RL Grime Halloween IX: The holiday tradition lives on

Let’s get right into it: Concerts are nowhere on the horizon, dressing up these days means simply wearing something other than sweatpants, and spiced (or spiked) cider just doesn’t hit right when spooky season is under the 80 degree sun. Regardless of how we’re feeling right now, we have come to accept that familiarity is a foreign concept. But, as Halloween marks the beginning of the Holiday season, we are all trying to uphold the traditions that make us who we are today. I, like many who are probably reading this, organize my memories by the soundtracks that I set them to. Christmas sounds like Frank Sinatra and Mariah Carey, Thanksgiving sounds like whatever pop star they put on top of a float at the Macy’s parade, and Halloween sounds like RL Grime. 

If you are unfamiliar, RL Grime is a Los Angeles electronic music icon who is best known for his annual Halloween Mixes. Like a kid on Christmas morning *in a capitalist society,* waking up to the gift of a new Halloween mix gives me unparalleled joy. I distinctly remember every time in that last decade that I first listened to that year’s mix drop, often in the car on a chilly October morning simultaneously blasting the speaker and the heat to fully set the vibes. 

However cold and spooky it was outside, I got to light my inner fires by hearing who RL Grime would feature and how he would take the year’s best songs and seamlessly fuse them into a creepy and intoxicating hour of trap-house music mayhem. The RL Grime mixes represent the essence of Halloween itself: being our most self expressive and unapologetically weird selves to make spending time with friends even more gratifying, entertaining, and wickedly wacky. 

Although Halloween is cancelled for everyone who actually cares about public safety, RL Grime is refusing to let us forego our favorite holiday tradition. Since early October, RL Grime has been livestreaming each of his mixes in chronological order, leading up to the 2020 drop on October 29. Yes, it feels a bit different to head bang in your studio apartment instead of in a crowd, but RL Grime’s devotion to continue this tradition means that I will gladly get dirty with it despite my downstairs neighbor’s disdain. 

With the world upside down and the intensity of an election on our shoulders, it is almost impossible to turn to our traditional holiday joys or even comprehend time at all. That said, thanks to RL Grime, we are not only able to celebrate the spooky season in electronic style, but can we also remember that the world keeps moving regardless of how stuck we may feel. Another year, another Halloween mix, and another hour to set everything aside and allow ourselves the simplicity of listening to each gnarly nuance within the sinister set. 

Live music may seem out of reach, and the heaviness of the world isn’t at all helping, but upholding the tradition of RL Grime Halloween not only connects us to our own musical memories, but also to the thousands of other head-bangers live streaming around the world.  Be sure to tune into the world premiere of Halloween IX on Thursday at Twitch.TV/SABLEVALLEY. No, we may not be able to plug into the AUX half naked at a Halloween party this year, but I sure as hell will be celebrating the holiday in my apartment with this year’s mix on repeat. And hey, in the comfort of your own home, at least you can be more than half naked… 

Article by Paulette Ely