<a href="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/?attachment_id=3188" rel="attachment wp-att-3188"><img src="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/paddlingghost.jpg" alt="Paddling Ghost" title="Paddling Ghost" width="480" height="360" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3188" /></a>

Halloween is probably the quintessential rock-and-roll holiday. People dress up, put on unusual make-up and go on “tour,” begging for food-- just like <em>real</em> rockers. 

<!--more-->Now, replace drug overdoses with a case of sugar-crash,  exchange groupies for your mom waiting for you at the curb in her minivan and you have yourself Halloween. The two are practically interchangeable, especially the part about biting the heads off bats.

<h3>Halloween Themed Playlist</h3>

What better way to celebrate the creepiest of holidays than with a batch of thrill-themed “thracks?” (I’m not forcing alliteration, I just talk funny with my vampire teeth in). 

Pop music loves all things dark and twisted so there’s an endless supply of songs from which to choose. This  week’s playlist includes songs about ghosts, zombies, werewolves and skeletons. It also features a couple songs with vibraphones and pipe organs, two instruments with killer sounds that are often forgotten about when building the perfect goth-y vibe.

Some of these songs just have a spooky tone, while others literally produce goose bumps and a sense of helplessness (thanks for feeding my Illuminati fear, Jay Electronica). There are also tunes from bands with roots right here in Oklahoma.

<ol>
	<li>“Paddling Ghost” - Dan Deacon (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xq3b1">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Fright Night (Nevermore)” - Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMNPWT6WDJQ">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Werewolf” - Cat Power (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xqcuw">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Zombie Killer” - Leslie Hall (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xq3l2">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“As You Wish” - Aqueduct (OK) (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xq3ua">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Season of the Witch” - Donovan (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xq3x3">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Cat People” - Brad Neely (<a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Brad+Neely/_/Cat+People">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Skeleton Key” - The Coral (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xq45h">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“My Boo” - Ghost Town DJs (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xq4db">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Creature Fear” - Bon Iver (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xq4fk">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Organ Donor” - DJ Shadow (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xq4g9">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Bad Dreams” - Lyrics Born (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xq4hw">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Bombay” - El Guincho (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xqcx8">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Ghosts” - Japan (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xqd1n">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Earth People” - Dr. Octagon (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xqejo">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Friendly Ghost” - Harlem (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xqd2m">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Skeleton Man” - Evangelicals (OK) (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xqd3k">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“All Wasted” - Jay Reatard (<a href="http://www.ilike.com/artist/Jay+Reatard/track/All+Wasted">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Van Helsing Boombox” - Man Man (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xqdcv">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Dead Souls” - Joy Division (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xqddp">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“God Only Knows” - The Langly Schools Project (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xqdhx">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Navajo” - The Black Lips (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xqdim">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“The Pledge” - Jay Electronica (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTo-TBIUn_M">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Monsters” - Boy Least Likely To (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xqdr2">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)” - David Bowie (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xqds3">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Grim Reaper Blues” - Entrance (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xqdt9">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“The Vibes Ain’t Nothing but the Vibes” - Barry Adamson (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xqdw3">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Dark Night of the Soul” - Danger Mouse/Sparklehourse/David Lynch (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xqdy1">listen here</a>)</li>
	<li>“Halloween on the Barbary Coast” - The Flaming Lips (OK) (<a href="http://blip.fm/~xqdz9">listen here</a>)</li>
</ol>

<h3>All Dressed Up, But No Place To Go</h3>

<a href="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/?attachment_id=3189" rel="attachment wp-att-3189"><img src="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Bearhug-500x336.jpg" alt="Bearhug" title="Bearhug" width="500" height="336" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-3189" /></a>

Looking for more places to wear your Sid & Nancy costume besides your work’s dead rock-star party? (Don’t ALL businesses have those? H.R. nightmare, by the way. The guy dressed like Ike Turner always takes the role-playing a bit too far.) 

Take your mohawk, your blood-stained shirt and your punk-loving heart to The Soundpony on Friday, October  29th for APUNKALYPSE II. The showcase features four bands from Oklahoma’s recently budding punk scene - <a href="http://www.myspace.com/bearhugtulsa">Bearhug</a>, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/lizardpolice">Lizard Police</a>, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/operatordeadtulsa">Operation Dead: Post Abandoned</a> (all from Tulsa) and <a href="http://www.myspace.com/devereauxlicious">Blanche Devereaux</a> (from OKC). All of these bands pay great respect to the roots of punk without really giving a crap about the roots of punk. C’mon, you know what I mean. It’s a fine line. You think it’s punk rock to “pay homage?” Geez, have I taught you nothing?! 

Don’t answer that.

Seriously though, the bands at APUNKALYPSE II, along with other locals like  <a href="http://www.myspace.com/bronchoband">BRONCHO</a>, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/theprettyblackchains">Pretty Black Chains</a> and more are making music that is top notch and comparable to anything you’ll find nationally. Not only are their songs terrific, but the energy and stage presence of many of these bands is something that can only be experienced live. It’s no doubt these bands  will inspire others to follow. I’m telling you, we might be the re-birth place of good old fashioned punk. And if you don’t agree with me, I’ll totally fight you. 

Not really, I cry easily.

Soundpony is a great place to see one of these punk shows because you can get “intimate” with the bands (read: spitting distance), but it’s length also allows for the music to be enjoyed at a “safe distance” (read: you hipsters don’t want to stain your new Anthropologie dress, or see your boyfriend get all beat up). 

APUNKALYPSE II starts at 10pm. 

<h3>The Only Thing Scarier Than Ghosts or Ghouls: Teenagers</h3>

<a href="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/?attachment_id=3190" rel="attachment wp-att-3190"><img src="http://www.tashadoestulsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/TJhighschool.jpg" alt="TJ in High School" title="TJ in High School" width="429" height="603" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3190" /></a>

NPR’s wonderfully informative music show All Songs Considered recently asked listeners to submit stories of music that saved them during their teenage years. 

Hundreds of people entered stories, but only a few got selected. Guess who has a caps lock button and was one of the lucky few to make it to air? 

THIS GUY!

I spoke about being an ultra-odd kid in Oklahoma City (can I mention the name of that city on TDT without being struck by lightning?). It was during the most awkward of years - the time between junior high and high school - that I bought the Flaming Lips’ album Hit to Death In The Future Head. 

The album did an amazing job of reflecting all the strangeness that I felt as a teen. When I discovered that it was made in Oklahoma, I was blown away.

I featured one of the songs on this week’s playlist. <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130654846">You can listen to the NPR bit here</a>. My segment starts at around the 13:30 mark.

I know what I experienced wasn’t exclusive to me or to OKC. I’d love to hear about the music that got you through your teens - or, music aside, the stuff about Tulsa that made you realize it was pretty damn cool place after all. Feel free to share your stories in the comments section on this post. 

<a href="http://www.twitter.com/tjclark">Feel free to contact me on Twitter</a>, too, if you ever have comments, questions or suggestions for me. 

I’d especially love it if you sent me pictures of yourself in a local mosh pit while wearing your Chilean Miner costume. That would be rad.

Also? You can say Oklahoma City here on TashaDoesTulsa.com after all. I'm still here! 

Rock with you guy.