The Sound Of Freethinking #14: Alibi

I know it has been a while since I have done one of these segments, but I could not resist doing one over Cindergarden's Alibi. The song was released on their 2008 album The Clandestine Experiment.

I was immediately drawn into the sound of this song when I first heard it. But while I enjoyed the song, the lyrics kept nagging at me. One time I would listen to it and I would pull away one meaning, another time a different one. I wasn't sure if I was just not understanding the lyrics properly or I was trying to create a meaning that I preferred despite what the lyrics actually said.

But the other day, I really took the time to listen to the lyrics coupled with how they were sung. I realized then that part of my problem came from the song being sung from multiple different view points within the same person. Quite possibly while remembering different view points from her life. Once I started thinking in the way, the lyrics started to slip into place.

Before this, the first verse was a bit confusing, but after considering this new possibility, things made perfect sense. The song starts out being sung from the point of view of someone who is critical of science. Someone who sees it as a destructive force that is willing to shred even the most deeply cherished of views in the name of 'progress'.

The second chorus, however, is sung by the same person but as she realizes that those she is criticizing do not need any excuse. "You don't need an alibi, I'm the one that lives a lie." The person knows she is wrong, that her views are based upon faulty thinking. But that doesn't make her clinging to old ways of thinking any easier. They may be wrong, but she don't have to like it.

The progression of choruses continue in this fashion, with each iteration of the 'anti-science' view becoming more accepting of the fact of things, if with a sense of bitterness at first. Lines such as "Confess your sins to a crippled god" show a sense of anger and hopelessness at their views being torn apart around them.

The final two lines of this verse "Lie detector test tube morals, Face the truth compromised" suggests the common view that many hold. The idea espoused by those who see science as cold and without 'human' morals. But that this person already realizes that such views are just looking to reality and hoping for a compromise with their own particular brand of faith.

Again the chorus takes on the resigned tone of someone who knows that they are in the wrong. But with the line "Resistance level fading" they find themselves losing the desire to fight back against reality.

The final 'anti-science' verse seems to me, in light of the previous verse to have one of two possibilities. Either it is more of the angry rhetoric they had previously spread, possibly in a resurgence of faith that many have. Or, as I prefer to think, it is them singing their previously held beliefs in a tongue-in-cheek way. That she has accepted reality for what it is and sees her previous rage at scientific inquiry to be absurd.

Not only this but the wording it essentially accurate. She had hated such ideas for the fact that they did exactly what she thought it did and it horrified her. People actually saw material things a beautiful and worthy of contemplation and 'worship'. Worship because that is what she and others did, they worshiped, they never understood as science requires of us. But this idea no longer revolts her, instead, she find it to be the beautiful truth that she was missing all along and doesn't mind pointing out her previous absurdity in taking such a negative stance.

While the middle of the 'accepting' verses first introduced the line "Where I am to here I come", the final verse reiterates it with a bit more intensity. When it was first used it was the view of a person right on the edge of understanding and seeing where it might take her. With the addition of the word 'from' to this line in the final verse, it reveals that she has moved further ahead. Not just to furthering her understanding, but towards tackling the very views she once held so vehemently. That she now sees the error of her ways and doesn't want anyone else to suffer as she did. Not to mention the idea that others are attacking such a beautiful thing as scientific understanding as she once did in her ignorance and fear.

Am I reading too much into the lyrics? Am I misrepresenting them? Perhaps. But when looked at from this point of view, every line makes sense and it becomes a much more inspiring song. The slightly disturbed and aggressive sound of the music lends itself to this viewpoint as well. From the anger she felt at the start to the increasingly resigned 'accepting' verses. The music progresses just as one might expect for a mind in transition from bitterness and ignorance to one that is ready to take on the misguided masses that she once belonged to. Seen in this light, it becomes akin to Plato's Allegory of the Cave, but done from the personal perspective of a freed mind as it is pulled out of its ignorance.



Lyrics

Unmasked portals
Still connecting
Uncover the ending till it bleeds till it bleeds

You don't need an alibi
I'm the one that lives a lie

Ritualized fictionalize
Confess your sins to our crippled god
Lie detector test tube morals
Face the truth compromised

You don't need an alibi
I'm the one that lives a lie
Resistance levels fading
Who can turn me around now
Chemical defacing
Where I am to here I come

Hypno science
Trapped inside
Worship matter
Praise the whore

You don't need an alibi
I'm the one that lives a lie

Who can turn me around now
Who can turn me around now
From where I am to here I come
Who can turn me around now
From where I am to here I come

The Sound Of Freethinking #13: The Easter Parade

This will be different to Cyc's, mostly because we have completely different music tastes, but also because he's a far better writer then me.

