Did you know? #5: "The Last Goodbye"

About a week ago Peter Jackson posted on his Facebook page a video of the song "The Last Goodbye", performed by Billy Boyd. This song will be featured in the third and final release of The Hobbit saga, "The Battle of the Five Armies", as a honorable final closure for the Tolkien series.

"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" premiered yesterday at London

and will open on December 17 for USA

Long story short, this tune from the original motion picture soundtrack summarizes the long and passionate journey from the very beginning, featuring some of the best scenes from the "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" movies, mixed with behind-the-scenes footage and Boyd performing the song. For those of you who don't remember (shame on you!) Billy Boyd portrayed the hobbit Peregrin "Pippin" Took throughout the three "The Lord of The Rings" movies.

Both the melody and lyrics are powerful, evoking strong emotions from all the best and worst moments shared during the adventures that took place in Middle-Earth, and transforming the five-minute video into a heartwarming connection between the fans and the fiction. The song was composed and written by Billy Boyd himself, with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens collaborating with the lyrics.

If you haven't watched it yet, be prepared to get goosebumps and maybe shed a tear or two.

The fact is 16 years, 6 movies and one fellowship after, the classic story is finally coming to an end. And this will be a true "last goodbye" to the Middle-Earth series.

You can read Billy Boyd's interview with Entertainment Weekly HERE.

Did you know? #2: Top 10 songs not to play at a funeral

Just as there are songs that remind us of great moments in life, there are others that... let's just say they don't exactly enlighten us about death. That's right. A funeral is a moment of grief where people mourn their dearly departed: a serious situation in need for serious behavior. The following list contains the Top 10 songs not to play at a funeral, deemed less appropiate for this kind of event:

1. I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
2. Ding Dong The With Is Dead (from The Wizard of Oz)
3. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go - Wham!
4. I Wanna Live Forever - Bon Jovi
5. I Touch Myself - Divinyls
6. Another One Bites The Dust - Queen
7. I Wanna Piss On You - GG Allin
8. I Can't Live - Mariah Carey
9. Highway To Hell - AC/DC
10. Don't Fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult

I think most of these songs (if not all) are self-explanatory as to why they're terrible picks for a funeral march. Other than a poor music selection for the event, certain behaviors and actions may be deemed inappropriate during this kind of ceremony. Nevertheless, culturally speaking there are major gaps between funeral traditions around the world. Cremations, graveyard burials, bone-turning, mortuary rituals, processions and other traditions differ in several countries. Learn about some fascinating funeral traditions following this link.

Yikes! Chinese and Taiwanese hire funeral strippers to honor the dead.

Anyway, playing respectable music during a funeral service seems to be a constant agreement for most people. Here are 5 other songs that didn't make it into the top 10 but still are amongst the worst:

1. I Fucking Hate You - Godsmack
2. Bodies - Drowning Pool
3. Congratulations - Cliff Richard
4. Cold As Ice - Foreigner
5. Dead On Arrival - Fall Out Boy

PS: If you pick Ding Dong the Witch is Dead, don't forget to bring a complimentary broom to bury with the corpse. (Just kidding)