Does anyone write atheist based songs?

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Hi Tribal,

Actually, I'm not particularly theist- I was just trying to make a few guesses to illustrate how music and lyrics can be interpreted different ways. I'm not sure this is the forum for stating one's personal spiritual views, at any rate.

Back when I was in college I lurked around on some of AOL's religious and spiritual forums. I could say the *exact* same thing in a zealous christian forum and in a pagan forum and, as long as I used the lingo of the group I was talking to, I'd get cheers and "amens!" and the like. It was a fun experiment in linguistics.

I guess my point was that the "message" in the music really depends on the listener. I apologize for misreprenting atheist views, but I don't really understand any belief system well enough to be speaking for them. :) I didn't mean to offend or presume.

Take care,
Chris
 
No apology needed

Don't get me wrong, Chris. I wasn't offended by what you said in the slightest. I think that your point about the conveyed message being a function of the worldview of the listener is a great one. I've found that the lyrics that I really enjoy in other people's songs are often very open-ended. As in, their intended meaning is so unclear as to allow the listener to "make them their own". I think that this is a fantastic way to ensure that your songs resonate with people across philosophical divides. Being too explicit is a habit that I am trying to get out of in my lyrics. Some people really have a gift for vagueness (in a good way) that I envy.

One minor nitpick: atheism isn't a belief system, just a lack of belief.
 
question:

what is an atheist based song??? i mean.. Bwibney Sbwears choons aren't about god... so are they atheist based or what? eh...
 
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too

It's easier for me to imagine no religion than some religion.

I was raised in a Christian, go-to-church every Sunday family, my Mom was my Sunday school teacher and honestly, I think it was all people parroting what they'd heard. I never bought one bit of it.

All religions are based on the Golden Rule, which is basically "don't be an asshole" and that's all you really need.

I wouldn't specialize in atheist songs because it limits your audience and it seems kind of negative to be against something. I'm not against religion, I don't want to waste energy doing that.

Religion is based on words. Take away the words and most religions will agree with each other. I've tried to stop thinking in words and it took years but I don't any more. I think in basic shapes and it's WAY faster and smoother. That's how dogs think, and I like dogs a lot. When you take away words then religion goes away too. Thinking in words is a hard habit to break. Here's Cobey, not thinking in words:
HERECOBEY-1.jpg
 
Still a relevent topic, though. :rolleyes: :)

I like to flirt with the subject a little in my lyrics. Pray to God for survival in one song and then question the notion of eternal life in the next.
 
Chili said:
Still a relevent topic, though. :rolleyes: :)

I like to flirt with the subject a little in my lyrics. Pray to God for survival in one song and then question the notion of eternal life in the next.
Click to expand...

I do the same thing, Chili. The closest I've come to an outright atheistic statement was in a song I wrote called a couple of years ago called "Perdition's Flame".

It was about a guy who loses his girl, blames God, and then rejects God. The chorus begins with, "I've learned the truth, there is no God". The song was pretty tame by comparision. It's hard to associate soft-pop with an atheistic outburst. Heh.

There are plenty of so-called "devil-worshipping" songs (not to be confused with atheist songs) from the 70s and 80s. It's fun to a listen to a few of them played backwards on Halloween, in the dark, especially "Stairway to Heaven".

Anyway, YouTube has entire threads devoted to the topic of atheist songs.

Cheers,
Joseph
 
Holy thread necro, Batman!

I think Christian music gets a bad rap because it's so prevalent. The thing is, most bands who make their religious beliefs their primary focus (especially when they're "the <insert religion> version of <insert popular band>") are just bad.

Christian alt-rock bands, wiccan goth rock bands, athiest punk bands, etc. They're mostly awful. Sure, there are a few standout bands who do a good job, but those are usually people who are trying to be musicians first, evangelicals second, and business people third (if at all). The ones who suck are the ones who are opportunistic business people first, evangelicals second, and musicians third (if at all).
 
ATheism and songs.....

Atheism... humm...

Someone said something about agnostic... actually, there WAS a band once called "Agnostic Front"

The joke is that bands like stryper catch heck from the religious, because "Jesus likes to be worshipped in a boring monotone", LMAO

Heck, U2 started out as a christian band, right? They made it pretty far...



I DO know that we have a liberal media, with a huge bias towards their side of things. If you start getting ANY airplay with a song that "questions god" or christianity in any way, they will pick up on it, and sort of give you free promotion, as long as the religious leaders start carping on you (the liberal media loves a controversy) and as liberals, anything that bashes (or even taints) religion or christmas, they sorta applaud.
 
