Halloween is coming — are you musically prepared?

Plus, U2, Keith Richards and the mysteries of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce

View this email online October 28, 2023 by Stephen Thompson This week, we make musical plans for the culmination of spooky season; plus, U2, Keith Richards and the mysteries of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. “Insane Clown Pumpkin” by Grace Thompson / credit: Stephen Thompson/NPR   Halloween falls on a Tuesday this year, which puts a damper on the seasonal celebration. I didn’t even get invited to a costume party, which means I don’t get to voluntarily opt out, sit on the couch and consume a Costco-sized bag of Halloween candy. This year, that’s the plan and I don’t even have a choice in the matter. But I’ve still found a few ways to integrate my love of music into this year’s Halloween festivities. Here are three can’t-miss tips, each of which I’ll be following to the letter in the next few days: 1) Dress like a rockstar As she got too old for trick-or-treating — and, naturally, kept trick-or-treating anyway — my daughter’s Halloween costumes drifted toward Internet figures and horror-movie icons like Michael Myers. But she had great luck, candy-wise, the year she dressed as Ozzy Osbourne. Sure, some of the neighbors thought she was a hippie, but the “OZZY” knuckle-tats were enough of a giveaway for roughly 30 percent of my neighborhood to nod at her approvingly. (My son dressed as Andrew W.K. the same year, though, and got confused looks from start to finish.) 2) Get yourself a Halloween playlist I highly recommend digging through the NPR archives for spooky playlists (here are a couple of good ones from All Songs Considered and World Cafe) and other Halloween fare. All Songs has published several episodes highlighting scary music — don’t miss these archived shows from 2010 and 2011 — and one of my favorite early episodes of Pop Culture Happy Hour finds us breaking down the stuff (music included!) that scared us as kids. If you’re looking for more recent NPR-approved scares, Terrifying Tom Huizenga just spooky-fied the NPR Classical playlist, which now comes “with frightful night prayers, fantasies and spells, plus witches, an eerie, silent moon, and of course nightmares.” Just last year, Bob Boilen sat down with Tom for a Halloween playlist, while Alt.Latino hosts Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras joined me on Pop Culture Happy Hour to recommend songs for Halloween and Día de los Muertos. And I listed some of my own favorite Halloween music in this column from 2014. 3) Say it with a pumpkin Even though my kids are well into their college years, we still convene for pumpkin-carving each year. This time around, my daughter — now in her second year of art school — carved up an intricate reminder that your pumpkins can be canvases on which we etch our greatest musical inspirations. As you might have gathered from the photo at the top of this email, she’s found a spiritual kinship with Insane Clown Posse — even going so far as to read my dear friend’s actual book on the subject — and based her carving on the cover of the group’s 1995 album Riddle Box. I suppose it’s possible that, if you’re reading this, you might not wish to carve an Insane Clown Pumpkin of your own — which, whatever, fine, that’s on you. But you can’t go wrong carving out the kick-ass logo or cover art of your choice. Or, barring that, executing an eternal Dad Joke by pulverizing your jack-o-lantern on the front steps and telling everyone it’s a tribute to your favorite band. Newsletter continues after sponsor message More to hear, read and watch When it comes to the once-in-a-lifetime love of Taylor Swift and [checks notes] affable Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, there’s literally no one in the world I’d rather read than my dear best pal and PCHH co-host, Linda Holmes. And, just because there’s no one else in the world I will read on this particular topic, that doesn’t mean Linda’s piece isn’t ridiculously awesome. Come for NPR’s rare brush with celebrity gossip; stay for the fascinating statistic about which reality TV shows have most frequently led to marriages. As discussed at some length in last week’s newsletter, The Rolling Stones released a new album titled Hackney Diamonds. Guitarist Keith Richards talked to NPR’s Scott Simon about finding the energy to rock, as well as the childhood origins of his creative partnership with Mick Jagger. Speaking of rock legends, U2 has launched a big-budget residency at the Sphere, a gigantic orb that blinks ominously amid the Las Vegas skyline. Caryn Rose surveyed the spectacle as the band set about harnessing its superpower: “relentless earnestness.” Isabella Gomez Sarmiento profiled fast-rising Colombian reggaeton star Feid, whose stardom has spread to Puerto Rico and a sold-out tour of the U.S. He’s already collaborated with Bad Bunny — Feid is the only non-Puerto Rican artist with a feature on Bad Bunny’s new album — as well as Maluma, Karol G, J Balvin and Sebastián Yatra.  Last year, Jazz Night In America launched a series called “Youngbloods,” which highlights artists under the age of 30. Last month, they kicked off its second season by showcasing three promising young vibraphonists: Joel Ross, Simon Moullier and Sasha Berliner. This week brought Season 2’s brass-intensive second half: trumpeter Giveton Gelin, trombonist Kalia Vandever and trumpeter Summer Camargo. NPR’s Elizabeth Blair has a remembrance for Dusty Street, who was one of America’s first female rock DJs. Street, who worked for KROQ in Los Angeles as well as SiriusXM, died last Saturday at 77. Our dear friends at KUTX in Austin recently hosted Wilco, which played a lovely little set showcasing three tracks (“Pittsburgh,” “Evicted” and “Cousin”) from their new album Cousin, recorded live at KUTX’s Studio 1A. Tiny Desk Photo: Grace Widyatmadja/NPR Pulling out all the stops at their Tiny Desk concert, Nile Rodgers and CHIC crafted a funk workout that doubled as a hip-hop and disco history lesson. Their decades-spanning six-song set assembled an absolute murderer’s row of hall-of-fame all-timers: “I’m Coming Out”! “We Are Family”! “Let’s Dance”! “Le Freak”! Each song could have anchored the set in its own right; cumulatively, it feels almost impossible that one tapestry contains this many indispensable threads. Also this week: Banjo picker Nora Brown and fiddler Stephanie Coleman may be young — when Brown played a Tiny Desk (home) concert in 2021, she was still in the 10th grade — but they draw on centuries of musical traditions. And backup dancer turned rising R&B singer-songwriter Jordan Ward played songs from his debut album, FORWARD. One More Thing Mark your calendars! The Black Pumas will perform a concert for WXPN showcasing songs from its new album, Chronicles of a Diamond. The show will stream live from their hometown of Austin on Thursday, Nov. 2 starting at 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT. Bookmark this page to watch the set as it happens. Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). Need a new playlist? Follow NPR Music on Spotify and Apple Music What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: nprmusic@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. 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