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Culture Club Combo Platter, 1380 Tracks for $100
May 21, 2021, 7:03 pm EDT
ApologetiX Fan Club Newsletter goes out to 61,541 subscribers.

In This Issue:

New Single: More from '84 >>

Stories Behind This Single >>

Bible-Reading Update >>

Influential Albums: 365-378 >>

Get 1380 Tracks for $100 >>

New Songbook Here at Last >>

Multiple MP3s, 1 Donation >>

How to Donate Online or by Mail >>


Tell Us About You.

Help us pick new songs to parody and cities to tour in by telling us about you. At least your zipcode and date of birth. (We won't tell anyone.)

Tell us about you >>


Photos from the Road

We try to take as many pictures of our concerts and fans as possible, and we have a bunch from our concert in Gahanna, OH on Sat., Nov 12.



See the photos from Gahanna, OH and other concerts.


Come to the Show
,
Nov. 30, 1999 at 12:00 am
,
info, tix, directions >>


Were You There?

Fans love to look up the photos on our website, and email them around. These are the ten most recent concerts that we have no photos from. Pick any concert you have photos for and please upload them.

1. Pittsburgh, PA  03.28.15
2. Barrington, RI  10.18.14
3. Harleysville, PA  10.17.14
4. Chesaning, MI  07.10.10


Upcoming Fan Birthdays

Happy birthday to all our fans and friends who are celebrating a birthday in the coming week including these 224 fans:

05.21Tiffanie M. - PA
05.21Jesse A. - LA
05.21Debby B. - MO
05.21Michael E. - ND
05.21Becky Y. - CA
05.21Aaron (mepo) M. - Australia
05.21Benjamin O. - OH
05.21Charles C. - UT
05.21Kailey S. - MI
05.21Jim P. - MO
05.21Joshua S. - NY
05.21Barbara P. - OH
05.21Mary R. - AR
05.21Tim J. - NH
05.21Daniel R. - NY
05.21Brad J. - PA
05.21Keeton 1. - OR
05.21Jason C. - IL
05.21Joan C. - WA
05.21Nicole S. - OH
05.21Christopher L. - NC
05.21Thurman J. - CA
05.21Jody Z. - IN
05.21Barbara P. - IN
05.21Laura A. - FL
05.21Georgina G. - TX
05.21Kathleen P. - NJ
05.21Kevin L. - WA
05.21Jeremy S. - OK
05.21Jacqui And Dick R. - MA
05.21Michelle W. - GA
05.21Mary Ann H. - MO
05.21Rachel S. - OR
05.21Aaron M. - Queensland
05.22Craig C. - OR
05.22Rob C. - MI
05.22Trina S. - MO
05.22Sarah H. - ME
05.22Megan G. - TX
05.22Clifford V. - WY
05.22Diane A. - VT
05.22David H. - TN
05.22Misty M. - MO
05.22Aaron F. - OH
05.22Jeremiah C. - GA
05.22Thomas H. - RI
05.22Linda C. - GA
05.22Tracy B. - KS
05.22Julie B. - WI
05.22Trina S. - MO
05.22Joseph R. - TN
05.22Bobbi L. - Canada
05.22Timothy R. - MI
05.22Clifford V. - WY
05.22Megan G. - TX
05.22Timothy R. - NC
05.22Joseph V. - KY
05.22Travis S. - SC
05.22Dan S. - IL
05.22Joseph R. - TN
05.23Polhv P. - MN
05.23Amelia N. - WA
05.23Bo G. - OK
05.23Michael D. - Ontario
05.23Cherene C. - PA
05.23Lori K. - AL
05.23Jennifer J. - CO
05.23Kevin S. - GA
05.23William A. - CO
05.23Don R. - NC
05.23Jacen B. - IN
05.23Edie S. - VT
05.23Gary K. - KY
05.23Mark V. - FL
05.23Dana D. - NY
05.23Hannah M. - MO
05.23Magdiel N. - Chile
05.23Simon B.
05.23Barb S. - PA
05.23Kimberly S. - CT
05.23Jacob B. - AR
05.23Mylee M. - OH
05.23Derek M. - FL
05.23Michael S. - AL
05.23Donna K. - NC
05.23Patrick M. - IL
05.23Kevin G. - AR
05.23Dj B. - CO
05.23Randall V. - Canada
05.23Michael S. - NC
05.23Will P. - AZ
05.23Missy R. - GA
05.24Edna H. - MT
05.24Chris W. - PA
05.24Rance H. - NE
05.24Debi D. - NV
05.24John S. - Canada
05.24Dolores F. - CA
05.24Terry S.
05.24John D. - Australia
05.24Tom L. - NY
05.24Jesse H. - LA
05.24Brandon R. - OR
05.24Hannie C. - Australia
05.24Richard H. - IN
05.24Jason N. - KY
05.24Dawn S. - PA
05.24Stephen K. - TX
05.24Bruce M. - PA
05.24Marshall H. - CA
05.24Kelly S. - PA
05.24Patrick T. - IN
05.24Albert C. - NM
05.24Gage B. - OH
05.24Deborah P. - CA
05.24Amy G. - CO
05.24Vickie B. - TX
05.24Terry V. - TX
05.24Lisa S. - VA
05.24Jeff W. - WA
05.24Steve S. - KS
05.24David H. - MI
05.24Martin B. - MT
05.24Amanda W. - SC
05.24Robert C. - AZ
05.24Arthur H. - CO
05.24Jordan O. - VA
05.24Mark A. - Philippines
05.24Jennifer O. - CO
05.25Brian L. - TX
05.25Luc A. - Quebec
05.25Rebecca B. - VA
05.25Alan F. - NJ
05.25Rachel P. - KY
05.25Ken N. - FL
05.25Betsy C. - NJ
05.25Gary M. - OH
05.25Barbara D. - NM
05.25Mario C. - Nova Scotia
05.25Shannon L. - LA
05.25Cynthia E. - TX
05.25Donnie H. - OK
05.25Larry D. - OH
05.25Melissa F. - CO
05.25Mark M. - IN
05.25Andrew G. - PA
05.25Luc A. - Canada
05.25Stephanie P. - IN
05.25Mario C. - NS
05.25Len M. - HI
05.25Dan K. - PA
05.25Len M. - HI
05.25Bart H. - MI
05.25Nathanael J. - Australia
05.25Charlie F. - FL
05.25Melissa F. - CO
05.25James K. - VT
05.25Chris N. - KY
05.25Mario C. - Nova Scotia
05.26Harry W. - OH
05.26Don D. - FL
05.26David L. - DE
05.26Bill M. - PA
05.26Dax B. - NC
05.26Timothy S. - PA
05.26Eddy S. - OH
05.26Joseph P. - OH
05.26Kevin O. - United Kingdom
05.26Mckenzie V. - SC
05.26Brandon D. - TX
05.26Micah R. - PA
05.26Becky H. - PA
05.26Kevin H. - United Kingdom
05.26Kimberly G. - TX
05.26William A. - AR
05.26Astilbe T. - TN
05.26Willie G. - TN
05.26Sarah J M. - KS
05.26Josh T. - TN
05.26Wayne J. - NY
05.26Eric J. - MO
05.26Harry W. - OH
05.26Laurie L. - OH
05.26Bradley J. - WA
05.26Micah R. - PA
05.26Tim H. - IN
05.26David L. - DE
05.27Olen B. - IL
05.27Daniel B. - TN
05.27Jason And Christina L. - SC
05.27Diego A.
05.27Kyle G. - AL
05.27Olen B. - IL
05.27Perry B. - PA
05.27Mike F. - MT
05.27Alan P. - GA
05.27Suzanne B. - MD
05.27Will M. - KY
05.27Susan E. - CA
05.27Jason H. - NC
05.27Roger B. - CA
05.27Brenda R. - IN
05.27Matthew S. - KS
05.27Philip H. - PA
05.27Josh O. - NY
05.27Bob D. - TX
05.27Stan B. - MI
05.27Michael B. - PA
05.27Heather F. - KS
Make sure we know about your birthday -- For your name to appear above, your profile has to have your correct first and last name and in the correct fields.Tell us about you >>


