REM might have been onto something with this song. It’s the end of the world as we know it.
All the way back in 1987 a weird band smoked a ton of dope and penned a song that has resonated with generations. Then they coughed up a lung and decided to do something else off the profits they had made from entertaining. Thanks, REM.
The 80’s could be described as one of the iconic times for music as the 60’s and 70’s had to eventually come to an end once that particular push via music to articulate the angst of those eras faded. Then we entered the start of the decline into modernity. We were filled with hope when confronted with adversity and the future was so bright, we had to wear shades. Thank you, Corey Hart, for your footnote in music history. Ancient history is relative, and none more so when you look back at the music of times gone. The 60’s and 70’s music was about change. The 80’s was about how the morals and traditions of society had changed despite the political push for something else.
Think about it for a moment. A lot of modern movies embrace this era in music for their soundtracks and have spawned a cultish following of one hit wonders. We had Guardians of the Galaxy who made Juice Newton famous again. The kids of today love it and that says a lot.
The 80’s were filled with adversity and hardship, yet we simply didn’t see it that way as life was for living and bitching about the way things were was not mentioned overly much. We just got on with it and along the way we pulled the piss out of authority and forced them to change their push for their goals as they didn’t align with the bulk of us. Now it is all different. Now we live with media cycles and fearporn of what is and what might be. It gets old and worn out as modernity has made us all just plebes to those who rule the world. In a way you could say we are the architects of our own destiny in this.
Go and listen to the lyrics of this era and see how we questioned everything and accepted nothing pushed by the ruling classes. Back then we confronted change with questions and music reflected this as did so many other things. We pulled the piss out of the insanity of the ruling classes. Now we elevate them to seemingly unimaginable heights of enlightenment and vision for the future.
Aussie Essays 