The Death Album

question...has anyone considered putting together a "death" album? basically, an album for maybe your loved ones or whatever in the event of your death. you could dedicate to your family/spouse/children/etc. just curious, this has crossed my mind a few times. my kids know i play, but maybe don't know i sometimes write songs about them or situations inspired by them, or do they even know how much i play :) if wikiloops lives on and is truly searchable, i think it would be fun for a loved one to stumble upon the "death" album :) maybe with tracks dedicated to some special people in my life.

just food for thought :)

---

You could name it “The Artist Formerly Known As Dad”

My approach was :
After a candlelit family dinner, I just told them that after reflecting on my upcoming mortality, they are not getting a penny and their mom and I are going to spend their entire inheritance and college money on a really reckless alcohol fueled frivolous spending spree in Vegas ,first sign of the grim reaper. It’s cleaner, no paperwork or silly wills and they won’t let greed get between them because they get nothing ..But they can find solace that I lived my life to the fullest down to the last minute.

Even told them If the reaper comes fast and furious at me then it will be mom and the mailman going to Bali. He’s been kind of my understudy when I leave town anyway. Your mom didn’t think I knew. Might as well welcome their new step dad.

College Trust , The house, moms jewelry anything of value … sorry error 404 Not Found, kids. Continue to hold and someone will be right with you.

Either way , change of plan , no college , sorry they can experience the working world awhile longer because we’re blowing every cent on a good time as I am confident I know they would want us to have .

It’s going to be Bermuda which moms always wanted to see maybe Bali, 85 inch TVs, matching Corvettes ,that 58 Les Paul custom I’ve been eyeballin’….and I’m taking anything left over all with me . I paid for it , it’s coming too. I’ll need an extra xtra large coffin and maybe a second coffin to fit it all.
They can lower my stuff then me facedown right on top of it . Them burial holes have a lot of room .

I continued : I just had a change of heart and need to focus on me in my last remaining twilight hours thank you for respecting my final wishes.

Just look them square in the eye and when they ask “are you serious ?” ,You just look them right back and lean in close to them with the most serious expression and just say “ Life is short , shit happens, deal with it . I know I raised you to achieve your goals all by yourselves..Make your daddy proud.“

They’ll just sit there Iin silence picturing their new future in the working world and how much they truly love daddy evaluating if you are joking and if you had time to change the life insurance yet. So be gentle and give them time to absorb it all.

Hey kids, who’s your daddy?

---

that might make a great movie LittleWing :D

---

Ya know on a serious note, Nick...
This is a really good idea.

In my family funerals are celbrations. Cakes, People laughing even at the funeral wake, poker games etc...We celebrate the good times with the person. My dads funeral was an outright keg party bash that lasted two days and hundreds of people showed, We considered hiring a band at one point so wede have dancing.
He would have LOVED IT.

You go thru the funeral and the mourning and the aftermath and memories play a large part in keep[ing that persons spirit alive.

What if....

You did the album but have family members participate even if theyre not musical. Aunt Elda may not play an instrument but you could teach her a kazoo oir else have her do backing vocals "ooo ahhh"

Uncle Bob the drunk who says he plays guitar but its its actually an ancient acoustic with only 4 rusty strings because it hasnt been played in 25 years...well. work that out of tune guitar into song and buy Uncle Bob a six pack.


But when its all done that is a very cool and beautiful way to leave your spirit behind with your family. Its something to cherish and pull out every 10 years and better then an old 8mm family home movie.

The best thing anytime it is replayed even 25 years later...it leaves behind smiles and laughter to your loved ones.

I think its a really good idea.Just my three and a half cents.

---

When my dad passed and we had the open wake, I volunteered to greet people at the funeral home.

People piled in as my dad did alot during his life and alot of people we didnt even expect came from miles and even flew in.

As the funeral parlor was getting more and more packed, three very old gentlemen came in with leather jackets.At the time around late 90s maybe early 90s in age.The leather jackets m,ade them stand out as everyone was in suits.

I had no idea who they were.
I asked my sister if she knew them . Nope never saw them before.
Asked my brother if he knew them ...no clue.

I just walked right up and said "Im Stans son, Hi thanks for coming . Im sorry Weve never met before.may I ask how you new my dad?"

Thgey said "Son, lets sit down."

All three turns out were my dads first friends in America when he got off the boat in 1928.

BUt wait theres more....

They then spent the next two hours telling me the most fascinating story how they were a gang back then and actually stole meat off trucks and resold to the mob.

My dad was a hoodlum.

My dad had a missing finger and I was always told he tore it off catching it on the back of a meat truck.

Yeah these guys filled in that story, my dad was doing heist , jumped on a truck and the driver sped up and was shaking the vehicle to throw him off.

Yeah my dad was mob hoodlum back in the early 30s.

The money he made , he started his company which went global by the 50s .

So our entire familys lifestyle growing up ...while 100% totally legit and lawful , was owed to my dad as a teenager stealing meat for the mob.


He never talked about it.

They would speed up to a truck and he would jump like a monkey on the back from vehicle to vehicle and steal the meat WHILE IT WAS MOVING , then jump from the truck back into the car, Thats badass.

---

quite the story, really cool actually. what a glimpse into the past.

my story of having a bum pull a knife out on me during my dad's funeral doesn't seem that exciting anymore :)

---

I told my wife that on my gravestone I want a solar powered speaker and movement sensor that will blare out my music and will allow people to download my MP3. Or at least a USB dump. And if I reach a good old age, who knows maybe a Hologram with pictures and music. That would be cool

---

Ever since I took up songwriting as a hobby, I've documented every family member, occasion or event with a poem or song. It's never been a secret because I've produced tapes or CDs as presents and sent them links but it seems almost no-one has been remotely interested :(

I think I have a fascination with death and foreboding however because so many songs (and poems) include existential subject matter.

I have written one song called "Transient Butterfly" for my departure. It describes life as a place we merely enter, drift through and fly away. However, I'm pretty sure my musical finale won't happen :)

My stuff will all die with me (if I don't delete it all first) and I'm fine with that <3

---

that's a super cool idea :o sharing your music from beyond the grave :W

---

IThe technology is here but availability to public always lags 8 years.

On YouTube see if you can catch a trailer for the Abba show in London.

It opened last year or two and Abba purchased a dedicated theater that displays holograms of them AS THEY USED TO LOOK IN THEIR PEAK. It’s the most cutting eve hologram technology out as of today so don’t croak for 5years.

Reviews are excellent and it’s supposedly like the 70 version of them.

Led zeppelin , Barbara Streisand , Rod Stewart and other artists with large catalogs of hits are all looking into this right now .

There is one caveat…it’s reported some have been quoted as saying they prefer the reproduction to the original
Abba felt no one really wants to see then at their current age perform hits that people have this age performing then I their memories.

So imagine you can go to concerts and see artists that peaked 20 years ago looking as they did and experience what it was like rather then old folks reliving their heyday .Actually if they made one of these for the Eagles , but didn’t pay the Eagles a cent I’d go see them

Imagine bootlegging artists like this and the artist doesn’t make a cent off it then it folds up and opens in another city .
[youtube]iEikjzZO2N8?si=KmvqYzUapAtZnFLw[/youtube]

---