Wanna Help the Band?

We're often asked if we accept donations. Yes we do. Like other ministries, we have many expenses. Although the donations aren't tax deductible, they are immediately put to good use. If you'd like to donate, thanks.

J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here.

I'm going to start this week's newsletter out with an urgent prayer request from ApologetiX fan Sonja Cline:

On Sunday morning, she emailed me with the following:

We are in dire need of prayer here in the Cline household. Three out of the four of us have gotten Covid. My husband is not doing well, and he is on a ventilator. He had a very bad night last night. They are re-assessing him.

God is bigger than Covid. Please pray with us that God sees fit to leave him here with us. We are alone here in Columbus OH with all of our family being in West Virginia, and no one can come to us.

I have this as well, but I do feel some better today. Myself, my husband and our youngest son caught this around the beginning of May. I just got out of the hospital and our son is doing really well with it.

My husband's name is Darnell and if he makes it, he'll turn 60 on the 25th of this month. I'm 54, and our two sons are Michael, 26, and Noah, 22.

I'm not doing that great, but at least I'm home instead of the hospital. Our son Noah is doing much better than both my husband and I.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and kindness. Feel free to share this prayer request with everyone.


When I checked in with Sonja today to see how things were going, she said the following:

More good news for Darnell. They seem to have gotten the infection under control. What they are working on now is getting the inflammation under control that has been caused by Covid.

I believe they are going to do a cat scan either today or tomorrow just to rule out problems. And they have changed medications to help him come off of the ventilator easier. But he is still on the ventilator. So pray that he can get off of The ventilator. That is their major concern at the moment.

Love y'all and keep praying.


Please join us in praying for Darnell and Sonja. Thank you.

New Single: More from '84
May 18, 2021, 9:47 pm EDT

We've just released our seventh single of 2021, which does something no ApologetiX single before it has done. It takes the same song and spoofs it twice, with two different sets of lyrics discussing two different topics.

http://www.apologetix.com/store/store.php#KarmasConvenient

Here's what's on it:

Karma's Convenient - Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
Come to Corinthians - Karma Chameleon - Culture Club

There are now 166 singles/EPs (337 songs) in our "downloads for a donation" series, including our previous single, "Where's Ten Girls?" and "Parrseverance," featuring parodies of Pet Shop Boys and John Parr.

To get multiple downloads with one donation go to http://apologetix.com/news/news-details.php?news_id=3564


The Stories Behind the Songs on Our Seventh Single
May 20, 2021, 8:37 am EDT

J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.

Here are the stories behind the songs on our seventh single:

COME TO CORINTHIANS

The world's concept of love seems to be changing every day, but the Bible remains the same, and that's the way to find out what love really is. Thankfully, First Corinthians 13 is still read at weddings, even in the church of the poison-minded pastor whose sermons are colored by numbness to the Gospel. It's a miracle they still read it, but they do.

This is the fourth parody we've released about First Corinthians 13 — "the love chapter" — and there's a fifth one waiting for the right time. They were written in a different order than they were released: The first one I wrote was "Love (Ain't Nothin')," the second hasn't been recorded yet, the third was "Come to Corinthians," the fourth was "Corinthians," and the fifth was "Brash, Impulsive."

I wrote "Come to Corinthians" in the spring of 2000. ApX alum drummer Bob Flaherty saw the lyrics in '03 and loved them (more than I did, if fact) but we had just released "Corinthians" in '02. Nevertheless, thanks to Bob, I didn't give up on the song. I eventually performed "Come to Corinthians" with the worship team at New Community Church for two Sunday services in June 2013.

