From Verdi to Metallica, from Tom Waits to Neil Hannon, armageddon has provided musical inspiration for centuries. So with one eye on the 2012 apocalypse – according to some doomsayers – LAUREN MURPHYcompiles a perfect soundtrack to the end of the world
THE END IS nigh – if you’re one for prophecies formulated by a long-extinct civilisations, that is. December 21st, 2012 marks the end of the calendar used by the Maya, which some believe means that there’s under a year to go until Doomsday, if pre-Colombian empires that were eradicated by the Spanish colonisation of the Americas are to be believed.
So batten down the hatches, say your prayers and most importantly, invest in a decent pair of headphones. Considering that potential demise of mankind has fascinated songwriters, composers and musicians since the dawn of modern music, the soundtrack to the end of the world is a long and varied one.
Of course, if the Maya could have foreseen events like the rise of Jedward and Justin Bieber and the dominance of The X Factor, they may have brought the date forward by a decade – but as far back as the 13th century, hymns were being composed about the Day of Judgement. One of the most famous was Dies Irae, believed to have been composed by Italian friar Thomas of Celano. The hymn, which comprised part of the Roman Catholic Requiem mass until 1970, is perhaps best known through its widely known adaptation by Giuseppe Verdi for part of his famous 1874 Requiem. Even atheists will have the fear of God instilled in them by the thunderous opening chords.
It’s not just classical music that best encapsulates mankind’s demise, though. Every genre of music has its own take on the prospective scenario, and if you’re a metal fan, you may be more familiar with the theme than others. Metallica, for example, seem particularly obsessed by armageddon.
True, you may not be able to discern James Hetfield's strangled voice growl "The horsemen are drawing nearer / On leather steeds they ride / They've come to take your life", on The Four Horsemen, but the sentiment is abundantly clear. And have you ever heard Agalloch's And the Great Cold Death of the Earth? No? Well, the hint is in the title, so unless you want recurring nightmares for the next 12 months, best steer clear of that one.
If you're the sort of person who likes their Doomsday tunes a little more musically upbeat, however, there are plenty to choose from. Take Creedence Clearwater Revival's Bad Moon Rising. A jaunty crowd-pleaser, right? A guaranteed party hit? Not in 2012, with lines such as "I hear hurricanes a-blowin', I know the end is coming soon / I fear rivers overflowing, I hear the voice of rage and ruin".
The same goes for Johnny Cash's The Man Comes Around("Till Armageddon no shalam, no shalom; Then the father hen will call his chickens home"), The Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter("War, children, it's just a shot away") and David Bowie's Five Years, a song that describes the aftermath of the breaking news that the Earth will die in five years.
And what about The Clash's London Calling? When the London 2012 Olympic committee chose that song as the "countdown anthem" to the upcoming summer games, they apparently didn't study Joe Strummer's catastrophe-strewn lyric sheet too closely.
If you're real a glutton for punishment, you might want to try Earth Died Screamingby Tom Waits. And if you're an absolute sadist, The Final Countdown– 1980s pop act Europe's synthtastic farewell to Earth – is just the ticket. Apologies in advance for letting loose that particular earworm.
There's no doubt about it – the elder statesmen of music have a way with words when it comes to the downfall of the human race. Nevertheless, recent years has seen more contemporary artists tackle the topic, too, including nu-ravers Klaxons with their musically gaudy Four Horsemen of 2012, Bright Eyes' Four Windsand The Postal Service's We Will Become Silhouettes, with Ben Gibbard's jovially delivered description of being stuck in a bunker after a nuclear disaster. Our own Neil Hannon even got in on the act with Here Comes the Floodfrom The Divine Comedy album Fin de Siecle, calmly crooning "Here comes the war, more blood and gore than you can stand / Here comes the race from outer space, baby / It's all over. We're all gonna die" over a jazzy soundtrack. Cheery.
Of course, no self-respecting soundtrack compilation would be complete without one song in particular, although REM arguably wrote It's the End of the World as we Know Itmore as a riposte to Ronald Reagan's foreign policies during the Cold War, than as a straight-up apocalypse anthem.
Still, it seems like the most appropriate note to end on, even if most people struggle to remember anything past the opening two lines. Yes, 2012 may be the end of the world as we know it – but as long as we have some catchy tunes to soundtrack the occasion, we’ll feel fine. Or mildly distracted, at the very least.
See tinyurl.com/tunesofdoom for a YouTube playlist of the songs mentioned above
