I’ve been talking up a new feature for the past month or so. It took me a while to figure out exactly how I wanted this to take shape. I’ve steered away from lists in the past only because I don’t want us to come off as another Buzzfeed, clickbait type operation. That said, I think lists can be helpful and in many cases, interesting. I can’t say how regular this feature will be or how it’ll be conducted in the future, but I can tell you about this month’s edition. Ten Songs: Halloween is essentially going to be various writers, musicians and others giving us… well, ten songs… for Halloween. I’ve given the participants free reign to interpret this how they want with the only stipulation being they write a bit about their choices and limit them to 10 selections. For the first iteration of this feature, we’ve got Elissa Agans. If you’ve spent any amount of time rooting around in the Static + Distance archives, then you’ve probably caught an article or two from Elissa. Outside of the site she’s one of my best friends, so when I decided to launch this new feature I knew I wanted her to be a part of it. Fortunately, she agreed, although she tells me she thinks the final Halloween list (coming at the end of the month) is going to top everyone’s. We’ll let you be the judge of that. Here’s Elissa and her Ten Songs for Halloween:

I usually find autumn to be a happy closing chapter to the summer (I can’t handle the heat and the sun) and I indulge in tunes of melancholy because, let’s be real, sometimes there is comfort in indulging your own sadness.

10. Marilyn Manson – “Sweet Tooth”

I know, this guy is such a cliche. He’s very often corny and over the top. But this particular song is so menacing that it doesn’t feel like Halloween without hearing it.



(Note: Sorry Elissa, this 17 year old’s fan video is the only one I could find.)

9. múm – “Oh, How The Boat Drifts”

Really, this whole album feels like summer is coming to an end and it’s one of my most favorite recordings to date. The Valtýsdóttir twins have a way with words…or vocals..or whatever they are doing to make those terrifying noises.



8. The Cure – “Lullaby”

The spiderman is literally eating Robert Smith for dinner.



7. Nick Drake – “Pink Moon”

I couldn’t place my finger on why I felt this fit an “autumn song list” until I looked it up on wikipedia. The album was recorded on the last two days of October and is supposedly about Drake’s depression. So there we have it.



6. Leonard Cohen – “Suzanne”

This is probably only on here because of a long-ago autumn in Illinois where I listened to Mr. Cohen while laying flooring in my kitchen late into the night.



5. Archers of Loaf – “Chumming the Ocean”

Wanna hear a vivid account of a guy getting eaten by a shark? Or maybe the shark is being hunted? Who knows, but it’s a bloody mess.



4. Plaid – “Eyen”

The video for this is pretty bummed out and filled with rust and sepia toned images.



3. William Basinski – “Disintegration Loops 1.1”

The story behind these loops is eerie enough to cement a spot in my list, but that this sounds like a funeral march certainly helps.



2. The White Stripes – “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground”

Rainy Thursday. The longest hug. The train is a fellow prisoner of the moon. I don’t expect you to know what this means.



1. The Stranglers – “Golden Brown”

If you’ve gotta classify the harpsichord into a season, it may as well be autumn.

