Music To Die For

I am a great music lover. My tastes range from classic rock (Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Who, The Beatles) to heavy rock (Tool/APC, Ministry, Green Day) to grunge and other rock (U2, Soundgarden, White Stripes, Stone Temple Pilots, Filter, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Coldplay) to easy listening (Simon & Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, Leonard Cohen, Cranberries, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Waits). There are really too many favorites to list.

I don't like most music these days, especially hip-hop or girly- or boy-bands. I prefer the days when people had talent and genius for instruments and writing and performing their own music. About the only genius bands these days are a few listed above, such as Tool and Green Day.

Strangely, though, when I imagine my death, I want a memorial with the loveliest music from my collection. Besides the previously-mentioned 'Council of Elrond' by Enya, I mostly want played some of the amazingly-gorgeous songs from the most brilliant soundtrack ever made - Blade Runner (apologies to the wonderful soundtrack to The Big Chill).

Vangelis disappointed me by not including my favorite piece of music from the film - 'Main Titles & Prologue' - but you can find it on the web if you look for it. However, there are still several five-star songs in this collection, and when I am in a peaceful mood I play this music over and over. The best songs are 'Memories of Green', 'Main Titles', 'Blush Response', 'Love Theme', 'Blade Runner Blues', and 'Tears in the Rain'.

If I had to limit myself to three songs at my memorial, they would be 'Council of Elrond', 'Main Titles & Prologue', and 'Memories of Green'. Check them out if you love breathtaking beauty with a hint of science fiction or fantasy.