Sometimes, a piece of media will surprise fans years after it was released by actually predicting the future. The Simpsons is one famous example. Music can also have clairvoyant properties, too. In fact, the following songs from the 1990s actually managed to predict the future. And we can prove it. Let’s take a look, shall we?
Videos by American Songwriter
1. “Virtual Insanity” by Jamiroquai
It’s a little surprising that a Jamiroquai tune would make it to our list of 1990s songs that predict the future. Yet, here we are. The song “Virtual Insanity” was released in 1996 and critiques the growing interest in virtual reality over actual human connection and care for the environment. This song is very much relevant today. Especially with the rise of artificial intelligence and complete digital immersion in our everyday lives.
The lyrics “Futures made of virtual insanity / Now always seem to be governed by this love we have / For useless twisting of our new technology” really predict a future that wouldn’t be real until after the 90s wrapped up.
2. “Paranoid Android” by Radiohead
This is one of the most stark 1990s songs to predict the future, and the future it predicted is a bit on the bleak side. The whole of OK Computer pointed to the future of consumerism, technological dependence, and isolation that we’re living in today. But “Paranoid Android” got really detailed in its prediction, namely in how it describes modern-day socializing in a tech-dependant world.
Specifically, the lyrics “When I am king / You will be first against the wall / With your opinion / Which is of no consequence at all” predicted how badly social media would impact our mental health.
3. “Information” by Killah Priest
This famous American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate once predicted a future of mass surveillance in the song “Information”. Killah Priest’s 1998 release came out before the internet had really taken off commercially. But it did predict, in one way or another, the things we would be dealing with in terms of the Edward Snowden leaks and regular privacy violations from the biggest companies in social media and online communications.
Killah Priest predicts this with the following lyrics: “Our telephone conversations will be automatically wiretapped / And transcripted by the National Security Agency.”
Photo by Hayley Madden/Shutterstock
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