Atheist Music

Tim Robbins

HI,
Can people post up any links they have to some good
atheist / humanist / agnostic / skeptic / free thinker Music.
Here's a few for you:
Demon-Haunted-World
http://www.freethoughtmusic.com/files/Sample_Demon-Haunted-World.mp3

It's only natural
http://www.freethoughtmusic.com/files/It_s_Only_Natural.mp3

Red Hand

Didn't realise there was such a genre.:eek:

How about Kraftwerk?:D

aidan24326

What exactly would atheist music be? Never heard of such a thing.

Dades

Atheist music? wtf!

Tim Robbins

aidan24326 wrote:

What exactly would atheist music be? Never heard of such a thing.

Listen to the links.
We need to get in touch with our emotions, otherwise we are just a pack of logic freaks.

Beruthiel

I listen to heavy metal, the devils music, does that count?

Dades

Tim Robbins wrote:

We need to get in touch with our emotions, otherwise we are just a pack of logic freaks.

I thought that's what regular music is for.

Tim Robbins

The Atheist wrote:

I thought that's what regular music is for.

If theists can have hymns and uplifting numbers about their theistic connection with the universe, why can't we have our songs about our atheistic connection with the universe?

Karl Hungus

Well, there's the band Atheist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNWhqyaLOJk

Dades

Tim Robbins wrote:

If theists can have hymns and uplifting numbers about their theistic connection with the universe, why can't we have our songs about our atheistic connection with the universe?

Introducing the new #1 in the Atheist Top Ten:

Primordial Soup, by The Carbon Based Life Forms.

MoominPapa

Don't forget those crazy rationalist canuks Rush. Heres Freewill for 1980

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9z5U8jRdjA

. Thery're still at it their latest album, Snakes and Arrows, is a kinda concept album about how crap religious belief is

lookinforpicnic

This is nuts... atheist music?? most music doesn't have an affiliation to a particular creed...must check that any music I like doesn't mention God...what?? Ideas about religion and everything around it obviously creep into our music just like they creep into are language..but this is harmless. Preacher music/hymns there different and are just there to lift peoples emotional state to fool them into thinking they are having a religious experience, a connection with God, felt his presence that kind of ****, do you feel left out and want a similar experience for atheists..."yeah man that music really made me feel like you know earth is just a rock and how we are all just really complex machines...yeah man cool"... bollox.

Atheism isn't based around feeling like religion is we don't have a hunch or a feeling that God doesn't exist, looking at the evidence and doing some careful reasoning (notice I didn't use the term logic-its over rated! logic freaks???) I know (to .99999999999999 certainty) that god doesn't exist. Why do we need reassurance then from the good feeling that decent music can engender that atheism is right, good or cool. :rolleyes:

Blackhorse Slim

Jane's Addiction's 'Had a Dad' from the Nothing's Shocking album (1988 - that long ago!!??) is one of the most eloquent expressions of the loss of belief in rock music IMHO.

aidan24326

Tim Robbins wrote:

Listen to the links.
We need to get in touch with our emotions, otherwise we are just a pack of logic freaks.

Tim you're having a laugh, surely? That was awful. If a logical/atheistic viewpoint is good for making sense of the world in a rational manner it clearly isn't so good for inspiring great music!

adam_ccfc

Dunno what 'atheist music' is supposed to be, but I like post-rock.

Red Hand

What is the aethiest music scene's equvalient of Soul? Random alogorithmic generations set to sound waves?

Tim Robbins

aidan24326 wrote:

Tim you're having a laugh, surely? That was awful. If a logical/atheistic viewpoint is good for making sense of the world in a rational manner it clearly isn't so good for inspiring great music!

If theists can express their passions and emotions about their beliefs through catchy numbers like this:

Like the fire again
Here's a cool midi version of the same song


I see no reason why atheist can't express their passions and emotions about their lack of beliefs. I feel passionate about my logic and I am passionate about music. What's wrong with a bit of synergy?

Fanny Cradock

I've heard some dire Christian music in my time, but that was astoundingly bad. Thanks for the laugh, Tim. Still, an odd notion this 'atheist music'.

Tim Robbins

Fanny Cradock wrote:

I've heard some dire Christian music in my time, but that was astoundingly bad. Thanks for the laugh, Tim. Still, an odd notion this 'atheist music'.

Philistine! "Light the fire again" is a classic.

GhostInTheRuins

Tim Robbins wrote:

If theists can express their passions and emotions about their beliefs through catchy numbers like this:

Like the fire again
Here's a cool midi version of the same song


I see no reason why atheist can't express their passions and emotions about their lack of beliefs. I feel passionate about my logic and I am passionate about music. What's wrong with a bit of synergy?