So, my therapist and I were talking about music earlier today, and she showed me a delightful song artist called Emmy The Great, specifically the song The Easter Parade. The song is about how, on Easter, we're pretty much worshipping a ghost, and how we're all temporary and how you, and everyone you know and love will die. Enjoy.


Lyrics to The Easter Parade :

Is all that we've become,
Just nothing but hats and bags
We're waiting for taxi cabs
So you light cigarettes
And i'm taking drags

In the air, a sea of words,
That didn't come soon enough
In my mind a railway station
And a ticket stub

And it is easter in the town
I can hear as they strike off the bell
We're listening to some old man
Say he came back to life with a hole in his head

And now the sunday school is gathered Together in pink and in blue
They're heralding angels for you
But not for me

They're singing
Gloria in excelsis
Deo deo

Gloria in excelsis
But there's no,
There's no hope

And i am grateful for the things
That you've tried to show to me dear
But there no arcadia
No alby and theres no jerusalem here

And underneath your pastures green
There's earth and there ash
And theres bone
And there are things that dissapear
Into it and then they are gone

And there is light that hits the sky
And then it is midnight again
And there is my mother, my father,
And you and we are all impermanent

And on the green they tell their tales About how even the dead can come back
I just dont believe in that

So you can keep on singing

Gloria in exclelsis
Deo deo

Gloria in excelsis
But there's no,
There's no hope

There's no such thing (x7)
There's no such thing as ghosts

The Sound Of Freethinking: #12: Big Brothel

With the song Big Brothel, Colony 5 has created an interesting bit of commentary on the pointlessness and disturbingly short attention span of the media and most of its viewers. While this song is six years old, it loses none of its poignancy to time.

We sadly live in a culture where the most moronic of us get some of the most attention (Glen Beck anyone?). Where all one has to do to gain some fame is act like an idiot on television and they will have all they could desire...at least until the masses grow bored and need something new to keep them entertained.

With so much going wrong in our world, how is it these fools can garner the most attention? Do people feel they have enough to deal with and just want an escape? If so, then all they are doing is ignoring the truth in favor for their own fantasies (a bit like religion, no?) I've heard this excuse many times and find it hollow and pathetic. It is to say that your own comfort is more important than the future of our species and the lives of others.  With thanks to the lovely Misa Akane for making the video

Those inexpressive faces
Displaying useless minds
Idiots with a tan
And one-year lifespan

I flip through the channels
I flip through different ways
of humiliation
Different freaks every week

And for us this seems
Remarkable and sad
That folk need
To be stupid, to be bad
To gain fame
A fake respect
a revotting reputation
is the key to the media nation

A famine in North Africa
Genocide in South America
Revolution in East Asia
Suppression in Malaysia

Peace process in Palestine
It's a battle of wits
There's no place in the headlines
Cause BB blonde got new tits

The Sound Of Freethinking: #11 Is Something Wrong

I have wanted to do this track for a while, but unfortunately the group who does this song, Moonlife is obscure enough as to not have much online about them for me to link. I attempted to create a simple video with just the album art and the song only to find out there is in fact a Satan and his name is Windows Movie Maker. Before I could decide upon the proper way to vanquish this evil, Someone offered to make the video for me. Once again the lovely Misa Akane came to my aid. She made and posted the video for me and thus spared my computer from a rather unpleasant fate.

In their song Is Something Wrong?, the Synth group Moonlife takes a look at the state of our everyday lives and the world in general and wonders what is going on, why is there so much stupidity and gullibility? The song has a light satirical nature, but one that is more confused at the state of affairs then directly mocking. As the things that Moonlife mentions really do not need to be taunted that much, just mentioning the situation is enough to make one pity those who are intelligent enough to notice the problems.

