Halloween COMES ALIVE!

 

Stinky is the undisputed King of Halloween around here.  He shared the idea for today's compilation: artists performing on All Hallow's Eve. 

This was inspired by the recent release of Devo's Nitrous Nightmare, a live recording from October 31, 1975.  The spudboys were not yet a household name, and now it can be told: they did not go over well with the crowd at WHK Cleveland Auditorium.  

Bauhaus gets a better reception at ULU on 10/31/1980 (a show reposted by Floppy Boot Stomp at my request so that we could kick off this comp with "Bela Lugosi's Dead".)  I also found The Cult live on Halloween at Floppy Boot Stomp, and The Who's acoustic Halloween set at the Voodoo Wagon.  

Most of the rest comes from radio appearances, Guitars101 and the Internet Archive.  The band Local H did a Halloween set "in costume" at the Double Door each year, and you can hear Local H performing as Nirvana (in 1997 and in 2016), The Doors, Kiss, Led Zep, ZZ Top, AC/DC, Springsteen, Oasis, and Tom Petty.  Also found a great set by Robyn Hitchcock performing Hunky Dory (plus more Bowie songs).

Halloween is a fun time for bands to break out cover songs, and we've got the Smashing Pumpkins doing "Wipeout" (a showcase for their extraordinary drummer, Jimmy Chamberlin), plus Duran Duran ceding the spotlight to their backup singers on "Spooky".  Cass McCombs does Metallica's "Unforgiven" (recorded by NYCTaper).  Not a "fun" song, but an impressive performance.

I really wanted to include The Cramps.  I found two Halloween shows, but both were low fi audience recordings.  Instead, you get Mary Huff and SCOTS doing Lux & Ivy proud with "Goo Goo Muck".  The original intention was to include only seasonal songs (like "Werewolves Of London").  It didn't turn out quite that way, but at least the comp ends with the Dream Syndicate performing their song "Halloween" on Halloween.

ELSEWHERE IN THE BLOGOSPHERE:  It's Weird October at Nothin' Sez Somethin'.  Twilight Zone has been posting Screamin' Jay Hawkins almost daily.  AJ's got several goth compilations at Themes From Great Cities (here, here, and here), and Black Lodge Relics has a massive rack of Elvira and Vincent Price records.

Halloween 2026 Vol. 3 THE MEMBERS Promptgenix ROCKET FROM THE TOMBS 38 Coffin & MORE!

HALLOWEEN 2026 Vol. 3

We love our Halloween music here at Jonky.  Unless The Creature From The Black Lagoon starts blogging, no other blog is going to serve up five different CD-length horror-filled Halloween comps. And Vol. 3 may be my favorite of them all.  

PROMPTGENIX starts it off with The Thing In Grafton Woods—a story song about a creature with “skin like something dragged from hell” that maintains a genuinely creepy, atmospheric, & swampy groove.  I don’t have words to describe how much I love it.  Equally ethereal is Buffy Sainte-Marie’s scarily skeletal The Vampire.

My second favorite track is Rocket From The Tombs' unhinged version of the garage rock classic Strychnine.  I've never seen a haunted castle with a garage, but garage music sure fits well, & makes another appearance in the form of Zombina & The Skeletons' The Count Of Five.  

India Ramey and Fabienne Delsol may not have expected to land on a Halloween compilation, but I think you’ll agree their songs fit right in.  So does The Hoodoo Gurus’ tale of revenge; Hayride From Hell, & Gregg Allman’s raw-boned Devil Got My Woman.

Big Boy Bloater takes a savage stab at Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ Alligator Wine.  Joe Bouchard already paid tribute to Godzilla when he played with B.O.C., but now he turns his solo sights on The Wolfman.  I sure hope he remembered his silver bullets.

Doing Johnny Cash one better, Sonny George recorded Hillbilly Wolfman for his Live At The Tennessee Prison For Women album.  I’m not sure if he brought along a handful of pardons, but that hillbilly sure can howl.  L.A. rockabilly weirdo Johnny Legend tells the tale of the House Of Frankenstein complete with ascending doo-wop “Ahh’s” provided by a choir of fallen angels.  The Necromantix serve up Haunted Cathouse, and Webb Wilder blows the dust off of his classic track Hoodoo Witch.

