First Hump Day Top 5

I love playing the "list" game.  In high school, the game was played by passing notes back and forth between periods...

...these days the challenge is conveniently sent via text.  It's fun and helps pass the time and I always love a little Pop Culture/ Hollywood challenge.

Here's a few examples of the list game - feel free to play along.  It's more of a challenge on paper (Google isn't as easily accessible)

Game # 1 

The Challenge: Name 5 movies staring Brad Pitt

1.  
2.  
3.  
4.  
5.  

Game # 2 

The Challenge: Fill in the blanks

The day time soap, Days of Our Lives, stars a character by the name of Victor Kiriakis who is played by the Father of ___________ who was married to the Actor from Game # 1.  

Other then passing the time during long road trips, what is the point of this you ask?  Well, I'm a huge fan of lists and useless facts when it comes to celebrities.  One of my favorite movies of all times is High Fidelity.  

Not only because it stars one of my favorite Actors (John Cusack) but because of his character's obsession with top 5 lists.   

Example: Top 5 Songs About Death - from the movie High Fidelity

• "Leader of the Pack" by The Sangri-Las
• "Dead Man's Curve" by Jan & Dean
• "Tell Laura I Love Her" by Ray Peterson
• "One Step Beyond" by Madness
• "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by The Rolling Stones (disqualified because of its use in The Big Chill)
• "Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot

Expect my top 5 each week and a fun list game challenge.

Top 5 Songs a little dark and twisty

• "Mad World" by Gary Jules
• "In For the Kill" by La Roux
• "Ramalama" by Roisin Murphy
• "Breath Me" by Sia
• "Sweet Dreams" by Emily Browning

 

Halloween Music

It wouldn't be a successful Halloween party without a fun Play list.  Last year I spent hours trying to find all things Halloween music from spooky and classic to not so predictable. 

The music was grouped into 2 categories:

1. Party Music
2. Haunted Sounds/Music (we created play lists for each room in the haunted house)

• Witches Den (cackle and bubbling cauldron sounds)
• Devil's Lair (screams and creepy sounds)
• Graveyard (outside noises - owls, wolves, evil laughter)
• Vampire Room (see below)

Song Title		Artist
Castle Dracula		Nox Arcana
Toccata And Fugue In D Minor, BWV 565 - Toccata		Johann Sebastian Bach
Dark Shadows		The TV Theme Players
Piano Sonata No. 2 In B-Flat Minor, Op. 35: III. Marche Funébre - Lento (Funeral March)		Abbey Simon

Hopefully this will save you a bit of research time so you can get down to business (see party music below).

