A Funeral

You know how some movies show a flashback of the protagonist as a kid staring at a dead cat? The scene does a moving close-up of the kid's face, then back to the cat, then back to the kid, then back to the cat...until we only see the eyes of each, and it's supposed to be a poignant device to explain the protagonist's later actions in light of his/her personal emotions surrounding death, but really it's just awkward because kids are creepy when they stare at things? Ummm...nope. No, I don't think I've seen a movie like that either. Ever. But if it did exist, the device would seem to make my recent musings on death a lot less morbid and a little more...poetic?. I have been thinking about death a lot, but there aren't any tire-tatooed cats per se. Maybe, I'm listening to too much of The Smiths. In any case, if this is foreshadowing of my impending doom, here's a list of songs that would make a great funeral:

1. "The Funeral" by Band of Horses
2. "Poughkeepsie" by Over the Rhine
3. Amazing Grace on bagpipes
4. "It Is Well With My Soul" by Horatio Spafford
5. "And Can It Be" by Charles Wesley (especially the last stanza...awesome)

*As a post-script, I should clarify this is navel-gazing and not the seeds of madness. Put that straight jacket down. Put it down! Thank you.

Now for your enjoyment..."The Funeral" (as interpreted by Liz Lee). This clip is from a scripted reality show called "My Life As Liz" (kind of a hipster version of The Hills) and is set during a talent show. This is her "Susan Boyles" moment:

The Bands

I sometimes feel the need to entertain the illusion that I have some control over life. That's when I make lists. Here's my first list in no particular order:

Top Ten Favorite Bands:

1. U2
2. Smashing Pumpkins
3. Weezer
4. Better Than Ezra
5. Arcade Fire
6. Nirvana
7. Muse
8. Radiohead
9. Gomez
10. Counting Crows

Can you guess my formative music appreciation decade?