When the final track of your life finishes playing, how would you like to be remembered? Do you want to be buried and forgotten like a bad solo album? Or would you like to be encased for posterity like a big platinum record? Or maybe you hope to continue being heard, like a legendary musician that lives on forever. Well, if you hope to have your song play long after you’ve left the recording studio of life, there’s a way for that to happen–literally–by having your ashes pressed into a vinyl record.
We came across this somewhat macabre/sort of touching/totally metal internment option at Ask Audio, and it is offered by the UK company Andvinyl. With their basic package they will take your actual cremated ashes and press them into 30 discs, each with 24 total minutes of audio (12 minutes on each side). You have to supply the sound, so you can record something original like a message or have them use a favorite song, but the discs come with standard artwork and labels that include your name, date of birth, and date of death. That package starts at 3,000 Pounds (which is around 3,700 American dollars), but there are plenty of extras you can add on.
You can get original artwork, either by providing a photo or sitting for a “pre-death sitting,” get additional audio time and backing tracks, have original music written just for you (with your input if you like), and you can even have them distribute your album to “reputable vinyl stores worldwide.” You know, the reputable stores that sell albums made with human remains. Those ones.
If you think all of this is weird, then wrap your head around the fact that they even give you the option of just supplying them individual body parts, that way the rest of you can be buried. So, if you want your album to be any good, try to figure out what part of your body sounds the best.
But if all of this is too creepy for you personally, you can try it out on one of your pets, because what better way to remember Fifi than to listen to her barking for the rest of your life.
While all of this is easy to joke around about, for those that don’t find this weird or unsettling (I think it’s actually really cool and potentially meaningful) it can be a very personal, very touching way to remember a lost one, or to continue putting something good out into the world even after you have left it.
Hearing a lost loved one’s voice is one of the most powerful ways to remember them, and being able to experience that sensation, or to give it to those we leave behind, is a wonderful way to make sure you can hear a song that celebrates life.
Just make sure you include the most perfect song possible for such a tribute.
If you are interested in having your ashes made into a vinyl album you can contact the company here, or visit their website for more details.
What song would you most want on your album? Tell us the track you’d choose for people to sing along with you forever by recording your answer in our comments section below.
Images: Aeon Video
