An End of the World Playlist

The sky may not be raining down hellfire and damnation, but that doesn't mean you should let your guard down just yet. Today's the winter solstice and also the end of the long count of the Mayan calendar. So take a moment to chill and listen to some "end-of-the-world" music. I mean, think about it: Would you really want to go out knowing that you spent your last Friday on Earth filing paperwork all day? (P.S. This doesn't apply to you if your job is actually essential.)

Most of the songs are self-explanatory, except for maybe "Give Me Everything," which I only picked because of the "we might not get tomorrow" line. But all the typical end-of-world tropes are there: darkness ("The End" by The Doors), hope (Super Furry Animals' "It's Not the End of the World?") and even revelry (Orson's "No Tomorrow.") If things outside really start to go south, however, then switch on "I Will Survive" and "We're Gonna Make It" for some encouragement. ("We're Gonna Make It" is a rousing excerpt from the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack.)

Oh, and by the way, I know that pretty much every end-of-the-world playlist on the Internet has R.E.M. on it, but I couldn't find a good cover of it on Spotify. So deal with it. (I actually considered including an instrumental cover by the Vitamin String Quartet just to be rebellious, but trust me, it doesn't sound awesome in violins.)