I recently read "Killing Yourself to Live" by Chuck Klosterman and now he's the only guy I want to read. There's a part in the book (which is roughly a memoir about him driving across the country visiting the locations of famous rock star deaths and tragedies, while reminiscing about women he slept with) where he brings up a section from Elizabeth Wurtzel's own memoir "Prozac Nation", about how she would soundtrack her own suicide with "Strawberry Fields Forever".
In the book, this leads to a debate with a co-worker (Chuck was working for Spin magazine at the time) about whether the truly suicidal would bother picking out a song to die to. Chuck thinks that he would, and decides to go with "Tomorrow Never Knows", though he doubts it leaves him enough time to bleed to death.
So we know Wurtzel's and Klosterman's choices. This leaves the rest of us to answer the question for our own selves. I would probably be lazy and just put on my favorite Beatles song "Long, Long, Long".
But this presents a problem, because when I hear this song, I want to never die. So I'd chicken out. I would have to pick one I don't love quite as much. Maybe I'd go with "A Day In The Life". A little clichéd, with that line about a man who blows his mind out in a car, but what Beatles song isn't?
And I know it's got happy lyrics, but I've always found this song to be unbearably melancholy. It'd work.
Of course, if I wanted to go for the ironic/prankster-type suicide, I could always put this one on repeat:
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5 comments:
Interesting question. My first thought was "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" but then I'd go on a killing spree before doing myself in.
Not that I've given it much thought beforehand, but if I had to soundtrack my suicide and the Beatles was all I could listen to, it would be "I'm So Tired."
Blackbird or Let it Be. Both really crappy songs that make me feel like there's no good music worth sticking around for.
"A Day in the life" is my favorite Beatles song.
And I love "Blackbird."
I think if anyone wants to kill themselves they should just listen to "Hey Jude" on repeat, and let nature take its course.
I would never kill myself to some boy-band song.
Probably "The Long and Winding Road." Just listening to it makes me want to blow my brains. I hate, hate, hate that song.
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