Without a doubt, the most fun tracks are Rockapella’s Zombie Jamboree, & the always awe-inspiring Petra Haden who vocally supplies all the instrumentation in her version of Tubular Bells.  Bringing to mind an entirely different kind of tubular is 38 Coffin’s Dead Surfer Girl.  The Members completely tear up Jack The Ripper—thanks to their guitarist, Nigel Bennett, who definitely deserves the MVP award (Most Vibratorsesque Performance).

And dragging it all down to the dungeon is The Damned’s Wait For The Blackout, which some folks might not feel is a Halloween song.  I’d argue that it's being sung by a guy dressed like Dracula.

 

Punks Got Soul (and so do tribute albums)

 

After listening to dozens of tribute albums, one thing has become strikingly clear:  there are too many tribute albums.  Posting about them again is perhaps ill-advised, as though wishing more of them into existence.  Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to make tribute albums.  

Who am I kidding?  The listening experience is addictive.  It's like crate digging, playing one tribute album after another in search of a gem to share with you folks.

At the risk of segregating the artists of color and historically Black and Latino genres of music, today I offer you Tributes Got Soul.  This one leans heavily on the albums produced by Jon Tiven to celebrate the songs of Arthur Alexander, Otis Blackwell, Don Covay and others.  This comp also features several releases from the Red Hot Organization, plus a Hal Willner production.  (That last hyperlink is to Koen's excellent post on Mr. Willner, which inspired this deep dive into tribute albums.  Friends, don't let friends become obsessed with tribute albums!  It only leads to wasted hours combing Discogs, blogs and Soulseek.  Just when you think you've found them all, another appears from the cracks, like roaches.  

Speaking of soul, the long-running Punks Got Soul series is back for the dozenth time.  Again, a caveat: not all the performers are punk (really, only the first two this time), and not all the songs are soul.  Maybe too many synthesizers this time around, which often strike me as less soulful, even soulless at times.  But there are some fun songs here, including Yellow Magic Orchestra's goof on"Tighten Up" and Alan Vega's take on Hot Chocolate.  And some earnestly soulful performances by The Lolitas, The Bunnymen, and Cyndi Lauper.  If it gets a bit vanilla, you can always go back to Tributes Got Soul.

Halloween 2026 Vol. 2 THE CRAMPS Schoolgirls Of Satan THE CUSTOMS Redd Kross & MORE!

HALLOWEEN 2026 Vol. 2 features some artists you might expect, like; THE CRAMPS, ZACHERLE with S.C.O.T.S., & THE RAYMEN.  

Some may come as a bit of a surprise; JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS, JONATHAN RICHMAN, WEBB WILDER, TMBG, CHARLIE DANIELS BAND, & REDD KROSS.  

And, as you've come to expect from JONKY, some are on the obscure side; ZOMBIE GHOST TRAIN, THE PROVIDENCER, THE SLIMETONES, THE CUSTOMS, & ELLE CORDOVA.

You might recognize ELLE CORDOVA’s face from her sky-high presence on social media.  Or you might be more likely recognize her by her formerly-known-as name; REINA DEL CID.  With her frequent collaborator TONI LINDGREN, she tells the tale of how ROSWELL NM became "Alien Central."

CHARLIE DANIELS BAND’s The Legend Of Wooley Swamp is a wonderful tale straight out of EC Comics that I had almost forgotten about—but is perfect for a HALLOWEEN mix!

These selections makes great background music for when you’re sharpening your guillotine blade, cutting the blooms off your roses, or robbing graves.  It also goes great with a warm cup of apple cider, if you lean toward that end of the spooky spectrum.

 

A Punk Tribute To Punk Tribute Albums

 

Hello, fiends!  As we approach Halloween, there will be more holiday themed posts, but this one was ready to roll.  Continuing an informal survey of tribute albums today with a punk themed compilation.  

Specifically, I've been listening to various artists paying tribute to a single artist.  One enjoyable thing about a various artists' album is the variety of sounds and styles, which creates a more diverse listening experience (rather than an entire album by the same artist).  

It's also interesting to think about why a performer chose a specific song, and what they chose to do with it (stylistically speaking).  Some are faithful to the originals, and others are more creative in their interpretations.

