Grieg's "Two Elegiac Melodies" followed by "Azulao" by either Salli Terri or Gerard Souzay...debating on whether to include Tallis' "Spem in Alium"...but as people are leaving, I want the Mel Blanc phrase as Bugs Bunny at the end of "What's Opera, Doc?"..."What did ya expect from an opera...a HAPPY ending?" followed by the Ry Cooder version of the New Orleans funeral March "We Shall Be Happy".
Black plastic bag in the local rubbish skip, I thought with some Underworld playing then thought it might not be a good idea to attract attention, you know what people are like.
This one at the end so the people will leave the church a bit more upbeat. My favourite song of all time.
Time Goes Away - Rosie Thomas No Surprises - Radiohead When The Evening Sun Goes Down - Half Man Half Biscuit
Well: In my life Tomorrow never knows Time (Pink Floyd) and (The Allen Parsons Project) Time Stand Still Most of the time Bob Dylan Time is on my side Bury me my Lovely (October Project) When I was Young It's my life ( both Talk Talk and The Animals) We got to get out of this place Run like Hell (Pink Floyd) Good bye cruel world PF Good Times Bad Times. Led Zeplin Your time is going to come Over the hills and far away That smell. Lenard Skynard Moonlight Shadow Maggie Reilly Don't give up. Peter Gabriel Mercy Street Wish You Were Here All tomorrow's party's I've seen all good people You can't always get what you want Avalon. An. More than this Don't dream it's over. And. Cathrines Wheel. Crowded house Most do not deal with death directly but these would be some of what I would pick
Lou Grant: "I don't want anybody to make any fuss. When I go, I just want to be stood outside in the garbage...with my hat on."
"Death Is Not The End" & "Fixin' To Die" - Bob Dylan "In My Life" "Tomorrow Never Knows" & "A Day In The Life" - The Beatles "Epitaph" - King Crimson
A funeral is not joyous, unless you've suffered at the end of your life, which I hope won't be true for me. So let's just play this and let people mourn:
Long post ahead... My brother Matt passed away unexpectedly in October 2016. He had been a mobile DJ for 25 years or so and had worked in radio from overnight jock all the way up to Program Director. The love of music and radio was strong with him. I had helped him many times over the years at various DJ events from clubs to weddings to even on his radio show. It was a mutual bond we shared. As tragic as the circumstances were, I made it my mission that week, among the other 10,000 things that had to be done, to be sure to make it a Celebration Of Life type of visitation and funeral. I selected a couple of hours worth of music (CDs 1-3 below) that I knew HE liked to be played over the funeral home's sound system while people were mingling and waiting in line to pay their respects over the 2 days of visitation. As with many funerals, many people hadn't seen each other in years. To make the selection even more special, I reached out to the PD at the station he had currently been working for to get some of his radio breaks to fit in every few songs. Of course, the songs he would introduce or outroduce didn't line up with the songs around it on the CDs I composed, but it was a way to somewhat incorporate Matt hosting a radio show and for people to be able to hear his voice doing something he loved so very much. On the day of the funeral, on top of giving a eulogy, I also selected 3 songs to pay tribute to him (CD4 below) and told a story about each song and why it was selected. Overall, I just wanted to honor him and his life's work on that day and make him feel proud of all he accomplished and for those he touched. People have told me I did just that. I hope they're right. CD1 1. Chariot (Gavin Degraw) 2. 100 Years (Five For Fighting) 3. Matt Radio Break 1 4. Return Of The Mack (Mark Morrison) 5. Blame It On The Boogie (The Jacksons) 6. Matt Radio Break 2 7. Uptown Funk (Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars) 8. Respect (Aretha Franklin) 9. Matt Radio Break 3 10. November Rain (Guns N Roses) 11. Don't Know What You Got (Til It's Gone) (Cinderella) 12. Heartbreaker (Pat Benetar) 13. Matt Radio Break 4 14. Turn The Page (Live) (Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band) 15. Piano Man (Billy Joel) 16. Every Rose Has Its Thorn (Poison) 17. Matt Radio Break 5 18. I'll Be (Edwin McCain) 19. No Such Thing (John Mayer) 20. Someday We'll Know (New Radicals) CD2 1. Summertime (DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince) 2. Bust A Move (Young MC) 3. Like I Love You (Justin Timberlake) 4. Matt Radio Break 6 5. Affair Of The Heart (Rick Springfield) 6. Oh Sherrie (Steve Perry) 7. Takin' It To The Streets (The Doobie Brothers) 8. Matt Radio Break 7 9. All For You (Sister Hazel) 10. You And I Both (Jason Mraz) 11. Let Her Cry (Hootie & The Blowfish) 12. Matt Radio Break 8 13. Shout (The Isley Brothers) 14. Burning Love (Elvis Presley) 15. Let's Twist Again (Chubby Checker) 16. Matt Radio Break 9 17. Kiss On My List (Hall & Oates) 18. Crazy For You (Madonna) 19. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' (Michael Jackson) 20. Matt Radio Break 10 21. 3 AM (Matchbox 20) 22. Purple Rain (Prince) CD3 1. Lead Me Home (Jamey Johnson) 2. I Wish I Had A Girl (Henry Lee Summer) 3. Jessie's Girl (Rick Springfield) 4. Matt Radio Break 11 5. Tubthumping (Chumbawamba) 6. Love Shack (B-52s) 7. Swan Dive (Sister Hazel) 8. Matt Radio Break 12 9. Last Dance (Donna Summer) 10. Can't Help Falling In Love (Elvis Presley) 11. One And Only (Adele) 12. Matt Radio Break 13 13. Gonna Fly Now (The Rocky Orchestra) 14. Eye Of The Tiger (Survivor) 15. Let's Go Crazy (Special Dance Mix) (Prince) 16. Matt Radio Break 14 17. Did It In A Minute (Hall & Oates) 18. Drops Of Jupiter (Train) 19. Bright Lights (Matchbox 20) 20. Matt Radio Break 15 CD4 Day Of Funeral Service tribute songs to Matt (For each of these, I told a story about them as I introduced each one to the large crowd gathered at the funeral home. I didn't have any specific notes for these but instead spoke from the heart. A summary is below.) 