Photo of Redd Kross by Ward Robinson

Song of the Day (Shocktober): Redd Kross “It’s a Scream”

We kick off Shocktober—our annual month-ful of our favorite spooky tunes—with some horror-inspired rock from LA-based rock stalwarts Redd Kross. “It’s a Scream” was written and performed for the 2000 straight-to-video slasher spoof Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth, starring Shirley Jones, Tom Arnold, Tiffany Amber-Thiessen, and Coolio. While the movie never saw a proper soundtrack release, “It’s a Scream” was (finally) included on the rare Redd Kross odds-and-ends collection Hot Issue in 2016.

Jeff MacDonald is one of the smartest rock songwriters alive, tossing out crunchy riffs and sweet pop culture references like the best house on the block for Halloween candy. “It’s a Scream” blends a John Carpenter-meets-Goblin melody and disembodied la-la-la’s with rollicking psychedelic garage rock and just enough tongue-in-cheek menace. It even includes a time signature shift from 4/4 to 3/4 for a clever Carnival of Souls-inspired waltz in the bridge. For appearing as part of a slasher parody, the song actually manages to convey a certain eerie gravitas while also being a fun, reference-dropping homage.

Entering their fourth decade as a band and currently on tour with Kurt Kobain’s favorite band The Melvins, Redd Kross are an American institution well-worth your hard-earned rock dollars. And in 2020, be on the lookout for Born Innocent, the now fully funded feature length documentary about Redd Kross, focusing on the story the MacDonald Brothers (Jeff and his little brother Steve MacDonald). Born Innocent is now a movie named after an album named after a movie and “will introduce a wider audience to two of the coolest people alive.”

 
Redd Kross photo courtesy the band