Spooky Songs: Panic at the Disco

   First of all, Happy Halloween! I hope it was spooky and supernatural and safe for all of you. Second of all here is another band I really dug in high school, Panic at the Disco. Its a song with a title that makes me think of a certain Outkast song. Its a video in the Las Vegas desert. There is a fantastic use of fish-eye lens, and great camera angles to suggest a mind set of madness. Something sinister might have gone down, or has the protagonist, Brandon Urie, just gone crazy? There is a vision quest into the desert, but again, maybe its just a metaphor. I hope you enjoy, I have had a lot of fun with these this October, I'll see you in November.

Panic at the Disco
Miss Jackson


Directed by Jordan Bahat

Spooky Songs: Fall Out Boy

Here's some truth: I have always liked the music videos that Fall Out Boy comes out with for their songs. From their first video for "Sugar We're Going Down" to "A Little Less Sixteen Candles a Little More 'Touch Me'". The themes of the videos tend to verge on the supernatural and tragic, just like their music.

   For their new album, "Save Rock and Roll, Fall Out Boy has definitely upped the ante in terms of thrills and drama. They have done 7 music videos so far for the album. Each video connects to the last with an over arching story. The video for "The Phoenix" teaches some valuable lessons, such as: getting kidnapped by beautiful girls does not suck any less than getting kidnapped by anyone else. And while sending messages by hawk is awesome, it might not be the most expedient of options. Anyhow, strap in and enjoy the ride.

Fall Out Boy
The Phoenix (part 2 of 11)


directed by DONALD/ZAEH

To watch the other parts so far see here: http://bit.ly/17aoLw5

Spooky Songs: Arcade Fire

  I'm sure at some point you have been in a bathroom at a truck stop or mall or what have you. In such a bathroom you might encounter a series of sinks with not one set of mirrors, but two, each one facing the other because of such a high demand for hand washing. The interesting thing here is if you look at one mirror you actually get to see a reflection of the other mirror which is reflecting the first mirror at the same time. This goes on, it would seem, all the way to infinity. In some ways I believe the video for the song Reflektor by Arcade of Fire is trying to capture this idea of infinite reflection. Though I cannot defend that idea too strongly because I have almost no idea what the video is actually about.

  The video is beautiful shot in black and white. There are papier-mache heads, floating disco balls in fields, a man who seems to be made up of a suit of mirrors. I don't understand it. But I love it. It is incredibly surreal. I would also say that this music video asks us why we wear masks at times, is it to hide something? is it to bring out our true nature? are there many versions of ourselves hidden deep inside ourselves? It is a mesmerizing world of mirrors and winding roads, what is a reflection and what is not? It is a question of perception.

 This video is a ride, it is a dream, it is a reflection; I sincerely hope you enjoy.

Arcade Fire
Reflektor


directed by Anton Corbijn

Spooky Songs: The Mountain Goats

  Whats spookier than satanism? Devil worship tends to be associated with dark arts and evil. I'm not sure that's true in reality, I've heard satanists are actually quite pleasant. But regardless this music video goes well with the theme. Because Halloween is also about darkness and misconceptions and death. Its about dealing with fear and being afraid of the unknown.

The Mountain Goats
Cry for Judas


Carlo Mirabella-Davis

Spooky Songs: Capital Cities

  Continuing on the October theme of being someone you are not, here is a great video from Capital Cities for their song Kangaroo Court. The video has some really cool masks and make up to change a whole array of people into animals in an alternate world. Its a good take on discrimination and the lengths we will go to fit in, have a look!

Capital Cities
Kangaroo Court

Spooky Songs: Fixers

   I think above all, October, and especially Halloween itself, are about taking on an otherness. Its about seeing the world in a guise outside of yourself. Children don't just dress up for Halloween as monsters, they also dress up as their heroes, fictional or not; they dress up as cartoon characters, as seasons, as events, as almost anything under the sun. It is a time to be something you are not in every day life. It is a time when dreams can become just a little more real. What if time travel were real? What if you were Marty McFly. What if you were a ninja or a pirate having a feud? In everyday life, you might not be, but this is what Halloween and October are about. Not just about scary things, but a general otherness, we all get to be Batman if we want.

   I made that little introduction because a) i think its important and b) this music video isn't necessarily spooky, nor scary, but it is strange. It imagines a world with a unique ailment and five brave young men who set out to find the rare cure for one ailing old man. It is a magical tale of travel through space and time, enjoy!

Fixers
Iron Deer Dream


directed by Ben Reed

Spooky Songs: Phantogram

  You have probably heard this song at some point in the last year and possibly not even known who it was by. It has been in a slew of movies, on some radio, on tv shows. The song I am referring to is called "Don't Move" by Phantogram. This video involves striking lighting, floating cubes, hooded figures, and an entranced girl. It has been described as similar to Italian horror films, and if that is a fair comparison it makes me very curious to watch more Italian horror films because this video is just so striking and strange and surreal. It feels like a dream. The visuals seem to mess with your head; there is this ethereal feeling throughout the video and this sinking feeling of dread at the same time. And just what is up with the cube?

Phantogram
Don't Move

Spooky Songs: Miike Snow

   This is a triple feature, so a bit of a treat. I would like to introduce you to Miike Snow. Not a man spelling his name uniquely, but rather a swedish indie pop band that brings an array of bass and synths that leave you dancing even to melancholy filled lyrics. On their second album, Happy to You, that came out last year they released a series of music videos directed by Andreas Nilsson. The videos capture a surreal blend of horror, comedy, oddity and art in such a way that the viewer is glued to the screen with eyes wide open. The three videos together create a strange story of adjusting to life all over again when everything has been changed and you have become a man named Jean Noel, or actually you can interpret it any way, because, oh man it is strange, and wonderful.

Miike Snow
Paddling Out
directed by Andreas Nilsson
(warning: brief gore)




Miike Snow
The Wave
directed by Andreas Nilssen
(the dancing cops in this one are just too great)



Miike Snow
Pretender
directed by Vern Moen

Spooky Songs: Man Man

    Hello everyone, and Happy October! It is once again my favourite month of the year and with that comes once again time for spooky themed music videos. First up is a great new song from the self-proclaimed cannibal rockers Man Man. The song is called "Head On (Hold Onto Your Heart)" and the video features a medley of clips spliced together from old black and white horror movies. The beat plunks and slinks along with percussion and strings accentuating every note. Lead singer Honus Honus croons some darkly catchy lyrics to drive the song. It is fantastic, I hope you enjoy.

Man Man
Head On (Hold Onto Your Heart)