Topic: Sceptic rock stars

[YouSayPotato]

Judging from the avatars, there's a lot of Zappa fans here at sguforums. I'm scratching my head, but I can't think of anyone – FZ's conspiracy streak aside – who comes close to being sceptical in their music.

Frank Zappa - Cosmik Debris

... Aside from myself, that is.

Any suggestions?

[quirk3k]

My man, MC Frontalot, has rapped about creationism and cryptozoology.

[alexbutterfield]

There's quite a lot atheistic stuff in Modest Mouse and The Shins lyrics, to an extent. Bright Eyes shows some critical thinking at times too, I wouldn't be surprised if he was an atheist.

Skepticism though, is tough to find. Have to stick with Tim Minchin perhaps.

[YouSayPotato]

Fab. I'll check em out.

Sometimes, leaning on biblical imagery and magical thinking really ruins what would otherwise be a good song.

[alexbutterfield]

Well these songwriters certainly use religious imagery, bright eyes especially. But they are interested in the woo, the same way we all are on this forum. A fascination with the belief.

From Four Winds, Bright Eyes

The Bible's blind, the Torah's deaf, the Koran is mute
If you burned them all together you'd get closer to the truth
Still they're poring over Sanskrit under Ivy League moons
While shadows lengthen in the sun

From Australia, The Shins
(about the stultifying effect of religious adherence)

A duo tone on the wall
Of the selfless fool who hoped he save us all
Never dreamt of such sterile hands
You keep them folded in your lap
And raise them up to beg for scraps
You know he's holding you down with the tips of his fingers

Both great songs.
To hear the best of these bands get Wincing the Night Away, The Lonesome Crowded West, The People's Key

[YouSayPotato]

Thx for the tips.

I can add Ben Folds to the list, as he's open about his atheism in a track on their Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner LP.

... Which is a fab album BTW, especially in how its key theme is dealing with being a thinking person in the circus of values.

[PANTS!]

Yeah, Def Ben Folds.

Pete Shelly?  Maybe. Homosapien is all about humanism.

XTC of course.  Although they may be more paganism than strictly skeptical.

Roy Zimmerman - but he's more of a folkie.

But the one you all missed is They Might Be Giants

Here Comes Science is a wonderful celebration of Science and Skepticism.  Awesome album.

[AQB24712]

Make A Circuit With Me - The Polecats

Not exactly skeptical, but doofy naughty science-y rockabilly.

A sweet romance is not for me
I need electricity
If you wanna make me flip
Hit me with a micro chip

I'll be a diode, cathode, electrode
Overload, generator, oscillator
Make a circuit with me

Just plug in and go-go-go
I'll be your human dynamo
Signals in my power cord
Impulse on my circuit board

I'm an AC/DC man
You can read my circuit diagram
I feed on electric jolts
I need fifty-thousand volts

A sweet romance is not for me
I really need electricity
If you wanna make me flip
Come on and hit me with a micro chip


I'm an AC/DC man
You can read my circuit diagram
I feed on electric jolts
I need fifty-thousand volts

I'll be a diode, cathode, electrode
Overload, generator, oscillator
Make a circuit with, make a circuit with me

[YouSayPotato]

Yikes! Now I know why people say 'toe-curling' 

Bugger it – here's FZ:

FRANK ZAPPA COSMIK DEBRIS

[Plastique]

Hate to say it, but there's been no skeptical music as such that I thought was good.

[Karyn]

Greydon Square, but that's really not my style.

Bad Religion if you like punk.

I think the guitarist from Janes Addiction was also on the SGU a while back, though I'm not sure if that's ever been incorporated into his music.

Maynard from Tool and A Perfect Circle and Henry Rollins are clearly Atheist, but I'm not sure what other ideas they have.

[Plastique]

Greydon Square, but that's really not my style.

Bad Religion if you like punk.

I think the guitarist from Janes Addiction was also on the SGU a while back, though I'm not sure if that's ever been incorporated into his music.

Maynard from Tool and A Perfect Circle and Henry Rollins are clearly Atheist, but I'm not sure what other ideas they have.

Bad Religion's a good one, but Greg Graffin doesn't make music as a skeptic, if that makes sense. It seems more like he writes his tunes, and happens to be a skeptic—ie, skepticism isn't the focus. (Just to clarify my position above.)

Greg Graffin definitely fits with the OP, though.

[AQB24712]

Maynard from Tool and A Perfect Circle and Henry Rollins are clearly Atheist, but I'm not sure what other ideas they have.

I have some ideas about Henry Rollins.  [/off-topic]

[Samhain]

Maynard from Tool and A Perfect Circle and Henry Rollins are clearly Atheist, but I'm not sure what other ideas they have.

I have some ideas about Henry Rollins.  [/off-topic]

Tell me AQB24712, how do you think you would have reacted if it had been you that walked into him at Walmart? Be as graphic as you want...

[AQB24712]

AHMAHGAHD.   

Um, I probably would've smiled at him and said nothing, or hello.   

You'd think I'd have more presence of mind from working at an arts center and meeting various ganse machers, but nope.  I totally derped it at NECSS when Randi looked right at me and said, "Well, hello there" in a friendly fashion.