Poppy Z. Brite is a novelist, a writer much more talented and accomplished than I will ever be. I've been reading her short fiction since 1987 when my friend William J. Grabowski interviewed her for the Rising Stars issue of "The Horror Show" magazine (he also interviewed novelist Bentley Little for the same issue, who was relatively unknown at the time and is now HUGE). Poppy was all of 20 years old in that long ago fall of 1987, and she's gone on to quite a career...I first met her in person at the 1993 World Horror Convention in Stamford CT. You can see her blog at this location http://docbrite.livejournal.com/. I reviewed her first novel years ago for "Science Fiction Eye" magazine, and was perhaps a bit too critical of the young writer. I later reviewed her novel "Exquisite Corpse" for the Dayton Voice when I was working as their book critic.

Poppy was writing on her blog this week about what music she'd like played at her funeral, and that got me thinking about the same subject. Music has always been very important to me, and probably something that those closest to me get tired of hearing about. Felicia, I know, indulges me by sitting quietly and smiling while I go on and on about the relative merits of various drummers or the difference between Black Sabbath with Ozzy singing and Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio singing. Music is one of my passions and is one of the ways I relate to the world -- I never really planned it to be that way, it just is. 

So. Funeral music. What songs would you like to have played at your funeral service? It shouldn't matter to you, really, as you won't be able to enjoy them at that point. But you do want to leave this earthly plane while leaving a good impression, don't you, and playing Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Call Me the Breeze" just doesn't seem like a good way to do that. [By the way, if I die anytime soon, somebody show this list to Felicia. She doesn't read my blog and would never see it otherwise.]

Tim's Dead Hit Parade 
(Songs to Play at my Funeral)

1. "Amazing Grace" by Elvis Presley.
2. "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House
3. "Morning Has Broken" by Cat Stevens
4. "Waiting for the Miracle" by Leonard Cohen
5. "Angel" by Sara McLachlan
6. "The Blessed Hellride" by Black Label Society
7. "Love is the Answer" by Utopia
8. "Take Another Road" by Jimmy Buffett
9. "Fly Me to the Moon" by Frank Sinatra