CataCombo Sound System for the Departed. Why!

Well it could play Johnny Cash's Burning ring of fire, or Angel's hells bells , perhaps Elvis's burning love while it gets speared into the crematorium.....

This is not a new idea. It can be found in the bizarre, hysterical in a very weird way movie The Loved One from 1965. This movie is the epitome of dark comedy. IMHO This movie is one of the few times that the movie is better than the original book. This movie is also one of my all time favorites but many people are deeply offended by this movie.

Roddy Macdowell, Jonathan Winters, James Coburn, et al, how have I missed this?

Duuuh... For the Grateful Dead, of course.

I agree that the sound system is an obvious scam, but in New Orleans, funerals are accompanied by musicians that play a dirge to the cemetery and play happy music on leaving. I have always thought this is a great way to leave the world and I would like to do it, but I don't live in new Orleans. On an episode of NCIS, there was such a ceremony, but in place of live musicians, Abby had a tape player playing happy music.

Does it play Chopin "The Funeral March"?

The dead may not be able to hear but while that person is alive we construct an internal model of a person which does not vanish as soon as death happens. I suppose thats why people worry that our recently dead friend may feel cold or alone. I suppose part of function of a funeral is to push that internal "ghost" to catch up with events, but until that happens we may want to talk to them and worry they are cold or away from their music.

This isn't about the dead. It isn't about any internal model.

It's just another way to separate the living from their money, while using the deceased as bait.

You could say though that a funeral only needs to be the most basic affair. Plain ,hand made, cross or something to serve as gravestone , Plain wood coffin with steel fittings. That might be the better way to do things. But ,probably due to cultural poverty, many do things differently. In fact we are used to the idea of people spending a lot on a coffin or a monument above the grave (people make cash selling those and disseminating the idea they matter). Putting in a stereo is a new idea. But is it really so much more foolish than a silk interior for the dead to be placed in?

We as a society have to draw the line somewhere. What next, buried with your worldly possessions and wife.

my wife!! i bought a plot for her at the other end of the cemetery.

i've been writing a song called " going to hell in a hand basket".

Re my comment above-- the Grateful Dead did a song where the chorus is "maybe going to Hell in a bucket, but at least I'll enjoy the ride". (Or something close to that.)

Well... the only living things in a dead man's casket are, naturally, the bacteria breaking down the corpse. So the question is, does the music affect them in any way, and if so, does it make em break down rockin faster, or slow em down?

Given the success of infrasonic cleaning systems, it's not inconceivable to slow the decay of a corpse with the right 'sound' system I guess.

Other than 'why would you bother' the next question is, how long till the batteries run out, making it futile anyway.

Why are you picking on the addition of music.

Coffins are outrageously expensive in all sorts of totally pointless ways: comfort; type of wood; trimmings etc. when a simple plywood box would be just as good, especially when the deceased is going to be cremated.

Point taken, but part of the culture of modern European (and other similar) death rituals is for the mourners to send off the deceased in some style, hence not dumping their corpse-stuffed Hessian bag in a dirt pit.

This is more for the mourners than the deceased and helps family and loved ones with the final separation stage, so some extravagance is understandable and long established in modern society. This at least fills an understandable (if not overly expensive) need.

Music in the coffin, or a working TV with a remote control, or a working coffee maker does not. It is nothing but a cheap gimmick created by people who just want to make a buck.

Just my opinion.

Ok that's reasonable.

For me the hessian bag would be more than adequate, but, I am leaning towards the idea of a fully charged cheap mobile: just in case.

(That's odd why does the spell checker want to capitalise hessian?)

Indeed, sending off the dead in style is common to ancient as well as modern cultures. The benefit is clearly to the bereaved.

On the other hand, a cheap mobile is not a bad request for the buried (just in case).

Other family members have assured me that, if predeceased, they will have me cremated since it is cheaper. I don't like the idea because I do believe awareness survives death, and no desire to experience being burned. I would rather be buried in the ground, but I have no right to consecrated ground since I am an infidel (not to mention the expense), and apparently some laws do also prevent my interment hessian-style in an 'unconsecrated' place. So I guess it's the furnace. Ho hum.

Given the option, I guess it would be reasonable (and cheap!) to ask for KMFDM to be played while I'm burning, if not to hearten or annoy the living then for my own benefit (just in case). .." in the age of superboredom hype and mediocrity, celebrate relentlessness...." ....might as well. You're only dead once. Heaven forbid the 'bereaved' should further insult me with some sappy muzak.

(BTW meant to say 'ultrasonic cleaning' in my previous post obviously, not 'infrasonic'. However if anyone chooses to place trumpeting elephants or a tank full of whales over my grave/firepit I will be much appeased. )

You should watch the BBC Dr Who spin-off series mini series event

Torchwood - Miracle Day

VERY thought provoking. What IF nobody could ever die.

Ah yes. The concept is very familiar, without death in the cycle, life would be unable to generate its amazing diversity.

I wouldn't want my life as a monkey-descendant to last forever. But I still have the imperative to prolong it as much as I can, within the reasonable parameters.

Insofar as life is awareness, which leaves the body upon death I consider it my prerogative in life to raise my awareness to whatever higher level I can achieve, cw the awareness I had at birth. And also not relinquish the sound awareness that I came with in the face of any spurious challenges.

When you think about where we have been, in terms of reasonable or unreasonable beliefs, knowledge, and comprehension of our place in the whole of 'life' even in the past hundreds of years, it is an amazing time to be human here. I'm pigging out on the internet and really, no regrets about being here at this time.

Two thoughts:

1) Be careful to ensure the volume is not set to a level which will induce hearing damage to the deceased.

2) Would it be wise for me to specify that I do not want to be buried with my hearing aids?