– songs also available below –
In my last post, Artificial Intelligence is coming…I reviewed the new book by Andrew Keen, The Internet is Not The Answer.
However, further research led me to Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute and The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, set up by their academic counterparts at Cambridge. Both institutes are partly funded by the technology industry and both ostensibly research the probability of technology causing the extinction of the human race.
Of course I paraphrase for dramatic effect; however you might be interested to know that the FHI estimates that “the probability of artificial intelligence bringing an end to the word is as high as 10%”.
So, if we are all potentially redundant at best and going the way of the dinosaurs at worst, what song choices seem the most appropriate to accompany the end of the word. I’ve selected my 10 – and yes there are omissions – but I have my reasons. More apt however, considering the four robotic horsemen of the apocalypse are approaching, what songs will you be listening to?
A PLAYLIST FOR THE APOCALYPSE
Daft Punk might have better robotic outfits, but this New Zealand duo certainly have the comic edge, and there didn’t seem like a more fitting way to start this playlist. A world where robots criticise Peter Crouch’s dancing for having too much natural rhythm surely can’t be all bad.
Written during the height of the Cold War and the escalating conflict in Vietnam, this Rolling Stones‘ classic from their 1969 album Let It Bleed, was in fact never released as a single. In 1995, Jagger described it as “a kinda end of the world song” and hearing gospel singer and guest vocalist Merry Clayton repeatedly scream “murder” is more than enough reason to include this on my playlist. Ironically it is most certainly not the end of the world for The Stones, as this track is one of the most licensed songs in cinematic history – Martin Scorsese has used it no less than three times.
This Soundgarden song was released in 1994 and spent seven weeks at the top of the American Rock charts. Its expansive and ominous sound scape combined with its slightly baffling lyrics – “Times are gone for honest men, and sometimes far too long for snakes” – insures it has the prerequisite sense of foreboding that any ‘end of the world’ party requires. Writer and lead singer Chris Cornell later confessed to not knowing what the song was about, saying: “it is the closest to me just playing with words for words’ sake, of anything I’ve written.”
Although the lyric by this 1940’s Bermudian calypso group seems to indicate the apocalypse will come via a bomb dropped from a spaceship, their reaction, “I’m going to run, run, run like a son of a gun – I don’t know where I’m going to go but I’m really going to run,” seems like eminently sage advice for us all in the event of a robotic revolution. For that reason as well as its infectious beat – it’s in.
The tiredness in Johnny Cash’s voice alone is enough to bring a hardened man to tearful reflection, or in this case an unreppenatant sinner to grace. Produced by Rick Rubin for the American VI: Ain’t No Grave album, part of the American Recordings series, this cover of a Sheryl Crow song, epitomizes both the menace and bittersweet joy that Cash was able to capture on record.
This Oklahoma musician, real name Annie Clark, undeniably produced one of the finest albums of last year, the self-titled St. Vincent; however it is this earlier 2007 effort that makes onto my playlist. The line “All of your praying amounts to just one breath, please keep your victory but give me little death” is matched only by her ability to distill all humanity into simply “Time” and “Light”. Artful brevity is rare.
This Bob Dylan cover, released in 1968, is one of Jimi Hendrix’s most beloved recordings and perennially features in Rolling Stone magazine’s top 50 all-time rock songs. The lyric, which has been the subject of much literary criticism and debate, is actually based on The Book of Isaiah, more specifically chapter 21, which reads “prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise ye princes, and prepare the shield”. Throw in Hendrix’s guitar and this is an apocalypse no-one is going to forget.
It might not have the credibility or providence of Dylan and Hendrix, but this 2012 song by American rockers Imagine Dragons, definitely has a sense of fun. In truth it almost has me believing that the coming Armageddon might in fact turn out to be more like a computer game (of course that could be because it was used for the Assassin’s Creed III advert).
The quintessential 90s American rock band, R.E.M, singing, “It’s the end of the world as we know it; and I feel fine” – this just might be the only ‘must’ for any apocalyptic playlist. Adopting a ‘stream of consciousness’ approach to the lyrics, lead singer Michael Stipe later said that most of the words came to him in a dream. Some dreams are bad; others clearly feel like the end of the world.
From the 1986 film Labyrinth, starring Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie, this choice is possibly controversial; however if I’m facing oblivion I would quite like ‘The White Duke’ crooning me a lullaby as I shuffle off this mortal coil, led by my robotic overlord. Bowie of course offers many possible entries onto anyone’s list, from Ashes to Ashes to Cat People, but I have chosen mine.
I apologise for any glaring omissions (and there are many), however I have chosen my 10 songs. Naturally I invite comment and better still any alternative playlists…
As a footer, it is perhaps worth noting that I have researched A.I. music creation software, and I’m pleased to report that the computers are still some way off on that front. Happy Apocalypse everyone.
Track list:
- Robots – Flight of the Conchords
- Gimme Shelter – The Rolling Stones
- Black Hole Sun – Soundgarden
- Atomic Nightmare – The Talbot Brothers of Bermuda
- Redemption Day – Johhny Cash
- The Apocalypse Song – St Vincent
- All Along The Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix
- Radioactive – Imagine Dragons
- It’s The End Of The World As We Know It – R.E.M
- As The World Falls Down – David Bowie
Ben Davis 2015 