The downside of a compilation is that not all of the artists are equally talented or equally compelling as performers.  If you're particularly fond of the original artist, you might be unimpressed by the remakes.  Various artist tribute albums make for an uneven listening experience, but hopefully this compilation of highlights will entertain you from start to finish.  I tried to choose standout performances from each of the tribute albums.

Some of the artists who are the subjects of tributes in today's collection are less familiar to me than others.  A tribute album can serve the purpose of introducing listeners to an artist via a cover song by a performer already familiar to the listener.  Maybe a Teengenerate fan (for example) will go back and listen to the Pretty Things.  Tributes can also introduce new performers to fans of the original artist.  A fan of Husker Du might be inspired to delve into Motorpsycho's discography.

Not all of the subjects of these tributes are punk bands.  Some of them predate punk (Pretty Things, Hawkwind, Iggy, The Dictators, the Dolls).  Some exist alongside punk as part of other scenes, such as new wave (Go-Go's, Duran Duran) and metal (AC/DC, Cheap Trick, Motorhead).  But there's a punk energy in the performances that perhaps was latent in some of the original recordings.  Please enjoy!

Halloween 2026 Vol. 1 RESIDENTS Zombina & The Skeletones RUBY STARR & GREY GHOST Eric Ambel & MORE!

Halloween 2026 Vol. 1

Regular visitors know that I'm a big fan of Halloween music.  This year, I've gone overboard even for me.  

Last year, I tried to include more songs that weren't strictly aimed at October airplay, & I was happy with the result.  I had enough songs left over after 2025's mix that I had a huge jump on 2026, & I wound up having enough for five volumes.

On Vol. 1 there are a couple of cuts by artists you don't associate with All Hallows Eve, like TIM POLECAT, & THE STRAWBS, NOUVELLE VAGUE & THE SILVER KING BAND.  

There are artists that are less surprising: ZZ TOP, THE RESIDENTS, & MEGADEATH.  

And there are acts that come as no surprise to anyone: THE CRAMPS, THE GRAVEDIGGER V, & THE FUZZTONES.

So pop this collection on your stereo, curl up with your favorite werewolf, neck with your favorite vampire, or inventory the bats in your belfry!

 

Pass The Dust, I Think I'm A Tribute Album

 

This third set in our ongoing tribute to tribute albums is a double baker's dozen: 26 terrific tunes of tribulation! We're still trawling through the 1990's, a decade that gave us God knows how many tributes to Bob Dylan, Neil Young, the Beatles, Ramones, and Velvets.  More than you might think, and more than anyone needed.  Although it's always better when someone else sings Bob, amirite?

The sharp-eyed among you may notice songs in today's set from two separate Bee Gees tributes.  And if you're thinking that we already featured a Richard Thompson tribute, you're not wrong: 1993's The World Is A Wonderful Place was followed by 1994's Beat The Retreat.  Hell, there were two Merle Haggard tributes released in 1994 (the pop-country Mama's Hungry Eyes and the alt-country Tulare Dust).  

If it sounds like I'm tired of tribute albums, rest assured that I'm not.  I love the way that artists add their own personalities to a cover song.  For example, "Yesterday Once More" is faithful to the Carpenters' hit, and yet it is most definitely a Redd Kross song.  And I love discovering new artists (hello, Rank Strangers!)  

It's good to catch up with old friends like Alex Chilton and the aforementioned Redd Kross. When's the last time I listened to Scrawl or the 3D's -- back in the Nineties?  (No, I went on a Scrawl binge and bought all their records just a few years ago, and "Beautiful Things" by the 3D's is a song that I always return to, year after year.)  

And it's extra cool when cool artists collaborate.  Tony Gilkyson trades licks with David Hidalgo on X's version of Richard Thompson's "Shoot Out The Lights".  Syd Straw is backed on one song by The Skeletons; and on the other by Marc Ribot. Lemmy and Mick Green do a "Blue Suede Shoes" that would make Elvis and Carl Perkins roll over in their graves.  The artists highlighted in this paragraph have been featured on this here blog (as have Alex Chilton and Redd Kross, with links in the penultimate paragraph above)!