Last week I preached a sermon on the apocalypse. Apocalypse is a rich soil for music. The Jukebox covers songs of the apocalypse from a variety of genres. So much so that there is an entire wiki page devoted to songs of the apocalypse. A diversity of apocalyptic themes are here covered: futurustic dystopia, the four horseman of destruction, the vision of a new era of justice, and kicking back and relaxing at the end of all reality.
First up, an apocalypse now being the end.
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Next on the playlist, Cold War paranoid post-nuclear holocaust pop (in German). If you don't know the backstory, the song is about how 99 balloons kids send up into the air are misread by the East Germans, leading them to send nuclear destruction (brilliantly contrasted with the uber-upbeat tone of the song):
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Johnny Cash on the Book of Revelation. Enough said.
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From pop to 1950s doo wop-style retro futuristic post-apocalyptic David Bowie:
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Next the classic Dylan folk tune, A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall:
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Perhaps no genre is more perfectly suited to apocalyptic meditations than metal. Here the lords of metal, Black Sabbath speak on Judgment Day.
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What if the apocalypse isn't all that bad? What if it's kinda fun? REM considers:
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Another great apocalyptic genre is punk. And no one better captures the grit and grim of the end than The Clash.
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We can't leave out hip hop--Earthcrusher by Mr. Lif
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Lastly, the Book of Revelation in the Bible ends with a vision of a new heaven and a new earth. A vision of true justice and the enlightement of all materiality, all creation.
An apocalyptic song in the vision of that hope. Soulful Sam Cooke:
