lady GaGa song I still send my best wishes and love to the newlyweds, Joe and Jen.

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9 ROCK SONGS ABOUT MONSTERS
You can take off that mask! It's not quite Halloween yet.
The day of goblins, ghouls, little fake ass Johnny Depp pirates, emo vampires, outdated Joker costumes, and an excuse for normally reserved females to get their "slut-look on" has arrived!

The Halloween season is the favorite holiday too many people I know. They get to celebrate the "spooky" and let their freak flag fly. I enjoy the festivities as well, but I'm not all into what I'm going as this year or what parties I won't be attending. This doesn't mean I'm a prude about it. In fact, the topic of "Halloween music" came up about a month ago and it got me thinking. The traditional Halloween music lists are all pretty lame. It's like the "spooky" equivalent to the "YMCA" and "Chicken Dance". They're all in good fun and great for drunken parties. They just lack the substance. To most the main perk about this holiday is dressing up. There's a variety of popular costumes, but the only ones that never go out of style are the monster costumes. Putting more thought into it, "monster songs" probably have the best shelf life of the "Halloween genre". I wanted to narrow it down to be "rock songs with a monster in the title" and racked my brain for awhile.

Maybe I'm just a little "too into music", but this is what I feel most diehard music nerds do. I'm not that lame with "the rules", but making it a general "What's your favorite Halloween song?" thing would be lame. Narrowing it down like this just makes me/us have to think harder and pull out more novelty goodness. So with that, I had to rethink my list.

With keeping it all rock, it automatically eliminates some old school Halloween party classics. That means the hokey "Purple People Eater" and Boris Pickett's "Monster Mash" would be number one on most list, but it's not even on this list. Call it criminal, but we're being specific here. Same goes for two more "monster" songs that I like, but don't fit the genre. "Dracula's Wedding" is a hidden gem on Andre 3000's Speakerboxxx/Love Below disc. Then of course I'd not be a breathing mammal if I didn't mention Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters". Classics! All of em!

Then I found myself in a debate whether Satan/The Devil is a "monster". Probably more of a mythical creature or demon depending on what you believe. This eliminates A LOT of songs. Specifically "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Number of the Beast" are odd the list because of this. Since there's no "monster" in the title it takes out Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and Credence's "Bad Moon Rising". It's a shame, but I'm trying to hurt my brain here.


9.) "Zombie"
By: The Cranberries

The 411: I don't think this one is about the undead zombie's that we all know and love, but I had trouble filling the list. My bad. This song is still worth noting because of the title. I've not thought about or listened to The Cranberries much at all in my life. I'm actually surprised I thought of this one off the top of my head to begin with.


8.) "Burn the Witch"
By: Queens of the Stone Age

The 411: I love me some Queens of the Stone Age. They've become a band that I'm always excited to hear or see in concert. Their work often goes without getting a hundredth of the respect it should. They're EASILY one of best active bands in music today. They should be and hopefully will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in the upcoming decade or so. That being said, this is probably my favorite track of theirs. With their catalogue that says a whole lot.


7.) "Werewolves Of London"
By: Warren Zevon

The 411: For the longest time I just considered this the "Aaaaahhh-Ooooooooh" song. I hate myself for not knowing who originally sang this song. My respect for Zevon is very high, but I'm just not very familiar with his work. It's a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it's still a very catchy and overall great song.


6.) "Dragula"
By: Rob Zombie

The 411: I could of went with a good amount of Zombie songs, but "Dragula" is that bad ass. Rob Zombie has made a career off monsters, creatures, and Halloween and no one comes close to his work. The song is over ten years old now, but is just as awesome as it was then.


5.) "Enter Sandman"
By: Metallica

The 411: Remember when Metallica was still brutality at its best? I never really put much thought into it over the years of head banging to this song, but the "Sandman" IS a monster. Kind of like a classy Freddy by the description provided in the lyrics. Being a huge old school ECW fan, the first thing I think about when I hear this song is Sandman's entrance. Then my thoughts go to the creepy music video and then Napster. Never "Wow… is this about a monster?" It is!


4.) "Feeding My Frankenstein"
By: Alice Cooper

The 411: I thank "Wayne's World" for this one. This song was drilled into my ears over and over again after repeat viewings and listening of the soundtrack. Alice's work is timeless, but this one has more of a contemporary sound to it. Almost like it could have easily been a Rob and/or White Zombie track. I mean that with respect to all involved.


3.) "Scary Monsters(and Super Creeps)"
By: David Bowie

The 411: This has to be one of my favorite Bowie tracks. It's probably one of his best harder rock songs. I know it's kind of cheap to put it on here because the title simply has the word "Monsters" in it, but it's still eerie and creepy. I've seen and heard better versions than the one shown above, but it's still a good taste. If I were making a Halloween playlist, this would be on it for sure.


2.) "Bela Lugosi's Dead"
By: Bauhaus

The 411: The video above is obvious not the classic Bauhaus version, but a live performance of TV on the Radio, Trent Reznor, and Mister Peter Murphy himself. I've seen the man in recent years and will still proclaim that if I had to money down on one human being a real vampire that I'd have to go with Peter Murphy. Granted, Lugosi isn't a monster's name by literal terms it very much is if you're an old black and white horror fan. This is one of the best paced songs to go over six minutes. It slowly drags your unconscious mind through a very dark place. I'm not sure if it's something that'd fit the tone of a normal Halloween party, but it stands out to me when thinking about this topic.


