I attended a funeral today. This is not something I enjoy, and quite frankly I don't know many people who do. Funerals are somber and mostly depressing. They make us face our own mortality and the simple fact that we cannot avoid it. Now, I didn't know the person who died very well (a relative of my wife's who was 81) but you can't escape the sense of foreboding and dread that creeps into your mind when you go to even the most uplifting service. Now, I am a pseudo-religious person, so there is some comfort in my beliefs, but it still is one my greatest fears. My wife and I talk alot about these sorts of things now that we have kids and it is probably one of the greatest signs that I'm not the oblivious adolescent that I used to be. So in an attempt to make a musical connection I went into my collection to find a CD that might apply to this post.
I chose to focus on a Florida band called FOR SQUIRRELS. They made only one official album due to the fact that while on tour they were in an accident and two of the members (including the lead singer) were killed. What makes this so poignant is a couple of their songs are about the death of those close. The music is very REM inspired (jangly guitars, cryptic lyrics) and the singer's voice is a little too raw in places, but after a couple of listens you start to look past that and see that these guys might have been something. The remaining members tried to continue on but only got one record done and then disbanded. So I post this in celebration of the band members lives and as a tribute to my wife's relative who passed and to remind each of us to celebrate the lives of those we love. Written about the death of Kurt Cobain. The singer sounds so earnest and pained by the senselessness of death.
more from FOR SQUIRRELS is available here
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