![]() ![]() Obviously Hawkwind’s sci-fi oeuvre was going to include at least true banger of a post-apocalypse jam. “We want this like everyone else,” he reminds us, and it affirms that the song isn’t mere gothic melodrama-it captures the two universal joys of life: to love and be loved. But Smith isn’t being hyperbolic for the sake of it. Smith’s ever-powerful sensitivity certainly comes through on “The End of the World,” where romantic partners falling out of sync with one another feels like a cataclysmic event. Robert Smith’s songs are full of passionate love, and he unpacks desire with such mastery that it brings people to tears. Who better to mourn the end of frolicking in the sunshine than The Cure? Jokes aside, they’re far more dramatic than they are morbid. BOC don’t get enough respect for being one of the best and weirdest rock bands of all time, but at least America realizes how beautiful this song is. Also it was used brilliantly (powerfully, even) in the opening to the ’90s miniseries of Stephen King’s The Stand, which makes it especially relevant right now. One of the absolute best classic rock staples might be primarily focused on suicide, but its call to embrace the inevitably of death fits all manner of endtimes scenarios. It’s about making peace with your “enemies” and learning to appreciate life while it’s happening, in both its “loveliness” and “ugliness.” Do that, and then when the end really does come, all that’s left is “just Hallelujah.” -Ellen Johnsonīlue Oyster Cult: “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper” Or, as Seth puts it, “Holding the love I’ve known in my life.” This is an end-of-the-world song for the faithful folks who just believe everything works out the way it should. “No Hard Feelings” is about dying with no regrets, about the day when one’s soul leaves their body and all that’s left to focus on is the joy that defines a life. But listen to it enough times, and Judgement Day imagery will begin to unfold. This song, one of the more explicitly serious in The Avett Brothers’ sweeping catalogue, is not about the apocalypse. While we rounded up some of the most notable apocalyptic songs a few years back here, we decided to poll our staff for their own personal favorites, and given the present circumstances, it felt right. Ever since cave drawings were a thing (and possibly even before that), people have been depicting cataclysmic events in their art, so songs about the end of the world are a natural extension of that. But in times when we feel like there’s little hope, it’s immensely cathartic to hear songs from people who also have vague feelings that the end is nigh. There’s no reason to build a doomsday shelter, stock up on astronaut food or learn how to use a crossbow-at least not yet. we’re not technically expecting a mushroom cloud or the extinction of our species in our very near future. While we face simultaneous crises-climate change, an impending economic depression, a global pandemic, human rights abuses, etc. ![]()
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