The song uses a character encountered by the singer known simply as a 'spaceman'. This isn't some sort of alien visitation conspiracy but a convenient character to point out issues as well as lead into the problems and stupidity of the modern world. Absurd government regulations, pollution, religion, and even modern humanities gullibility in the face of pointless chain emails, all get pointed out and are faced with a great combination of subtle mockery and confusion as to the current state of affairs.

I shall have to get around to reviewing the album this song comes from, Where The Love Has Died as it really is something special and deserves far more attention then it has received in the past six years since it was released.

There's a spaceman at my door
And he brings with him a cure
For cancer and HIV

But now Homeland Security
Want to take him away and see
If the FDA lose money
On the medicine we can get
Cheaper on the internet

I don't know what's going on
Is it me, is something wrong?
I can't believe the things I see
Everyday on my TV
I don't know what's going on

There's a spaceman in my house
And the Christians want him out
To burn in hell eternally
Because he's never adopted JC
The Muslims want him dead as well
He's just another infidel
The Mormons wouldn't save his life
Cause he hasn't paid his tithe

I don't know what's going on
Is it me, is something wrong?
I can't believe the things I see
Everyday on my TV
I don't know what's going on

There's a spaceman on my floor
He can't breathe because the air is poor
And the fishs in the sea
Are now full of mercury
But there's a chainmail going round
Someone will donate a Pound
For every copy you pass on
To ten friends before the hours gone

I don't know what's going on
Is it me, is something wrong?
I can't believe the things I see
Everyday on my TV
I don't know what's going on
Is it me, is something wrong?
I can't believe the things I see
Everyday on my TV
I don't know what's going on

The Sound Of Freethinking: #10 Deliverance

The song Deliverance by :Wumpscut: is a song that speaks of the concept of the interaction between a supposed god and man in a way that I imagine many atheists have argued at one point or another; as well as being something many believers have may have felt throughout the years. While the lyrics are not overly diverse (which is not uncommon in this style of electro-industrial) they do bring up a few very good points.

With the line "As long as he will feed us" speaks of how so many religious individuals are 'fair weather' believers. That when things are going well they are sure to thank their deity, but when things go bad they don't pray harder but start to lose faith. Though this isn't a losing of faith based on reason, but convenience. For when the situation is dire, it makes far more sense to many individuals to take care of what is needed first and then worry about religion.

In another line one of the many fears of the believer is stated, "but we're not sure if he does really need us". The realization that their deity does not need them at all and anything they accomplish will only be lesser in comparison. Knowing this, and the hours people may spend praying or worshiping in and out of church may very well build to a point where they are forced to ask "what do you want from me?". To find that the answer could very well be nothing at all is more than many can bare.

The central message of this song is one of wondering why a deity would not be able to deliver its believers from the worst of this existence. It surly cannot be that such a deity does not have the power to do so, otherwise it would not be considered a deity. But if it does not simply because it chooses not to, then why should one worship such a being?

This video is only the song as there, sadly, is not a video available, so instead it shows the image from the cover of the album it was taken from Wreath Of Barbs.

Being caught in a hopeless mess
We're searching for the final solution
For our fate our hopeless mess
Deriding laughter is your contribution

Caught up our mess
Search out solute
Our fate hopeless
Deride tribute
Caught up our mess
Search out solute

Why don't you deliver us from pain and evil
We stand in a quiver of our god and we will
Follow his will as long as he, he will feed us
But we're not sure if he does really need us

Being caught in a hopeless mess
We're searching for the final solution
For our fate our hopeless mess
Deriding laughter is your contribution

Caught up our mess
Search out solute
Our fate hopeless
Deride tribute

Why don't you deliver us from pain and evil
We stand in a quiver of our god and we will

We pray for deliverance for all our souls

Why don't you deliver us from pain and evil
We stand in a quiver of our god and we will
Follow his will as long as he will feed us
But we're not sure if he does really need us

The Sound of Freethinking #9: Parasite God

This song comes from the album "The Smell of Rain", in which Mortiis sings from the perspective of a disillusioned deity. A deity that sees humanities devotion to ancient religions as a failing. This deity is a non-intercessory one and can only lament so many wasting their lives. While this may seem to be something that would be filled with deistic overtones, the deity Mortiis sings as is only a tool he employs. He very much incorporates human emotions into his deity so that it will act as a better reflecting piece. This deity is not his views on such things at all, but a convenient allegorical concept.