Culture Club's heyday aligned perfectly with my college career. They released a new album during each of my four school years. Their first Top 40 single, "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me," came out during the fall semester of my freshman year and their tenth and final Top 40 single came out during the spring semester of my senior year. Ironically, it was titled "Move Away."

KARMA'S CONVENIENT

Many in Western culture today see someone "get what they deserve" in this life and mistakenly call it "karma." However, the classic concept of karma teaches that you "get what you deserve" in a subsequent life through reincarnation. Hebrews 9:27 disagrees, but thinking they have extra time makes sluggards feel like they've got something real.

I got the title for "Karma's Convenient" on April 4, 2011, along with one other line. I liked it a lot, but I'd already written a different parody of the same song — "Come to Corinthians." Consequently, when we made the decision to finally cover "Karma Chameleon" on April 2, 2021 (almost 10 years to the day after I got the idea for "Come to Corinthians"), I had to choose which lyrics to use.

We faced a similar situation in 2008 when Tom Milnes and Tom Tincha both auditioned to be our new guitarist; each was so good we wound up keeping both. I also remembered how Guns N' Roses did two versions of "Don't Cry" (with only the lyrics and vocals being different) and released them simultaneously on Use Your Illusion I and II. So we decided to do both "Corinthians" and "Convenient," and I wrote the rest of the lyrics for "Convenient."

Rich Mannion provided keys, guitar, drum-programming, and backing vocals, although Jimmy played the military snare drum you hear from 3:10-3:30, and Wayne did the quick guitar strum at 3:30. Ironically, when ApX spoofed "Don't Cry" back in 1993, we only did one version.


Bible-Reading Update: Genesis 31-Exodus 21
May 21, 2021, 2:12 pm EDT

We began our latest trip through the Bible on April 28. Here's our Bible-reading plan for the next two weeks for those of you reading along with us:

Sat., May 22 - Exodus 22-24
Sun., May 23 - Exodus 25-27
Mon., May 24 - Exodus 28-30
Tue., May 25 - Exodus 31-33
Wed, May 26 - Exodus 34-36
Thu., May 27 - Exodus 37-40
Fri., May 28 - Leviticus 1-3
Sat., May 29 - Leviticus 4-6
Sun., May 30 - Leviticus 7-9
Mon., May 31 - Leviticus 10-12
Tue., June 1 - Leviticus 13-15
Wed, June 2 - Leviticus 16-18
Thu., June 3 - Leviticus 19-21
Fri., June 4 - Leviticus 22-24

Note: If you don't have a Bible handy, you can look up these passages for free on http://www.biblegateway.com. They have about 60 different English translations/versions there to choose from, plus translations in many other languages, many of which also have multiple translations/versions.


Influential Albums: 365-378
May 21, 2021, 12:42 pm EDT

J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.

Here are the latest entries in the "albums that influenced me" series I started writing in May 2020. Rather than listing the albums in order of preference or excellence, I've been listing them in chronological order of when they influenced me, as best as I recall. We are well into 1987 now, and you'll start seeing a lot of Christian albums once we get to 1988.

However, I've recently realized that I neglected to include many influential albums along the way, so I'm going to catching up on those for a while before we get to that momentous moment in '88 when my life and musical trajectory was forever changed. You'll still see plenty of secular albums after that, but music was never the same for me after.

365. Urban Cowboy – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
The Urban Cowboy movie and its accompanying soundtrack both came out in early June 1980. Jeff Henry got this double album that summer. I was initially interested in it mainly because of the #19 hit "All Night Long" by Joe Walsh, which I liked a lot, but the album featured five other singles that would hit the Top 40: "Stand by Me" by Mickey Gilley (#22), "Love the World Away" by Kenny Rogers (#14), "Lookin' for Love" by Johnny Lee (#5), "Could I Have This Dance" by Anne Murray (#33), and my other favorite, "Look What You've Done to Me" by Boz Scaggs (#14). Man, I love that song, especially the single version, which replaces the female backing vocals with The Eagles. It also had two other new tunes I heard on rock radio and really enjoyed, "Times Like These" by Dan Fogelberg and "Nine Tonight" by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band. There were 18 tracks in all, including the classics "Lyin' Eyes" by The Eagles and "Devil Went Down to Georgia" by Charlie Daniels Band. Hey, maybe country-and-western music wasn't so scary after all.

366. Yesterday and Today – The Beatles
Released specifically for the North American market in June 1966, Yesterday and Today was a bridge between Rubber Soul and Revolver in this section of the world. Yes, yes, we know all about the infamous "butcher block" cover and the big hits that were appearing for the first time on an album over here: "Yesterday," "Nowhere Man," "We Can Work It Out," and "Day Tripper." I was already numb to them from the 1962-66 compilation by the time I got to this album. The songs that interested me most on Yesterday and Today were "Doctor Robert," "Act Naturally," "And Your Bird Can Sing," and "If I Needed Someone." Those last three feature some of my favorite guitarwork on any Beatles album. I'd include "Day Tripper" on that list, too, if I hadn't played it to death.

367. Unsinkable Molly Brown – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
I don't know if this album belonged to my mother or my sisters, but it was another relic left behind for me to explore. The Unsinkable Molly Brown was a musical that debuted on Broadway in 1960. The film version came out in 1964, the month before I was born. Debbie Reynolds starred in this fictionalized account of the life of Margaret Brown, a real person who survived the sinking of the Titanic and achieved fame for her heroic efforts to rescue others on that fateful night. Her character is played by Kathy Bates in James Cameron's 1997 movie Titanic. My favorite songs were "I Ain't Down Yet," "Belly Up to the Bar, Boys," and "He's My Friend." Other notable numbers included "I'll Never Say No" and "Colorado, My Home."

