The Funeral - Band of Horses

Choose Your Own Funeral Flowers

Iam going for roses. Just roses. No other flowers will do.

The day I die, I want nothing but roses sprayed on my coffin during my funeral rites. It's gonna be a black casket too. All black. Maybe with silver handles. But the body should be all black. No other color will do. A spray of red roses on a black casket. That's it.

Now if I could only put that in my will somewhere or something so that my folks, or anyone who will be so fortunate to have the honor of arranging for my funeral, wouldn't forget. Whatever.

Friends reading this, please remember my wishes. Let my folks know about it when I die. Red roses it'll be. My choice of funeral flowers. Black coffin. My choice of a burial casket. OK

The only thing I haven't decided on yet is this: will it be just a bunch or roses like image number one; or will it be lots of roses like image number two? I don't know yet.

I'll let you guys know later.

So ... Which one?


Casket spray with a bunch of red roses




Casket spray with lots of red roses



Peter Steele Is Really Dead

As I write this first blog entry, I'm listening to Type O Negative, my favorite New York City goth band. I am remembering Peter Steele's death last April -- Peter was the band's founder -- and I can't get this one particular thought out of my head. What if Peter faked his death?! What if he's not really dead?!

Stupid you say?

Not in Goth culture, it ain't.

But of course, I'm just kidding myself. He really is dead.

I've got probably every song they ever recorded and published in my iTunes, and threw it on shuffle just to get a good mix of the new and the old. See, they're one of my favorite bands of all time, and now that it's official that Peter Steele is dead, I'm going to play them - and mourn him - until I've had my fill, which might not be for a good long while.

Peter Steele, born Petrus T. Ratajczyk on January 4, 1962, was a troubled man who dealt with serious bouts of depression by turning to drugs and alcohol. At his healthiest, however, he was the lead singer, bassist, and chief songwriter for the unique Type O Negative. His pain, sorrow, and misery came out in many of their original songs, including "Bloody Kisses", "Everything Dies", "Christian Woman", and "September Sun".

The New York City goth band also arranged some very memorable covers of some well know songs, including "Cinnamon Girl" by Neil Young, "Hit Me Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana, and the most satanic and gothic version of "Black Sabbath" (by Black Sabbath) ever to hit the airwaves.

There were unconfirmed rumors at one point of Steele's death after the band website posted an image of a tombstone bearing his name and the dates 1962-2005. However, it was just a publicity stunt to commemorate the signing with SPV Records. This go around, however, his death has been confirmed by family members and appears to be quite genuine.

Rest in peace, Peter Steele. You brought a lot of great music into this world, and my life, and I will sorely miss your special talent and the awesome imprint you made on the world of rock and roll.