Skip to main content

An Eldritch Halloween: Unsettling Music (Themed Playlist)

Halloween means different things to different people. For me, there's campy, light horror..."life's no fun without a good scare!" There is great value in that. This particular playlist, however, is devoted to less "fun" songs and more to tracks that actually creep into your brain and refuse to leave, a sour and sinking feeling settling itself on your soul. Unsettling feelings are an essential part of human experience, and should be explored, even if shallowly.

Below are a selection of songs that range from mildly unsettling (like a vaguely bad dream half-forgotten after waking up) to straight up disturbing. My thanks to a few of you who contributed suggestions.

Only proceed with the greatest caution, friends.

1. Coil - Something  ||  Post-Industrial  ||  2000  ||  UK

2. Lustmørd - Heresy Part 1  ||  Dark Ambient  ||  1990  ||  UK

3. Radiohead - Climbing Up the Walls  ||  Alternative Rock, Experimental Rock  ||  1997  ||  UK

4.  Chelsea Wolfe - Demons  ||  Gothic Rock  ||  2011  ||  USA

5.  Akira Yamaoka - Innocent Moon  ||  Dark Ambient  ||  2003  ||  Japan

6. Ennio Morricone - Humanity (Pt. 2)  ||  Film Score, Horror Synth  ||  1982  ||  Italy

7. Diamanda Galás - This is the Law of the Plague  ||  Experimental, A Capella  ||  1991  ||  USA

8. Xiu Xiu - Blue Frank / Pink Room  ||  Experimental Rock  ||  2016  ||  USA

9. Lisa Germano - ...a Psychopath  ||  Singer/Songwriter, Slowcore  ||  1994  ||  USA

10. Ulver - Operator  ||  Experimental, Electronic  ||  2005  ||  Norway

11. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - The Dead Flag Blues  ||  Post-Rock  ||  1997  ||  Canada 

12. Mazzy Star - Rose Blood  ||  Dream Pop, Neo-Psychedelia  ||  1996  ||  USA

13. The Residents - Part Three: Ship's A'Going Down  ||  Experimental  ||  1978  ||  USA

14. Jim Williams - Finger Scene  ||  Film Score, Experimental  ||  2017  ||  UK

15. Akira Yamaoka - Sickness Until Foolish Death  ||  Dark Ambient, Post-Industrial, Trip Hop  ||  2003  ||  Japan

16. Lingua Ignota - O Ruthless Great Divine Director  ||  Neoclassical Darkwave, Black Metal  ||  2020  ||  USA

17. Xiu Xiu - One Hundred Years  ||  Experimental  ||  2021  ||  USA

18. The Knife - Full of Fire  ||  Post-Industrial, Industrial Techno  ||  2013  ||  Sweden

19. Portishead - Plastic  ||  Experimental Rock, Electronic  ||  2009  ||  UK

20. Einstürzende Neubauten - Halber Mensch  ||  Industrial  ||  1985  ||  Germany

21. Scott Walker - Cue  ||  Experimental  ||  2006  ||  USA

22. Ashley Serena - Tili Tili Bom  ||  Singer/Songwriter  ||  2020  ||  USA

23. Diamanda Galás - The Litanies of Satan  ||  Experimental, A Cappella  ||  1982  ||  USA

24. Aaron Dilloway & Lucrecia Dalt - Demands of Ordinary Devotion ||  Tape Music, Industrial  ||  2021  ||  USA

25. Akira Yamaoka - White Noiz  ||  Dark Ambient  ||  2003  ||  Japan

26. The Cure - Pornography  ||  Post-Punk, Gothic Rock  ||  1982  ||  UK

27.  Swans - 93 Ave. Blues  ||  Experimental  ||  2012  ||  USA

28. Throbbing Gristle - Persuasion  ||  Industrial  ||  1979  ||  UK

29. clipping. - He Dead  ||  Experimental Hip Hop, Horrorcore  ||  2019  ||  USA

30. Aurora - Running With the Wolves  ||  Art Pop, Alt-Pop  ||  2016  ||  Norway

31. The Cure - A Forest  ||  Post-Punk, Gothic Rock  ||  1980  ||  UK

32. Swans - A Screw  ||  No Wave, Experimental Rock  ||  1986  ||  USA

33. Meira Asher  - Sahid 1  ||  Post-Industrial, Noise  ||  1999  ||  Israel

34. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Helter Skelter  ||  Post-Punk  ||  1978  ||  UK

