Forget to Breathe: 31 Days of Halloween Music

Continuing my annual tradition - today, marks day 7 of celebrating the fun of horror that comes with Halloween. Today, we - and by "we" - me and the voices in my head, plus the specters that haunt my home are taking you back to the movies - back to when I was a child in love with the silliness as much as the grossness of horror. I grew up loving all kinds of music, but at heart I am a metalhead and there was never another era like the 80's, not just for rock 'n roll or heavy metal, but for music in general. Some people are actually happy that there will never be another 80's but at least things were fun back then; just like the Nightmare on Elm Street film series, although like most overly repetitive products, the more sequels released, the sillier Freddy Kreuger became. He went from being a vengeful demon from the first three to a foolhardy prankster, although New Nightmare did a good job recreating his sinister values.

Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors was released in 1987 - a year heralded by some as one of the greatest years for movies and film in general. With other classic features such as Robocop, The Princess Bride, Full Metal Jacket, The Monster Squad, Predator, Spaceballs; it becomes increasingly difficult to dismiss such a notion. It was also a great year for music, and with Dream Warriors came a now classic tune from one of the greatest rock bands of that time - Dokken. They had completed their fourth album Back for the Attack but were belatedly asked to write a song for Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. They wrote the song as quickly as possible, recorded, and delivered it to New Line for the movie's soundtrack and decided to add it to their album as well. It became on of their biggest hits and is thought of hand-in-hand with the movie the song is named after.

Keeping in line with my added twist, I also offer original songs dressed up by other people, just like our own beings that don costumes for, normally, one night of the year (but we are all far from normal around here). Today, the Man in Black - Johnny Cash graces us with a great, unsettling rendition of Nine Inch Nails' already unsettling tune Hurt. Released shortly before his death in 2003, this became another hit song in his endless cache of successful releases and is as beautiful as it is depressing.