Pop Shots – 10 Candy-Themed Songs for Trick-or-Treating

Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, with tomorrow being Halloween I figured it would be fun to come up with a candy-themed playlist you can use as your trick-or-treating soundtrack … or, more likely, your soundtrack to handing out candy to trick-or-treaters.

I will say, the more I listen to these songs, the more I’m starting to think they may not be about Kit Kats, and Snickers bars. Hmm … I wonder what they could be singing about?

Ah well, regardless, let’s get into this super sweet selection of candy-themed songs! Of course, since this is Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.

Bow Wow Wow – I Want Candy

 

Trick-or-treat, Bow Wow Wow is at your door, and they want candy … although I’m not sure you’ll have the candy they’re looking for, unless you happen to house the “guy who’s tough, but sweet” Annabella Lwin was singing about.

Mandy Moore – Candy

 

Continuing with the theme of singers were too young for the subject matter they were singing about, we have the Mandy Moore classic “Candy.”

The further away we get from the TRL era, the more this song, and video perfectly encapsulate that era. You gotta love it.

Soul for Real – Candy Rain

 

Moving to the world of R&B, Soul for Real has the ultimate dream for all the trick-or-treaters out there – candy rain!

Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the release of this song, and it should still be in every DJ’s party playlist.  

New Edition – Candy Girl

 

Speaking of R&B groups with candy themed songs, going back even further in time we have New Edition, and “Candy Girl.” This song may not technically be about candy, but the sentiment is still pretty sweet.

10,000 Maniacs – Candy Everybody Wants

 

I absolutely had to include this 10,000 Maniacs classic in this playlist. A phenomenal group, and a fantastic song, Natalie Merchant has a voice that’s truly special. Now when those trick-or-treaters come to your door, do what she says, and, “Give ‘em what they want.”

Marcy Playground – Sex and Candy

 

Uhhh, you better only smell sex and candy if you’re at a Halloween party for adults ... or perhaps if you’re hangin’ round downtown by yourself.

Dreamcar – Kill for Candy

 

This is the song that inspired this playlist. I was hanging out at Arlene’s Grocery in NYC with my buddy Greg Furlong – drummer for the band Power Trash – talking music with one of our favorite bartenders, Alice, who also happens to be a musician, when Greg mentioned the band Dreamcar.

Dreamcar is a power pop outfit consisting of the non-Gwen Stefani members of No Doubt, and Davey Havok of AFI, and Blaqk Audio fame. The band officially formed in 2016, and “Kill for Candy” was released as the lead single from their self-titled debut album in 2017.

For those of us who’ve seen some especially rabid trick-or-treaters, I think “Kill for Candy” might be the mindset of at least a few costumed kids on the 31st!

Cameo – Candy

 

There’s ‘80s, and then there’s Cameo, and Larry Blackmon’s red codpiece ‘80s!

This video is a heck of a time capsule of an era many of us remember fondly. If we were Mandy Moore we might even say we miss it like candy.

Lisa Loeb – Taffy

 

Anytime I can work a Lisa Loeb song into a playlist, I’m going to make it happen. OK, so maybe calling “Taffy” a candy song is a bit of a stretch (see what I did there), but Lisa Loeb is freakin’ awesome, and her catalog deserves more recognition. In other words, listeners should stay for a lot more than just “Stay.”

No Doubt – Ache

 

Another song that came from the Arlene’s Grocery conversation, this one was brought up by Alice, who mentioned No Doubt had a song about a toothache from before their Tragic Kingdom era. She then put it on, and we loved it.

If your favorite trick-or-treater ODed on candy, they’re probably going to need to see a dentist for that toothache, making “Ache” the perfect song to cap off this candy-themed playlist.

That’s all for this edition of Pop Shots, but come back next Monday for more shots on all things pop.