Society crumbles; you take shelter where you can, huddling in abandoned
buildings as the dead shuffle by. It's a lesson from 1984: "We are the dead." You have little in which to take solace besides the music that pumps from your earbuds. What songs appropriately set the mood? You're the last of us; thank God you've got a
shitload of batteries.
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Waiting for Godot |
But AM's about the music, so here's your mix-tape for the Apocalypse:
1. "Like a
Rolling Stone." The greatest of rock songs is the existentialist anthem. "How
does it feel? How does it feel? To be on your own…" You get the idea.
2. "Heroin." 50 years ago the Velvet Underground recorded "Heroin," a highly lauded song that overtly describes heroin use while seeming to revel
in the glory of negation: "I have made the big decision; I'm
gonna try to nullify my life." For Reed , heroin was the agent that allowed him to accept the meaninglessness of
things. "Cause when the smack begins to flow,/ then I really
don't care anymore./ Ah, when the heroin is in my blood,/ and that blood is in my
head,/ then thank God that I'm as good as dead./ Then thank your God that I'm not
aware,/ and thank God that I just don't care."
3. "Smells Like Teen Spirit." The ultimate garage band, Nirvana were poster children for the 90s, the musical icon of Gen X, a cohort typified by its apathy (and flannel). Anarchy, self-loathing, and nihilism were themes the band touched
upon repeatedly, particularly in the form of personal negation. Released in 1991, "Smells
Like Teen Spirit" unexpectedly shot up the charts: "I feel stupid and contagious./ Here we are now, entertain
us."
4. "London Calling." In 1979, The Clash broke
through the Atlantic divide and made it big in an America that could just as
easily connect with the inherent frustrations of unemployment, racial conflict, and drug
abuse. The end result was an apocalyptic, nihilistic masterpiece that's stood
the test of time: "The
ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in. Engines stop running and the wheat is
growing thin. A nuclear error, but I have no fear. London is drowning - and I
live by the river."
5. "Sheep Go to Heaven." Cake's deliciously
cryptic tune is packed with obscure references. The
chorus "Sheep go to Heaven, goats go to Hell" is an allusion to the
Bible (you know, the book often cited as the definitive record of who goes where). The line
"And the gravedigger puts on the forceps" is a bit more perplexing.
It's taken directly from Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, a staple of existentialist
theater: "Down in the hole, lingeringly, the grave digger puts on the
forceps. We have time to grow old. The air is full of our cries. But habit is a
great deadener."
6. "Thirty-Three." The Smashing Pumpkins have quite a knack for expressing their dissatisfaction with feelings of loneliness and disconnection. "Thirty-Three" is a plea to an unknown someone for love that will "last forever." There is a sense of hope in the song, and our narrator believes in the person he sings to, while drawing support from others ("But in all the same old haunts I still find my friends"), however, there's a strong sense of isolation in an unfeeling world: "So I pull my collar up and face the cold, on my own/ The earth laughs beneath my heavy feet! At the blasphemy in my old jangly walk." He clings to the hope that this person will "make it last, forever," but in the meantime is alone. Poor Billy Corgan, so unhappy, so upset; remember: "Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage." Ultimately, the song concludes, "And I still believe that I cannot be saved." Different song, same context.
7. "Piggy." Nine Inch Nails' catalog contains an abundance of nihilistic fare. "Nothing can stop me now -- I don't care anymore." Any commentary necessary about NIN?
6. "Thirty-Three." The Smashing Pumpkins have quite a knack for expressing their dissatisfaction with feelings of loneliness and disconnection. "Thirty-Three" is a plea to an unknown someone for love that will "last forever." There is a sense of hope in the song, and our narrator believes in the person he sings to, while drawing support from others ("But in all the same old haunts I still find my friends"), however, there's a strong sense of isolation in an unfeeling world: "So I pull my collar up and face the cold, on my own/ The earth laughs beneath my heavy feet! At the blasphemy in my old jangly walk." He clings to the hope that this person will "make it last, forever," but in the meantime is alone. Poor Billy Corgan, so unhappy, so upset; remember: "Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage." Ultimately, the song concludes, "And I still believe that I cannot be saved." Different song, same context.
7. "Piggy." Nine Inch Nails' catalog contains an abundance of nihilistic fare. "Nothing can stop me now -- I don't care anymore." Any commentary necessary about NIN?
8. "Hotel California." Eagles' Don Henley's vision of 70s California as a
fiendish hotel filled with earthly temptations takes its tone and setup from
Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit. "Hell is other people," says Sartre.
Henley adds, "This could be Heaven, or this could be Hell," implying
that maybe they're one and the same. "Hotel California" is one of
those classic songs that deserves every bit of its fame. Listening to it, you
feel a palpable desire to be somewhere warm and tropical where the livin' is
easy. You also feel a chill of recognition that you'd soon become bored,
listless and depressed playing games with the wealthy and beautiful. "And
still those voices are calling from far away." Thanks, Henley. What an
insightful, elegant bummer, man.
9. "Lazarus." David Bowie was constantly changing his sound and experimenting
with styles, clearly evidenced on his most recent release, Blackstar. The
album, which dropped just two days before Bowie’s death, features some of the
artist’s most surreal, experimental tracks. “Lazarus” is a perfect example of
that, with dreamy saxophone and synthesizer overtones accompanying Bowie’s
emotional lyrics. “I’ll be free, just like that bluebird,” sings Bowie, which
seems like a knowing reference to the singer’s passing. The video, which
features Bowie in a hospital bed singing to the heavens, almost feels like
Bowie’s last gift to his fans. With “Lazarus,” Bowie gave the world one last
glimpse into the beyond, reflecting on the meaning of death and its power over
life.
10. "Leave Me Alone." New Order and Joy Division claim their fair share of existentialist philosophy, but "Leave Me Alone" is the song I go back to timelessly: "But from my head to my toes, from my knees to my eyes,/ Every time I watch the sky/ For these last few days, Leave me alone./ But for these last few days, leave me alone.
Leave me alone.
Leave me alone."