Song Title		Artist
All Hell's Breakin' Loose		Kiss
Another Way To Die		Jack White, Alicia Keys
Apocolypse Please		MUSE
Assassin's Tango		John Powell
Bad Influence		Pink
Bad Moon Rising		Creedence Clearwater Revival
Bad Things (Theme From "True Blood)		Jace Everett
Bad To The Bone		The Destroyers, George Thorogood
Beast of Burden		The Rolling Stones
Black Magic Woman		Fleetwood Mac
Black Night		Muddy Waters
Crazy  (The Devil Wears Prada)		Alanis Morisette
Crazy On You		Heart
Crucify		Tori Amos
Cry Little Sister  (Theme From The Lost Boys)		Gerard McMann
Disturbia		Rhianna
Do You Believe in Magic		Aly & AJ
Dracula's Lament		Jason Segel
Dragula		Rob Zombie
Fever		A Fine Frenzy
Freaks Come Out At Night		Uncle Kracker
Funhouse		Pink
Ghostbusters		Ray Parker, Jr
Halloween Theme
How Soon Is Now		The Smiths
I Will Survive		Cake
Immortal		Evanescence
Insane in the Brain		Cyprus Hill
Jeepers Creepers		Louis Armstrong
Just Like Heaven		The Cure
Land Of Confusion		Genesis
Li'l Red Riding Hood		Sam The Sham
Magic		Ladyhawke
Theme From 'Jaws'
Maneater		Daryl Hall & John Oates
Maniac (BOF Flashdance)		Michael Sembello
Misery Business		Paramore
Monster Mash		Bonzo Dog Band
Mysterious Ways		U2
Night Moves		Bob Seger
Nightmare on my street		Will Smith
Paint It Black		The Rolling Stones
People Are Strange		Echo & The Bunnymen
Purple People Eater		George Thorogood
Ramalama		Roisin Murphy
Science_Fiction_Double_Feature		The Rocky Horror Picture Show
She Wolf		Shakira
Sin Wagon		Dixie Chicks
Somebody's Watching Me		Rockwell
Spirit In The Sky		Norman Greenbaum
Stayin' Alive		Bee Gees
Straight To Hell (Feat. Mick Jones)		Lilly Allen
Superstition		Stevie Wonder
Sweet_Transvestite		The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Sympathy for the Devil		The Rolling Stones
Tales From The Crypt		Angelkill
The Addams Family		Victor Mizzy
The Devil Went Down to Georgia		The Charlie Daniels Band
The Knife		Danny Elfman
The Munsters		Jack Marshall
The Phantom Of The Opera		Original Cast Recording
The Witch Doctor		The Hit Crew
The_Time_Warp		The Rocky Horror Picture Show
This Is Halloween		Panic! At The Disco
This Is Halloween		Marilyn Manson
Thriller (2003 Edit)		Michael Jackson
Time Is On My Side		The Rolling Stones
Toxic		Britney Spears
Tubular Bells		Mike Oldfield
Twilight Zone
Unsolved Mysteries		Gary Remal Malkin
Virtual Insanity		Jamiroquai
Werewolves_Of_London		Warren Zevon
Witchcraft		Frank Sinatra

80's Themed Party

Table decorations

1980's party check list must haves

• Headband sunglasses
• Hot colored Velcro wallets
• Friendship Bracelets
• Slap Bracelets
• Jelly Bracelets
• Rubik's cube
• Fun Dip
• Candy Rings
• Pop Rocks

Some of the music used during the party

Song	Artist
Take on Me	a-ha
Money for Nothing	Dire Straits
Footloose	Kenny Loggins
Maniac	Michael Sembello
Maneater	Hall & Oates
Take Me Home Tonight	Eddie Money
I Ran	A Flock of Seagulls
Material Girl	Madonna
Manic Monday	The Bangles
Uptown Girl	Billy Joel
Friday I'm in Love	The Cure
Welcome to the Jungle	Poison
Don't You	Simple Minds
Eye of the Tiger	Survivor
Mickey	Toni Basil
How Will I Know	Whitney Houston
Conga	Gloria Estefan
Vacation	The Go-Gos

Splatter paint a white sheet for an inexpensive backdrop.  We originally intended on using this as the back drop for the "picture booth" but it didn't seem to have as much impact as I would have liked.

***Note the yellow piece of paper sitting on the table - on "80s" inspired scrapbook paper, I printed out fun 80s facts from 1980 - 1989.  This could even be turned into a game!

Some of the party favors - most of the candy was purchased from Oriental Trading Company

 

Pac-Man and the ghosts where cut out of construction paper and taped to the wall.  Glue-on googly eyes were used for the ghost eyes.

Old records were purchased from Goodwill - painted and splattered with acrylic paint.

 

I found family photos from the 80s and had them enlarged (walmart.com) - place them on funky colored scrapbook paper for personalized wall decor.

acrylic painted tape cassettes were hung from the ceiling with fishing line at different lengths.

 

Rubik's Cube cupcakes

It would have been like totally awesome if we could have rented an actual "photo booth" but the price was like way out of our budget!  We purchased a "rock star" scene setter from Oriental Trading and designated a wall to be the radically cool photo area!

We ordered inflatable guitars from Oriental Trading

Picnik.com was used to create the "Polaroid" effect

Use Faceinhole.com to put the faces of your friends and family on 80s pop culture!  Print them out and display them as wall art.

Tara as Pat Benatar

Brother-in-law as Mr. T

Me as JEM

My Husband as Pee Wee Herman