So why am I sharing a pair of homemade music comps? Well even though song-wise there's a bit of crossover with some of the other fine collections that have come along since then (& before), the main difference here is that in addition to programming a bunch of, you know, bitchin' Halloween tunes, I was also trying to create a spooky "seamless whole". What this means is that in addition to the music (for better or worse), I also stitched together a non-stop stream of effects, sound bites and audio samples that run over/ under/ alongside the songs, to kinda create my twisted ideal of an evocative "Halloween vibe" (vinyl pops & crackles included). Whether or not I succeeded is debatable, but I certainly did throw a lot of crap into the blender (and since sometimes there are at least 8 audio tracks playing at once it's probably safe to say that my audio sensibilities are as cluttered as my visual ones). Prior to this post it had actually been a while since I'd last listened to these, but in checking them out again I think that despite the occasional clunker, I managed a few really cool segues here and there. There's also some, *koff koff*, truly horrible audio quality on a few of the samples (plenty of this was sourced from crummy old VHS tapes & worse), but that just contributes to the intended low-budget feel, right? Oh and there's a LOT of wind & rain. A LOT.
Now believe it or not, over the years at least 3 or 4 other folks have actually duped these off themselves (heh, after changing the credits on my covers to make it look like they'd personally cooked 'em up) to sell on ebay and at horror cons. I guess they were successful (you don't want to know how much I saw some copies going for) but hopefully this post will get 'em back out there for free like they oughtta be. Hey, I've even included CD sized jpegs in the zip files so you can print out your own covers if you're so inclined. Happy Halloween, pal!
NEW LINKS FOR 2014!
Various Ghouls "Spook Party" (192 kbps)
Various Spooks "Ghoul-Arama" (192 kbps)
Can't wait to hear these. They kind of sound like a CD I just got called "Wolfman Jack's Halloween Special - Scary Sounds." The only thing with that is there is the sound of a heartbeat through the whole 40 minute plus CD. After about the 30th minute I had to turn it off. It was getting on my nerves. I think wind and rain will be much better. Plus this is music, and that was scary sounds so that was different too. Thanks again for another share.
ReplyDeleteDave
This is, without a doubt, one of the greatest blogs ever created.
ReplyDeleteI adore Halloween and I adore these records, and your comps appear to be very, very kickass too.
Thanks so much!!
Mike
Are you serious? i LOVE this stuff! AWESOME job, and keep em coming. I too love this blog and check it daily for gems like these! Please don't ever stop!!!!
ReplyDeleteHoly crap, I expected them to be pretty good but these are really, really fantastic! I thought that some of the transitions on Ghoul-Arama were especially noteworthy, but there's a lot of amazing stuff going on with both of them (excellent and eclectic song selection on both too). You did a great job of setting a perfect halloween mood here Jason.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for sharing them. Wow.
Jason,
ReplyDeleteSpook City USA!!!, Skeleton dance!!! What great f'n stuff!!
You have good tastes my friend.
Did you do the Spookshow art yourself or is it borrowed?? It looks like a mix, looks fantastic. My home haunt flyer is all borrowed. Very , very cool stuff.
I could really use MP3s of the the songs from MCTPP.
Graveyard Skeleton Dance, Boogie Woogie Man, and Haunted House.
I can't DVD rip. I'd love MP3's of the Spookshow adds.
Anyways, another fantastic share!!
Dr. Terror
Fantastic - Nothing to be ashamed of doing home made stuff. At the moment I'm putting together a tribute to the old ghost story LPs. Hopefully I'll finish it soon - when my daughter gives me some time ;-)
ReplyDeleteFantastic! You, Sir, are a Role Model!
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting to do something like this with my annual Halloween mixtapes now that I can do 'em digitally and have the software to do overdubs. You've set the bar high!
It's funny to hear The Ventures' The Fourth Dimension with the SFX dubbed over it, since The music layer is virtually identical to The Frantics' No Werewolf, and , if you were to dub the werewolf snarls and growls onto it, you'd have The Frantics' Werewolf
Dr. Terror - I can DVD rip the sound off from DVDs. I have a program that I can capture video and sound from a file already online (such as a mvoie trailer), but it won't capture the video like it's supposed to. The company I bought it from couldn't even figure out what was wrong. So they gave me a full refund, and let me keep the software. Anyway - if you can mail me the DVD you speak of I can rip the sound off from it, and then mail the DVD back to you. Just an idea.
