Hey Chris,
As my extended vacation comes to a close, I'm feeling a strong sense of loss and sadness. Almost like somebody has died. So......I figured I would capture the moment and put together my first effort at songs for my funeral.
I went for aptly titled, contemplative songs. Not necessarily my favorite 15 songs of all time, and it is not like I'm the most reverent or tasteful person out there, but there are reasons you can't play a song like "Hot for Teacher" at a funeral. And these 15 songs......well I would be happy to hear them anytime.
15) Under the Milky Way - The Church. Such a great song, and it says "small person in a big beautiful universe" with a perfect, haunting sound. And come on.......The Church? This one is a natural.
14) Pictures Of You - The Cure. The ultimate movie montage song.......seems to fit with the general idea of reflection for this occasion.
13) Beautiful World - Colin Hay. Colin found serenity, and wrote this pretty little song. Hearing him tell his story, just before performing this one, is a memorable experience.
12) Watching the Wheels - John Lennon. OK. I almost went with "In My Life" or even "Imagine" because you used this song in your first mix. But I checked with the Library of Congress, and they have no record of any application for a copyright on your song list. So I stole it. Because it is near to perfect.
11) Jesus, Etc. - Wilco. First The Church, and now Jesus? What's next......angels? Well, this is a themed list of songs, after all. Let alone this is the most popular song from one of the great albums of my lifetime.
10) What I Am - Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. Did you ever have a song that you loved for the melody, and later loved for the lyric?
09) How It Ends - DeVotchKa. First heard this song in Little Miss Sunshine......which coincidentally is going to be one of the 15 movies shown at my funeral. Sure, its going to take a while, but I've arranged for an open bar.
08) Mystify - INXS. Two albums that I would consider classics came out when I was in high school. Kick is one of them. And Mystify is a good choice for this occasion. "Need You Tonight" would have been a bit creepy.
07) Everyday I Write The Book - Elvis Costello & The Attractions. What's so funny about peace, love, and understanding that Elvis hit a lot of home runs in his prime. This one went out of the park.
06) If I Were an Angel - Marc Cohn. With this title, you knew this was a matter of time, no? A song from the comeback kid, one of our great songwriters.
05) Celluloid Heroes - The Kinks. One of Ray's many hymns for the everyman. The frailties, the aspirations, the fleeting triumphs.......sometimes you forget this guy is the rock star who wrote "You Really Got Me."
04) Where the Streets Have No Name - U2. The other great album from my high school years. I love the build in this song. And the sentiment.
03) What It Is - Mark Knopfler. There just has to be some Knopfler guitar at my funeral. In fact, his playing is so ethereal, I think he might give lessons to the angels.
02) The Body of an American - The Pogues. If it is good enough for Jimmy McNulty's "funeral" it is good enough for me. And since Shane has been flirting with death for a couple of decades now, he ought to know how to write a good funeral song.
01) Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley. I was unsure of what song to use to wrap things up at my funeral. Mostly because the details on the destination are a bit fuzzy. It was either going to be Buster Pointdexter's "Hot, Hot, Hot" or this classic. But I'm an optimist, so I went with Buckley. Maybe I'll see you at the pearly gates.
Thanks for sharing and I know I'll be showing up for the tunes...and did you mention open bar?
More later
Bro
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Now playing: The Shins - Turn On Me (Clint Mansell Remix)
via FoxyTunes
