It’s the end of the wo….

According to the Mayan calendar the world was or is (depending on when you read this) going to end on December 21, 2012.

Here are just a few songs you can listen to while waiting for it. Or not.

‘It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)’

R.E.M. (1987)

Generally, only the hardcore REMheads can recite all the lyrics to this apocalyptic theme. But usually everyone can sing the intro and rejoin the band for the vigorous “LEONARD BERNSTEIN!” part. REM frontman Michael Stipe has said he often dreams of the world’s demise. REM broke up. Maybe that was what the dream was about.

‘The End’

The Doors (1969)

Originally written as a breakup tune, this little number took on a trippy, we’re-all-gonna-die meaning when it was used in the movie ‘Apocalypse Now’ ten years later. Psychedelic, foreboding and scary, it helps launch and conclude the film’s story, taking the fictional Captain Willard from a drunken blackout to a mission in Cambodia that leads to “the horror”.

’99 Red Balloons’

Nena (1983)

Though plenty eerie in its original German, Nena’s accent gives the English version of this Cold War fear-pop song an even more otherworldly air. The New Wave synth-pop tune is catchy, but it is on this list thanks to its nuclear holocaust lyrics, written in West Berlin with three minutes to midnight on the Doomsday Clock. It’s a stark reminder that no matter how scary Osama was, the early ’80s were lived on the eve of destruction.

‘Eve of Destruction’

Barry McGuire (1965)

During the turbulent ’60s P.F. Sloan wrote about all the signs that the end was near: racism, war, religious hypocrisy. While it worked well with the anti-war movement, it also attracted patriotic rebuttals. McGuire’s sang it like he meant it, giving a lot of weight to the song.

‘1999’

Prince (1982)

To hell with it. If the end of the world really is near, it’s not like there’s anything we can do about it. So get your purple on and let’s partaaaaaay. That was Prince’s s logic. And it makes the most sense to me.

‘Bad Moon Rising’

Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969)

It’s about the apocalypse. Not finding the bathroom.