368. Cornerstone – Styx
My old buddy Dave Rhodes bought this album soon after it came out in the fall of 1979. It contained Styx's first and only #1 hit, "Babe," but the song I liked from the radio was "Never Say Never," which was never released as a single. Neither was the song "The First Time," even though our local pop station played it relentlessly and my high school used it as their prom theme the following spring. I seem to remember reading that the members of Styx not named Dennis DeYoung nixed the idea of using "The First Time" as a single because they were worried that "Babe" had already done considerable damage to their rock reputation. No, the second single on this album was "Why Me." It went to #26 on the Billboard Hot 100, but reached #12 on the Radio & Records chart, which strictly monitored airplay. I liked that one a lot. Cornerstone also included the fan favorite "Boat on the River," but the third single was "Borrowed Time," which only went to #62. That reminds me ... have you ever noticed how many times Styx uses the word "Time" in titles? "Borrowed Time," "The First Time," "The Best of Times," "Too Much Time on My Hands," "Music Time," "High Time," "While There's Still Time," "Waiting for Our Time," and "Time May Bend.' And they didn't even start doing it till their ninth album. Man, they sure made up for lost "Time"!

369. Empty Sky – Elton John
Believe it or not, Elton John's eponymous LP wasn't his first album. That honor belongs to Empty Sky, which was released in 1969 but didn't get much attention until it was re-released at the height of Eltonmania in 1975. Unless you're a big-time Elton fan, you've probably never heard of it or any of its songs, with the possible exception of "Skyline Pigeon," an EJ classic. My favorite tracks were the opener, "Empty Sky," and the closer, "Gulliver/Hay Chewed/Reprise." I also liked "Hymn 2000" and "Lady What's Tomorrow." In fact, I was probably one of the few people who preferred this album overall to the one that followed it. Three Dog Night fans would recognize the bonus track "Lady Samantha," which they covered in 1969. Elton's version wasn't on the original release of Empty Sky (it was released on a single six months earlier and did not chart) or on the cassette I bought in 1987, but it's been included on reissues since the mid-90's. Three Dog Night also covered "Your Song," which would appear on Elton's next album. I prefer the Dog's version of "Lady Samantha," but Elton's version of "Your Song." Which leads me to my next album …

370. It Ain't Easy – Three Dog Night
Released in late March 1970, It Ain't Easy was Three Dog Night's third studio album. I bought a used vinyl copy in college, but I ditched my record collection over 30 years ago. However, I now own it on 8-track, and the cartridge was autographed by all three of the band's lead singers (Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron, and Cory Wells). It was a gift from a fan of ApologetiX who apparently was not as big a fan of Three Dog Night. It Ain't Easy contained two hit singles. The first, "Mama Told Me (Not to Come) became TDN's first #1 hit. The second, "Out in the Country," became one of my all-time favorites. It peaked at #15. Other highlights include "Cowboy" (written by Randy Newman, as was "Mama Told Me"), "Good Feeling 1957," and "Good Time Living." It Ain't Easy also features a version of "Your Song" that came out about seven months before Elton John's. Danny, Chuck, and Cory did excellent interpretations of other people's songs, but it was too tough to top Elton on that one.

371. Highway 61 Revisited – Bob Dylan
Released in August 1965, just five months after Bringing It All Back Home, this album has a similar sound and style, although this time around, it's even more electric, aside from the last track, the beautiful (musically) and, at times, grotesque (lyrically), "Desolation Row," clocking in at 11:21 in length, which made it the longest song in popular music up till that time. Highway 61 Revisited kicks off with "Like a Rolling Stone," ranked #1 on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Yeah, I know what you're saying, "Of course, Rolling Stone is going to pick "Like a Rolling Stone. Duh." But they weren't alone in their assessment of its excellence and importance. It was a #2 pop hit and made a major impact on many a rock artist, including Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, and Frank Zappa. I already had that song on Greatest Hits and "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" on Greatest Hits Volume II. I loved 'em both, but there were seven other wonders to explore on Highway 61 Revisited. My top two were "Tombstone Blues" and the title track.

372. The Best of Blondie – Blondie
Blondie's U.S. chart appearances were basically hit or miss, with four #1 records, and four other Top 40 hits, none of which cracked the Top 20. But the #1's are all classics — "Heart of Glass," "Call Me," "The Tide is High," and "Rapture" — each different in style than the other and yet each distinctly Blondie. All of them were on this album, as are three of the other four Top 40 hits: "One Way or Another" (#24), "Dreaming" (#27), and "Atomic" (#39), and they're all great, too. Believe it or not, although Blondie was based out of New York City, the band was even bigger across the pond. On the U.K. charts, they had 17 songs that hit the Top 40, including six #1s, two #2's and three other Top 10's. Three of those overseas-only Top 10 hits are on this album: "Sunday Girl," "Hanging on the Telephone," and "I'm Always Touched by Your Presence Dear." There was also an expanded, international edition of the album that included even more of the U.K. hits. I had the U.S. edition, and I believe I bought it in the bargain bin at Backstreet Records while I was in college.

373. It's Alive – The Ramones
I'd seen albums by The Ramones in my Columbia House Record Club catalog, but my friend Chris Marsh was the first person I ever knew who actually bought one. I was simultaneously horrified and fascinated. Released in April 1979, It's Alive was actually recorded on New Year's Eve in 1977 at the Rainbow Theatre in London. It features live versions of 28 songs from The Ramones' first three albums. The longest song one is 2:55, the shortest is 1:14. In fact, 17 of them clocked in at less than two minutes. And then there were the titles: "Judy is a Punk," "Sheena is a Punk Rocker," "Suzy is a Headbanger," "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue," "Pinhead," etc. I later found myself singing a couple Ramones songs after I joined my first rock band, Terminal, in 1982. Our bass player, Gerard Dominick, got us to play "Blitzkrieg Bop" and "I Wanna Be Sedated." Later, in college, my housemate Mikey Brechbill has some Ramones stuff, too. He had a cassette of End of the Century, which featured "Rock and Roll High School," "Baby, I Love You," and "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" I borrowed the tape and liked those tunes. When I started writing Christian parodies in the late '80's and early 90's, I wrote a spoof of "I Wanna Be Sedated" to teach myself the books of the Old Testament in order.

