In the last two months I have attended three funerals. This represents the continuation of an upward curve that I have noticed over the last few years. The cliche is true “I ain’t getting any younger” and nor are my loved ones and friends. The last three have been an uncle, a friend killed in Ukraine and the parent of a dear friend (who put up with us when we were tearing up the place as young men). So inevitably you start to ponder your own mortality and once you’ve moved past that depressing nonsense you start to entertain fantasies about your own funeral. Or at least I do and I start to play what song at my funeral – the game for all the family. There’s a twenty-year-old sketch in Chris Morris’ “Jam” wherein a father has his own funeral before he dies just so he can see how much people miss him. At the time hilarious. Last week I watched a moving documentary about a women who had been fighting cancer for a long time and had decided to do almost the same thing for real with Dawn French in role as the Vicar of Dibley essentially delivering her eulogy. How things progress.
So moving past the fact that obviously I want the place to be full (doesn’t really matter where it is), I want people to come to celebrate the fact that they all knew this slightly annoying but essentially decent person. And for me it’s the music that will be the important stuff – it means a lot to me and has been important in my life. I want to communicate that but don’t want it to be either inappropriate or mawkish, so much as I love them ‘Who Knows Where The Time Goes’ and ‘These Days’ may not get a look in. Traditionally there are three pieces, I think. The entry to the ceremony, the moment of reflection and the exit music. The friend who died in the Ukraine whilst delivering a medical car was much younger than me and her exit music involved all of us singing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ very loudly. It was both heartbreaking and very difficult. The words alone were somewhat unfortunate given the circumstances but that was what the family wanted, her favourite song, blasted out and communally. As someone who writes a lot about music these choices are extremely difficult, they will, I think, reflect on who I am and who I was. But as I repeatedly tell myself – I won’t be there so don’t worry if they don’t work. Ahhhh but they must, they must! This is my last gift to the world. Three songs…
Of course, it changes every day but today they are ….
Entrance music
Contemplation
Exit music – up to 1:37 – hopefully making people leave with a laugh
Luckily I won’t need them for a very long while!
The radio show this week was a blast to broadcast and a shit to get past the algorithms of Mixcloud, however we did it and it features Small Town Jones, Sweetheart, Dawes and three from the Hurricane relief album “Cardinals at the Window” ( see Bandcamp) featuring new stuff from M J Lendeman (an extraordinary new song), Jeff Tweedy and Nathaniel Rateliffe plus all the usual nonsense. As ever take what ….
