HALLOWEEN ROCKS: ROB ZOMBIE

Rob Zombie, like Alice Cooper, is sort of the perfect rock star for Halloween: dude lives it 24/7/365. Hell, he even directed two Halloween remake films! (I highly recommend the first one, the second, not so much.)  I just wrote about Rob's excellent Halloween compilation, Halloween Hootenanny, but all of his albums (solo and with White Zombie) are great for Halloween. You can hear the best of both eras on his Past, Present & Future collection.

But Rob has also had lots of great looks that you can use for your own Halloween costume, none are probably better than the one seen here on the cover of his 1998 album Hellbilly Deluxe.  Pasty white makeup, black/green makeup around the eyes, and an "X" on the forehead.  You can add a tophat if you have one. A Rob or White Zombie t-shirt would help, but even without that, it's a pretty cool and creepy costume for Halloween!

GREAT HALLOWEEN SONGS (THANKS ROB ZOMBIE)

I don't know why this album never got too much attention, but it is my favorite Halloween album (maybe it is tied with the The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack). In 1998 at the height of his popularity, Rob Zombie started his own short-lived record label, Zombie A Go-Go Records, and put out albums by bands like The Ghastly Ones and The Bomboras. He also put out The Halloween Hootenanny collection: it featured all songs recorded specifically for the record by lots of cool and creepy bands. Rob, backed by The Ghastly Ones, did "Halloween (She Get So Mean)."  Two bands who I am still a big fan of were on the album: The Reverend Horton Heat ("The Halloween Dance") and the late and missed Rocket From The Crypt ("I Drink Blood").  There are other great songs on the album by Southern Culture On The Skids ("Werewolf"), Los Straitjackets (their cover of "The Munsters" theme) and Dead Elvi ("The Creature Stole My Surfboard").  But the best song is probably The Swingin' Neckbreakers with "No Costume, No Candy." Unfortunately, this album seems to be out of print, and you can't get the songs on iTunes.  Someone should reissue it, and in the meantime, try to find it at a used CD store (or you can still order the CD on Amazon) - you'll be prepared for next year!

HALLOWEEN ROCKS: THE MISFITS

It turns out that Devo isn't the only band that sells their own Halloween costumes: The Misfits do as well. This costume, pictured here, isn't really identifiably a Misfits costume other than the logo on the shirt though. Still, if you like it, you can get it at the band's website.

Of course, the band isn't what they used to be: Glenn Danzig hasn't been in the group for decades.  Bassist Jerry Only is now the lead singer as well. I don't want to hate on anyone, but for me, without Danzig, it isn't The Misfits.

If you really want to be a Misfit, I'd say just wear lots of black leather, use white makeup with black around your eyes, pull a long lock of your hair down in front of your face and wear a classic era Misfits shirt. See below!

Oh yeah, again, don't be a poseur! If you're going to dress as a Misfit, you probably already have their music. But if you don't (today on The Morning Jolt With Larry Flick, Larry pointed out that lots of kids wear Misfits t-shirts but probably don't really listen to the music), pick some up. Get the 1986 compilation Misfits and 1995's Collection II. Or, if you want to spend a bit more, both of those are included in the 1996 box set The Misfits. It's shaped like a coffin, so it's worth the extra bucks!

JANE'S ADDICTION IN NOLA: A HALLOWEEN CLASSIC

Last Halloween, Jane's Addiction played the Voodoo Festival in New Orleans.  The vibe must have been amazing if you were there - but if you weren't, you should check out this DVD, Live Voodoo. It's one of the last times that they played with original bassist Eric Avery, who has since quit the band again. I saw the band last summer, and they were incredible.  I had seen them with Flea on bass, and with Chris Chaney, and both shows were great, but there's just something about the chemistry of the original four guys playing together.

This performance in New Orleans, a place where Jane's definitely fit in, makes you forget about the bad solo albums, side projects and reality shows.  Perry Farrell is the shaman, Dave Navarro is a guitar god playing with a sense of danger that few other virtuosos can muster, and Stephen Perkins, known to play some kinda hippiesh stuff in his band Banyan, reminds you that he has the power of Bonham and Moon. Perry doesn't sing the way he used to - but he still has his charisma. It's a great performance.

So as I mentioned, Eric Avery has left the band again, Duff McKagan joined and quit, and now they're looking for a new bass player (they have two gigs booked in December).  It's really a bummer, but I do think Perry, Dave and Stephen can make good music together (their 2003 album, Strays was really good). But this DVD reminds you how great the band is with the original four guys.

But see for yourself: watch the live version of "Stop!" here.

HALLOWEEN ROCKS: DEVO

Not every Halloween costume has to be scary monster or goth stuff - you can also dress like Devo! And the band make it easy for you: you can order the classic Devo uniform (or their newer blue and white version) right on their website! In fact, I think that's what the members of Pearl Jam did last Halloween (when they played a Halloween concert at the Philadelphia Spectrum, they came out for an encore dressed as Devo and covered "Whip It"). See the video below.

But don't be the person dressed as Devo without knowing their music!  If you don't have any Devo in your collection, pick up the 1990 Greatest Hits collection.  If you want to go a bit deeper, try: 1978's Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!, 1979's Duty Now For The Future, or 1980's Freedom Of Choice. Or give their latest album a try, Something For Everyone, which came out earlier this year (particularly if you're going to use their new uniform, you should know their new music, don't be a poseur!).

Anyway, check out Pearl Jam dressed as Devo, covering "Whip It":

HALLOWEEN ROCKS: ALICE COOPER

So, you want to dress up as a badass looking rock icon for Halloween, but don't want to be the zillionth person dressed as a member of KISS? Try one of their influences, soon-to-be-Rock-and-Roll-Hall-of-Famer Alice Cooper! (at least he'd get my vote!)

It's actually a bit easier than KISS: all you need is some black makeup for your eyes (and the lines from your mouth), get a top hat and you're good to go! For added effect, a cane would help, and even a fake snake (using real snakes or any other real animal as part of a costume is definitely NOT cool, so don't do it!).

Also not cool: dressing like an artist whose music you aren't familiar with, so let me make some recommendations here. If you're just starting out, there are a lot of Alice collections to choose from , but go with the 2001 Rhino collection Mascara and Monsters. If you want to go deeper into some classic albums, I'll recommend 1971's Love It To Death, 1971's Killer, 1972's School's Out, 1973's Billion Dollar Babies or 1975's Welcome To My Nightmare.  And if you want to go really deep, pick up the excellent box set, The Life & Crimes Of Alice Cooper. Of his more recent stuff, I enjoy 2005's Dirty Diamonds. And one of my favorite things he's done was his Halloween single that he released last year, "Keepin' Halloween Alive."

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: I ATTEMPT TO DISCUSS COOL HALLOWEEN MUSIC

Last year around Halloween, I brought a bunch of Halloween songs onto The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick. Turns out, Larry hates Halloween!  Oops!  But I'm a bit too much of a glutton for punishment, and plus I actually love Halloween, so I'm trying again! This week, I'm going to be discussing bands who you can dress as for Halloween. I know that lots of women (and men) are going to dress like Lady Gaga, and that's fertile ground. Of course, lots of guys (and women) like to dress like KISS. And lets not forget Stevie Nicks, who gets her own night once a year where people dress like her. I thought I'd come up with some other costumes, and I'll do individual posts about different artists over the next few days about different bands you can dress as, and I'll be discussing them tomorrow morning.

But P.S. here are some great Halloween songs if you want to rock out on the 31st.