Michael Jackson – Thriller (Thriller)

Part of the ‘Best Songs for a Halloween Playlist’ series

With Halloween fast approaching, the time is nigh to create a playlist or two of quintessential Halloween music, be it for the inevitable parade of trick-or-treaters, or the epic costume party you’re planning.

Music for the Halloween party should vary between the spooky and the kitschy, the nostalgic and the epic, the weird and the wonderful.  These are my suggestions for the perfect Halloween playlist:

Back when Michael Jackson still had his original nose and skin colour, he released the album that pretty much launched his solo career.  The most important single from that album was the title track, “Thriller”.  It created the long-form music video and defined what great music videos are supposed to be.  Yes, the song is campy, cheesy, and even by the standards of the early 1980s just awful, but it is pretty much an obligatory song for any Halloween playlist.