1.) "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"
By: Blue Oyster Cult

The 411: What's scarier than the reaper? This Blue Oyster Cult classic is the epitome of a creepy Halloween song. You can never have too much cowbell.


I'm sure I missed some obvious ones. It sure feels like I did.

What are some of YOUR favorite monster songs?

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RANDOM VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Unless you're deaf, this is pretty amazing.
U2 on Youtube – Live from the Rose Bowl

The 411: I figured I could only really flip through this one for this review, two hours and twenty one minutes later this performance consumed my entire afternoon. I was instantly brought in at the beginning with the shots of them prepping to go on stage as "Space Oddity" by Bowie plays. I'm a big fan of the newest album, it's nice to see the live performances of these songs not only meet the studio quality, but exceed it by miles. U2 is my second favorite band and has been for a while. It saddens me that I've never seen them in concert. This performance turns that sadness into regret. I've seen the recent DVD performances of the band, but this one trumps them. I got an email today from their website announcing that they'll be in Chicago in July. That's forever away, but my financial priorities just shifted pretty hardcore. I can only thank Trent Reznor for taking his hiatus.

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RANDOM MOVIE REVIEW IN 411 WORDS OR LESS
"PUBLIC ENEMIES"
STARRING JOHNNY DEPP & CHRISTIAN BALE

The 411: I wanted to see this for so long that when it came around I didn't care anymore to see it at a theatre. It was shot in my region so the hype for the movie being shot in Indiana, Johnny Depp being around, and all the press for it just wore me out. If it were shot anywhere else, I'd still want to see it. It's a good story and the cast sounded awesome. The lead actor in my second movie was a stand in on a portion of the movie and that was a cool thing to think about. He showed up to shoot the movie and had an awkward hair cut because of this movie. All that withstanding, this became a "task movie" for me. I knew it'd be good, but it was a task to ever actually sit down with it. The movie ended up being a pretty big letdown. It's well done, the acting is okay, and overall it had an awesome story. I think what holds me back from really liking this movie was the dialogue. Every line seemed like it was written to be used for the trailer. It was almost sounding like an action movie or comic book for most of the flick. Depp and Bale do their parts well, but it just seemed so simple. I know "it was simpler times," but it just really felt impersonal. I do want to watch it again to form a stronger opinion, but as it stands now, I'm willing to bet that the "another chance in the future" will probably be the last time I watch it. If you're a Johnny Depp or Christian Bale fan, interested in John Dillinger's story, or from one of the small town areas it was shot at you'll want to see it. If you're looking for a good drama on par with Depp and Bale's normal asskickers then you should pass.

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RANDOM STUFF ON MY TV IN 411 WORDS OR LESS
HILARY SWANK (Multiple Appearances)
Last week I saw Hilary Swank too many times. She was plugging her Amelia movie and all was normal on her "press tour". It's just I think I might have lost any care for her at all because of her appearances. She seems void of personality and it was like she was ACTING during the interviews. It was brutal. This was such a problem with me that I think I'll be avoiding Amelia at all costs and will most likely not want to watch any of her movies for a good time to come. Outside of that masterful Karate Kid sequel, I doubt that'll THAT hard to do.

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WRESTLING WITH PILLOWS
Looking Out From the Inside.
The pay per view was pretty much a letdown. The Miz/Morrison match was pretty decent, but I had higher hopes. The RAW vs. Smackdown match has been predictable in my house hold for the past couple of "Big Show is on Team Raw now… I wonder what's going to happen" weeks. And the Iron Man match was a HUGE disappointment. I'm not anti-Cena, but his work is merely blacked out in my head. I don't waste time with booing him and just don't pay attention when he's cutting a promo or in a match despite who it's with. I don't wish the man harm, but he ruins my personal enjoyment of whatever show I see him on. Somehow I got hooked into the Iron Man match. I got my hopes up and what I saw was the exact reason why I've avoided him over the past year or two. It was bland. He can be part of a good match and tell a good story if in there with the right person, but this felt like Hulkamania in the levels of lameness. There were too much stalling and all of the action seems like it was specifically built to make a short highlight reel of a "long grueling match". Lame.

RAW was great though. I've been a huge supporter of Kofi Kingston over the past year or so and have been very vocal about it. Now that he's getting a chance to shine against someone like Orton, he's going to have a huge opportunity to sneak into a higher profile. He's not going to win this feud. Orton has earned the right to win one, but the rub Kofi gets could be incredible. Miz, Swagger, and Legacy are getting a nice nod as potential Main Eventers on the horizon. The Main Event at Survivor Series may be Cena vs. HHH vs. HBK, but these mid card and rising stars is the glue that holds the show together. I'm really loving the new era that the vets are helping usher into the spotlight. Wrestling's business rises and falls in cycles. With the young talent on all three shows, we're in for a huge rise in short time.

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CHECK THIS OUT! [CHEAP PLUGS]
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This was a fun column to put together and think about. Random topics are always fun to sink your brain into. Next week I'd like to do another "First Impressions" piece. I have no clue what band to indulge into. I have a good amount of topics I'd like to cover so we'll see what happens. Until then… Have a Great Week!