Halloween Hit: Nightwish - Scaretale

"Restless souls will put on their dancing shoes"

For the next few Fridays, I'm going to share some songs that I think would be perfect for Halloween. After all, it's an Alienhits tradition. To be honest, I feel like Halloween is really sneaking up on me this year. I still haven't carved a pumpkin, I've only had a couple pieces of candy corn, and there hasn't been a corn maze or harvest festival in sight. What am I doing?? At least this song, from Nightwish's most recent (awesome) album, puts me in the creepy Halloween mood. Scaretale is seven plus minutes of perfectly atmospheric, Tim Burton-esque magic. I can't think of a better song to soundtrack a visit to the haunted house of your choice.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Lady Gaga - High Princess/Stache (ft. Zedd)

"Where's my stache?"

It's been awhile since we've heard new music from Lady Gaga. And even if this isn't an official solo track, it sounds like a weirder, looser continuation of her Born This Way era. What she's done here is add vocals to a track by producer Zedd, so this isn't anything that will appear on her next album (at least, I'm assuming it won't). What it is, though, is a return to the weird, experimental dance pop we love Gaga for. In all honesty, it wouldn't make for a bad single. I love how it manages to retain the gritty electro of underground dance music, but coat it in a super-catchy melody tailor made for radio. All with some truly bizarre lyrics. If this is a hint of the type of thing we'll be getting from Gaga next, I can't wait to hear the album.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the last album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Loreen - See You Again

"I've gotta see you again"

Loreen's Euphoria remains one of the best winners of Eurovision in the past decade, so it's no surprise that nothing else on her debut quite lives up to it (though singles My Heart Is Refusing Me and Crying Out Your Name come close). That's not saying that there isn't a ton of things to enjoy about the album, though. Loreen's got one of the most powerful, naturally polished recording voices in pop music currently, as well as a desire to create lush, multifaceted dance/r&b/pop music that sounds immense. See You Again is the closest she gets to following trends, but it's Loreen's version of "following trends," so it's automatically different and awesome. The album has a bit too many slow moments for me, so the propulsive drive of this track is a very welcome addition. That said, if you still just want the essential Loreen, check out those three singles I mentioned above.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Preorder the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Titus Jones - Rhiannon's Stronger Island

"Will you ever win?"

Sometimes mash-ups can be sort of pointless, but whenever Titus Jones is involved, I know I'm going to get something good. For me, his best work comes when he takes an older, classic song and augments it for modern times. Rhiannon's Stronger Island, which is built around Fleetwood Mac's Rhiannon, Kelly Clarkson's Stronger and Mike Posner's Cheated and the instrumental of Pendulum's The Island. It's the first and last part of those ingredients that make this so amazing. I could honestly have done without the Clarkson and Posner bits, which make up the bulk of the track's second half. As a remix for the Fleetwood Mac song, though, this rules. The very last part of the track, which amps the Rhiannon refrain up to euphoric levels, is absolute bliss. Best of all, you can download the track and it's entire accompanying album for free here!



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Download the album for free here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.