There’s allowing one’s work to commingle with one’s life, and then there’s ensuring your funeral has a good soundtrack. Yet one of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s greatest attributes was trying to make the world sound better––not simply through his art, but such as when his favorite restaurant played the world’s worst music (an experience any New Yorker knows too well) and he pro bono made them a splendid replacement.
Echoing that, and marking what is surely among the most graceful final notes any man could hope for, Sakamoto curated the soundtrack for his own funeral: a 162-minute collection including film scores (Contempt, 1900, Purple Noon, La Strada, and Laurel Halo’s work for the recent doc Possessed), piano-led jazz, and Glenn Gould’s interpretations of Bach. Having found great nourishment in his restaurant playlist, I’ve hardly been happier to hear a funeral march.
Listen below: