A reply to the Billy Bragg piece.
'Serenity'
Buffista Music III: The Search for Bach
There's a lady plays her fav'rite records/On the jukebox ev'ry day/All day long she plays the same old songs/And she believes the things that they say/She sings along with all the saddest songs/And she believes the stories are real/She lets the music dictate the way that she feels.
the DH and I are in charge of picking music for the niece's memorial service and we want to make a mix CD of her favorite music to give folks. Do any of you have suggestions of appropriate songs from any of these groups--these are her favorites from facebook which I don't know well enough, and I don't have time to listen to everything. DJ Greenlantern, Gym Class Heroes, INCUBUS, IMMORTAL, Lauryn Hill, Atmosphere, Cassidy, Jimi, Wu Tang Clan, Tupac, Nas, Dead Prez, Thelonius Monk, Modest Mouse, Oasis, Al Green, Kanye, Cody Chesnutt, , Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick, and Titch
Scrappy, lyrics-wise from Gym Class Heroes, I'd suggest "So Long, Friend" [link] If you want something more uplifting than that, "Shoot Down The Stars" [link]
I can get back to you on the Atmosphere.
And again, I'm so sorry.
Atmosphere: "Always Coming Back Home To You". [link]
Tupac and Kanye each have songs about how they love their mothers, if that would be appropriate. Oh, or "Keep Your Head Up" by Tupac -- it samples "Ooh Child."
For Lauryn Hill, she covers "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," which seems the most appropriate, lyrics-wise, out of all the songs on "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill."
For Thelonious Monk, "Ruby, My Dear," which I can hook you up with via e-mail, if you'd like.
I was getting "played at the memorial" and "music to be put on a cd for people to take home" mixed up.
I love Incubus, Scrappy. I think "Warning" might be a good choice, given its chorus of "Don't ever let life pass you by."
There's also "I Miss You." And "Wish You Were Here." And I'm not entirely sure why, but I'm also suggesting "A Kiss to Send Us Off," if only because it's more upbeat and rockin' while still retaining a little bit of the moodiness. I don't know what kind of mix you want to make. Incubus covers a lot of sounds and topics, but I don't think there's a song about death.
I can send you any Incubus song you need.