Week Twenty-Six: Spooky Tunes - Ministry - "Everyday Is Halloween" - Twelve Inch Singles (1981-1984)

In honor of All Hallow's Eve, better known as Halloween, Week Twenty-Six

will be full of Spooky Tunes

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Trick or treat!!  Happy Halloween, and boy, do I have some treats for you today!  I love this song, "Everyday Is Halloween," by Ministry because, for the longest time, every day truly was like Halloween for me.  I went through a super-uber-goth phase from about the ages of 15 to 26 - if you can actually call that a phase.

My parents attempted to be good sports about it, but they were none too pleased - especially since they spent thousands upon thousands of dollars to send me to Catholic school for most of my young life and to shield me from the very type of people that I turned into.  My dad would somewhat jokingly/somewhat seriously say to me: "Sweetheart, you can either walk five feet in front of me or five feet behind me, but you are not walking beside me!" My mom would always introduce me as her "artsy child". Deep down, they were both asking themselves, "Where did we go so wrong?"

I'm not even sure why I was so attracted to that whole lifestyle. I think that part of me simply thrived on the shock value.  The other part of me felt that people can be so idiotic and shallow and judgmental, and it was an incredibly easy way for me to weed out individuals with whom I wished to have absolutely no contact, exactly as this song suggests.

So, I am offering you, my dear blogland following, a pictorial history of some of the highlights of my super-uber-goth days...and for everyone who told me that I would look back on that period of my life with regret, I'm here to say: "You could not have been more wrong about that! I'm very proud of it, and best of all, I had a blast!!"  Happy Halloween!!!!

This was taken around 1996 (at the age of 19) in my dorm room at Bruce Hall (University of North Texas).  You would think I was dressed up to go out somewhere special, but this was just a typical day for me.  Yes, we were allowed to smoke in our dorm room; that was the whole point of living in Bruce Hall.

Here's one of me and my best friend, Cecilia, during Christmas break after our first semester of college in December of 1996 (at the age of 19).  I think we did actually make it out to the club that night.

This was my very first apartment that I rented in 1997 (right before turning 20), also referred to as "the den of death," by some of my closest friends.  It was about the size of a closet and was decorated with Siouxsie , The Smiths, & Cure posters and lots & lots of black - notice the skull lights above the curtain thing that created my bedroom and the skeleton cut-out in the window - epic!!

This is a picture of me and my younger sister cheesin' for the camera at my parent's house around 1997 (at the age of 20).  She never understood why I looked the way I did.  In fact, she grew up loving rap, pop, and hip hop - figures, right? Hey, Stef, look... it's a fishnet shirt under the dress --- that's a reference that only she would understand!!!

Now, this one is actually from a fashion show that I walked in around 1997 (at the age of 20) for a UNT designer that was held at the Club Clearview complex.  When he needed someone with an edge to pull off this dark look, he did not have to go too far.

Inspired by Casey Niccoli (Perry Farrell's love interest for many years), I used to braid my hair up all fancy-like.  This was taken in 2003 (right before I turned 26) by my older brother's friend for a black-and-white photography project he had to do for an art class.  It's a shame it is not in color because you would have been able to see how lovely the purple braids actually were!

Last, but definitely not least, just in case you missed it in the Book of Love - "Witchcraft" post, since I added it a few days after I actually published the post, this was my sophomore year high school yearbook picture, taken in 1993 (at the age of 15).  This is, hands down, my all-time favorite photo... ever!!!!!

And now... here's Ministry... this is not the official video, but it does have super-cool horror film clips incorporated with the music... I am also including my other favorite Ministry tune, "Revenge," below the lyrics...

well, I live with snakes and lizards 
and other things that go bump in the night 
'cuz to me everyday is Halloween 
I have given up hiding and started to fight
I have started to fight 
well any time, any place, anywhere that I go 
all the people seem to stop and stare 

they say 'why are you dressed like it's Halloween?
you look so absurd, you look so obscene' 
oh, why can't I live a life for me? 
why should I take the abuse that's served? 
why can't they see they're just like me? 
it's the same, it's the same in the whole wide world 

well, I let their teenie minds think 
that they're dealing with someone who is over the brink 
and I dress this way just to keep them at bay
'cuz Halloween is everyday, hey
it's everyday, hey

oh, why can't I live a life for me?
why should I take the abuse that's served? 
why can't they see they're just like me? 
it's the same, it's the same in the whole wide world 