I don't think that just because you're atheist you should listen to atheist music. That sounds a little strange to me. I'm an atheist but a lot of my favourite songs have religious overtones and themes.

Tim Robbins

D.T. Jesus wrote:

I don't think that just because you're atheist you should listen to atheist music. That sounds a little strange to me. I'm an atheist but a lot of my favourite songs have religious overtones and themes.

Same with me. I like Depeche Mode, who harp on a "Personal Jesus", a "doubting Thomas" and "God having a sick sense of humour". I would like to see a band sing about evolution theory, the freedom of atheism and the all the wonders of science and logic. Judging by the musical world, the atheist world view seems very uninspirational. For me, it's an inspirational world view. Why can't we sing about it?

Fanny Cradock

Tim Robbins wrote:

For me, it's an inspirational world view. Why can't we sing about it?

Nothing stopping you, Tim. And a one, and a two, and a three...

WindSock

Well, most of the music in the charts makes me believe there is no God. Is that Athiest music?

stereoroid

If you're willing to expand the scope of the question in to free thought or humanism, it gets a lot more interesting. A recent example is Rush's Snakes & Arrows, which has songs about religious conflict and atheism, but doesn't hit you over the head with it, or compromise the music for the message. First single was Far Cry, which starts on about "pariah dogs and wandering madmen, barking at strangers and speaking in tongues"...

PS: The Angel's Share, from Geddy Lee's solo album My Favorite Headache, is a gentler song with a sceptical theme:

If we are only members of the human race
No supernatural beings from a supernatural place
If you can't solve the problem
Come and tell me to my face

For intelligent treatments of atheism, & philosophy in general, I'd say Rush is a good place to start. You can actually find them in records shops, too, often at sale prices.:cool:

Talliesin

John Lennon, "Imagine".

aidan24326

Talliesin wrote:

John Lennon, "Imagine".

Now we're getting somewhere.

Those songs in Tim's earlier links, although the female singer had a nice voice, it sounded like the song lyrics were being read directly from a science book. It didn't work at all.

Crucifix

Fanny Cradock wrote:

Nothing stopping you, Tim. And a one, and a two, and a three...

I recall I started writing a theme song for the forum, with contributions from other members, on a thread not so long ago.

I don't know about the whole atheist music thing. I love listening to uplifting religious music. I feels like I'm cheating - getting all the fun without doing any believing.

lostexpectation

boreds wrote:

Well, most of the music in the charts makes me believe there is no God. Is that Athiest music?

lol

what was the last interesting song in the charts?

peckerhead

Tim Robbins wrote:

I feel passionate about my logic and I am passionate about music. What's wrong with a bit of synergy?

On the basis of the above links, may I passionately suggest that you synergise your music collection to the bowels of Hell and start afresh?

Come back, Cliff, all is forgiven... :eek:

Talliesin

Shostakovich Symphony No. 12 in D minor, Op. 122 'To the memory of Lenin' ('The Year 1917').

Dord

I'm surprised noone has mentioned Bad Religion, they've been going almost 30 years. Some great lyrics.

Hivemind187

There is an old joke about a conductor listening to a rendition of the 1812 and saying "Listening to this, how can you not believe in God?" to which he is replied "I have no need for god when I can believe in Beethoven".

Or something to that effect.

... oh, and Marylon Manson. "I'm not a slave, to a god, that doesnt exist".

Excelsior

Tim Robbins wrote:

If theists can have hymns and uplifting numbers about their theistic connection with the universe, why can't we have our songs about our atheistic connection with the universe?

Not all theists have hymns. I sing hymns cos the imaginary friend I claim to be God sings one at the beginning and then asks his people to keep singing. You don't have any imaginary friend to tell you what to do so why don't you just stick with normal music? Like Sufjan?

Scofflaw

Honourable mention to "It Ain't Necessarily So".

cordially,
Scofflaw

Sulla Felix

Was listening to a bit of Flaming Lips and Do you realize? could pretty much be my atheist anthem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zYOKFjpm9s

Doctor DooM

Never saw this thread. Lol.

Here's the theme tune to the Atheist Experience- perhaps this could actually be called a piece of Atheist music?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB2udWnYHpk

Gotta get away from this illusion
For the sake of the world, this delusion
It's gotta go
Yeah

Doctor DooM

Actually- I know LOADS of music that could be called explicitly atheist...

Back before atheist youtubers decided their time would be best spent sniping at each other over feminism, they used to be much more light hearted.