ReplyDeleteDave
Wow, thanks a lot everyone; all of that is just great to hear. Though I wince at a few of the levels (& sound quality) they actually DID come out pretty cool I guess.
ReplyDeleteFor whatever it's worth these were all made using Cubase on my old Mac setup when I was running OS 9, and part of the reason I didn't create a followup the next year was that I'd switched over to OSX & didn't have a decent sound editor yet. They got me a cool gig for Rue Morgue magazine as well, and I made them a similar comp that never came out (too bad, as there was a lot of cool stuff on it).
None of the sound bite type files here were from DVDs, and very few of the songs were from CDs either. Most were either VHS or LP (back when the Something Weird Spookshow ads were only found on the "It's Intermission Time" tapes).
The cover art is indeed a mix of borrowed/ altered/ original art. I was trying to make a visual as busy as the audio, and was (of course) going for that everything-in-sight style of exploitation advertising that I love so much. Transition/ sound overlay wise I think my fave part is either the "Fourth Dimension"/ Night of the Living Dead radio guy/ "Ghoul's Night Out" one (which was based on a live mix I did on the radio show that came out cool enough to mimic here), or the "Famous Monsters Speak" Gabriel Dell Dracula bit that goes into Roky singing the acoustic version of "Night of the Vampire". But I dunno anymore -- any of the ones that lift off the Pickwick "Sounds of Terror!" LP work for me just fine too.
Freeware/ shareware wise I dunno Hellsbane -- I'm guessing that you're on a PC since you said "wav" & not "aiff", so I'm going to have to bow out on that one. On my G5 I pretty much use a combo of Live/ Peak/ CD Spin Doctor & iTunes.
"Transition/ sound overlay wise I think my fave part is either the 'Fourth Dimension'/ Night of the Living Dead radio guy/ 'Ghoul's Night Out' one (which was based on a live mix I did on the radio show that came out cool enough to mimic here), or the 'Famous Monsters Speak' Gabriel Dell Dracula bit that goes into Roky singing the acoustic version of 'Night of the Vampire'."
ReplyDeleteThey're GRRRRRRREAT! as a certain spokes-tiger used to say.
Overall you improved the source material; I prefer some of your mixes to some of the originals. Your juxtapositions are very clever. The sound mixes complement the fun cover art of blended found material.
Why aren't you more famous? I can't figure that out.
Max the drunken severed head
you are a beautiful person.
ReplyDeleteCompletely fantastic. Thank you for sharing these comps, especially considering all the hard work that went into them.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't expecting these mixes to be this good. I'm terribly impressed - makes me want to try it myself (on the PC, Audacity isn't a bad FREE tool to use for this sort of thing).
ReplyDeleteI, too, must say thanks for all these terrific old albums.
Thanks so much for posting these tunes. Cover art is just stunning too!
ReplyDeleteHalloweentown in Burbank, California was selling these discs for $18.00 a pop back in the Fall of 2004. I walked in, heard this rock 'n' roll, asked the guy behind the counter what it was playing and he pointed to these CDs that he said that "a friend of his" made... the very ones that you a posting here for free! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteWow that sucks someone making money off your hard efforts. Sounds like you could have rached up Jason...lol.
ReplyDeleteHah! Instead I've spent tons of money over the years burning copies & sending them off for free to folks I figured would enjoy 'em; my "business model" is clearly pretty jacked up.
ReplyDeleteIt's all fine with me honestly -- hopefully everyone can just hear em for free now, like a cool & spooky radio show/ mix tape that'll turn you on to a few good songs & bands (and of course any copies I can help sell of the Shaggs oeuvre makes it ALL WORTH IT. Heh.)
By the way, thanks again for all the compliments from everyone on this post; I really wasn't expecting it. I'll get back to more regular posts soon as well. I've been swamped with other work this week so there's been a little slowdown, but I believe that it's just a speed bump.
Just wanted to add my voice to the chorus of approval. These are amazing, and really well put together - great sense of humour in your choices and placement. Really inspiring stuff!
ReplyDeleteMonster Man
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
ReplyDeleteAudacity!
This is brilliant stuff! I love old Halloween music and sounds, it's so great that someone puts them out here on the web and shares it with the world! Thank you very much for sharing it with us! Keep up the great job!!!
ReplyDeleteLove them both and thank you. im down in australia and we don't get stuff like this down here. Can't wait if you bring out the other comps. Gives you four thumbs
ReplyDeleteFantastic. These are incredible. I have really been enjoying this blog. So much great stuff. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThese absolutely rule.
ReplyDeleteI make Halloween Mixes every year and these make that a moot point.
For past entries, look for October Entries...
http://www.artofthemix.org/aotmcommunity/profile.asp?intmemberid=17834
Jason, your Halloween "Mix tapes" are awesome! I've done a few myself, but never to the level that you've achieved. This stuff is fantastic! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteJust simply F.A.B! Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteAgreed....I downloaded both of these and they're terrif! Love the way Jason used the old ad mats for these movie "horror-thons" for the covers!
ReplyDeleteI've just downloaded Spooky Party, I'm three songs into listening to it and it's FANTASTIC!
ReplyDeleteI work at an old cotton mill in the middle of a woodland in England and we're having a meeting on Monday to arrange a Halloween party there... I think we shall have to listen to this while we're having the meeting!
Thank-you.
To those of you who are having a hard time with finding a good DVD audio ripper, I've found one called Xilisoft v.2.0 on an online download site and got it for free, granted since it's the free version you can only download 5 minutes or so of audio at a time, but it certainly serves it's purpse for getting shorter sound clips from horror movies (something I do regularly), So hope that helps.
ReplyDeleteI am absolutely in awe of the heart and dedication you put into these! I'm not a horror or Halloween aficionado - I found your site by accident - but this is wonderful stuff. THANK YOU and keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteYou guys are great! Some the best stuff out there. Thanks for keeping this blog going!
ReplyDeleteGhoul-a-rama is excellent! I'm downloading spook-party now. These are great, I especially love the samples you used in the beginning of "I was a teenage werewolf". Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou are the man!
ReplyDeleteI just listened to this again tonight -- great stuff!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, too. Keep up the goul... er, GOOD work!
Awesome....it made the best day of the year even better for me....here are some cool tv commercials and sounds from all the old haunted house rides in New Jersey...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.darkinthepark.com/
Hey dude, found you through the living doorway. I just downloaded both of these and am listening for the first time. I have to agree with the comments, the transitions are sick. Looks like I found my halloween soundtrack. Thanks man.
ReplyDeleteI. Adore. These!! Thanks for sharing. =)
ReplyDeleteThank you for keeping the links active (I got here late).
ReplyDeleteThanks a bunch!!!
ReplyDeleteDeb
Yes, THANKS SO MUCH for keeping these links active! Just downloaded the two mixes and have been enjoying them all day...they are JUST GREAT! For those on Facebook...and interested in this type of music...I invite you to LIKE my "SPOOKY JUKE" page..."exploring the unholy alliance of rock 'n' roll & monsters!" A place to explore and celebrate vintage Halloween/Horror/Novelty music: https://www.facebook.com/SpookyJukebox/?modal=admin_todo_tour
ReplyDeleteI love these mixes and listen to them every October! What is the source of the poem over the Halloween theme?Id love to find a clean copy of it!
ReplyDeleteHeya Paul! The poem is entitled "Lil Orphan Annie" and comes from the 1969 "Halloween" LP by Wade Denning and Kay Lande on Golden Record. It was written by James Whitcomb Riley in 1885 and was originally called "Little Orphant Annie" (you'll sometimes also see it out there as "The Goblins Will Get Ya" along with a few other variations. Lots of folks on YouTube recite their own versions.)
DeleteYou can find the Wade Denning and Kay Lande "Halloween" LP out there a number of places, YouTube has a few rips (including a few posts of the one I made forever ago), with varying degrees of cleaness.
It's a great poem and this version (little kid narrator, a few words changed up to be more recognizable for 1969 era audiences, etc.) is for sure my favorite. In fact I was reciting it in my head only a day or so ago while doing some Fall yard work!
Glad you still enjoy the mixes and Happy Halloween!