1980s New Wave Song Suggestions for Your 2012 Mayan End of the World Dance Mix

2012 may be the last year we all get to party like it was 1999 if the Mayans were right. Probably they weren't and if they were, then that statement won't matter. If 2012 does wind up being the end of the world as we know it, you will want to dance the night away before it all comes crashing down. Your 2012 Mayan End of the World 1980s Dance Mix would do well to include the following songs that will make saying goodbye to cookie dough ice cream, Homer Simpson and streaming movies much easier to take.

It's the End of the World as We Know It

This REM standard will doubtlessly become one of the unofficial anthems of 2012 as we get nearer to Mayan doomsday. And why not? "It's the End of the World as We Know It" is infectious both musically and lyrically. How many songs can make you want to fast dance while also stimulating that part of your brain that makes you want to learn? How many people have been moved to learn about Lester Bangs or Lenny Bruce thanks to this song? How many people will witness the end of the world as we know it in continued ignorance of Bangs and Bruce as they listen to this song for the last time before realizing that the Mayans were onto something after all? Dance manically to this history lesson masquerading as a golden oldie from back when REM was actually a great band and when the end comes you will, indeed, feel fine.

The Safety Dance

They are not Devo. They are Men Without Hats. "The Safety Dance" is an iconic string in the tapestry that makes up memories of 1980s music. The song is not nearly as mindlessly dumb as its detractors would have you believe. In fact, "The Safety Dance" is a song urging revolution. Inspired as a reaction against those who attempted to obstruct dancers doing the Pogo-which is the perfect choice for dancing to "It's the End of the World as Know It"-this 1980s video classic is also intensely appropriate for kissing civilization behind. The lyrics "we can act like we come from out of this world and leave the real one far behind" has a certain poignancy in light of the potential for leaving this world far behind come December 2012.

Rock the Casbah

Perhaps the most danceable song by the Clash. "Rock the Casbah" can become a slogan for how to live your life in 2012 armed with the knowledge that it just may be leading straight to global devastation. The lyrics of this Clash hit do not contain anything specifically eschatological, but the imagery throughout does have a definite end of the world vibe.

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