“Why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral? It is because we are not the person involved” -Mark Twain
Whether or not we openly admit it we all muse our own deaths time and time again. We have pondered that great beyond from the earliest age that we had a concept that things don't always exist, at least in their present form, whether it was simply the melting of an ice cream cone in the hot sun, the aftermath of your parents' divorce, or an immediate death itself. Every time we step into a pessimist's shoes and see the worst of possible results and anytime we hold fear closer to our heart than ourselves, it is death with whom we dance.
That said, I have always been curious about the guest list at my funeral. We have such a strangely convenient world in regards to this sort of thing these days. I used to watch the funeral brigades in movies and wonder how all of those long lost folk knew to show up. The we hadn't talked in twenty years characters, for example. In the years since Myspace and Facebook, simply collecting one's past into one easy to contain space is easier than ever. Before these showed up I would often wonder whether the next time I would meet many of my favorite memories face-to-face would be when everyone looks like they're going out for Goth night.
If there's one thing that has always been important to me, it's the atmosphere of a gathering. Thinking about a funereal playlist is a much more taxing thing than I wish to undertake, but as I have been pondering this query a few songs come to mind. Years ago I had this idea that I wanted "Dust in the Wind" to play prominently, but that seems too obvious to me now. I won't explain my choices, but instead let them speak for themselves. What I have chosen feels like perfect exit music, providing a necessary coda as they spice up the end credits.
PURPLE RAIN - Prince & the Revolution
GOODBYE HORSES - Q. Lazzarus
OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY - Led Zeppelin
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