So the end of the world may be at our doorstep… or not.  As all the media was spinning us round and round (like a record player) about the supposed Mayan calendar predictions that had the end of the world coming at the end of December 2012, some were smiling at the media theater of it all and yet some had a tinge of wondering whether this is truly “it”.  We have seen this fervor before: Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth, the Y2K scare, and the mania around Tim LaHaye’s  Left Behind fiction series.

While some are take this talk with a grain of salt, Torie Bosch in Slate notes a recent study that shows about 10 percent of people worldwide think that Dec. 21, 2012 could have been doomsday.  With a worldwide population of just over 7 billion (or 7,059,914,859 to be exact according the most recent census data), that’s 700 million people seriously thinking about end times this month.  And if some of them are in need of some tunes, then perhaps the Rock and Theology Project is a place to start.

Perhaps this is why themes of the end of the world have been a prime driver for some great rock and roll over the decades.   The apocalypse is about coming to the end of things and rock is about pushing both form and content to the ultimate horizon where sonic major and minor keys flux and bend to breaking with lyrics that blast the listener out of mere reflection and into another place and time.  For my money rock and roll is the boot camp for the apocalypse that will come at some point.  So even if the 700 million people who are concerned that the world with end is going to happen this week are left unfulfilled, we can still work on a good soundtrack for when and if the end does come.

As you think about the end of the world, what would you want on your playlist?

Here is my Apocalypse mix to get you started (you can click here to take you to Spotify and listen to the mix)  This was a good exercise to renew my passion for the mixtape which in itself is an art form worthy of some further reflection on this blog.  For my list I tried to balance traditional images of the end lyrically with movements of hope.   You have post-industrial chain rattling, drum beats, deep bass riffs, blurring guitar runs, and both blasting vocals and strained voices in choirs.  I also tried to bring in older voices (Prince, Johnny Cash, Rush) with some new ones (Father John Misty, Fun., Japanroids). Leading with Tom Waits’ fantastic lead track off of Bone Machine was a no-brainer and no Rock mix on the apocalypse can hold its head high without REM’s classic somewhere in the mix.   Lastly, I went with a triple shot of U2 in the middle of the list as a Nicene trinitarian formation of sorts which I suppose is another thing about the end times… it brings out the super fan in all of us.

Let me know what you think and what should be added:

The Earth Died Screaming – Tom Waits

1999 – Prince

John The Revelator – Nick Cave

John Saw That Number – Neko Case

Hit Me With Your Best Shot – Pat Benatar

The Nights of Wine and Roses – Japanroids

God’s Gonna Cut You Down – Johnny Cash

afro – The John Spenser Blues Explosion

Limelight – Rush

My My, Hey Hey – Neil Young

The Waiting – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Everything Is Broken – Bob Dylan

Some Nights – Fun.

Pumped Up Kicks -

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings – Father John Misty

Do You Feel Loved – U2

Where The Streets Have No Name – U2

Until The End Of The World – U2

Let England Shake – PJ Harvey

It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) – REM

They Hung Him On A Cross – Nirvana

Alive – Pearl Jam

 

1 Comment »

1. 

   Jeff, an intriguing post and quite a task to imagine such a list. I was thinking that my own list might include songs that have stood the test of time with me over the last 30 years of my music fandom (since around age 12). Very few songs have remained compelling for me over decades. One that has is “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2, as close to a ‘people’s anthem’ in my lifetime as I know, and a song that continues to unfold itself meaningfully in my life. And Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” is definitely on that list, too. Both songs would be easily interpretable as “adolescent” tunes of rebellion and identity-quest, but I think they can take on more meaning into adulthood. Whether they will do so in old age, or would do so in the apocalyptic ‘old age’ of the world (in keeping with your theme), I don’t know. But the songs that I return to over decades are like friendly traveling companions. We know a lot about each other.

   Comment by TB — December 28, 2012 @ 2:34 am

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Leave a comment