Why is it that most halloween songs are film afterthoughts? “Murder Ink.” is from Dre’s Chronic 2001, but the sample is from slasher film legend John Carpenter, who both directed and wrote the film score for the Hitchcock inspired Halloween back in 1978. It is likely one of the best known soundtracks in film history, partly due to the sparseness of the piano and partly due to the unusual 5/4 time signature Carpenter used for this theme, a rhythm he claims he picked up from his Dad when he was a kid. (I think of it as tri-ple-it-tri-ple-it/1 -2-1-2, but that’s just me).
Download: Dr. Dre – “Murder Ink” (itunes)