This song, Parasite God, questions why humans would want to worship a deity that supposedly did so much harm to humanity throughout its existence. Why would anyone love and worship a deity that, essentially, is a parasite feeding off of humanity. Needing our sacrifices and obedience, such a god would never be worthy of any life let alone the countless masses who follow such a vile concept.

Mortiis' deity even goes so far to wish he was the kind of god that they were worshiping so that he can finally show all those 'true believers' what they have twisted themselves into. Perhaps then they would finally understand their hypocrisy, their fear-worship and every other aspect of the Abrahamic god.

The line "They love their Parasite God - Yet they crucify me." is an obvious reference to the duel nature of the god of Christianity. The wrathful bringer of death that is the Old Testament god and the kinder, even innocent at times, words of Jesus. In this song, Mortiis' deity takes the place of Jesus, thus being able to bring the concept to modern times. The idea that anyone who worships such a violent god will never tolerate the words of an innocent. It further suggests that the more peaceful message of Jesus has entirely been lost. Even though they claim to follow it, those who believe have learned nothing and will go about harming an innocent once again.

This very much reflects how believers of many faiths talk of a message of acceptance and unity but then turn around and condemn those they might disagree with. A condemnation that goes so far as to harm or even extinguish the lives of others.

We are floating - Above the mountains.
Watching all the tiny people.
How they waste themselves away.
Obey themselves away.

How willingly - They lay their love.
How willingly - They sacrifice themselves,
To the locust master - to the one that drowned the world.

They love their Parasite God - Yet they crucify me.

How willingly - They lay their love.
How willingly - They sacrifice themselves,
To the bringer of hunger - To the one that drowned the world.

They love their Parasite God - Yet they crucify me.

I want to be your Parasite God.
So I can show you who you really are.
I want to be your Parasite God.
So I can show you who you really are.

They love their Parasite God - Yet they crucify me.

The Sound Of Freethinking: #8: Take Me S.I.M.

This is a song that reflects on life. It asks if we have lived a life right, how will those whom we leave behind react? This song is a hope that when that day comes, there need not be sorrow. Because this person lived the kind of life where he looked after those around him. He made sure of their happiness. To want this, and be remembered as this, well, it is quite the noble goal, one that we should all strive for. So I give you Take Me S.I.M. by Lavantgarde.

I take a trip through mind
Where I will hope to find
What People see in me
What kind of person I should be
A gentle one without mistakes
A so called friend that lies betrayed
Is no friend you need to gain
Even When honesty brings pain

But When I leave this world one day
I hope there's no one left who stays
With tears of sorrow in their eyes
I never wanted them to cry

And as I go my way
Make my mind up every day
Of what is wrong and what is right
And what is black and what is white
A human being no machine
With all his flaws that can be seen
But I still try to do my best
Until one try would be my last

But When I leave this world one day
I hope there's no one left who stays
With tears of sorrow in their eyes
I never wanted them to cry

Of all the things I've said and done
I never meant to hurt someone
Of those I love and I draw pain
Please try to take me as I am

As I am...

But When I leave this world one day
I hope there's no one left who stays
With tears of sorrow in their eyes
I never wanted them to cry

Of all the things I've said and done
I never meant to hurt someone
Of those I love and I draw pain
Please try to take me as I am

And when I leave this world one day
I hope there's no one left who stays
With tears of sorrow in their eyes
I never wanted them to cry

Of all the things I've said and done
I never meant to hurt someone
Of those I love and I draw pain
Please try to take me as I am

The Sound Of Freethinking: #7 We Want Revolution

I decided upon this song as my own tiny bit of support for Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution. While there is still much debate about the eventual outcome of the recent events, it is my hope that the people will be able to maintain their freedom from such a ruthless dictator. Perhaps, it will even spread to other such countries, as many of the rumors have reported. For all these people and anyone else who wants a better world free of such corruption, I give you We Want Revolution By Covenant.

Kill your television
Steal the satalites
Download all the codes
Catch the public eye

Shout your maniphisto
Bring your megaphone
Stay below the radar
Join the underground

I want to car, skid and crash into the brave new world
I want to ride

We want revolution
Constant evolution
Start your engines blow your fuses
Burn the brides for the future
This is our solution

Time for retribution
Bring your target down
Beat the jungle drums
Flaunt your decadence

Underground resistance
Keeps you entertained
Feed your hungry mind
Shape the things to come

I want to car, skid and crash into the brave new world
I want to ride

We want revolution
Constant evolution
Start your engines blow your fuses
Burn the brides for the future
This is our solution

The Sound Of Freethinking: #6 Infinite

I give you Infinite by Assemble 23.