& for our next sermon we'll discuss the meaning of lower case L versus upper case L liberalism.
(interestingly in my part of the world the middle Right/Conservative/Reactionary/Money/Religious part of the spectrum is represented by the Australian Liberal Party. Whereas, until 2 years ago, the middle Left, Socialistic, Progressive, Welfare/ but strangely traditionally Catholic Church backed part of the spectrum was represented by the Labor {can't even spell heir own constituants} Party.
I cheat, I don't write about a) love, b) sex, or c ) religion because a) it's too hard to do without seeming exploitative/sentimental/corny, b) adolecents can express it so much more urgently & c) there's really no discussion to be had about faith: those who have it take it on faith & those who don't are at best paternalistic about those who do - and it's too easy a target anyway.
I do write about politics, sacred cows (culturally/historically speaking), human rights, mental health and loss but that's because they interest me though they're as likely to alienate an audience as a), b) or c).
 
SEDstar said:
I DO know that we have a liberal media, with a huge bias towards their side of things.
Click to expand...

Truer words were never spoken, my friend. That is the primary reason why I permanently disconnected my television from a subscription service years ago.

See, I had acquired this odd notion somewhere along the way that reporters and journalists were supposed to cover news events in an impartial, detached, and uninvolved manner. Contrary to that, in today's world, most "journalists" and "reporters" make themselves part of the news story in a very obvious and pointed way. It's quite disturbing. In other words, "OP ED" has become the news.

No, I do not miss telelvision in the slightest. I read instead, which is far more enjoyable to me. Oh, I still own a television, and I have a large library of my favorite movies and shows that I watch when I feel compelled to do so. As for television, it is gone forever from my life and I am much better for it.

Cheers,
Joseph
 
check out Nefarious on myspace he has atheist songs http://www.myspace.com/officialnefarious1111
from what I see he removed them but you can send him a message and ask him for his songs like ''there aint a god up in the sky'' that's not the title but i just cant remember it but it's a part of the chorus
 
....

I didnt really NOTICE some very famous songs were atheistic, or atheistic leaning... or even blatantly pagan, until someone pointed some out to me.

I never really noticed John Lennon's "Imagine" was an atheistic viewpoint, just always liked the song.

"Rush" is another one.


Dio's "man on the silver mountain", man, I always loved that tune. Its "iconic" to me somehow.

I never realized its completely about going back to "sun worship" until my one buddy dissected the lyrics.




*shrugs* I dont really care, I either like a song or i dont. BUT... there might be a business decision to it. If you "tick off" the Vatican, and they put you song on their "no-no list", it sometimes generates publicity about the "controversy", and anyways, when you tell teenagers they arent ALLOWED to hear something, obvioualy they now want to listen to it, LMAO

Controversy, if covered in the media, is the BEST publicity you can GET. I dont really think Salmon Rushdie's "satanic verses" would have sold very many copies... until the arabs put a price on his head, and the "controversy" was covered... then, there werent enough copies beinbg printed to satisfy demend.

"Wow. This book is so compelling, people want to KILL HIM for writing it? I cant wait to see whats in it!"

hee hee hee
 
Maybe there's an actual difference between "atheist" songs and songs that have an atheistic world view. Actually, I think there's a universe of difference. And in my opinion, songs that deliberately pushed atheism existed in miniscule numbers until christian rock bands started hitting the mainstream and American politics in particular began being perceived as right wing and christian.....
Also, if you look at some of those atheist songs, they were less about atheism itself and more about the throwing off of what the writers saw as stuff that was rammed down their throats as kids or rejection of their parents/authority figures views. "Imagine" is a classic for that - Lennon was never an atheist but until his death was curious about God and the spiritual side of life- but also didn't want to be told what to do. Well, he did, then he'd reject it !
Remember also that the 60s brought about an absolutely humongous shift in the West in religious attitudes - that was reflected in so many of the artists and songs, sometimes upfront, sometimes hid {like 'Tommy'}.
A crucial part of good art is the mind, life, thoughts and experiences of the artists in question and in terms of the art of songwriting, it was inevitable that if some writers actively did not believe in God or had rejected God or the idea of God or a creator or religion, it was gonna show up in their stuff at some point.
After all, songs communicate, especially if they have words.:p
 
SEDstar said:
Heck, U2 started out as a christian band, right? They made it pretty far...
Click to expand...
U2 had 3 christians in the band {Edge, Bono and Larry the drummer} but were never a 'christian' band. They faced pressure to be so and almost broke up around the time of the 'October' LP as they weren't sure whether being christians and rock'n'rollers were compatible. Edge did leave and asked for 2 weeks to think about it. As silly as it seems now, this was the early 80s and vastly different to now - although some things haven't changed.
Luckilly they got back together and knocked out some great music for 3 decades. But in much of their work, many christians can spot the insider references. I find it ironic that their most outwardly 'christian' LP, "October" is for me their worst.
I doubt too many atheist writers have had to worry about whether their world view or message was acceptable !!:D
 
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