Take hypnotic post-punk experimentation, combine it with haunting gothic lyrics, and round it all off with a killer aesthetic, and you will find yourself at the mercy of Siouxsie and the Banshees. Ms. Siouxsie Sioux counts herself among the pioneering women in Britain's punk scene, and she's also been cited as an inspirational force behind the burgeoning goth rock movement in the 1980s—without a doubt, her compelling mix of dark meets danceable tracks offers a brilliant new kick to the Hallowe'en playlist.
Siouxsie and the Banshees formed at the end of Britain's glam rock era (1975) when lead vocalist Siouxsie Sioux met bassist Steven Severin. Both musicians caught on to the punk movement's first screams down in the Bromley region of Kent, where an unsigned band known as the Sex Pistols were causing a ruckus among all the unruly kids. On a whim, Sioux and Severin signed on to take the space of a group who'd dropped out from the 1976 100 Club Punk Festival—with no songs and no band name to their credit, the duo enlisted the help of guitarist Marco Pirroni and John Simon Ritchie (later known as Sid Vicious) to round out their band for the event. And the rest, as they say, is history.Over their career, Siouxsie and the Banshees released eleven studio albums and influenced countless musicians across rock, goth, electronica, and other musical genres (we're talking the likes of Massive Attack, Morrissey, Jane's Addiction, The Cure, Shirley Manson from Garbage, and more here, ladies). With the sultry Siouxsie at the helm, the Banshees were guaranteed success—and I guarantee you'll download a track or two for your Hallowe'en festivities this year, if you haven't done so already.
To kick the show off, I offer a live rendition of the track "Halloween" from Juju (1981). I figure it's an appropriate place to start, given the content and all…
"Trick or treat, trick or treat/The bitter and the sweet"—amazing to think that proto-goth was so danceable and so entirely delicious.
Next up, I give you the track "Spellbound", also from Juju (1981)—I had no idea Siouxsie and the Banshees had True Blood connections until I started researching the band for this Tunes for Tuesdays segment. I know a fair number of groupies had their panties in a twist to know that Trubies (of all horrid people…?) would dare to utter the lyrics of "Spellbound"after hearing it on True Blood. I figure the Play button is a neutral one, and sharing great music with others ain't no sin.
And last of all, another appropriate song for the Hallowe'en season: "The Killing Jar" from Peepshow (1988). Amazing how such a creepy title equates to such an addictive track:
Let all other music be damned and crank the volume on Siouxsie and the Banshees Hallowe'en—all the young ghouls will thank you for it.