374. Sladest – Slade
I discovered this 1973 greatest-hits album in my brother-in-law Bob's record collection. He had spent some time studying in England during his college years in the first half of the 70's, and I'm guessing that's where he picked up this album, since Slade was huge over there at the time but never charted higher than #68 in the United States until the mid-80's. When I was in college, I had a book that listed the weekly U.K. #1 hits through the years, so I knew Slade had a bunch of 'em. I put Bob's record on the turntable and taped the two songs that Quiet Riot had recently covered, "Cum On Feel the Noize" and "Mama Weer All Crazee Now." I greatly preferred Quiet Riot's version of "Noize," but I don't think anybody could top Slade's version of "Crazee." Years later, I caught up on all the rest of the hits on this album, and there sure were a lot of them, including five that reached #1, two that peaked at #2, one that went to #4, and their first hit, which went to #16. And the boys in Slade weren't done. After this album, they had another #1, two more #2's, two #3's, two #7's, a #10, and eight other Top 40 hits. I eventually bought a later collection that had 'em all. In the wake of Quiet Riot's success, Slade finally had a couple of U.S. Top 40 hits in 1984, and I like them both a lot, "Run Runaway" (#20 U.S., #7 U.K.) and "My Oh My" (#37 U.S., #2 U.K.). ApologetiX spoofed "Cum On Feel the Noize" in 2014, but we did the Quiet Riot version. My favorite Slade hits other than the ones I've already mentioned by name are: "Get Down and Get with It" (#16), Take Me Bak 'Ome (#1), "Gudbuy T'Jane" (#2), "My Friend Stan" (#3), "Bangin' Man" (#3), and the holiday favorite "Merry Xmas Everybody" (#1). But that doesn't mean I don't like the others, 'coz eye dew!

375. K-Tel's Today's Super Greats – Various Artists
What's on this three-record K-Tel extravaganza from 1973? It's almost easier to ask what isn't. Wow, what a collection! Today's Super Greats is a crash course in early 70's pop, although it also included a few from the late 60's. Tom Dellaquila let me borrow his copy in college and tape to my heart's delight. Many of the tracks were songs I remembered from my childhood, although some of them I'd never known by their title or realized who'd done them. And there were awesome anthems I'd totally missed the first time around. Today's Super Greats featured a whopping 40 songs, including eight #1 hits: "Go Away Little Girl" (Donny Osmond), "Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves (Cher), "Candy Man" (Sammy Davis Jr.), "Venus" (The Shocking Blue), "Knock Three Times" (Dawn), "Maggie May" (Rod Stewart), "The Letter" (The Box Tops), and "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" (Steam). Those were great, but I have so many other favorites on this compilation, including but not limited to: "Beautiful Sunday" (Daniel Boone), "How Do You Do?" (Mouth & MacNeal), "Go All the Way" (Raspberries), "Gypsy Woman" (Bryan Hyland), "Sweet Mary" (Wadsworth Mansion), "If Not for You" (Olivia Newton-John), "Don't Pull Your Love" (Hamilton, Joe Frank, and Reynolds), "Oh Babe, What Would You Say?" (Hurricane Smith), "Ma Belle Amie" (Tee Set), "I Believe in Music" (Gallery), "Band of Gold" (Freda Payne), "Give Me Just a Little More Time" (Chairmen of the Board), "Daisy a Day" (Jud Strunk), "Speak to the Sky" (Rick Springfield), "Don't Expect Me to Be Your Friend" (Lobo), "Love Grows" (Edison Lighthouse), "Down by the Lazy River" (The Osmonds), "Rainy Day Feeling" (The Fortunes), "Candida" (Dawn), "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast" (Wayne Newton), and "Let It Rain" (Eric Clapton). Two enthusiastic thumbs way up! For a complete track listing go to
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Todays-Super-Greats-3-Record-Set/release/7253952

376. Hi Infidelity – REO Speedwagon
This album was all over the radio in 1981; no wonder it was the biggest-selling LP of the year. Hi Infidelity spent 15 weeks at #1, with four Top 40 singles: "Keep on Lovin' You" (#1), "Take It on the Run" (#5), "Don't Let Him Go" (#24), and "In Your Letter" (#20). Plus a couple of other songs that got a lot of airplay on rock stations, "Tough Guys" and "Out of Season." I liked those two tunes more than most of the singles. As happens so often on this list, my favorite of the singles was the third one, "Don't Let Him Go." I was a relative newcomer to REO. I'd heard and liked "Only the Strong Survive," a single that failed to chart, from their previous album, Nine Lives. When I got to college, the first guy I made friends with, Greg Ball, was the biggest REO Speedwagon I ever met. I mean that figuratively and literally, because Greg was a former football player. Drawing was my thing at the time, and Greg asked me to do portraits of each member of the band, so I got a crash course in REO. ApologetiX has spoofed four REO Speedwagon songs, including one from Hi Infidelity, two from You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish, and one from Wheels Are Turnin'.

377. Nilsson Schmilsson – Nilsson
Nilsson Schmilsson is one of my all-time favorite titles. This LP was released in November 1971 and yielded three Top 40 singles, all of which remain classics today. Rarely has an artist released an album with three hit singles as diverse as "Without You" (#1), "Coconut" (#8), and "Jump into the Fire" (#27). I loved each one (and still do). "Without You" is a cover of a song Badfinger wrote and released in 1970. Mariah Carey later did her own cover version, which went to #3 in 1994. "Coconut" is a nutty (pun only semi-intended) ditty I first learned about from my cousin Chris Kistner. "Jump into the Fire" was used to great dramatic effect by Martin Scorsese in the movie Goodfellas, in a scene where paranoid antihero Henry Hill is driving and thinks he's being tailed by a police helicopter. The other well-known song on this album is the opening track, "Gotta Get Up." During my junior year in college, my roommate Tom Dellaquila and I had a poster of Harry Nilsson in his bathrobe (just like the album cover) hanging on our wall; it came with the record. Right after graduating college, I bought a used copy of Nilsson's first hit single "Everybody's Talkin'" (#6 in 1969) at a flea market, and it really summed up the mood I was feeling at the time. I also liked his second and third hits, both of which went to #34: "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" and "Me and My Arrow." The latter came from a 1971 animated children's TV special I enjoyed as a kid called The Point! Nilsson co-wrote the story and wrote and performed the soundtrack. Many years later, I discovered his #23 hit "Spaceman," which my daughter Natalie and I both really love. That's on the album Son of Schmilsson. Nilsson also wrote a couple Monkees songs I like — "Cuddly Toy" and "Daddy's Song" — and the Three Dog Night classic, "One."