(interlude)

oh, why can't I live a life for me? 
why should I take the abuse that's served? 
why can't they see they're just like me? 
I'm not the one that's so absurd

why hide it?
why fight it? 
hurt feelings 
best to stop feeling 
hurt from denials 
reprisals
it's the same, it's the same in the whole wide world

it's the same, it's the same in the whole wide
it's the same, it's the same in the whole wide, oh
(fade out) it's the same, it's the same in the whole wide

Week Twenty-Six: Spooky Tunes - The Gruesome Twosome - "Hallucination Generation" - Candy From Strangers

In honor of All Hallow's Eve, better known as Halloween, Week Twenty-Six

will be full of Spooky Tunes

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I had completely forgotten about this song until my new/music-loving/DJ/email friend, who sends me killer mixes & photos via my inbox and who contacted me as a result of some of my blog posts, reminded me that this would be a perfect candidate for Spooky Tunes week!

This tune was played almost weekly when I first started going out to the Lizard Lounge in 1995, but I rarely heard it as the years went on.  I completely stopped going to the club in 2004, so I have no clue if they even still play it or not.

It was virtually impossible to locate anything about this song online, but I did find a review that someone wrote on Amazon; so I am reposting it here because I think it sums up the song even better than I would be able to sum it up: 

This is the one and only single from the Gruesome Twosome, which is a project band including DJ Morpheus, Bertrand Burgalat, Mental Overdrive and Thrash from The Orb. Hallucination Generation was the one club hit back in the late 80's and this is the single to find it in. Don't let the several tracks on this single fool you. Heck don't even let the second song (Hollywood Babylon) fool you. It's all the same song.

You get the same crazy beat. The same samples. The same bassline. The same synth hooks. Same music theory. The only thing separating the two mixes of Hallucination Generation and the two mixes of Hollywood Babylon is a few changes in the arrangements and some edits. Does that mean this single isn't worth your time? No way. I'm just giving you an honest assessment in case you were expecting two different songs.

Hallucination Generation (and of course Hollywood Babylon) is one of the more creative industrial dance tracks that made it out to the clubs back in the day. It had sort of a slight New Beat feel to it, but it would be unfair to categorize it as such. The song is brooding and uses simple basslines and instrumentation layered with some insane samples. The singing reminds me of a mix between A Split Second and Popeye the Sailor, and mixes well with the music. Other groups might have attempted to put this sort of thing together, only to end up with mangled sounding garbage. Here you get it right.

If you are a fan of industrial techno music, especially from the late 80's and early 90's, then this is the song for you. Unfortunately it's a very rare CD so choose wisely on how much you would want to invest in this album.

**Update: As of 09.20.18, you can find the lyrics posted below in the comments**

And since it was virtually impossible to locate anything about the song, it was also virtually impossible to locate lyrics.  Somebody took a stab at it on a message board, so I am reposting their approximation.  I cannot guarantee the accuracy:

When you're sick to the bones dead connection
don't need doctors to tell you you're screwed
your dead hand needs resurrection
and your feets tryin' to shuffle you through

shake up baby break up baby [repeat several times]
listen to the sound of it

when you're stuck in the wrong place temptation
fills you up 'til you don't know what's true
bad habits need elimination
open eyes, a positive view

Week Twenty-Six: Spooky Tunes - Bigod 20 - "The Bog" - Steel Works!

In honor of All Hallow's Eve, better known as Halloween, Week Twenty-Six

will be full of Spooky Tunes

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This is another tune that is so sinister and evil sounding, but it is so dangerously sexy, as well!  It was what my seventeen-year-old uber-goth self considered an epic love tune - I was a little weird and very dark in those days!  Although, by looking at the lyrics, you can easily see that it honestly was not even a love tune, and I don't think I'd be as willing these days to go "down there" - wherever "down there" even is - like I once was.  I suppose that my element of danger has left me as I have aged.  I'm so safe now that I refuse to cross the street until I see the little "walking person" on the crosswalk sign, even if there is not a car in sight. Speaking of which, I recently heard that cops in Downtown Dallas are cracking down on jaywalking, especially around the trains, and violations are close to $200 - yikes!!!

