31 Nights of Halloween: It's a Dead Man's Party!

Whether you came of age during the 1980s, as I did, or you are of a later or even earlier generation, I doubt you will disagree there's a more rousing Halloween Anthem than Danny Elfman's "Dead Man's Party."

This post features a couple versions from the original performers, as well as some of the best covers floating around YouTube.

I'll kick things off with the ultimate version of the song--the extended remix featured on the "Best of Boingo". It's perhaps the greatest expression of that uniquely dark yet can't-help-but-dance style that was the hallmark of the best Oingo-Boingo songs.




Here's the video for the original song, as well as the original song. It's a little slower and a little less elaborate in the sonic layers and busiwork... but still cool beyond cool. (There is one more version that you'll commonly hear that falls in between the two I feature here, both in style and length.)





Here's a version of the song by The Last Dance that emphasizes the dark and horrific aspect of the song, but which is almost as amazingly cool as the original.





And, finally, Waltham brings us a metal variant that leans in a more playful direction than The Last Dance version. They make the song their own, but they don't quite measure up to the original.