I've had bereavement on my list of potential topics since the very start of this column but I'm glad I left it this long. Unlike, say, trains or food, when you write about this theme you write a little about yourself, and that's not done lightly. Certainly few themes have made me think so hard about what role music plays in our lives. PapaChach's late contribution to the thread was the first RR post ever to bring tears to my eyes.
Many good choices last week. The hip-hop tune I was thinking of was Dead Homiez, but then I realised it had been recommended early on and I'd missed it. Oops. In the end, Pete Rock & Cl Smooth pipped it to the hip-hop slot anyway. I wanted to include Fela Kuti's brilliant Coffin for Head of State but it's really more of a protest song.
The B-list: The Carter Family (Will the Circle Be Unbroken), Ice Cube (Dead Homiez), the Stereophonics (Local Boy in the Photograph), the Streets (Never Went to Church), Louis Armstrong (St James Infirmary), Maddy Prior (Dead! Dead! The Child I Lov'd So Well!), LCD Soundsystem (Someone Great), Neil Young (Tonight's the Night), Loudon Wainwright III (Sometimes I Forget), Prince (Sometimes It Snows in April) and Pet Shop Boys (Your Funny Uncle).
This week's theme is a response of sorts to last week's: songs of consolation. By this I mean any song with a message along the lines of "Chin Up," "Hang on in there," "Things will get better," etc - songs that aim to make the listener feel better. There's potential for some awfully bland comfort-rock bromides but I'm sure you can find more interesting alternatives.
Visit the reliably reassuring A-Z and Readers Recommend archive, plus the overspill blog. Deadline is midday on Monday.