Bigod 20 only has a handful of hits, but I really dig their tunes.  I actually met one of my ex-boyfriends as a result of this song.  He came out on the dance floor and started dancing next to me as this tune was playing.  He was in the Air Force and stationed in New Mexico; so it was a pretty short-lived relationship because those long-distance things are tough, but it was fun meeting up with him at the club and talking about music when we chatted on the phone - pre-internet/text days.

I am also including another one of my favorites, "Carpe Diem", below the lyrics.  I would include their cover of Madonna's song, "Like a Prayer," but I couldn't find it on youtube.

Water Meadowland and Small Shot For the Ducks
He Walks in the Mud, Moves Aside the Reeds
No Clapping of Wings, No Motions Around.
Just the Singing Wind in An Ominous Silence.

Chorus:
I'll Take You Down There

Revealed, Underlined in a Sudden Gust of Wind
The Profile of a Man Raises Under the Moon
Uncovered and Tiny, Overlooking the Fen

Water Meadowland and Small Shot For the Ducks
He Walks in the Mud, Moves Aside the Reeds
No Clapping of Wings, No Motions Around.
Just the Singing Wind in An Ominous Silence.

Chorus

No Presence of Fowl, the Fen Is a Desert
Said a Man of Poise With a Drawling Voice
The Grounds Are Alive and the Wind Has Dropped
The Fen Is Awakened and Follows the Steps

Chorus

See How My Tentacles Got You Under Control
You're Already Caught in the Palm of My Hand
You're Easy to Swallow, I'm Sucking Your Back
I'm Taking Your Ankles -- You're Back Into the Bog
I'm Taking Your Legs...
I'm Taking Your Knees...

I'm Taking Your Hands...

Week Twenty-Six: Spooky Tunes - Shriekback - "Nemesis" - Oil & Gold

In honor of All Hallow's Eve, better known as Halloween, Week Twenty-Six

will be full of Spooky Tunes

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If you have ever been out to The Church at the Lizard Lounge, then you probably know this as the song where everyone stands still with their arm in the air - a la "Heil Hitler!" - especially on the part when he sings - "no one move a muscle as the dead come home..."

I personally considered it ridiculously stupid to be standing still with my arm in the air when such a danceable tune was playing; therefore, I would be the one looking at all of you people standing still with your arm in the air like you were idiots, while I was enjoying myself and getting down to this tune.

From what I was told by one of the DJs, whether this be a true story or not, the way that tradition was even started at the club was that an SMU jock wandered into one of the area clubs, pre-Lizard Lounge days, on one of the retro nights.  He basically spent his entire evening making fun of the club patrons. Then when this song came on, instead of holding his arm in the air like they do in the video, he stood still and held his arm in more of a Hitler stance.  It caught on, and people seemed to continue it on a weekly basis, as well as transferring it to other clubs.  Then all sorts of variations came into play - like sticking one's middle finger in the air while holding one's arm up and crossing oneself. So if you partake in that tradition, apparently, you are, in essence, perpetuating the actions of an individual who was making fun of you in the first place...

It took me forever to locate a copy of this tune.  However, once again, my dear, sweet, loving mother drove me out to Bill's Records & Tapes, prior to me gaining a set of wheels, and Bill had it on CD because Bill never, ever let me down!!!

In the jungle of the senses
Tinker Bell and Jack The Ripper
Love has no meaning not where they come from
But we know pleasure is not that simple

Very little, fruit is forbidden
Sometimes we wobble, sometimes we're strong
But you know evil is an exact science
Being carefully, correctly, wrong

Priests and cannibals, prehistoric animals
Everybody's happy as the dead come home
Big black nemesis, parthenogenesis
No one move a muscle as the dead come home

We feel like Greeks we feel like Romans
Centaurs and monkeys just cluster round us
We drink elixirs that we refine
From the juices of the dying

We are not monsters, we're moral people
And yet we have the strength to do this
This is the splendor of our achievement
Call in the air strike with a poison kiss

Priests and cannibals, prehistoric animals
Everybody's happy as the dead come home
Big black nemesis, parthenogenesis
No one move a muscle as the dead come home
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/s/shriekback/nemesis.html ]
Priests and cannibals, prehistoric animals
Everybody's happy as the dead come home
Big black nemesis, parthenogenesis
No one move a muscle as the dead come home