Like a grain of sand
Swallowed by the desert
Like a drop of rain
That falls from darkened clouds

I am overwhelmed
I stand here awed and humbled
At the feet of giants
Whose shadows stretch for miles

Staggering and infinite
And full of ageless grace
The universe seemed limitless
Without any time
Without any place
Staggering and infinite
The beauty of it all
I feel insignificant
Never have I ever felt so small

Like a century
That passes in a day's time
Like an endless loop
That shudders to a stop

The world redefined
An existence without boundries
I am overcome
I am lost within it's scale

Staggering and infinite
And full of ageless grace
The universe seemed limitless

Without any time
Without any place
Staggering and infinite
The beauty of it all
I feel insignificant
Never have I ever felt so small

Like a drop of rain
Swallowed by the desert
Like a grain of sand
That sinks beneath the waves

Even the greatest peak
Will one day wear to nothing
Even the deepest sea
Will one day dry to dust

Staggering and infinite
And full of ageless grace
The universe seemed limitless
Without any time
Without any place
Staggering and infinite
The beauty of it all
I feel insignificant
Never have I ever felt so small

This song is far more positive then most of the songs I have posted thus far. Here, Tom Shear (the genius behind Assemblage 23) sings about that feeling of utter awe one gets when you think about the universe as it truly is. How small and insignificant you fell, yet despite this, how empowering it is. With the tempo of the music and the way he sings, you can easily tell that this is far from a lament. It is more of a joyous recollection of the seemingly boundless universe around us.

I know each and every time I I look up at the stars I feel this way. Each time I ponder the bizarre movements of the quantum realm or the great distances and speeds of the relativistic world. Or even looking at a far more limited region such as our own planet. Inspiring thoughts of the deep ocean and all the mysteries it still holds.

It is this wonder that has driven us on to understand the workings of the universe around us. Because of this curiosity, I can say I understand how the strong nuclear force works or how the Moon creates the tidal cycle on Earth. It is all from this sense of being part of something more and our desire to comprehend that has pushed us to reach for these lofty goals. And it will only be with such awe and wonder that we shall unravel more of nature's myriad mysteries.

The Sound Of Freethinking: #5 Silent World

I know I just did one of these the other day, but I happened to be listening to some music and found a song that I thought would be quite interesting to do for this series. For this one, I would like to put up the video and lyrics before discussing it. So I give you Destroid with Silent World.

I have lost my faith a long time ago
I never thought I would realize
These visions of man seems still blurry to me
I want to be somebody else

I have lost my faith a long time ago
These faces are memory of the lost
This silence grows deep into my world
It faints and turns to dust

I have lost my faith a long time ago
Dreaming was all I ever wanted
But god put me into silent sleep
So I overcomed this life unborn

These sweet melodies
Sound bitter to me
Gentle for your ears
They will never set me free

These sweet melodies
Sound bitter to me
Gentle for your ears
They will put me right back into chains

The first and most obvious thing of this song is that it is sung by someone who has lost their faith. But more than that, it is by someone who is still coming to terms with it. It is someone who has realized that everything they once knew not only was untrue but was the very thing keeping them from truly living.

It is someone who still thinks back upon his old life and all those he once knew and has presumably lost, even though both they and his old self are beginning to fade with time.

It is someone who only wanted to live but found that his belief in a god was keeping him sedated and numb. That only through losing his faith was he able to awaken and start his life.

Someone who know, upon hearing the faithful talk of the beauty they know, hear only the sound of those still asleep and dreamless. He only hears a call to be put back into the mental slavery he had escaped.

From my own experience, I know quite well what it is Daniel Myer sings about. I know the feeling of being lost when you are surrounded by those who are still chained by faith. The questions as to whether you have wasted your life up to that point. The feeling of betrayal as you find that for so much of your existence you have been denied the life that you had always desired. The life you had been promised that a faith in god would give. The way others will still try and drag you back by their exaltations when all you hear are bitter distortions of reality. The feeling that despite how they all seem to feel so content, you see only shackles waiting to bind you again.

