Kansas City Playlist: Día de los Muertos Overplayed?!?

Of course this blog often jokes about Mexican fatalism and death culture but the reality is that dark humor is found throughout the Western world and this fact is obvious when every October trip to a local box stores is now dominated by visions of skulls, demons and goblins . . . But beyond campaign 2024 electioneering there's also a lot of Halloween decorations.

Context for our musical journey tonight . . .

Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, officially begins Nov. 1, but local Kansas City events kick off as early as Saturday, Oct. 19. The holiday is a chance for Kansas City's Latino community to gather and honor deceased loved ones.

Of course these events are fun and yet another reason to sell tacos and assorted sugary beverages. 

However . . . 

Let's not forget that the popularity of Día de los Muertos is mostly a corporate creation and not REALLY a celebration of Latino culture. 

Fun fact . . . 

Did you know that Disney tried to copyright Day of The Dead?!?

Given how much cash they've sunk into schlock like CoCo and an array of other cartoon garbage along similar lines . . . We can't blame them for trying. 

Accordingly . . . 

American death worship is very much alive this Autumn as campaign season politicking is mostly waged over culture war whilst working diligently to avoid the sordid topic of a world at war. 

And so tonight we don't really want to play along with celebratory hypocrisy . . . Instead, our www.TonysKansasCity.com blog community considers songs about death that are ACTUALLY a celebration of life so that we can listen, maybe dance and realize that contemplating the end game too much is probably a waste of time. 

Let's start with the obvious choice . . .

Originally released in 1985 by composer Danny Elfman and his band Oingo Boingo . . . Dead Man's Party is a spooky season classic that spans generations with its first appearance in Rodney Dangerfield's "Back To School" and then more than two decades later with references in Elfman's live concert tributes to Tim Burton's "Nightmare Before Christmas" . . . And then after that with so many Youtube remixes.

American indie pop band Foster the People created this song during bout with writer's block. Here's just some of the background: 

"Pumped Up Kicks" proved to be a sleeper hit; in 2011, after receiving significant airplay on modern rock stations, the song crossed-over onto contemporary hit radio stations. The song spent eight consecutive weeks at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States . . .The song was widely praised by critics, and it has been licensed for use in a wide range of popular media since its release. "Pumped Up Kicks" also received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. The song remains the band's most successful hit single to date.

This one is just for old-school fans of college radio . . . Music critics consider "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" to be one of the Smiths' finest songs. Simon Goddard wrote, "In a straw poll among Smiths fans today, 'There Is a Light That Never Goes Out' would more than likely still come out victorious", which he credits to the "perfect balance" of Marr's compositional skills and Morrissey's lyricism.

For the bridge, a hip-hop reference that didn't hold up, has been tarnished by "freak offs" and near industrial-levels of lubricant along with more serious charges . . . Still we remember the 90s classic . . . "I'll Be Missing You" is a song by American rapper Puff Daddy and American singer Faith Evans, featuring R&B group 112, in memory of fellow Bad Boy Records artist (and Evans's husband) "The Notorious B.I.G." Christopher Wallace, who was murdered on March 9, 1997.

We've shared this one before but it seems apropos given election season and WWIII already underway without anyone noticing . . . Tom Lehrer was a celebrated satirist & musician in the 1950s & 1960s but he was also a mathematician who relinquished the copyrights to all of his music . . . Here's our favorite song that he wrote on the topic of the last big bang that planet Earth might enjoy . . .

As always, thanks for reading and have a safe & fun Saturday night.