378. Guys and Dolls – Original Broadway Cast Album
My sister Kris had this record and played it a lot when I was in grade school, probably sometime between 1975 and '77. I've never seen the actual musical (Lisa and I were considering going to see it in Pittsburgh at Civic Light Opera in 2020 before everything got shut down), but the album is very funny and very catchy. Highlights for me were "The Oldest Established," "Luck Be a Lady," and "Guys and Dolls." The one I associate the most with my sister is "Adelaide's Lament." Other songs I still have echoing in the back of mind include "A Bushel and a Peck" (a Top 40 hit for five different artists in 1950-51), "Sue Me," "More I Cannot Wish You" and "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat," which Don Henley covered for the soundtrack of the 1992 movie Leap of Faith. His version reached #12 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in 1993.

Note: Just because the albums on my list influenced me back then doesn't mean I give them all a blanket endorsement now. I started actively listening to music in the early 70's and didn't become a born-again Christian until early '88. However, I hope you'll see (as I do) how God's hand was at work behind the scenes from the start, preparing me for the work I believe He intended for me to do.


Get Over 1380 Tracks for $100 This Week
May 21, 2021, 2:11 pm EDT

We're giving our complete library on download to everyone who donates $100 this week.

That's 1382 tracks, including various versions (studio, live, rarity, album, single, EP, revised, remastered, etc.), plus side projects.

Standard CDs 1993-2020 (772 tracks)
Remastered Classics CDs (219 tracks)
Singles, EPs, Rarities, Side Projects (391 tracks)

Just make your donation at http://www.apologetix.com/store/store-donate.php

After we receive your donation, we'll send you an email with links for all the downloads. Want to gift our library to a friend? Tell us their name, and we'll write 'em a personal email saying it's a gift from you. We'll send it and cc: you (or you can send it yourself).


How to Get the New ApX Digital Interactive Songbook
May 21, 2021, 2:14 pm EDT

After a full year's worth of work, the new digital interactive ApologetiX Songbook (1992-2020) finally came out last month. It's getting great reviews from fans, too, although we're not sure any of them have read it cover to cover yet, since it's 1002 pages long!

Special features:

- indexed by title, original song, original artist, subject, and Bible verse
- each song's page has icons showing what albums it appears on
- each song's page has a commentary from lyricist J. Jackson
- each album's page includes liner notes and track listing
- print any pages you like or use for slides in church
- photos from ApologetiX's debut concert in 1992
- discography of out-of-print cassettes
- downloadable in PDF format

New features in this edition:

- all song commentaries from J. Jackson updated and expanded
- also indexed by year when original song spoofed was a hit
- J.'s original handwritten rough lyrics to 40 ApX classics
- scads of photos from ApX 25th-anniversary concerts
- list of 40 ApX parodies most likely to be redone
- over 200 new parodies and journal entries
- list of the first ApX concerts in each state
- six new full-length feature articles
- DVD discography and synopses
- never-before-seen rare photos
- lyrics for over 700 parodies
- over 1000 pages in length

Interactive features:

- click on any page number in indexes or TOC to go to that page
- click on any album icon to go to its liner notes and track listings
- click on any song title on an album page to go to that song

Note: This e-book is a download only and doesn't include sheet music.

You can get the songbook and see a promo video demonstrating the interactive features at:
http://www.apologetix.com/store/store.php#songbook


Get Multiple Downloads for One Donation
May 21, 2021, 7:01 pm EDT

There are now 166 singles/EPs (339 songs) in our "downloads for a donation" series, including our latest single, "Where's Ten Girls?" and "Parrseverance." Want to donate once and get multiple downloads?

Just make a donation for any amount you like at http://www.apologetix.com/store/store-donate.php and send an email listing the downloads you want. Use the subject line "My Downloads Choices" and send the email to j@apologetix.com. Don't respond to this email.

Here's a complete list of the downloads, so you can copy and paste the titles you want into your email.

