Raise the Alarm

I’ve always been a fan of the Living End. They’re a great Aussie band. For a few years there I couldn’t get enough of them and will always remember their set at the Falls Festival back in 2003. Lead singer and guitarist Chris Cheney is a genius (and for the record, my preferred Cheney) and that night, he played like he’d made a deal with the devil. Back in July, the lads released their latest offering: a catchy album called White Noise.

It’s a good album, plenty to get into if you have the patience to listen. Track 9, 21st Century sounds like an updated version of We Didn’t Start the Fire, but a little darker (“Hefner is the devil incarnate”). In particular though, I was most pleased to hear track 2: Raise the Alarm. It’s the Atheist’s Anthem that I’ve longed for. My previous preferred band, Bad Religion, hint at the issue, with lines like “maybe god is just a chemical fiction” – but, The Living End have really nailed it here:

I may not believe in God
That doesn't mean I'm a lesser person
I still have a heart
And I know what it feels like to be broken

I may not believe in Jesus
But I believe in sacrifice
Life doesn’t always stand reason
No one ever gets a chance
To live it twice

The song articulates many of societies prejudices against atheists. We still have morals. We are still capable of virtuous actions. Organised religion does not have the monopoly on goodness (to say the very least). Watch the clip, listen to the song and re-think your position on atheists.