Single, 1984
. . .
As some of you might have noticed, one of the major subgenres of of Certain Songs is Nuclear Paranoia Songs From The 1980s — “Read About It,” “So Afraid of the Russians,” “Games Without Frontiers,” “1999,” “Party At Ground Zero” “Stop The World,” etc — and today’s entry is one of the greatest of them all. Weirdly enough, it seems far more obscure than it should be: you’d think that since “World Destruction” was a titanic collaboration between one of the key figures of hip-hop and one of the key figures of punk brokered by one of the key figures in experimental music, it would at least have its own Wikipedia page.
That said, Time Zone was a true supergroup: Afrika Bambaataa and Johnny Lydon were the vocalists, Bill Laswell played bass, programmed the DMX drum machine and produced, and Nicky Skopelitis played the hard-rock guitar that opened against Laswell’s big-ass beat, over which Bambaataa chants “Speak about destruction,” setting up the opening chorus that he and Lydon yell at each other.
This is a world destruction, your life ain’t nothing
The human race is becoming a disgrace
Countries are fighting with chemical warfare
Not giving a damn about the people who live there
After which Bambaataa immediately goes into the first verse.
Hey, look out, the third world nations are on the rise
The Democratic-Communist relationship
Won’t stand in the way of the Islamic force
The CIA is looking for other tactics
The KGB is smarter than you think
Brainwash mentalities to control the system
Using TV and movies, religions of course
As Bambaataa is rapping that first verse, Skopelitis continues to crank on the guitar, the beat stays harsh and solid and eventually Lydon joins in again.
Yes, the world is headed for destruction
Is it a nuclear war?
What are you asking for?
At this point, a dark menacing synth hook comes in, played by none other than Funkadelic’s Bernie Worrell. Like I said, a true fucking supergroup, even if all five men weren’t ever in the same studio together. I honestly have no idea: there is very very little about this song on the internet, which, honestly amazes me, given that Lydon’s delivery of the first chorus is as intense as he ever got.
This is a world destruction
Your life ain’t nothing
The human race is becoming a disgrace
The rich get richer
The poor are getting poorer
Fascist, chauvinistic government fools
It’s worth it just for his pronunciation of “nothing” and “becoming a disgrace,” both of which are as perfectly over the top as anything he ever sang for the Sex Pistols.
As “World Destruction” goes on, it gets crazier and crazier: Lydon and Baambaataa are trading off lines, rapping together, and honestly, having a lot of fun, as well.
We are Time Zone
We’ve come to drop a bomb on you
World destruction, kaboom, kaboom, kaboom!
It’s at this point where Worrell and Skopelitis start dropping their own bombs while Lydon mutters underneath it all, eventually setting up Bambaataa’s final verse.
Putting people in racist categories
Knowledge isn’t what it used to be
Military tactics to control a nation
Who wants to be a president or king? (Me!)
Mother Nature is gonna work against you
Nothing in your power that you can do
Yes, the world is headed for destruction
You and I know it, the Bible tells you
If we don’t start to look for a better life
The world will be destroyed in a time zone!
I love Lydon’s off-hand “me!” after Bambaataa asks “who wants to be a president or a king?” Well, of course. Duh.
All of this is topped somehow by Lydon screaming “I’m in a time zone I’m in a time zone” over and over again, sometimes answered by Bambaataa’s yelling “Speak about destruction,” sometimes answered by Worrell’s synth line and sometimes answered by Skopelitis’s guitar noise. However, none of those answers satisfy Lydon — of course — so he just keeps screaming it, getting more desperate and having more fun with each iteration.
There was also a darkly funny video that accompanied this, which was probably too intense for MTV, or anywhere really. And despite — or probably because — being such a ground-breaking song, “World Destruction” didn’t go anywhere on any charts. Maybe college radio. But even in the U.K., it only made it to #44. To which I say: shame on everybody.
And in fact, my guess is that more people heard it when it scored the first episode of season four of The Sopranos than ever heard it when it was an actual single.
“World Destruction”
“World Destruction” Official Music Video
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