Cover by A Tribe Called Meuw

I know there already have been many lists of atheist songs; I know because in trying to find songs for my own selection I read quite a few of them. However, I wanted to make something different than a comprehensive list.

I wanted to not only to choose my favourites but also arrange them in some sort of meaningful order that tells a story – at least to my own satisfaction. In short, I wanted to select a mix that can be burned onto a CD and I have endeavoured to keep it under that magical 79 minute mark.

It should also be noted that I know full well that not all of these artists are, in fact, atheists. Some are, some are not, and some I honestly have no idea about. Rather I chose songs based on whether they expressed something an atheist or freethinker would be likely to relate to – though, of course, your mileage may vary. More on odd choices after the track list.

Atheists Don’t Have No Songs: A Freethinker’s Mix

01. Intro (Atheists Don’t Have No Songs) – Steve Martin

02. Pope Song – Tim Minchin

03. Imagine – John Lennon

04. Put Your Faith in Jesus – Mark Silverman

05. Letting Go of God – Jill Sobule

06. A Rational Response – Greydon Square

07. LMAOIH – Mark Silverman

08. Superstition – Stevie Wonder

09. Take My Wife – Tim Minchin

10. Dear God – XTC

11. Science Is Real – They Might Be Giants

12. God Thinks – Voltaire

13. Origin of Species – MC Frontalot

14. One – U2

15. Keep Your Jesus Off My Penis -  Eric Schwartz

16. Monty Python’s Galaxy Song – Clint Black

17. Outro (Storm) – Tim Minchin

Odd Choices

Alternative Cover by A Tribe Called Meuw

Some of these are arguably not proper songs. Specifically, ‘Atheists Don’t Have No Songs,’ ‘Take My Wife,’ and ‘Storm.’ I included ‘Atheists Don’t Have No Songs‘ because it started me thinking about this in the first place. Steve Martin says that atheists have nothing and although he jests I thought it would be fun to prove his jest wrong and as such the acapella of Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Riders makes a good intro. ‘Take My Wife‘ (the proper title is too long) likewise makes a great and funny skit. It is a song – sort of. ‘Storm‘ is a beat poem but I thought it was just too beautiful and too meaningful for many atheists not to include.

‘One‘ by U2 is most likely not about what it sounds like to me. A little bit of Googling informed me that it is about the band nearly breaking up. I shall gladly confess that I don’t know what it’s about. However, it contains phrases that lend themselves to humanistic reinterpretation. We only have “One life” and we ought to use it to “carry each other” etc. I reserve the right to pretend that ‘One‘ is about a positive secular outlook on life – even though I’m wrong.

I’m a bit torn on ‘The Galaxy Song.’ Eric Idle really sings it better but a recording from the film will never be of such a crisp quality as Clint Black’s studio recording. Feel free to substitute one for the other.

Be sure to check out A Tribe Called Meuw’s blog for more great images.

Do you have a better idea for an atheist mix CD? Feel free to leave a comment or join the discussion in the forum.

I’m 28 lightyears old!

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Sure, Mr. Ladies Love and I’m about 14 x 10⁹ years tall – give or take a few litres. Then again I can hardly hold that against you when your contribution to the Monstars Anthem was immediately preceded by a verse in which Method Man claims to be “Insane like a runaway train.”

It’s still an awesome song though…

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, You gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I’ll give it to someone special

Tra-la-la special, special. Wait…hold on. Seriously? Look, Mr. Michael I appreciate the sentiment and I can sort of see what you were aiming for in this song, but you need to put that tormented metaphor out of its sordid misery!

I know what giving someone your heart means, you know what it means. Hell, everyone does. But who among us can honestly claim to get a grip on what it means to give Person C the heart you got from Person A? Does this mean that George Michael fell in love with Person A, but that Person A then somehow made George Michael fall in love with Person C instead – possibly with some sort of mystical love-transference ritual? It just doesn’t work as a metaphor.

So what the Hell, George? Did you actually hand someone your physical honest-to-goodness literal heart? Because if that’s the case, you know, I’m sure you can’t possibly blame the person for giving it away the very next day – say, for instance, giving it to a paramedic or a coroner would surely be the right thing to do!

“Oh, that’s nothing. You can’t teleport people.”

Excuse me? We’re talking about teleportation here. Actual honest to Pasta teleportation. Who cares about it not being perfected yet or whatever? It’s teleportation. Why aren’t you excited?

Anyway, to get back to my day so far. I woke up and felt like reading some Doktor Sleepless. However, since I am back at the Faroe Islands and we have little to speak of in the comic-peddling department, I downloaded a couple of issues from rapidshare. That’s the future intruding upon your reality again with you having nothing but apathy to greet it with. If the actuality of teleportation didn’t excite you, I wouldn’t expect a global, instantaneous library in which you at any time can access all of humanity’s literature on a whim to get it up for you either. Sure, it’s illegal but so was taping films from the TV onto VHS or music from the radio onto casettes, and that didn’t stop you, did it? Perhaps it did, but it sure didn’t stop me.

Anyway, Doktor Sleepless just told me to check out the album Saint Dymphna by Gang Gang Dance, so in a matter of 5 seconds I had downloaded that as well. Science Fiction I tell you, and I just published my thoughts instantaneously to a potentially world-wide audience.

They are very old and I think they are horrendous. However, if anyone wants them, here they are. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. The beats to all of these are made by DJ Equinox, except for Sword Swingin’. I have absolutely no idea where that beat came from.

Sketch Sepahi – Valsendings Kjaftarí

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Sketch Sepahi – Say Shit

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DJ Equinox & Sketch Sepahi – Nightmare

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Sketch Sepahi – Paranoid

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Blacircus, Sketch Sepahi & Prinz Logan – Sword Swingin’

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