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Atheists Don't Have No Songs

lewisnotmiller

Grand Hat
Staff member
Premium Member
Then there are millions upon millions upon millions of songs out there. Check out iTunes. Atheists have tons of songs that have nothing to do with atheism, it's called music. My point was, why do atheists need specifically atheist music? There's a world-full of music out there if people just go look for it.

Ignore the term 'atheist songs' for a moment (that's not how I'd think of then either)

There are songs which touch some of the more...l dunno...spiritual aspects of life quite specifically without positive reference to God or religion,and in some cases specifically mention God or religion in a negative or denying sense, which is what I took the OP to mean.

Hence the song l posted.

I'd be stunned if Pearl Jam thought of it as an 'Atheist Song', but I think it fits in with the topic at hand.
 

Cephus

Relentlessly Rational
Ignore the term 'atheist songs' for a moment (that's not how I'd think of then either)

There are songs which touch some of the more...l dunno...spiritual aspects of life quite specifically without positive reference to God or religion,and in some cases specifically mention God or religion in a negative or denying sense, which is what I took the OP to mean.

Hence the song l posted.

I'd be stunned if Pearl Jam thought of it as an 'Atheist Song', but I think it fits in with the topic at hand.

Why do you need a song that speaks of spirituality? I certainly don't.
 

lewisnotmiller

Grand Hat
Staff member
Premium Member
Why do you need a song that speaks of spirituality? I certainly don't.

I'm really just trying to put things in term commonly understood. To be clear, I don't believe in Spirituality in any literal sense at all. Life affirming? Feel good positivity? Humanistic? Take your pick.

Point is, I LOVE music. when that music carries messages regarding a life philosophy I can connect
to, it's an awesome bonus for me.

I'm a rationalist and an empiricist by nature. l understand your point. Nothing to over think here though.
 

Alceste

Vagabond
Why do you need a song that speaks of spirituality? I certainly don't.

Why do we need like ten billion songs about how people's relationships are going?

It's not about need, it's about variety. Interesting subject matter. It's about wanting to express something interesting and unique, or find someone who is expressing it for you. It's about relating to other human beings through shared experience and philosophy, and celebrating that relationship through music.
 

psychoslice

Veteran Member
I don't hold any belief of god, but I have writern many Gospel songs, just because I like them and that is as far as it goes.
 

Alceste

Vagabond
We don't need them. Some people want them. There's a difference.

I think it's the artists themselves who have decided everybody needs to hear about their recent break-up or their new crush. I know when i wrote on that subject matter it was because I thought those feelings were IMPORTANT. It took me a few years to realize that heterosexual romantic love is actually the world's stupidest, most inane and boring subject for songwriting.

It's not like it's just human nature to endlessly whine about your love life in rhyming couplets. First Nations songs (for example) are actually ABOUT stuff. "The salmon are running, come to the feast." or "Hello, grizzly bear, nice to see you, please don't eat me today" and such like. They're not just banging on and on endlessly about their last relationship like white people. They wrote songs like grown-ups.

If people want to tackle more interesting subject matter, and there is an appetite for it, good for them, IMO.

To this day, my most famous (infamous?) song is a completely twisted gospel parody called "Bend Me Over, Jesus (and Give Me All Your Love)". It's a song I've only sung in public like two times (out of hundreds of shows), and also the first (or only) song people remember if they were at one of those two shows.

Another one that goes over well is a perky song about the up side of Armageddon. By the end, people are usually laughing and singing along. Or appalled. Same reaction for Bend Me Over Jesus, now that I think of it.

My point is, I've written about 70 songs, and nearly ALL the ones people remember and love are NOT the ones that are about how I personally feel and how my relationships are going.

So I don't think this irritating heterosexual love song radio saturation is a demand-side problem.
 

philbo

High Priest of Cynicism
It took me a few years to realize that heterosexual romantic love is actually the world's stupidest, most inane and boring subject for songwriting.
:yes: (though why only "heterosexual" romantic love?)

They're not just banging on and on endlessly about their last relationship like white people. They wrote songs like grown-ups.
ISTM there's a non-trivial number of non-white people banging on and on endlessley about their past/present/desirable future relationships, too.

To this day, my most famous (infamous?) song is a completely twisted gospel parody called "Bend Me Over, Jesus (and Give Me All Your Love)". It's a song I've only sung in public like two times (out of hundreds of shows), and also the first (or only) song people remember if they were at one of those two shows.
:bow: Absolutely brilliant song title - do you have a recording/set of lyrics?

Another one that goes over well is a perky song about the up side of Armageddon. By the end, people are usually laughing and singing along. Or appalled. Same reaction for Bend Me Over Jesus, now that I think of it.
I recognize that reaction: my most extreme songs in that regard are about necrophilia and one of these products, both very funny but in hideously bad taste. I usually try and get the audience to invite me to lower the tone so that I can always blame them for lowering it too far :)


My point is, I've written about 70 songs, and nearly ALL the ones people remember and love are NOT the ones that are about how I personally feel and how my relationships are going.

So I don't think this irritating heterosexual love song radio saturation is a demand-side problem.
I've written well over a thousand, none of which are about how I personally feel (at least, not romantically) or about how my relationships are going. I can only ascribe the fact that I'm not a world-touring megastar to the belief that there is a demand-side problem regarding irritating love songs :). Possibly because the people who are into that kind of slush are also the demographic most likely to buy records.
 

Saint Frankenstein

Wanderer From Afar
Premium Member
Off the top of my head:

[youtube]rzlT-vw60tM[/youtube] (That whole album has an anti-theist/atheist theme.)
[youtube]NZavdhhCz6E[/youtube]
[youtube]UN9qs_ffqj4[/youtube]
[youtube]RCwyxRRKhew[/youtube]
[youtube]33VduWyr0As[/youtube]
 

Saint Frankenstein

Wanderer From Afar
Premium Member
[youtube]0S4xoNwJpoY[/youtube]
[youtube]EzWajxFYAlI[/youtube]
[youtube]WWXLlHyoJxQ[/youtube]
[youtube]d8MByH0ELSo[/youtube]
 

Saint Frankenstein

Wanderer From Afar
Premium Member
These songs have a lot of naughty language, so beware (which is why I didn't post the lyric videos, lol).
[youtube]-D3T9C0o_wE[/youtube]
[youtube]L-EyIHxfegg[/youtube]
[youtube]1T42RASsFds[/youtube]
[youtube]VT13aP_GnuM[/youtube]
 

KnightOwl

Member
Dan Barker, co-president of the FFRF, was under contract to write Christian songs when he became an atheist. He approached the other party and explained, but they still wanted him to write them, so he did. Hence, those songs are both Christian and atheist depending on how you look at it. LOL
 

Bunyip

pro scapegoat
Imagine by Lennon is about the most famous song ever.

Afew suggestions;
How great though aren't.
What a friend we have in cheeses.
Be still for the non-presence of the Lord.
 
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