How bad it gets, you can't imagine
The burning wax, the breath of reptiles
God is not mocked, He knows our business
Karma could take us at any moment

Cover Him up, I think we're finished
You know it's never been so exotic
But I don't know, my dreams are visions
We could still end up with the great big fishes

Priests and cannibals, prehistoric animals
Everybody's happy as the dead come home
Big black nemesis, parthenogenesis
No one move a muscle as the dead come home

Priests and cannibals, prehistoric animals
Everybody's happy as the dead come home
Big black nemesis, parthenogenesis
No one move a muscle as the dead come home

Priests and cannibals, prehistoric animals
Everybody's happy as the dead come home
Big black nemesis, parthenogenesis
No one move a muscle as the dead come home

Priests and cannibals, prehistoric animals
Everybody's happy...

Week Twenty-Six: Spooky Tunes - A Split Second - "Rigor Mortis" - 1991 Remix

In honor of All Hallow's Eve, better known as Halloween, Week Twenty-Six

will be full of Spooky Tunes

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Just as there are some songs that you will inevitably end up hearing if you attend a retro night, there are also some tunes you will inevitably end up hearing if you are at a goth club. “Rigor Mortis” just so happens to be one such culprit.

Don't get me wrong though; I totally dig the sinister nature of this song. Even though I have probably heard it (and danced to it) 100+ times at various goth nights/clubs around this fine state of Texas, I would still dance to it with the same level of passion and energy as the first time I was introduced to it at The Church at The Lizard Lounge, back when I started going in 1995.

I don't know what it is about this song, but it makes me wish I still had my long, black, shroud-like garments and my big, black, platform, lace-up boots! I am not even going to lie; when I hear this song, I miss getting dressed up in my best Morticia Addams-inspired looks and going to hang out with all of the “spooky kids” on Sundays and Thursdays. 

Speaking of Morticia Addams, just a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to see The Addams Family Musical that was part of this season's Dallas Summer Musicals --- it was phenomenal!!!  Did anyone else catch the Google doodle of The Addams Family for Charles Addams birthday? - Um, yep, I snatched that one up and will share it with you now:

From what I have been told, by what I consider to be reliable sources, it is best to avoid The Church these days, unless you want to surround yourself with goth-in-a-box Hot Topic kiddies. So sad... those little twerps have no idea how much time, energy, and effort we used to have to put into our outfits/looks – especially since we could not just travel to our area mall and pick them off a hanger!

Cold and alone, in the vineyard he lies
Stained and all broken, the nightingale dies
Looking from your window, I can see the snow
Freezing cold, grinding to a halt
On stonecold gravel, freeze alone

Turning away from the wasted hours
Turning away from the wasted years

Week Twenty-Five: Pagan Rhythms/Cassingles - The Posies - "Dream All Day" - Single

Week Twenty-Five belongs to a super-cool vinyl/CD/cassette tape shop that was near the intersection of Lovers Lane & Greenville Avenue in Dallas, TX - called Pagan Rhythms - and their massive selection of used cassingles...

**The photos included in this week's posts are actual images of my cassingles**

:-)  <3  :-)  <3  :-)  (-:  <3  (-:  <3  (-:

This song was in heavy rotation on The EDGE back in 1993, which means that we are talking 94.5 days, not 102.1 days.  It's a very sweet little tune, but again, it was the only one that I actually cared for on their album, Frosting on the Beater.  So it was a perfect opportunity to resort to the beloved cassingle.  This was yet another one that I picked up at Pagan Rhythms a few years after its actual release.

I don't think I even mentioned this in any of my other posts this week, but the building that once housed Pagan Rhythms is now housing one of those stupid chain condom stores/sex shops that are everywhere in the metroplex.  I still drive by it when I am heading up and down Greenville Avenue, and it makes me so sad to see that Pagan Rhythms did not even last as long as the smut shop has lasted. People, where are your values?!?!?!?!?! :-(

I've got a lot of thoughts
I've got a lot of plans
I lost a lot of sleep
Trying to understand

I could dream all day...

In a blackened room
Staring into space
Underneath a thousand blankets
Just to find a place
Where everything is reachable
Imagining is safe
I tried to make it so
I didn't even know

I could dream all day...

