I've been tossing around David J (Bauhaus) and John Lydon (Sex Pistols, Public Image Ltd.) fashionably in my mind lately. Wanting some great shots of Lydon I started pouring through my record collection and came across the 1984 12" World Destruction from Time Zone. Time Zone was a brief hip hop encounter fronted by Afrika Baambaata. Bambaataa brought on Lydon aka Johnny Rotten for the single World Destruction - who some argue was the first rap song.
Growing up in the early 80s I was terrified of nuclear war. All we ever heard about was 'One minute to midnight', nuclear winter, Ronald Reagan, nuclear explosions, nuclear holocaust, nuclear proliferation, nuclear horror, and Mikhail Gorbachev. The 80s were a really happy time. My entire high school was made to sit through a screening of The Day After. My parents were not impressed when I got home. Air raid sirens still make me panic. View the nuclear attack scene for 1983s The Day After here. Read more about the movie here.
I've often wondered if Generation Xers are so bitter because of this time in history.
'I just want to show society what people born after 1960 think about things... We're sick of stupid labels, we're sick of being marginalized in lousy jobs, and we're tired of hearing about ourselves from others' — Douglas Coupland, Boston Globe, 1991
1984
Time Zone - World Destruction