35. Xiu Xiu - Pumpkin Attack on Mommy and Daddy  ||  Experimental, Post-Industrial  ||  2019  ||  USA

36. Comus - Drip Drip  ||  Avant-Folk, Progressive Folk  ||  1971  ||  UK

37. Lingua Ignota - I Who Bend the Tall Grasses  ||  Neoclassical Darkwave, Avant-Folk  ||  2021  ||  USA

38. Swans - Telepathy  ||  Gothic Rock, Experimental Rock  ||  1995  ||  USA

39. Eels - Fresh Blood  ||  Singer/Songwriter, Alternative Rock  ||  2009  ||  USA

40. Death Grips - Giving Bad People Good Ideas  ||  Experimental Hip Hop, Digital Hardcore, Industrial Hip Hop  ||  2016  ||  USA

41. St. Vincent - Hysterical Strength  ||  Art Rock  ||  2011  ||  USA

42. Scott Walker - The Escape  ||  Experimental  ||  2006  ||  USA

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

camusunder's Top 500 Albums of All Time (Part 5/5)

Previous posts in this series:  Part 1/5 ,  Part 2/5 ,  Part 3/5 , Part 4/5 The final entry in the list of my 500 favorite albums of all time. Out of all these posts, my top 100 is most representative of my general music taste. There is a good amount of genre diversity and moods present. I would say that there is a general feeling of melancholy and more advanced kinds of dark moods here (such as the Portishead picks, Lankum, Chelsea Wolfe etc.), but there are also definite pick-me-ups and uplifting picks (such as Björk's Post, Big Thief and others). My taste since my last edition of this list has changed a lot; my #1 has changed, there are more additions than in the previous 2 or 3 editions combined, and there are a lot more contextually significant picks. I love updating this...it's hard work, but it's one of the most enjoyable and rewarding things I do online. Thanks for reading! ___________________________________________________________________________________ So...
Post a Comment
Read more

Completionist Indexing Project - Art Pop (pop in. #1)

Art pop is probably my second favorite genre of music. I took a lot of time sorting and ranking the list below. Art pop is a genre that blends pop sensibility with avant-garde influences, creating a unique space where accessibility and experimentation coexist. Emerging in the late 20th century, Art Pop artists have been known to push the boundaries of conventional pop music, drawing inspiration from diverse sources such as visual arts, classical music, and unconventional production techniques. While its roots can be traced to the likes of David Bowie and Kate Bush, the genre's evolution continues with artists like Björk and St. Vincent, who mix eccentricity with mainstream appeal. Art Pop's charm lies in its ability to fuse the familiar with the unfamiliar, crafting sonic landscapes that are as thought-provoking as they are catchy. Below is a survey of my favorite art pop. 1. 야야 킴 [YAYA Kim] - a.k.a YAYA  ||  Jazz Pop, Art Rock, Art Pop  ||  2022  || ...
Post a Comment
Read more

camusunder's Top 25 Favorite Cosmic Horror Films

Cosmic horror is probably my favorite horror subgenre. It relies heavily on the morbid and terrifying unknown. Often characters descend into madness as the unthinkable horrors of an uncaring universe move about them (and us). This list is of my favorites in the genre. Let me know if there are any you like that aren't present; it's an underrated genre with relatively scarce examples. 25. The Whisperer in Darkness  ||  Dir. Sean Branney  ||  2011  ||  Science Fiction, Cosmic Horror 24. The Void  ||  Dir. Jeremy Gillespie / Steven Kostanski  ||  2016  ||  Body Horror, Cosmic Horror, Supernatural Horror 23. Glorious  ||  Dir. Rebekah McKendry  ||  2022  ||  Cosmic Horror, Horror Comedy, Chamber Film 22. AM1200  ||  Dir. David Prior  ||  2007  ||  Cosmic Horror 21. Prometheus  ||  Dir. Ridley Scott  ||  2012  ||  Scienc...
Post a Comment
Read more