Five Reasons Why Halloween is the Best Holiday

1. Halloween food

My kingdom for these cakes and marzipan figures from Dean & DeLuca.

2. Halloween music

Halloweenradio.net has three channels — regular Halloween radio, Halloween oldies, and Halloween atmosphere (creepy sounds like “Rats All Over the Body”). Halloween oldies is my favorite because their playlist includes “Do the Rigormortis,” “Zombie Jamboree,” “I’m in the Ground for Good,” and this classic:

3. Halloween products

Decorative Halloween gear can be odd in the middle of summer, so I prefer functional items which can be used year-round — like mini bottles of hand sanitizer from Bath & Body Works. I have “Vampire Blood” and “Bat Bite”; they smell nice.

The “go goth!” and “free cuff bracelet!” are dubious, but the names of these OPI nail polishes override that: Unripened, Nevermore, Sanguine, and Obscurity.

A few weeks ago I bought a bat cookie cutter in Delaware for 29 cents. That was an exciting day. I also want these cupcake baking cups.

4. Halloween smartphone apps

Angry Birds has already taken over my life; now there’s Angry Birds Halloween. Doodle Jump has a cute, free Halloween update and Plants vs. Zombies is on sale for 99 cents until the end of October!

5. Halloween TV shows

I enjoy being inundated with special Halloween episodes and horror movie marathons, but it isn’t really Halloween until It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is on TV. One of my favorite scenes:

VAMPS Live at Roseland Ballroom

An important thing to consider when thinking of a band name: if it looks good on a marquee.

VAMPS is a Japanese rock band formed by Hyde — the lead singer of L’Arc~en~Ciel — and K.A.Z from Oblivion Dust. They were in New York last weekend as part of their world tour and New York Comic Con & Anime Festival.

Here’s Hyde. He’s 41 years old. His Dorian Gray situation kills me. I had a crush on him in high school — how come he still looks the same?

K.A.Z and his awesome hair.

They played a fun, high energy show that lasted two solid hours. The setlist included a few covers, including songs by Bowie and the Beatles, but my favorite was probably their version of Shampoo’s “Trouble.”

There was also neat VAMPS merch for sale at relatively cheap prices (concert posters were $5 and tote bags were $10). They should add Hyde’s youth elixir to the lineup.

How to Destroy Angels Free EP

How to Destroy Angels – Trent Reznor’s new group with wife Mariqueen Maandig and Nine Inch Nails collaborator Atticus Ross – released their debut 6-track EP today. Download it for free on their website; $2 gets you a higher-quality EP and the music video for “The Space in Between.”

When in doubt, add blood.