Leave your body and soul at the door, it’s Halloween. This is Song Of The Week: “Dead Man’s Party” by Oingo Boingo, from the album ‘Dead Man’s Party’.
Danny Elfman may better be known as a film composer extraordinaire these days (and for the last 35+ years) but if you ask me, it’s important to remember where you come from, and Danny himself has never forgotten. “Dead Man’s Party” is the song from the titular album by Oingo Boingo, their fifth studio album, or fourth if you want to get technical about it (there’s a “solo” outing by Elfman in there featuring the band, just not in name). While the band was better known for the big hit off the album and movie soundtrack classic, “Weird Science”, I’ve always really liked “Dead Man’s Party” and enjoyed when the radio opted for it instead of “Weird Science”. Both songs capture the off-beat, animated, New Wave antics of Elfman and the band, but “Dead Man’s Party” is the kookier and spookier of the two songs. Compositionally, this is the band at the height of their powers, they had refined their Ska-tinged sound into a Pop Rock and New Wave masterclass. Unfortunately, when things burn this bright, it’s usually a sign that they’re going to fizzle out. Fizzle out they did, with only two more albums in the tank, before a final album under a slightly different name and then a live farewell. Oingo Boingo had a storied history as a band and ultimately sort of fell apart in the 90’s, never to return (up to this point).
Even so, Halloween has a way of bringing things back from the dead, and Oingo Boingo has plenty of tunes for your holiday playlist. You have nothing to fear, have yourself a dead man’s party, it’ll be good for your soul, maybe you’ll even see the dark at the end of the tunnel. If you’re all dressed up with nowhere to go, if you’re waiting for an invitation to arrive, don’t let that stop you; have a party of your own, dance by yourself, you may not be alone.
Thanks for reading. Happy Halloween.
~ FW.
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