Utterly impersonal and awfully long
I follow The Hearth of Mopsus blog. I like it very much — the writer’s fastidious prose, his rigorous, intellectual objectivity on the one hand, his very earnest doubts and self-questioning on the other. He’s written a very good book about holy wells, by the way. Not your bag? Fine by me. Each to his/her […]
Quote of the day
“The music-loving world, temperamentally, seems to divide neatly into two. There are those who spend their idle hours thinking about which songs they would like to have played at their wedding; and those who spend their idle hours thinking about which songs they would like at their funeral … Planning one’s funeral suits the auteur […]
What Adele teaches us about grief
I first heard Adele’s song at the funeral of a young boy who died by suicide earlier this year. Songs are like that. They can become woven around memories of events that made a strong emotional impact on us. The depth of grief I witnessed among his friends was heartbreaking. One of them who spoke […]
Psych-Vikings
Here’s some text from Consequence of Sound: Everyone deals with death in their own personal way, but psych-rock outfit Crystal Antlers offers a unique perspective on the topic in their music video for “Dog Days”. In said clip, a group of friends commemorate a dead friend by carrying around his/her ashes in various cups and cookie jars, […]
Remembering Josh
“REMEMBERING JOSH” is a film that records the life of our son Josh, as it was remembered at his funeral early in 2011. Josh Edmonds died in a road accident in while traveling South East Asia in January 2011. He was 22 years old. Our film is both a tribute to him, with many wonderful […]
Things we can’t get enough of…
Breathe Me Help, I have done it again I have been here many times before Hurt myself again today And, the worst part is there’s no-one else to blame Be my friend Hold me, wrap me up Unfold me I am small I’m needy Warm me up And breathe me Ouch I have lost myself […]
Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dying Bed
Now in the time of dying I don’t want nobody to moan All I want my friends to do Come and fold my dying arms Whoa Whoa well so I can die easy Whoa Whoa well so I can die easy Whoa Whoa well so I can die easy Jesus gonna make up my dying […]
Laughing it off
I’m not supposed to be here (see previous post) but I can’t resist abandoning packing my water wings for a moment in order to give vent to what may or may not be justified crossness. Funerals have, by many people who ought to know better, been subjected to a reductio ad absurdum: three songs and […]
If music be the food of grief
I’m doing a funeral next Monday. I didn’t know one of the songs they want, so I when I got back from seeing them I called up my faithful friend Spotify and played it through to get acquainted. And to get the running time, of course. As the song began to play, the written words […]
She’s on 29
Have you been following Gail Rubin’s 30 funerals in 30 days? I hope so. If you haven’t, you can easily catch up. Go over to her site as soon as you’ve read this and take up where you left off. The cultural differences are intriguing. The preaching at religious funerals in the US is hotter. […]