The Sound Of Freethinking: #4 White Wine In The Sun

For the holidays, here is a song by the ever brilliant Tim Minchin with White Wine In The Sun. It is humorous, poignant, and heart-felt. So pour yourself a glass and raise it to the truly important part of this holiday, those you love and cherish. Happy Holidays Everyone.

I really like Christmas
It's sentimental, I know, but I just really like it
I am hardly religious
I'd rather break bread with Dawkins than Desmond Tutu, to be honest

And yes, I have all of the usual objections
To consumerism, he commercialisation of an ancient religion
To the westernisation of a dead Palestinian
Press-ganged into selling Playstations and beer
But I still really like it

I'm looking forward to Christmas
Though I'm not expecting a visit from Jesus

I'll be seeing my dad
My brother and sisters, my gran and my mum
They'll be drinking white wine in the sun
I'll be seeing my dad
My brother and sisters, my gran and my mum
They'll be drinking white wine in the sun

I don't go in for ancient wisdom
I don't believe just 'cos ideas are tenacious it means they are worthy
I get freaked out by churches
Some of the hymns that they sing have nice chords but the lyrics are spooky

And yes I have all of the usual objections
To the miseducation of children who, in tax-exempt institutions,
Are taught to externalise blame
And to feel ashamed and to judge things as plain right and wrong
But I quite like the songs

I'm not expecting big presents
The old combination of socks, jocks and chocolate is just fine by me

Cos I'll be seeing my dad
My brother and sisters, my gran and my mum
They'll be drinking white wine in the sun
I'll be seeing my dad
My brother and sisters, my gran and my mum
They'll be drinking white wine in the sun

And you, my baby girl
My jetlagged infant daughter
You'll be handed round the room
Like a puppy at a primary school
And you won't understand
But you will learn someday
That wherever you are and whatever you face
These are the people who'll make you feel safe in this world
My sweet blue-eyed girl

And if, my baby girl
When you're twenty-one or thirty-one
And Christmas comes around
And you find yourself nine thousand miles from home
You'll know what ever comes
Your brother and sisters and me and your Mum
Will be waiting for you in the sun
Whenever you come
Your brothers and sisters, your aunts and your uncles
Your grandparents, cousins and me and your mum
We'll be waiting for you in the sun
Drinking white wine in the sun
Darling, when Christmas comes
We'll be waiting for you in the sun
Drinking white wine in the sun
Waiting for you in the sun
Waiting for you...
Waiting...

I really like Christmas
It's sentimental, I know...

The Sound Of Freethinking: #3 Coming Up For Air

This piece deals with that moment that many atheists, including myself, have had. The moment when, after clawing through religion for so long you finally take that first breath of fresh air. That first inhalation of reason. Where you hold yourself and wonder if this will answer your questions or just poison you like everything else that has filled your lungs.

It is the realization that what you have been told throughout your life is a lie. It is finding that the ever present fear of Satan or any other such evil has been falsely raised up as almost an equal to God in order to control you and in the next moment you realize the whole idea is nothing more than an animal. That this animal is nothing more than our primal urges that we all struggle with and can even, in time tame.

It is the sudden understanding that the iconography that fills the religion has been torn from other dying religions in order to feed itself. It is knowing that you can let every blasphemy you have ever heard or thought wash over you and you will be left unmarked.

It is the feeling of vitality coursing through you. Of air inflating your lungs as you spew out the last remnants of every lie that has been shoved down your throat.

This is Leather Strip, Coming Up For Air.

Running out of time
Running out of life
This is no competition
Jesus was a man
Jesus was a lie
Beautiful crucifixion
Deep down in your soul
Fighting emotional breakdown
Coming up for air
Beating up a man
Fucking with your pride
Violence is religion
Satan is a god
Satan is a dog
Beautiful execution
I wanna walk through the
valley of death
I wanna see the misery
expose the symbols of
love and hate
I wanna hear the blasphemy

The Sound Of Freethinking: #2 God Thinks

As a quick follow up to the first "Sound of Freethinking" comes one of my favorite musical satirists. For those within the subculture, the name Voltaire is well known, outside, it is also well known but for a different individual. Yes, a musical satirist decided to name his project after one of the greatest literary satirists, and I have to say, it is rather fitting. But this modern Voltaire is much more then just a musician, he is also an artist and writer, all of which has a nice satirical edge to it, often even mocking the very subculture that he thrives within. After all, we all need a bit of humility and self deprecation now and then. He goes about his music in a sort of dark cabaret style and it fits him very well.

