Prince
1999
Prince’s “1999” song is mocking, if you will, the concept of Armageddon. It was released during a time, the early 1980s, which has held a decades’-long record of being, according to scientists, the closest the world has ever come to nuclear war. So the song is not literally based on the year 1999, as in the advent of the new millennium, which was still almost two decades away. Rather this timeframe serves as a metaphor for three different ideas. One is being symbolic of the aforementioned seemingly-imminent nuclear Armageddon. Another points to a more religious understanding of the date, as in representing of the end of the world, since in this song Prince alludes to a general feeling of pessimism people were feeling about what the near future would bring. But “1999” is primarily centered on his recognizing that this year would logically be one of the biggest party dates in history, since once again it is ushering in a new millennium.
So that is what the artist means when he states his intent to “party like it’s 1999”. He is going to let it all hang out and have the time of his life. And again, this is in direct defiance of the depressing ideas that the world is coming to an end. Indeed Prince acknowledges that “we could all die any day”. Thus even taking tomorrow for granted is kind of a moot point.
So in all, “1999” is actually a celebration of life, with Prince and his co-stars admonishing the listener to enjoy the present as opposed to looking forward to an entropic tomorrow.
Prince shares lead vocals on this song with two members of his band The Revolution, Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson, whom he worked with from 1979-1986.