Heartbreak, Being in Love with Love, and The Ultimate Funeral Afterparty (Ep 31)

💐 Episode Summary Dancer and choreographer (and now tech professional) Alan Watson shares the stories behind the songs on his deeply personal funeral playlist, from Brooklyn nostalgia and Clive student favorites to dance floor anthems and heartbreak ballads like “White Knuckles,” “One Foot,” and “I Will Love Again.” He get into t how music has carried him through love, grief, fatherhood, and the shifts of growing up without losing your spark. This episode also explores the art of curating a life through sound, choosing songs that hold memory, movement, and meaning that is specific to our human experience. Along the way, Alan reflects on the people, places, and memories that gave each track its weight. It’s a vivid reminder that the songs we keep closest often tell the story of who we are. Get ready to laugh, feel everything, and maybe build your own playlist along the way.

💿 Songs Mentioned “Brooklyn” by Patrick Droney

“Supercut” by Lorde

“Give You Blue” by Allen Stone

“Somebody” by Dagny

“Better Than I Know Myself” by Del Water Gap

“Much About Sadness” by Brett Castro

“Dog Years” by Maggie Rogers

“Angels” by The xx

“White Knuckles” by Boh Doran

“Hard On You” by Krrum

“One Foot” by WALK THE MOON

“Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix Radio Edit)” by Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs and A-Trak

“I Will Love Again” by Lara Fabian

“Lovestoned/I Think That She Knows (Interlude)” by Justin Timberlake

“Dear Me” by Eric Hutchinson

“Never Been Better” by Ben Abraham

“Something Serious” by Bruno Mars

“Gimme Gimme Gimme” by FAT TONY, MEDUN

You can hear Alan’s playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4uoKipueP2YLYh0yq4tGhS?si=4d7c3ceaf5f249b6&nd=1&dlsi=a6ca5a98ea744612 You can watch Alan’s “500 days of summer” dance set with dance troupe Part Time Models: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD4rT6P84eU

🎙 About the Guest Alan Watson is a dancer turned software engineer with a career that's spanned the arts and tech in equal measure. For most of his life he was either dancing at PMT Dance Studio or working at NYU. He performed and taught hip-hop, popping, and locking across the city teaching at PMT Dance Studio, Broadway Dance Center and NYU. He's appeared on the TODAY Show three times, most famously backup dancing for Vanilla Ice dressed as a ninja turtle. Throughout his 15+ years of dancing, he was a part of dance crews, professional companies and solo freestyle competitions. Alan worked at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU Tisch, one of the top music industry programs in the world. There he ran the high school outreach programs, admissions and anything that interacted with the students in the program. Many of those students are now becoming the next great leaders in the music industry, many as songwriters, producers and artists. Alan has since moved into software engineering, currently working as a Software Engineer at Inspira Financial. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife and two kids, drives a minivan and does most of his dancing at raves.

🌹 About Play This At My Funeral Play This At My Funeral is a deeply fun, slightly macabre, always heartwarming podcast about the songs that shape our lives — including the ones we’d play at our funerals. Each episode, Dinah invites a guest to curate their hypothetical send-off playlist and share the stories behind the music. Think Desert Island Discs meets Films To Be Buried With — with more vibes and fewer survival scenarios. Created and hosted by Dinah Susan Alobeid. Edited and co-produced by Alice Marcondes.

💜 Stay Connected Follow on IG @PlayThisAtMyFuneralPodcast, TikTok @PlayThisAtMyFuneralPod, and Dinah @DinahSusanAlobeidWrites. I hearby declare that I do not own the rights to any music or lyrics played during the recording of this podcast. All rights to the music and audio belong to their respective owner(s).