Dancing at the End of the World

As a writer, I return to music over and over for inspiration. For every play I make a playlist. Sometimes I’m drawn to the story of a song, sometimes just a mood or tone in the sounds.
For Martha’s (b)Rainstorm, I’m drawn to a wide range of things. I’m thinking of what music might sound like in the future, which in my gut means songs that aren’t in English, songs that have a melange of sounds from different places: globalization and migration expressed through an array of instruments.
Some keystone bands are Gogol Bordello, which takes the Gypsy folk music of Russia/Eastern Europe and cranks it with an American Punk rock attitude; also Debo band, a Boston-based Ethiopian funk band.
Also: an exciting range of Apocalypse Pop exists (A-Pop-Calypse?): music expressly about destruction or the end of the world. Often these songs are full of joy and energy: they are about love, celebration, the exuberance to be found when there are no more questions or doubts. Here are a few of my faves:
Modern English: I Melt With You

R.E.M.: It’s the End of the World as we Know It (And I Feel Fine):

Nena: 99 Red Balloons: