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The Song Does Not Remain the Same
Thu., Aug. 18. 2016 11:18am EDT
John Clauser in Birmingham AL probably thought he was making two unrelated statements when he emailed us today:Why do I have it in my head that you guys had already done a parody of "Heartbreaker"? Also, I'm still looking for those early cassettes to get the whole ApologetiX experience! When we released our new single, many fans realized that we had spoofed Led Zeppelin's "Living Loving Maid" once before (with the song "Isn't Wasn't Ain't" back in 1993). But only a select few knew that we'd also spoofed "Heartbreaker" even before that.
That parody was called "Darkangel" and was the final song on Want It Dead or Alive (New Year's Eve 1992), the last homemade cassette we released before the Isn't Wasn't Ain't cassette (July 1993). So even back then we acknowledged that you have to follow up "Heartbreaker" with "Living Loving Maid," even when you're doing parodies.
Pastor Frank Queen in Bronson MI was just a young man when we caught our very first concert as ApologetiX in March 1992. An instant fan, he remembers both "Darkangel" (or "Dark Angel" -- we spelled it both ways) and "Isn't Wasn't Ain't" when they came out. Here's what he had to say:Yes, I remember "Isn't Wasn't Ain't" (still one of my favorites from the early days) and "Dark Angel." Funny thing is, I was trying to remember how to play "Heartbreaker" the other day as I've not listened to the original in years. Now I can listen to it and get it back. :) Don Riefstahl in Forsyth GA has been an ApologetiX fan for over 15 years and had copies of those old cassettes, too. He wrote the following:I like the new version (and of course the production quality is way better) but I've gotten a lot of mileage out of the message in "Dark Angel." It's an important passage that doesn't get mentioned much in church, at least not that I've ever heard … and also helped lead me to a profound insight: that Satan's goal isn't to make us as bad as possible; rather, his goal is only to keep us separated from God.
If he can keep you separated by getting you to drown your sorrows in a bottle then that's what he'll do. If he can keep you separated by letting you pursue a life of good works outside of grace, then he'll do that. Whatever keeps you from relying on Christ is good with him. When that finally clicked for me I finally understood why he's called "the deceiver," because that is so much more insidious than just a cackling cartoon villain trying to tempt me into bad behavior.
Of course, you've touched on this a few more times since then in more depth, but that was an early song that had a big influence on my understanding at the time. Thanks again for doing what you do. Both of the songs this week are terrific, and I'm also digging "There Are Wolves Among Us" from a couple weeks back.
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