The US Elections Project shows that as of tonight, at least 90 million people have cast ballots. That is almost two thirds of the total votes counted in the 2016 election. This is most definitely NOT scary… I am taking it as a very good sign that the American people are fed up to HERE ::makes overhead hand motions while standing on tiptoe::. Three days, people. Three. More. Days.
With that out of the way… it’s Halloween, and it really doesn’t feel like any I’ve experienced before. Our kids well, aren’t kids, and while K2 is socially distantly wandering around with two friends before coming to our backyard to toast marshmallows we didn’t carve pumpkins or anything. My town got really into creating Novel Ways To Deliver Candy Safely To Kids, and given that we in general get only a couple of groups every year, we opted not to give out treats. Usually on years when we have no one trick or treating, we go to a friend’s house to hang out but Covid. I will however be watching the WisDems RHPS livestream — WisDems have provided most of my interesting entertainment this fall! RHPS has been part of my Halloween memories since my freshman year of high school, when I went to my virgin show at midnight in a college town on October 31st.
I couldn’t let Halloween pass without some seasonal music… it turns out that in all my years of Top Comments diaries, I have written exactly two themed around Halloween — one in 2010, and the other in 2017. Yes, some music just begs repetition, but I hope to provide a few news ones this year, and hope you’ll add your own favorites in the comments! Hop over the story break for the list, and then our Tops!
Here at Top Comments we welcome longtime as well as brand new Daily Kos readers to join us at 10pm Eastern. We strive to nourish community by rounding up some of the site's best, funniest, most mojo'd & most informative commentary, and we depend on your help!! If you see a comment by another Kossack that deserves wider recognition, please send it either to topcomments at gmail or to the Top Comments group mailbox by 9:30pm Eastern. Please please please include a few words about why you sent it in as well as your user name (even if you think we know it already :-)), so we can credit you with the find!
So, some scary spooky (or simply reasonably appropriately titled!) songs:
- Dead Man's Party — Oingo Boingo — to me this is one of the quintessential October party songs. That it’s by Danny Elfman just makes it more appropriate.
- This Is Halloween — Danny Elfman — From Tim Burton’s 1993 movie The Nightmare Before Christmas, this version is by Middle Ages. Original here.
- Zombie Jamboree — Kingston Trio It was a staple of my college men’s a capella group and they did it SO well. I’ve been hooked ever since. Everyone who does it puts a slightly different spin on it, too. This version’s by Rockapella, and dayyum what a bass voice.
- Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) — David Bowie — I could NOT leave the Goblin King out of this list!
- Zombie — The Cranberries — I adore the original, which fits this year especially both because of the title and because it is a beautiful protest song, but this version by Bad Wolves… well. Cranberries lead singer Dolores O’Riordan died the day she was to reprise her lyrics with the band, and they released this updated lyrical version in her memory.
- Re: Your Brains - Jonathan Coulton — as a bonus, this one is in ASL (American Sign Language). Spooky AND educational!
- Halloweenie III — Ashnikko — I promised K1 I’d put something recent in, and this is what she played for me in the car today, by one of her favorite artists. It’s, umm, not my usual fare lyrically, but it’s got a really excellent sound. You are so warned.
- Monsters — All Time Low — Another new for 2020 addition to the playlist. “Why do all the monsters come out at night? Why do we sleep where we want to hide?”
And of course, two from RHPS:
- Time Warp — since I gave you the Tenacious D version already, have a cover from the Glee folks!
- Sweet Transvestite — have a version sung to perfection by Anthony Head.
I left out so many favorites from my 2010 and 2017 lists, so definitely add yours below! And as I asked way back in 2017… is it even Halloween if there is no Thriller dance?
TOP COMMENTS
Brillig's ObDisclaimer: The decision to publish each nomination lies with the evening's Diarist and/or Comment Formatter. My evenings at the helm, I try reeeeallllyy hard to publish everything without regard to content. I really do, even when I disagree personally with any given nomination. "TopCommentness" lies in the eyes of the nominator and of you, the reader - I leave the decision to you. I do not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments) and if I ruled the world, we'd all build community, supporting and uplifting instead of tearing our fellow Kossacks down. Please remember that comment inclusion in Top Comments does not constitute support or endorsement by diarist, formatter, Top Comments writers or DailyKos. Questions, complaints or comments? Contact brillig.
It appears the Top Comments mailboxes have been ghosted. Are collecting cobwebs. Do not even have bats in their belfries. As this is the last weekend before next Tuesday’s terrifyingly important vote, I expect most folks are either out working GOTV efforts, OR pre-emptively stress-eating all the leftover Halloween candy. I ain’t gonna judge, but hope you’ll make up for it with extra noms tomorrow!
TOP MOJO
Top Mojo for yesterday, October 30th 2020, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on FAQing Top Mojo.
TOP PICTURES
Top Pictures for yesterday, October 30th 2020. Click any picture to be taken to the full comment or picture. Thank you jotter!
FYI- Thanks to the aforementioned RHPS special livestream, I will be a bit sparse in the comments until later.
Reminder: Do NOT forget to set your clocks back an hour as Daylight Savings Time comes to an end. Don’t look at me next spring when we lose an hour. Fall is the good part of the bargain we make with the devil. Spring is when the devil collects his due.
