Tag: music | Funken Wagnel

It’s hard to explain how lucky us Aussie Gen X-er’s were in our childhood to those who weren’t there. Some of my fondest memories came out of the radio. Sitting over breakfast, I was treated to INXS’s ‘Just Keep Walking’ as I got ready for my day. In my spare time, I’d hold Dragon concerts on our front verandah with my slippery socked feet, sliding across the tiles frantically as I belted out the lyrics. The days when I wasn’t yet aware I didn’t have a musical bone in my body.

Then, a visit to Gram and Granddad’s house. It was the early 80′s, and a Divinyls song came onto the telly in the background. My Granddad yelled for it to be switched off, as I craned to see and hear as much as I could before someone walked to the TV to turn it off (remember TVs with knobs?). He ranted about how dirty, filthy and disgusting she was.

Well, yes she was. I loved her in that instant. A lifelong fan was born. Chrissy fascinated me. As a child who’d been raised to be a nice girl, prim, proper, to sit with her legs together and not let anyone see my knickers, Chrissy confronted all I knew about femininity. We saw up her dress, we heard her sordid tales of desperation, of shagging all the boys. We gawked at her ripped stockings, her smeared eyeliner. The oldies were shocked, horrified and disgusted. And yet no one died as a result. Her songs were public declarations of things nice girls didn’t say out loud, things nice girls didn’t do.

She was rough, tough, almost even neandarthal. But I’m yet to hear of one person from my generation who didn’t love her without question. She was us, she was just more upfront about it.

Yet beyond the breathy, husky, one of a kind voice challenging us to judge her, was so much more. She gave us her vulnerability, her pain, her darkness. I watched Chrissy go bat shit crazy on the stage (in the days we were blessed enough to not yet call it ‘cray cray’), and the world didn’t spontaneously combust. She voiced my Gen X fear that, ‘I always thought that they’d drop the bomb’. How did she know us so well? I loved her subtle humour in everything she did. If there’s one thing I took away from Chrissy after all these years, it’s not to take ourselves so seriously all the time.

Was there ever anyone more themselves and the hell with the rest of you than Chrissy?

Even as a child, I always marvelled at how she got her voice to be so unique. It still blows me away, but all I can say now is that it was a gift. She was our gift. How did she get to be so gutsy, I always wondered?

Chrissy Amphlett has always been Oz rock royalty here. You yanks had Joan Jett and the Blackhearts asking you to touch her there. You poms have Shirley Manson singing the virtues of the golden shower. Us Aussies had Chrissy Amphlett not only declaring that she touches herself, but she had all of us happily screaming it out at the nightclub.

She gave us Gen X-ers permission to feel natural and normal about our sexuality and to be able to laugh at ourselves.

It’s been my privelige to not only grow up with Chrissy, but to watch her grow from this awkward, troubled girl into a magnificent, juicy beast. Chrissy, I have always admired your unapologetic ferocity. Your originality. That sweet angelic side that shone through the psycho, wayward schoolgirl.

I hope wherever you are now in death, that you can feel the world’s love send you higher. More importantly, I hope you knew how loved you were when you were alive.

You shaped a nation Chrissy, and a generation. As I mourn the loss of you and the end of your era, as I fear for the future of Oz rock, I will make sure that my children know who Chrissy Amphlett was. I will ensure they know all of your songs, word for word.

Whoah. First, a house fire post, then a tribute to Whitney, what next? Oh yes, a post about songs they’ll play at my funeral. One could be forgiven for thinking this blog is taking a rather morbid tone. But life is morbid sometimes. So, on that note, here is my contribution to the amazing Eden Riley’s Fresh Horses Brigade Link Up. Don’t like all the misery around these parts? Well, as I like to say, go stick it up your funken wagnel.

The theme this week, as you’ve no doubt gathered by now, is songs and funerals. Which song or songs we’d have at our own. This is something that pops into my mind rather a lot.

