October, you have been one long, soggy mess. C’est la vie, I suppose. To commemorate what I anticipate to be tonight’s non-event, I have chosen this song to be the official “hold” music of Halloween 2018, to be played in a continuous loop until one metaphorically throws up one’s hands in disgust, and finally gives up the game. To pick it up again next year? Perhaps. But never quite in the same way.
A song to fit a very particular mood. It’s been a significant week.
I think I just found my Halloween costume for this year.
How did I ever miss this? It debuted just last year for the 40th anniversary celebration of Frank Zappa’s legendary Halloween concert series at The Palladium in New York. Zappa did Halloween concerts throughout the entirety of his career, but the one in 1977 is generally considered to be the apogee of that grand tradition.
To commemorate that series of shows (which ran from October 28-31), the family released a massive box set that includes all six concerts on a USB stick, in 24-bit WAV audio for a flawless sound experience, PLUS a jaw-dropping adult size Frank Zappa costume in vintage 70s plastic style. Worth every penny, and still available from the official Zappa merch store for $300.
We are officially in the “-BER months” now, a time of year that for my generation is indelibly stamped by the melancholy Peanuts cartoon soundtracks of Vince Guiraldi and his trio. Though the nostalgic quality of these tracks reaches fever pitch around Christmastime, we begin our seasonal contemplation with this wistful little tune, quickly supplanted in the Guiraldi lineup, but never quite forgotten. It remains one of my favorites, but I’ll only listen to it from the start of September through Halloween.
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