The elusive Halloween song segue

Since first hearing and later playing 9353's "Spooky Room" on KCOU in the early '90s, I've always thought of it as one of the catchiest fit-for-Halloween songs.  Decades later, however, I still haven't found a suitable Halloween indie rock segue for it that I'd want to hear.

Halloween music is challenging that way.  There isn't as wide a selection of it as Christmas music, and a lot of it is mediocre.  Like most genres, indie rock isn't known for its vast selection of compelling, non-novelty Halloween fare.  Shivaree's "Goodnight Moon," for instance, is a well-structured and well-sung Halloween track.  I never tire of hearing it, but it could never segue rhythmically or atmospherically with "Spooky Room."

I'll keep digging, but for now, I'll just enjoy "Spooky Room" as a standalone track. 

Persistent earworm alert CDLXI

To my knowledge, "Kidney In A Cooler" by Keller Williams is the only song I've heard containing a surprisingly rhythmic lyric about someone with perpendicular teeth.  Sometimes, when I feel weary, I sing "Drained, depleted, and spent," to the rhythm in which Williams sings, "Perpendicular teeth."

The breezy way I sing it matches the way Williams somehow makes a refrain about perpendicular teeth sound catchy.  That juxtaposition between my state of mind and the easy-going rhythm reminds me that being drained, depleted, and spent is just a temporary condition.

Leave it to a quirky song that one could only write from personal experience to inspire a completely unrelated lyric from me with the same number of syllables.

Segue suggestion XXIII

As I listened to Bela Fleck's "Ireland" this morning, I was struck by the melody's common ground with "Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring."  Pete Kennedy's rendition of "Jesu..." would flow well into "Ireland," as it's one of the faster versions I've heard, and it matches the general impish spirit of "Ireland."

In this case, one acoustic instrumental begets another one justifiably.

Teaching my cat respect for music IV

Now that my cat, Collette, no longer has the David Crosby CD to scratch, she has turned to her next favorite musical pastime--pulling the jewel case of Kate Rusby's CD, "10," apart.

I'm choosing to believe it's because Collette can't wait to hear live, remastered, and other alternate versions of Rusby's songs, sung with her customary sensitivity.

Perhaps I'm being naively optimistic to think that way.  Actually, I'm being realistic, as I've moved the CD to another room.

Context? CDLXVII

When your full attention isn't on the radio station in the car, your mind sometimes fills in gaps strangely.  This morning, I thought for a moment that I'd heard a DJ say, "Have you seen those bundles of hate mail by the side of (the road)?"

I thought, "I wasn't paying complete attention, so I can't have heard that right."  Shortly after this, however, another DJ mentioned going on a hayride, so I realized, "Ah!  She said, '...bundles of hay bales...'  That makes much more sense."

My reflexive perception of society's divisive discourse is telling, considering my mind went initially to "hate mail." 

The allure of shuffle mode XCVIII

Until iTunes shuffle mode paired these songs together recently, I'd never thought of them as compatible: Hearing Frank Popp Ensemble's "The World Is Waiting" flow into Christopher Cross's "Ride Like The Wind," however, made me realize the people in both songs are well-advised to seek an escape from their current situations.  The degree of urgency, admittedly, differs.  In "The World Is Waiting," someone's life is stuck in a rut, while the person in "Ride Like The Wind" is trying to escape the long arm of the law.

Both songs prod their respective people to do what's needed to improve their situation, and both tunes have a captivating energy.

The pitfalls of shuffle mode XV

So...An endearing tune about the warmth of Christmas isn't really meant to slam into an angry, cathartic song about avoiding the general public due to its lack of civility.  Today, iTunes shuffle mode paired "Christmas Is My Favorite Time Of Year" by Kenny Rogers with Paramore's "This Is Why."  "This Is Why"'s central point about the deterioration of thoughtful discourse is well-taken, and I think of it often when I've read or watched a misguided screed about the state of the country or the world.  When I'm feeling disgruntled, "This Is Why" is one of my top go-to songs.  It isn't, however, best heard after thoughtful musings about the origin of Christmas.

Obviously, when I turn on shuffle mode, I expect any number of unlikely segues.  That one, however, prompted me to stop listening in random play and select songs that made musical and lyrical sense together.