TRACK #140:

Halloween by Dead Kennedys

Halloween needn’t always be about ghost and goblins, right? Well, at least not according to Dead Kennedys front-man Jello Biafra, who uses the holiday as a jumping off point to throw some criticism at the socially repressed who use Halloween as an excuse to dress up like idiots and get drunk.

Your business suit and tie are your costumes, insists Biafra, satirically jabbing

But why not everyday?

Well, I somehow doubt your boss is gonna be too jazzed about you showing up to work everyday and getting hammered in a Batman costume.

Nor is that sexy cashier from the Jamba Juice gonna be too excited to go have dinner with some jackass dressed up like The Wolfman.

Well, what will they say?

Probably “You’re fired,” and “don’t ever call me again,” respectively.

Maybe that’s the right reaction. Maybe it just means you need a new job and a better girlfriend. Or maybe you are the asshole. Maybe leave the crepe hair and capes at home like a normal person, idiot.

But I get Jello’s point,…to an extent.

It’s metaphorical, in its way and we could all stand to live less reserved lives and quit reserving Halloween as the one night to break out of our social conformity.

But is that what’s really happening on Halloween? Is that what it’s really all about? Are these people to whom Mr. Biafra speaks seriously stuffing themselves into a costume for work? Is Halloween really the night they’re their truest selves?  Should it really just be all the time? I doubt that, but maybe that’s the problem he sees.

Maybe we’re all so programmed into that 9 to 5 lifestyle that it’s no longer just a costume, but who we all really are now. Maybe that’s his gripe. Maybe he’s right.

I can’t say for certain, but that’s no reason to exclude it from a Halloween playlist.

One thing I am certain he’s right about is that you better plan all week, all month and all year, cause some of you are really phoning it in with these costumes. But that’s a conversation for another song.

For now, let’s just enjoy the Dead Kennedys’ Halloween.

Happy Halloween, Weeners!