It started morbidly for two reasons. Firstly because i had to read over last night's post about the death penalty as i'd written it while tired (or at least i was tired by the end of it) and so wanted to check i hadn't made any glaring mistakes. The other reason was that, as part of a 30 day song challenge that i have been joining in with on Facebook, i was asked what song i would choose for my funeral.
Now much like the question of the previous day, about wedding song choices, i really hadn't given this topic much thought. It's a tough one to decide really. Do you go for a sad, mournful song? Or an optimistic, happy one? Do you go for something ironic? (Oasis' "Live Forever" sprang to mind) Or darkly comic? (If i died from decapitation, as unlikely as it may be, i'd be a bit annoyed if someone didn't at least suggest the Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Heads will roll", likewise, if i die from a heart attack i hope someone would propose the XX's "Heart Skipped a Beat") I don't really like the idea of having a really depressing funeral. I know i dabble in misery and melodrama at times, but i don't want to inflict that on others. That's why the more comic options appeal, i kind of want my funeral to be more about moving on with their lives than mourning. Who knows though, when i'm older and closer to dying (hopefully the two will be linked) i might want to draw out every last bit of sympathy i can get, even after i'm no longer alive to appreciate it.
Then there's the issue that a lot of the songs out there that deal with death are intensely personal affairs, written by one person, about losing another specific person, it doesn't feel right adopting their grief for my own purposes. For example, "Friends of Ours" off of Elbow's album "The Seldom Seen Kid" is a beautiful, heartfelt and moving tribute to a friend of Guy Garvey's. I wouldn't be comfortable using a song like that.
I'm also not religious, so songs that suggest the afterlife seem slightly inappropriate and almost insincere. If i've never believed in the concept of life after death while i was alive it wouldn't seem right to make references otherwise in my song choice.
However, all this thinking was getting me no where, and as the clock was ticking down towards midnight and i just wanted to choose one i had to loosen the conditions a bit, allow a few songs as possibilities that went against the issues i raised above. In the end i settled for a song which is beautiful, neither too sad or too happy and would make my funeral pretty epic, especially if someone could actually sing it live; i chose Pink Floyd's, "The Great Gig In The Sky".
It was an interesting topic to think about but i am glad that the rest of the day managed to be a bit more upbeat. I had my first park kick about of the year, with a few friends, jumpers for goal posts and a penny floater. It was great fun and i've got to say i'm loving the fact that the weather is getting warm enough for the idea of spending an afternoon in a park becoming a good one, rather than an act of stubborn bravery.
Afterwards i had a curry while watching the film, "Easy A". It was released last year, with Emma Stone as the lead actress. It was a very good high school comedy, about the power rumours can have on a person's school life, the way people's perceptions of you can change and the degree to which a little white lie can get completely out of hand. It's definitely a bit similar to "Mean Girls", which is a definite guilty pleasure of a film, with perhaps less stand out laugh out loud lines, but managing to remain consistently funny throughout. I'd definitely recommend it.
So, as i said at the beginning, today has been a good day. It's been a day where i contemplated my own funeral, a day where i played football and a day where i watched an attractive woman be accused of promiscuity. What's not to like?
To finish off, here's a song i considered for the funeral song, but decided against in the end for a whole host of reasons. However this particular live performance is definitely my favourite video on Youtube. It's Frank Turner playing "The Ballad of Me and My Friends" live at Reading in 2009.
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