1. Orchard Avenue (4 parodies of the Beatles)
2. Churchigo II (2 parodies of Chicago)
3. Transformed Soul (Blues Brothers, James Brown, Sam & Dave)
4. Brush/Cousin Zephaniah (ZZ Top, Bryan Adams)
5. Such Impressive Loving Smart Close Friends/With Little Help from My Friends (Beatles)
6. Devil Fell/Calling Dr. Luke (Billy Idol, Kiss)
7. Rollin' in the Yeast/I Want That Crown (Steely Dan, Tom Petty)
8. Flirtin' with the Pastor/Jezebel (Molly Hatchet, No Doubt)
9. Gimme Some Sign (Cream, Led Zeppelin, and Rolling Stones)
10. Moose Tracks (Alanis Morissette, Foo Fighters, Goo Goo Dolls)
11. Goodnews/Talk and I'll Walk (Kenny Loggins, Elton John)
12. Fly Like Ezekiel/Hell Smells (Steve Miller, AC/DC)
13. We're Not Goin' to Canaan/Let's Redo the Music (Twisted Sister, Doobie Brothers)
14. You're So Plain/These Streams (Carly Simon, Heart)
15. Old Man/Fearful (Blues Brothers, Ides of March)
16. Take Jude/Hit 'em with Your Slingshot (Beatles, Pat Benatar)
17. One in Three (Eagles, Oasis, Joan Osborne)
18. Proving My Religion/God's Own Son (REM, Soundgarden)
19. Servin' the Father/Set Him Free (Beach Boys, Beatles)
20. Another One Died for Us/Bad Case of Leprosy (Queen, Robert Palmer)
21. Herman's Sermon/Feelin' Stronger in the Faith (Herman's Hermits, Chicago)
22. Must Seem Silly/Seek Out God to Be Free (Commitments, Rascals)
23. Grinch Girl/Hanukkah (Hall & Oates, Donna Summer)
24. The Whole Darn Roof Leads/Offer Your Prayer (.38 Special, Simon & Garfunkel)
25. Peace and Quiet (Eagles, Quiet Riot)
26. Journey to Asia (Journey, Asia)
27. Sa-Maria/Resist Him (Brooks & Dunn, Fleetwood Mac)
28. Magdalena/Although None Could Watch an Hour (Los Del Rio, Jimi Hendrix)
29. Too Wicked for Paradise/Scars (Eddie Money, Gary Numan)
30. Let's End the Fight Together/Addicted to Christ (Rolling Stones, Beatles)
31. A Source with No Name/Be Like David Was (America, Bad Company)
32. Pharaoh-noid/Fight for Your Right to Parody (Black Sabbath, Beastie Boys)
33. Act Selfless/He Spoke (Alannah Myles, Billy Squier)
34. Desperate Queen/Psalms Come True (ABBA, Neil Diamond)
35. We Got the Feet/Sheba (Go-Go's, Cyndi Lauper)
36. Tufftumbling/Patients (Chumbawamba, Guns N' Roses)
37. Treading on Poisonous Scorpions (Poison, Scorpions)
38. Talking Inner Peace/To Be Rebuked (Romantics, Mr. Big)
39. I Dealt with You/Could He Choose You (Modern English, Adam Ant)
40. Nicky/I Love Apostle Paul (Toni Basil, Joan Jett)
41. Costly Truth/Try and Try Again (Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne)
42. Strange Cat, But/A Fool Can Sound Intelligent (Stray Cats, Elvin Bishop)
43. Christ's Wedding/I Can't Escape (Billy Idol, Who)
44. Keep on Loving Ruth/Clothing Time (REO Speedwagon, Semisonic)
45. I Went in the Stream/Iran (Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton, A Flock of Seagulls)
46. Anteater/Faithless Love (Hall & Oates, Soft Cell)
47. Lily-White Boy/Separate Days (Foreigner, Journey)
48. Jephthah You Needed/Complain (Cars, Eric Clapton)
49. Lotsa Versions/Brash, Impulsive (Madonna, Pretenders)
50. Bought by the Egyptians/Rose Up (Bangles, April Wine)
51. Man on the Run/These Books God Made You're Mockin' (Paul McCartney & Wings, Nancy Sinatra)
52. Angels & Demons (J. Geils Band, Doors)
53. The Man They Call Zechariah/Doubter (Steppenwolf, Pearl Jam)
54. Easter/Schoolhouse (For Prophets) (Commodores, Alice Cooper)
55. Haggai Led the Way/Reading Habakkuk (Peter Frampton, The Firm)
56. What's in Nahum/Hosea (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steely Dan)
57. Romantic Letter/Holy Land (Box Tops, Hootie & the Blowfish)
58. Barak & Deborah/It's Still Got the Joel You Need (Steve Miller, Billy Joel)
59. Micah/Obed-Edom, Obadiah (David Essex, Beatles)
60. Amos/Malachi (Derek and the Dominos, Genesis)
61. Killing My Suffering with His Son/Beggar's Feet (Roberta Flack, Gerry Rafferty)
62. Garden My Heart/You've Got a Text (Quarterflash, James Taylor)
63. Message in the Bible/Cunning is the Devil (Police, Van Halen)
64. There Are Wolves Among Us/Nightmare Waiting (Warren Zevon, Richard Marx)
65. HardLabor/Living Loving Faith (Led Zeppelin)
66. Blabbed Through the Phone/All You Gotta Do (George Thorogood, Sheryl Crow)
67. The Bible Countdown/God's Zealot (Europe, Blue Öyster Cult)
68. The Sound of Sirens/Tasty Plants (Disturbed, Men Without Hats)
69. Can We Drive Our Sins Too Far?/God's Presence (Chicago, Green Day)
70. Child of God/Tried to Find Lots of Ways (Earth, Wind & Fire, Eddie Rabbitt)
71. Outnumbered/Good King (Men at Work, Fine Young Cannibals)
72. Grandma Got Won Over by a Stranger/God's Child in the City (Elmo & Patsy, Nick Gilder)
73. Speech Police/Sinning Will (Cheap Trick, Blood, Sweat & Tears)
74. Doubt is Not Allowed/I Feel the Earth Proves (KISS, Carole King)
75. Confiscated/Remember (Lot's Wife) (Avril Lavigne, Collective Soul)
76. Ground Shook Here/Learning Blasphemies (Rolling Stones, Vapors)
77. Feels Like in First John/Leviticus Can't Be Done (Foreigner, Spin Doctors)
78. Noah Man/Makes Me Cranky (Beatles, Tommy James & the Shondells)