1. Last Night A DJ Saved My Life (Indeep) Matt knew of this song, but I don't recall having any long conversation about it. However, given his life as a DJ over two decades, I thought it was a fitting tribute to man whose passion was music and DJing to "play one for the DJ"! Aside from that, I also wanted something upbeat. For as sad as the days are and will be to come, the spirit of joy needed to be celebrated on this day. A few weeks later as I was cleaning out his apartment, I found this book. God and our loved ones wink at us sometimes, don't they? Last Night A DJ Saved My Life: The History Of The Disc Jockey by Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey: Bill Brewster: 8601417208380: Amazon.com: Books 2. Dreaming With A Broken Heart (John Mayer) Before getting into my story about this one, I mentioned there was another song I considered for this slot: Seger's "Turn The Page." Matt once lived in a house with a handful of his fraternity brothers, although this wasn't the official fraternity house. The house itself was cool enough to earn its own nickname: The Shadow. Named after the mid-90s Alec Baldwin movie, Matt once told me that they had thrown a bunch of big parties at the house, but many of the party attendees didn't know whose house it actually was. Thus, the secretive nature lent it the name "The Shadow." Moving forward, there was a real character there whose name was Dennis who LOVED Seger, like thirsty people love water. The house was HUGE. But when "Turn The Page" came on, it didn't matter where you were in the house, you could hear Dennis yell at the top of his lungs, "SEEEEEGGGGGGEEEERR!!!" The chorus of the song, in particular, remind me of Matt as an entertainer on the radio and at his DJ gigs and of his passing in that we must truly turn the page. Here I am, on the road again There I am, up on stage Here I go, playing star again There I go, turn the page For the Mayer song, I told about how Matt was always very unselfish with free tickets he'd get when he worked in radio. He took me to many concerts and to many backstage events to meet the band members. Around 2003/2004, Mayer came to town promoting the Heavier Things album. Someone had bailed on the show, and so he called me to see if I wanted to go. I ended up going, and a couple years later, he was talking to me about, "Hey, do you remember when you met John Mayer?" I said, I've never met him. He reminded me of this show, and I said I remembered going but never meeting him. Now, at this time, I kid you not at the age of 25 or so, I still had NEVER drank any alcohol (strange, but true fact), so it wasn't as if I was sloshed out of my mind. Anyway, he kept insisting that I did, and I kept insisting that I didn't. A year or so later, I found a picture at my house stashed away, and sure enough, there was John Mayer with me wrapped in one arm and Matt's ex-girlfriend in the other. Touche, Matt Luecking! As for "Dreaming With A Broken Heart," which was on Mayer's next studio album, once again I don't recall Matt ever mentioning this song by name, although I'm sure he heard it as he really liked the Continuum album. Our father died at the age of 36 of a heart attack while he slept, 2 weeks before Matt's 7th birthday and when I was only 4.5 months old. So Matt and I had some conversations throughout the years as to this shadow that followed us and how we were afraid to turn 36 for fear of not making it through the year. For that reason, we always felt there was this shadow following us. When we both turned 37, we were relieved. Because of this shadow, I feel like I hear music differently. Oftentimes, I'll hear a song and think, "That would be a great song to play at a funeral." This song is one of them. So while "Dreaming With A Broken Heart" is written about missing an ex-girlfriend, I felt it could just as well mean that you miss ANYONE whom you love dearly. The lyric about falling asleep with roses in my hand to be able to give a loved one during your slumber always hit me hard, especially thinking about our dad. Now, since Matt's death, a lot of us are truly dreaming with a broken heart. So, I felt it apropos to play/dedicate this song. John Mayer - Dreaming With A Broken Heart 3. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (Live) (Donny Hathaway) We grew up in a home where music played often on our stereo. My mom loved all sorts of music, from 50s/60s/70s/80s rock/soul/pop/disco, etc. This upbringing led us both to develop a passion for music, and throughout the years we'd discover artists on our own. Donny Hathaway was one of those for me... his entire catalog. Matt knew some Donny and loved some of his tunes as well, but this cover version isn't one that Matt knew of to my knowledge. Now of course, the song itself is a 1969 hit for The Hollies. Hathaway recorded a studio version. This particular version I played was a live version from August 1971, just a few months before Matt was born. When our father passed away in 1979 (literally a month after Hathaway did), "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" was played at our dad's funeral from what my mom has told me. Therefore, I felt there was a strong connection in playing this song at Matt's funeral, both from the uplifting performance, the connection with our dad, and the "brother" connection in the title. I don't go to church nearly as often as I should, but I certainly believe in God, as did Matt. For me, there are some songs that just take you to that religious place. This has long been one of them for me. In this particular performance, you can just hear the crowd's reaction as they're hanging on every word, going on a ride with Hathaway to the heavens and back. It didn't hurt that Hathway's voice is truly angelic. Donny Hathaway - He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
Already chosen mine as part of pre-paid funeral: Pink Floyd's Fat Old Sun and Wot's ... uh The Deal? I might well add another but it will almost certainly be Floyd.