I think my fascination with making an excellent funeral song choice began during and after the telecast of Princess Diana’s funeral. Was there ever more of a tear jerker in the history of funeral songs? In fact, my mates and I would sit around afterward, weighing up the pros and cons of all sorts of songs. I’ve always said that ‘only the good die young’ by Billy Joel would be great. My theory is, that if I die young, attendees will take the meaning of the song to be that I’m fucking awesome – an all round good person. If I die of old age (which is my wish), people will take me for a badass. Yeah…

Well, probably not. I’ve been to a few of the posts from Eden’s brigade, and am noticing a trend towards Nick Cave songs. Completely understandable, and in my mind, have gone there many a time. After all, it makes sense, doesn’t it? I mean, I’m a gigantic Nick Cave fan, and no one does poetry, stately and sombre like he does. Songs such as, ‘Into my arms’, or ‘the weeping song’ or even, ‘I let love in’.

But, alas, it will not be Nick Cave. We will be having ‘the ship song’ at our wedding one day, but that’s another post entirely, I’m guessing.

I think I want something a tad more upbeat for my funeral. Because, of course! Sombre is perfect for my wedding, and completely wrong for my funeral. Makes perfect sense, right?

A few years ago, my partner went to his cousin’s funeral. I stayed at home to look after our very small children so that they wouldn’t disrupt the funeral, out of respect for the family. Anyway, the family chose the best songs that completely suited the man. You see, he loved Guns and Roses. I do, too.

Apparently, at the beginning of the funeral, Richard Clayderman music began to play. After a few bars, it was swiftly turned off, and replaced with the always awesome, ‘Paradise City’. When my man told me, I had a tear and a smile. It was just so him. When the funeral ended, they played, ‘Don’t cry’. God, how could you not? Whenever I hear both those songs, I think of him, and I’m pretty sure my partner does too. They’re both songs we always loved and now we just have reason to love them more.

So, I think it’s not even about which song is the ‘best’, it’s more about which song is best for that person. To know, as you hear the song play, yes! That person is somewhere on the other side, nodding in approval.

Which is why I have a few songs in mind for my funeral. One is ‘Sometimes’ by Midnight Oil. I am a die-hard fan from way back, thus kicking my bogan status up a notch. Please, listen to it, give it a chance. Peter Garrett sings,

 "Sometimes you're beaten to the call   Sometimes you're taken to the wall   But you don't give in   I know that the cannibals wear smart suits and ties   I know they arm wrestle on the altar   I say don't leave your heart in a hard place   Sometimes you're shaken to the core   Sometimes the face is gonna fall But you don't give in"

I have used this song to prop myself up at just about every turn in my life. I’d sing it in my mind at times to push myself towards the things I wanted in life at the time, and to help push myself out of situations I didn’t want to be in. I’ve sang it to myself to push through the boring days, to work towards a bigger picture. In short, this song is the song of my life. It has saved me on more occassions than I could count.
I have another song that I want at my funeral as well. I love music, so it’d really suck if they only played one song at it. It’s My Chemical Romance’s ‘Welcome to the black parade’. Another band I’m a huge fan of. (Embedding was disabled by request, so you’ll have to click through to hear/watch it. Well worth doing, though).

“Sometimes I get the feeling, she’s watching over me
And other times I feel like I should go
And through it all, the rise and fall
The bodies in the street
And when you’re gone we want you all to know

We’ll carry on, We’ll carry on
And though you’re dead and gone believe me
Your memory will carry on
We’ll carry on”

I love the sentiment of the entire song. I’m not religious, so it’s great to have a song about honouring the memories of your loved ones, about them living on, without a religious element to it. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy some songs with religious sentiment; I do. But this is my funeral, and my songs need to reflect that.

Now, I’d just like to point out to my family and friends: these song preferences are in writing, k? This is an official document, so if these songs aren’t played at my funeral, I will come back to haunt you. We good?

Tag Archives: music

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