Nihilism and the ‘death of God’ in the work of Siouxsie and the Banshees

Abstract

This article locates Siouxsie and the Banshees within the philosophical tradition of existentialism, specifically the work of Nietzsche and Heidegger. Aspects of 1970s British punk-rock share with Nietzsche a concern with the condition of ‘nihilism’. For Nietzsche, with the western decline in the belief in God, humankind no longer has an external source of authority within which meaning, evaluation and morality are anchored. Nietzsche’s philosophical project can be read as an elaboration of the conditions under which the creation of new values may be possible to avoid nihilistic despair. Following Nietzsche’s retreat into the Self, Heidegger is concerned with authentic existence: his philosophical project can be read as a call to an authentic life. The song ‘Israel’ by Siouxsie and the Banshees can be read as a commentary on the collective anxiety surrounding the ‘death of God’, nihilism and a preoccupation with authentic existence in the twentieth century.