To celebrate the recent DVD release of the documentary “Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown” – an indispensable film if, like me, you enjoy watching folks like John Carpenter, Guillermo Del Toro and Neil Gaiman just totally geek out about the father of modern horror – I’ve assembled a playlist of some songs inspired by Lovecraft and, of course, the inimitable, all-powerful old ones.

The Mountain Goats – “Lovecraft in Brooklyn”

From the 2008 album “Heretic Pride” (which also features a tribute to prolific pulp novelist Sax Rohmer), this unapologetically rocking song paints a vivid picture of urban alienation. As the lyrics suggest, the song was directly inspired by stories of Lovecraft’s brief, ill-fated residence in Brooklyn, NY, where the writer’s underlying xenophobia and racial anxieties found him on the brink of a nervous breakdown. The brain jar part is a reference to Lovecraft’s 1931 story “The Whisperer in Darkness.” Presumably, the “wolves” referenced are a metaphor for minorities. (Kidding. Jeez!)

The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society – “It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Fishmen”

If you ever needed to find an absurd number of Lovecraft-themed holiday song parodies (like, I dunno, maybe as part of some “Die Hard: with a Vengeance”-style riddle-driven scavenger hunt of death), Google no further than the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society. This song, a jaunty musical summation of Lovecraft’s “The Shadow Over Innsmouth,” is among their best work (their shoggoth-themed Dreidel Song parody is equally undeniable).

Bal-Sagoth – “Shackled to the Trilithon of Kutulu”

It’s impossible to compile a representative Lovecraft playlist without including some raucous metal… but how to choose? A profusion of bands in a variety of metal sub-genres have all pledged thrashing allegiance to the mighty old ones. In terms of sheer, geeky fandom, England’s Bal-Sagoth reign supreme – they’ve spent their entire career building their own elaborate, fantastical mythology inspired by the stories of Lovecraft, Tolkien, Jack Kirby and others. This tale of cosmic horror comes from their 2006 LP, “The Chthonic Chronicles.”

Eben Brooks – “Hey There, Cthulhu”

This Internet-sensation-that-wasn’t combines the music of the Plain White T’s and the squammous, eldritch visage of the dread Cthulhu – a catchy way to teach your younger sister all about how ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn.

Darkest of the Hillside Thickets – “Nyarlathotep”

Full of appropriately Egyptian flourishes and bravely attempted Lovecraft speak, this tribute to the Pharoah-lookin’ shape-shiftin’ servant of the elder gods appears on the album “The Shadow Out of Tim.” Get it? It’s a sort of Lovecraft joke based on the story “The Shadow Out of Time”… but “Tim.” Or something. Hey! Knock knock. (Who’s there?) Interrupting Cthulhu! (Interrupting Cth–) FHTAGN!

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