In This particular song, entitled God Thinks, Voltaire starts off with the kind of lyrics that are designed to offend the listener. But if you are willing to listen further, you will find that what seems horrendously bigoted remarks are actually part of the satire itself. So without further adieu, here is Voltaire telling us what God Thinks.



And for the videophobic...

God thinks all blacks are obsolete farm equipment
God thinks the Jews killed his son and must be punished
God thinks the white man is Satan
God, they know what God thinks

God thinks we should all convert to Judaism
God thinks we must all be Christians and
God thinks we should all embrace Islam
God thinks the only true religion is Hinduism

And I
I know what God thinks
God thinks you're a waste of flesh
God prefers an Atheist

God God
God thinks all people like you are hateful
God thinks all people like you are an embarrassment to creation
self-righteous, judgmental, first to throw a stone
and using His name for your own protection

God thinks the sun revolves around the Earth
God thinks there was something very wrong with Copernicus
God thinks abortion is murder and
God thinks everything that science gave us is wrong
God thinks women deserve it
God thinks AIDS is a form of punishment

I hate people who blame the Devil for their own shortcomings and
I hate people who thank God when things go right

And I
I know what God thinks
God thinks you're an idiot
God prefers a heretic

God God
God thinks all people like you are hateful
God thinks all people like you are an embarrassment to creation
self-righteous, judgmental, first to throw the stone
and using His name for your own agenda

God is a liberal
God is a democrat
God wants you to vote republican
never trust a man who puts his words in the mouth of god
and says it's absolute truth
its lies and it smells like death
its all in a day's work taking money from the poor
Why do you think that God would need your dirty money
if He wants to start a holy war?

self-righteous, judgmental, first to throw a stone
and using His name for your own protection

God thinks puppies need to die and
God thinks babies need to drown
'cause God is neither good nor bad
God is you and me
God is Everything

To be entirely honest, there is little I can say that Voltaire has not said in this song. I am sure most atheists and agnostics will agree that they have argued something similar to what Voltaire has sung here. It is a culmination of all religions stupidity rolled into one nice song. Some may argue that this isn't an atheist song as it ends with a more pantheistic verse. But if someone were to argue that, then they must not have a very good grasp on what pantheism truly is. In fact there are many who could argue that there is very little difference in the thinking of an agnosto-atheist and a pantheist. But either way, the message of this song is still the same and I think it is one that many in the atheist community would relish if only they knew it existed in the first place. Which, of course, is the whole purpose of this segment of this blog.

The Sound Of Freethinking: #1 Arabian Knights

I would first like to thank Infidel753 whose comment sparked the idea for a re-occurring post. In the comment Infidel753 referenced a song by Siouxsie and the Banshees. The Song is Arabian Knights.



For those of you who wish to just read the lyrics...

The jewel, the prize
Looking into your eyes
Cool pools drown your mind
What else will you find?

I hear a rumor
It was just a rumor

I heard a rumor
What have you done to her?

Myriad lights
They said, I'd be impressed
Arabian Knights
At your primitive best

A tourist oasis
Reflects in seedy sunshades
A monstrous oil tanker
It's wound bleeding in seas

I heard a rumor
What have you done to her?
I heard a rumor
What have you done to her?

Veiled behind screens
Kept as your baby machine
Whilst you conquer more orifices
Of boys, goats and things
Ripped out sheeps eyes
No forks or knives

Myriad lights
They said, "I'd be impressed"
Arabian Knights
At your primitive best

I heard a rumor
What have you done to her?
I heard a rumor
What have you done to her?
I heard a rumor

I think it is rather clear what Siouxsie Sioux is singing here. Even back in the 80's it was clear that Islam had become little more then an expansionist religion that views females as little more than, as Siouxsie put it "baby machines" and its oil reserves as a tool to spread its own influence. This song was produced back in 1981, close to thirty years later and things still have not changed, other then the amount of territory claimed under Islamic rule.

I hope to continue this series with various other songs from the subculture that have something to say about religion. If any of the readers have any other ideas for songs, please let me know, I'm always open for suggestion.