When it comes to musical icons, we’re guessing that this year everyone will dress up like instantly recognizable artists like Katy Perry and Kesha, which is exactly what you don’t want to do if you want to make a splash this season. Instead, you should dress up like a more obscure artist to prove that you are a free-thinking individual with their own original thoughts and impeccable taste. In case you don’t actually possess either of those attributes, we decided to give you five suggestions for unlikely costumes that we’re sure will kill at your local Halloween party.
Radiohead’s Phil Selway
Phil Selway looks way more like an accountant than a rockstar, which is great if you want a killer Halloween costume but only have access to your dad’s work clothes. Sure, you might get mistaken for Phil Collins but that’s a pretty good costume, too. We recommend wearing a bald cap, donning all black and twirling around a set of drum sticks—and if people still don’t get who you are, you can just act like a pretentious Radiohead fan, which is a pretty good costume in and of itself.
The Roots’ Questlove
The Roots’ Questlove (pictured above) is one of the most recognizable drummers in rock—a fact that is no doubt aided by the fact that he sports a gravity-defying afro (complete with afro pick) and his band is on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon every evening. The dude is also on Twitter more than anyone else we know, so we suggest, in addition to the obvious hair and wardrobe choices, you hardwire an iPhone to your palm this Halloween and furtively type on it whenever anything happens to you i.e. “I just drank a glass of water” or “Lionel Richie is pretty cool.” We guarantee you’ll have it nailed in no time.
We know that MGMT are made up of Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden, but for the purposes of this column that doesn’t really matter. To most people they are just MGMT and in that spirit we recommend spending a day in Williamsburg and seeing what people wear there. Think ironic, a.k.a. light-up Nascar visors, ill-fitting purple sweatpants and fluorescent Ray Bans… you know, basically everything that you wore when you were six-years old. Oh, and if anyone mistakes you for a Brooklyn hipster, then you’ve succeeded since the difference is basically semantics anyway.
Taylor Momsen
It’s a well-known fact that slutty outfits play well on Halloween,which is why mimicking Taylor Momsen is the perfect costume this season. She’s not as popular as Britney or Katy, but the 17-year-old Gossip Girl actress and The Pretty Reckless frontwoman has been making a name for herself over the past year via her scantily-clad musical performances. Luckily you don’t need any musical talent to impersonate Momsen—just some ripped tights, a flimsy top and maybe a few firearms. If people think you’re dressed as a trainwreck, we’ll accept that as a victory, too.
Conor Oberst
Conor Oberst’s look is constantly changing, which means that you’ve got a lot of options when it comes to your costume. For example, you can sport a look out of Oberst’s early years and wear a tight cowboy short while sporting strategically messy hair. Or you can be Oberst circa now and basically just look like a typical college student who hasn’t had time to go shopping or shower for a while. However, our favorite period of Oberst’s career is when he grew his hair long and performed seven consecutive nights at New York City’s town hall in a white Prada suit to promote his album, Cassadaga. If you can’t afford a Prada suit just go to H&M and get a cheap imitation—and if you want to dress up like Wayne Coyne next year, just save your outfit and splash some fake blood on it down the road. Viola!
