because anarchy

wow that looks about as bad as those shitty movies Kirk Cameron makes with that church.

haha only if comeback kid is involved

yeah that was hilarious! I mean most of the big name "Christians" on television are just assholes that don't truly understand the bible. Although I know most of my fellow commenters are either atheist or agnostic I would encourage you to read a book called Radical by David Platt. Its not very punk but it will give you a better understanding of what a christian should be and where the church in america has gone wrong.

Yes.

Natural selection. If they're dumb enough to kill themselves over that, then I'm glad they are out of my gene pool so we can progress as a species.

Yes, it'd be funnier, in fact.

I don't have the kindest outlook on religion myself, but regardless, what the hell does that have to do with The Phenomenauts? It's like if I was trying to explain my feelings towards Communism in a conversation about the Wiggles. It's just an inappropriate outlet for such matters.

That's my problem, more so than any perspective on religion: The Phenomenauts have never addressed religion or politics in their music or even their stage shows (the times I've seen them), and they have a history of touring with bands like The Aquabats who have a notable religious fanbase. It feels downright alienating to both their religious and non-religious fans to suddenly make it the focal point of your band's ideology, especially since the former ideology was simply "outer space is cool".

I have nothing against personal belief or activism. If these guys wanted to do this on their spare time, that's fine, but why involve the band? Why wear the costumes and act in character? It's a shameless publicity stunt. I just wish they'd put more effort into making music (you know, what with them being a BAND and all) than trying to shove their irrelevant beliefs down our throats.

**and it's not just mocking religion. For example, "Where Is The X-38?" is a serious song about NASA canning the X-38 Crew Return Vehicle that would have saved astronaut lives.
I think its fair, especially in punk rock with bands like NoFx and Bad Religion, for artists to have opinions on controversial topics and to share said opinions.

I wracked my brain trying to remember Phenomenauts songs that hinted at such topics, but drew a blank outside of "Galactic Pioneers". That song's pretty blatant, I admit, but a small fraction of songs does not make an outwardly atheist band. I don't see any religious overtones in "Progress vs. Pettiness" or "Earth is the Best", to be honest, but then again, I'm not that smart.

I've seen The Phenomenauts about 12 times since 2005, have their CDs and even own an officer's jacket. I was aware of their left-leaning wackiness from early on ("Galactic Pioneers" and whatnot), but it didn't bother me since it wasn't the focal point of the band: 11 out of 12 songs on that album were still light-hearted escapism and their concerts placed total emphasis on fun gimmickry rather than be a soapbox for punk preaching. Even though I do agree with The Phenomenauts' views, I don't like my music dominated by political overtones. I don't mind if a band touches on them in a few songs, as long as it's not overbearing, persistent or doesn't get in the way of fun. The Phenomenauts were such a band to me.

However, in the last year or so, they've *really* ramped up the anti-religious sentiments to much greater heights. Not so much in their music, but just through their website, Facebook, etc. I knew they believed such things, I just didn't expect them to promote it so heavily through the band itself. Like I said, I would feel the same as if The Aquabats used their band to promote conservative issues. Yes, the Phenomenauts have a handful of songs touching on atheism, but that's not the core appeal of the band. No one likes *The Phenomenauts* for their social commentary. I like them for their music and style, and if I wanted to follow them, I don't feel I should be bombarded with atheist rants under the justification that they wrote 2 or 3 songs about it and thus that makes up the entire image and ideology of the band, because it really doesn't.

Of course, The Phenomenauts are free to do or say whatever they want through their band. Their image is their own. I'll still give their next album a shot, but I have less of an incentive if they really plan to make atheism a bigger part of it.

Did you find this funny?

So which band member are you?

And seriously, those clear balloons are going to kill a shitload of turtles.

Sorry, I'm a sensitive guy and I was just too embarrassed for the participants in this laughable idiocy. Had to turn it off before the end. Color me presumptuous, you are correct; as I said before, argument retracted.

Gahhhh quit using that word, despising something evil is not "intolerant." Technically being anti-racist is intolerance toward racists, but that's not what the word's connotation is.

What the religious right does goes beyond "cheap theatrics", but keep on believing that taking a stand against these kinds of people is a bad thing.

wow, i do not care for them at all. generic bordering on bad, holding hands with really bad.