Music Blogs

Twilight hits movie theaters this weekend. And since it's probably going to be the biggest movie of 2008, there's a increased thirst for blood, so to speak, among pop-culture vultures everywhere. So to get yourself ready for the main-event screening, here are some vampire-themed music videos to sink your fangs into. You'll go batty for them...

PARAMORE - "DECODE"
Obviously, the actual official Twilight movie video--from the soundtrack that debuted at #1 two weeks before the film's release date--has to kick off this list. Here it is:

JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION - "SHE SAID"
A mini-movie in its own right lensed by the queen of video directors, Floria Sigismondi (the goth goddess responsible for Marilyn Manson's freakiest videos), "She Said" just might be the coolest vampire video ever. Plus, Count Spencer, a true heartthrob in the NYC garage scene, looks as good here in his cape and pointy prosthetic incisors as Twilight's Rob Pattinson or even Brad Pitt in his Interview With The Vampire era:

BAUHAUS - "BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD"
This list certainly wouldn't be complete without Bauhaus's classic. Not only is it an homage to one of cinema's most famous vampires, and not only is it by goth music's premier Princes of Darkness, but it's from another cinematic vampire masterpiece, The Hunger starring David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve. Plus, back in the day, shirtless Bauhaus singer Peter Murphy could also give Rob Pattinson some competition in the horror-heartthrob department:

ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN - "PEOPLE ARE STRANGE"
Before Twilight, before Buffy The Vampire Slayer, the ultimate teen-vampire movie was The Lost Boys, starring a platinum-haired Kiefer Sutherland and the two Coreys. Echo & the Bunnymen's theme song, a cover of a Doors hit, perfectly soundtracked this sick, slick '80s flick:

FALL OUT BOY - "A LITTLE LESS 16 CANDLES..."
With each music video, Fall Out Boy have gone more and more over the top, to the point where they've jumped right over the top and over the proverbial shark. In the case of this vampire-hunt-themed epic, they sort of jumped the proverbial bat. But watching a befanged Pete Wentz bounce off walls, and come to blows in a West Side Story-style choreographed man-versus-vampire fistfight, is always good entertainment in our book:

ROB ZOMBIE - "DRAGULA"
The Lestat of high-camp horror-rock (and the director of such scary celluloid B-movies as Halloween, The Devil's Rejects, and House Of 1,000 Corpses), Rob Zombie knows a thing or two about Nosferatu. "Dragula" might be his most colorfully, creepily campy video ever:  

ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT - "BORN IN '69"
Indie-punk San Diegans RFTC didn't have Rob Zombie's budget for their own fanged foray into vampire territory, but their Ed Wood-ian "Born In '69" video is proof that a little imagination and a whole lot of cheapo costumes and props can go a long way. The fact that their vampire vid also includes Vegas-Elvis stagewear and alien abductions only gives it more teeth:

ANNIE LENNOX - "LOVE SONG FOR A VAMPIRE"
While this is far from the scariest video on this list, any video from the Bram Stoker's Dracula movie must be included. Plus, it's a pretty song, and Annie Lennox is so gracefully ageless that we're beginning to wonder if she's a vampire herself:

CHRIS BROWN - "WALL TO WALL"
We'd argue that Chris Brown's "Wall To Wall" is almost a direct ripoff of his idol Michael Jackson's "Thriller"...except "Thriller" featured zombies and werewolves, while Chris's video is 100 percent vampiric. Anyway, it's pretty thrilling itself:

THE SLEEPY JACKSON - "VAMPIRE RACECOURSE"
Girls in bands are hot. Girls with fangs are hot. Hence why these little-known Australian indie-rockers' video below is hotter than a bat on a hot tin roof:

NELLY FURTADO - "MANEATER"
Nelly's awkward dancing might be the scariest aspect of the "Maneater" video. Egad! But we have to admit this is one underground party we wish we were invited to:

AVENGED SEVENFOLD - "BAT COUNTRY"
This is more of a bat-themed video than a vampire one, specifically. But it features a lot of scary, bloodlessly pale girls who look like they enjoy sucking necks and sleeping until after dark. Plus, it's totally bat-tastic. So it gets an honorable--or is that dishonorable?--mention here:

DEVIN TOWNSEND - "VAMPIRA"
Comic-book geeks, rejoice! This last clip's just for you: