As long as there has been music, there have been songs about death. It is inevitable, irreversible and (for most people), absolutely terrifying. As such, kicking off provides an endless well of inspiration for artists who are either pondering their own mortality, or pained by the loss of someone that they love. Of course, not all of these songs need to be dreary or entirely negative. All of the tracks in this week's column are sung from the point of view of people who have come to terms with their eventual demise, whether it is imminent, in the distant future or something that they have planned out for themselves.
1
"Spalding Gray Is Missing"
Lemon Party (Catastrophe)
This selection, which was composed for a competition on the Song Fight Web site may be the single most sympathetic ballad about suicide that I have ever heard. The song's lyrics are written from the perspective of the late monologist Spalding Gray as he plans to take his own life by leaping from the Staten Island Ferry. Although the words are purely speculative, Lemon Party taps into to the bleak mind-set of suicidal depression with eerie clarity and no trace of melodrama. This isn't about contemplating suicide -- that decision is made before the song even begins -- but rather about the practical, mundane details of actually going through with the act. The chords are crisp and chilly, and the vocals sound weary and detached, lending the song a feeling of profound resignation, and at the end, a sense of relief.
2
"What Was Me"
Calvin Johnson & the Sons of the Soil (K)
Calvin Johnson may be singing about his eventual death, but he refuses to give in to the musical touchstones of morbidity whether he performs this as an acoustic ballad, or as a Velvet Underground-esque rock 'n' roll tune with his new band the Sons of the Soil. Johnson's deep, distinct voice expresses a joyful calmness and great inner peace as he pictures his funeral as a party, and imagines living on as a song in the hearts of everyone that he has ever known and loved.
3
"T.O.M. (The Old Man)"
Lee Hazlewood (Ever)
Lee Hazlewood, the legendary songwriter best known for penning Nancy Sinatra's immortal hit "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'," was diagnosed with terminal renal cancer last year. When faced with this death sentence, Hazlewood decided to record one last album, and this is the final cut on that record. "T.O.M. (The Old Man)" stares down death with dignity and grace, and though it gets a bit maudlin, the sentiment is fully earned and emotionally affecting. Most of this last record (called "Cake Or Death") sounds like the artistic equivalent of a victory lap; Hazlewood revisits past triumphs and indulges in novel detours and unlikely collaborations. Still, this is his stoic farewell and is rendered as if it were the weepy finale of an old cowboy movie.
Matthew Perpetua is the maestro behind fluxblog.
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