Stuff like this, mocking that "Christian Side Hug" rap, was common (slightly NSFW at the end).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70WJemBVLHQ

Here's the genuinely funny follow up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auS0rOnunzg

Here's another one about a weird, repressed, yet weirdly popular creationist on the net, Nephilimfree (again slightly NSFW).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqN6D5o7rw4

Whether you like any of these or not the interesting thing to take from this, I think, is in the modern day a community is able to grow and create media with no resources or platform to speak from. All you need is a tiny spark of talent.

timbyr

Honourable mention for Tim Minchin.

Sonics2k

Tim Robbins wrote: »

HI,
Can people post up any links they have to some good
atheist / humanist / agnostic / skeptic / free thinker Music.
Here's a few for you:
Demon-Haunted-World
http://www.freethoughtmusic.com/files/Sample_Demon-Haunted-World.mp3

It's only natural
http://www.freethoughtmusic.com/files/It_s_Only_Natural.mp3

(sorry for this mods).

What a load of absolute feckin donkey ****e.

Genevaman

Well, atheism is lack of belief in a god, ergo wouldn't any song without religious connotations be considered an 'atheist' song.

Unless you're specifically looking for a song that celebrates atheism. If that's the case then I'm afraid you're stuck with a narrow scope. You can sing plenty of songs about religion because of its mythos and scope. Atheism, by definition refuses such mythos which leaves it pretty stuck for subject matter music wise. I'm sure there must be some out there, but I can't say I'm familiar with any. Bar maybe 'Imagine' by John Lennon.

Unless, again, you want songs that aren't really about atheism so much but rather about religion and making it look bad. Then you have your Tim Minchins, your Roy Zimmermans, etc... I generally see these songs as stand up rather than actual music to get caught up in though. They're funny but your hardly going to be swept up by Minchin in the same way you can get swept up by Chopin or Miles Davis. Plus some of them just come across as pretentious and a bit circle-jerky if I'm to be totally frank.

Obliq

Oh yay! a place to push your own music taste on people, in the name of whateveryerhavinyerself. In this case devolution. Yes folks, this is/was a thing. I'll leave you to research it yourselves, but if you haven't heard DEVO (too young or mainstream) well you should listen. That is all.

Actually, may I recommend their version of "I can't get no (satisfaction)"? Seriously. It is better. Cannot link on android thingy.....look after yourselves

Sarky

Don't care if it's not atheist, it's f*ckin' awesome:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaIZWjItReI

nagirrac

Obliq wrote: »

Actually, may I recommend their version of "I can't get no (satisfaction)"? Seriously. It is better. Cannot link on android thingy.....look after yourselves

No offense obliq, but Devo might be the worst thing I can imagine when it comes to music, positively headache inducing .

Run, don't walk, up a few posts and listen to the Flaming Lips track that Sulla Felix posted, then hop onto youtube and listen to the entire Yoshimi album, then the Soft Bulletin album and then the Cloud Taste Metallic album (yes, I said album). They are a national treasure, unlike Devo who give Chrissie Hynde's hometown a bad name.

Obliq

nagirrac wrote: »

No offense obliq, but Devo might be the worst thing I can imagine when it comes to music, positively headache inducing .

Run, don't walk, up a few posts and listen to the Flaming Lips track that Sulla Felix posted.......

No offence to you lads but I'd be more of a ZZtop fan and will give sarky's link a listen there. I shall have to go listen to some Butthole Surfers now, just to get over that dreadful slur on the mighty Devo

Beruthiel

I always think of this song first when it comes to atheist music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La2qkUTTwWw

.

desertcircus

The closest thing to "atheist music" in my collection is probably At The Drive-In's occasional lyrics that hint at a lack of belief. There's no afterlife tempering the grief on Napoleon Solo, for example (which admittedly makes it a supremely depressing track).

PopePalpatine

Off the top of my head I can think of "East Jesus Nowhere" by Green Day.

Obliq

Have some buttholes. You all deserve it :pac:

pauldla

Super Furry Animals, The Man Don't Give a ****. Not explicitly atheist, but close enough, IMO.

Soul Winner

Atheist music/songs? Hhhmm??? What's there to sing about??? Oh I know, to realise that one lives in a hostile universe of pointless, meaningless, purposeless, nothingness, where the earth, sun, solar system and the whole universe are destined to become a graveyard of corpse stars, strewn galaxies and super massive black holes ever expanding into the darkest nothingness that even after a period of 100 billion years there will still be an eternity of periods of 100 billion years to go, where every evidence that anything like the human race ever existed will have vanished long ago with all other life and matter. Yeah I can see how someone might get excited and sing about that. :pac:

If atheism is true i.e. there is no God then this is the ultimate destiny of our universe.

However: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful." Revelation 21:1-5

Happy days. No wonder Christians are always singing

Sarky

Not a fan of interesting things, are you?