I dreamt I was awake
My mouth was colored grey
As the world revolved around me
I could only say

I could dream all day...

Week Twenty-Five: Pagan Rhythms/Cassingles - Baby Animals - "Painless" - Single

Week Twenty-Five belongs to a super-cool vinyl/CD/cassette tape shop that was near the intersection of Lovers Lane & Greenville Avenue in Dallas, TX - called Pagan Rhythms - and their massive selection of used cassingles...

**The photos included in this week's posts are actual images of my cassingles**

:-)  <3  :-)  <3  :-)  (-:  <3  (-:  <3  (-:

I have encountered so few people who have ever heard of this band, Baby Animals. So, don't feel badly if you are saying to yourself, "Baby Who?!?!?"  In fact, all I really know about them is that they are from Australia.

I actually thought this song was by Concrete Blonde when I first heard it.  I loved Concrete Blonde, and it is so reminiscent of their style.

I had completely forgotten about this tune until I was scanning the cassingles at Pagan Rhythms one afternoon.  Since I was convinced for so long that it was Concrete Blonde, I wasn't even really sure that I was purchasing the correct song, but I think they charged maybe $.50 at the most for their cassingles; so I figured that it was worth the risk. I'm happy I took a chance because I really do like this song, and the lead singer, Suze DeMarchi, has such a passionate voice and such a lovely look about her.

You want to feel a little warmth
A little mercy
You want to feel like this is real
But it's so cold this time of year
And everywhere you liked to go is a reminder

Oh you can smell him in the air
But this is just being unfair
I don't care 'cause life was never meant to be painless

What I would give
Painless
An adjective
Painless

Not gonna beg to be a leg of your adventure
Not gonna cry I'm gonna laugh
It's like a little game of chance
We all anticipate the elements of nature

Well yesterday was years ago
And you have nothing more to show
I don't care 'cause I was always meant to be here

What I would give
Painless
An adjective
Painless

Ooh he's my prince of love
Painless
Sweet tooth of sin

I've got to say it doesn't pay being a stranger
A little distance among friends
Sure way to bring an end
And I need that like a hole in the head

Oh I need that like a hole in the head

What I would give
Painless
An adjective
Painless

Ooh he's my prince of love
Painless
Sweet tooth of sin
Painless

What I would give
Painless
An adjective
Painless

Week Twenty-Five: Pagan Rhythms/Cassingles - The Breeders - "Cannonball" - Single

Week Twenty-Five belongs to a super-cool vinyl/CD/cassette tape shop that was near the intersection of Lovers Lane & Greenville Avenue in Dallas, TX - called Pagan Rhythms - and their massive selection of used cassingles...

**The photos included in this week's posts are actual images of my cassingles**

:-)  <3  :-)  <3  :-)  (-:  <3  (-:  <3  (-:

I love The Pixies; in fact, one of my little chihuahuas is named Pixie, in honor of the band, and it is somewhat safe to assume that there will be a Pixies week at some point in the future.  Therefore, when I began to read in my music magazines that Kim Deal, bassist for The Pixies, was venturing off onto her own to form The Breeders, I was super-stoked!

Unfortunately, when I heard this album, I was less than impressed.  In fact, the only song that I really got into was "Cannonball," so I never even purchased Last Splash. Therefore, when I came across this cassingle for "Cannonball" at Pagan Rhythms a few years after its release, I picked it up (and paid for it) and brought it home.  

I have included another one of their hits below the lyrics - "Safari".  It's lesser known, but it includes Tanya Donelly from the bands, Throwing Muses and Belly...

Check check check 
One two 

Spitting in a wishing well 
Blown to hell crash 
I'm the last splash 

I know you little libertine 
I know you're a real coocoo 

Want you coocoo cannonball 
Want you coocoo cannonball 
Hey now in the shade, in the shade 
Hey now in the shade, in the shade 

I know you little libertine 
I know you're a cannonball 

I'll be your whatever you want 
The bong in this reggae song 

Hey now in the shade
Hey now in the shade 
Want you coocoo cannonball 
Want you coocoo cannonball 

Spitting in a wishing well 
Blown to hell crash
I'm the last splash 

I'll be your whatever you want 
The bong in this reggae song 

Want you coocoo cannonball 
Want you coocoo cannonball 
Hey now in the shade, in the shade 
Hey now in the shade, in the shade