Pop-Punk Goes Halloween: An Alternative Playlist

It’s no secret that rock bands love Halloween. The 31st of October always goes hand-in-hand with their Instagrammed superhero costumes and live tweeted quotes from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Frank Iero, ex-guitarist of My Chemical Romance, even has ‘Halloween’ tattooed across his fingers. And let’s not forget Jack Barakat‘s (All Time Low) and Pete Wentz’s (Fall Out Boy) ink tributes to Jack Skellington. The bottom line is, these bands adore the annual scare-fest so much so that it emanates in their music. And with Halloween just around the corner, let’s take a look at what could replace Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” in your party playlist.

When you think of Halloween, you’re immediately hit with thoughts of pumpkins, vampires, werewolves, mummies and Frankenstein’s monster. Panic! At The Disco tick all those boxes six times over with “It’s Almost Halloween.” If you haven’t seen the video, you haven’t lived. “It’s Almost Halloween” was clearly intended to be a gimmick, but every year, in mid-November, it’s brought back from the depths of Youtube for our viewing pleasure. But who doesn’t want to watch Panic! At The Disco’s 2008 line-up prance around in costumes and ask hard-hitting questions: “Was it all a dream? / Who could I believe? / It can’t be what it seems / It was only Halloween / What does it all mean?”

Both Panic! At The Disco and pop-punk giants Fall Out Boy have also unleashed The Nightmare Before Christmas covers onto the world, and these are a must. Patrick Stump’s vocals are flawless in Fall Out Boy’s cover of “What’s This?,” and combined with Panic! At The Disco’s attempt at “This Is Halloween,” the guys put an interesting twist on classics. Blink-182 have also expressed their love for all things Jack Skellington with their classic “I Miss You.” Although it’s far from a cover, parts of “I Miss You” are clearly The Nightmare Before Christmas inspired: “We can live like Jack and Sally if we want / Where you can always find me / And we’ll have Halloween on Christmas / And in the night we’ll wish this never ends.”

My Chemical Romance also have their share of Halloween inspired tracks, with the most prominent, “Vampires Will Never Hurt You,” coming from their 2002 release I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your LoveThese are just a few of the spook-tastic Halloween tracks the genre has produced. And although you might want to keep “The Time Warp” on your playlists for old times’ sake, they’re definitely worth a listen.