79. Selling the Dogma/Role Never Changes (Live, REO Speedwagon)
80. Lethargy/Phony Ol' Lie (Tom Petty, John Cougar Mellencamp)
81. Dweebs/Turn to Luke (Van Halen, Loverboy)
82. Don't Tell Me We're Lucky/No Exclusions (Night Ranger, Alice in Chains)
83. Treading on Poisonous Scorpions Vol. 2 (Poison, Scorpions)
84. You Give Up on Bad Days/Nain (Bon Jovi, Goo Goo Dolls)
85. Boys Are Scary/Once You See Truth, You Can't Unsee It ('Til Tuesday, REM)
86. Expected to Love/Born in the Jewish Faith (Robert Palmer, Bruce Springsteen)
87. Thankfully/Works (Journey, Missing Persons)
88. The Man Born to Scale the Mountain/Free Indeed (Rainbow, AC/DC)
89. Churchigo III (Chicago, Joe Bonamassa)
90. You're Mad at What?/Pick It Up (Badfinger, KISS)
91. You Might Stink/Show Us the Way (The Cars, The Raspberries)
92. Churchigo IV (Chicago, Blood, Sweat & Tears)
93. Paranormal/Maybe Madonna (Kinks, Beatles)
94. Straight Street/Casket Place (Bob Seger, Green Day)
95. Bible O'Really/On the Road, Away from Home (The Who, John Denver)
96. Ignorant Song/Grass So Green (Led Zeppelin, Stone Temple Pilots)
97. Head Over Here/You Gotta Go (Tears for Fears, Alanis Morissette)
98. Babel Babel/Can't Buy Free Love (David Bowie, The Beatles)
99. Triune Godhead/An Old King in the New Age (Rolling Stones, Sex Pistols)
100. Going to Forget Our Bad Deeds/Selfish Sheep (Simple Minds, The Offspring)
101. Place of Grace/Nabal Was a Mean Guy (Motörhead, Spacehog)
102. The Nazarene & The Gadarenes (Foreigner, The Traveling Wilburys)
103. No More Mr. Wise Guy/You're Really Godly (Alice Cooper, Van Halen)
104. Can't Fight This Kneeling/Crossloads (REO Speedwagon, Cream)
105. Some Doubt/ (I Just) Died and Arose (Gordon Lightfoot, Cutting Crew)
106. The Very Last City/L.S.F. (Guns N' Roses, Elton John)
107. Bad Foreign Girls/Campaign to Jehovah (Queen, Oasis)
108. She's Got Cooties/Dumb Questions (The Tubes, The Kinks)
109. The War in You/Bad Things for a Good Time (Scandal, Poison)
110. Embarrassing Moments/Soakin' in the Lord's Book (The Guess Who, Brownsville Station)
111. It's a Long Way to the Dock (if You Wanna Stop in Rome/Everybody Burps (AC/DC, REM)
112. That's Saul/Busted God's Laws (Genesis, J. Geils Band)
113. She's Not Dead/Read Isaiah (The Zombies, Sugarloaf)
114. Call Me the Priest/A Loan for You (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Live)
115. Taken Up/Take the Wrong Way Home (The Cars, Supertramp)
116. Marry Mary/Turn Up the Ray of Hope (The Monkees, Autograph)
117. The Wonder of Christmas/Once We're Over the Line (Stevie Wonder, Brewer & Shipley)
118. Eve Looks Back/Jewish Farm (Fleetwood Mac. Paul McCartney & Wings)
119. A Day in the Loaf/Stay Deceased (The Beatles, The Faces)
120. Full of Yourself/(Check Out) The Book (Styx, Roxette)
121. Back in the Battle/Bold as Christ (Aerosmith, Foreigner)
122. Your Money Don't Last/Birdie in Thy Hand (Loggins & Messina, Soundgarden)
123. Mephibosheth/Go Home with the Prodigal Son (Elton John, Steve Miller)
124. Romans 1:20/Broke a Loaf of Bread (Jackson Browne, Jethro Tull)
125. Even Though/Seven Romans (Pearl Jam, Sugar Ray)
126. Midlife Confession/Do You Know What I Dreamed? (The Grass Roots, Lee Michaels)
127. Isaiah 55/Still His Name (Sammy Hagar, Bob Seger)
128. Something from Nothing/That's Unbelief (Billy Preston, Bad Company)
129. Great Tongues of Fire/I Want a New Covenanat (Jerry Lee Lewis, Huey Lewis and the News)
130. Little Youth Group/Don't You Be Like That (Beach Boys, Tom Petty)
131. James/Quite a God (Jefferson Starship, Sublime)
132. A Foolhardy Song/Good Trend (John Cougar Mellencamp, Matthew Sweet)
133. Go Witness/This Team's Extreme (Steve Winwood, KISS)
134. Back Talk/Bethany (Led Zeppelin, The Greg Kihn Band)
135. Some Signs and Wonders Follow/Get Serene (Grand Funk, Bush)
136. Two for the Throne (Mountain, Jimi Hendrix)
137. You're All Like Troglodytes/Trilobite Love (The Cars)
138. You Can Be Free Now/Zekie's Start-Up (Men at Work, David Bowie)
139. Temple Physician/The Ballad of Peter Plungin' Ahead (Elton John, XTC)
140. Stressin' Out/Flew Off the Handle (Joe Jackson, UFO)
141. Glad It's Over/Girl Got Religion (The Dave Clark Five, AC/DC)
142. Bartholomew/Apologetics (Ozzy Osbourne, Badfinger)
143. Book of Life/You Fleshly Thing (Dire Straits, Hot Chocolate)
144. Mr. Uzziah/Come On, I'll Lead (ELO, Dexys Midnight Runners)
145. All My Letters/Braggin' and Lyin' (Beatles, Tommy James)
146. Lamentations Song/Brag On the Lord All Day (Led Zeppelin, Todd Rundgren)
147. (Don't Fear) the People/You Ain't Been Nothing Yet (Blue Öyster Cult, BTO)
148. Learn Some Deuteronomy/Lemonade (Def Leppard, Styx)
149. Sisters Side by Side (The Human League, Juice Newton)
150. Let's All Praise/Straight On Through (Wang Chung, The Doors)
151. Coming with Age/Daniel's Visions (Damn Yankees, Foreigner)
152. If I Could Only See/The Promised One (Tonic, After the Fire)
153. Celebrity Kin/Miriam Girl (Hole, Trisha Yearwood)
154. God Speaks/Burly for You (No Doubt, Blue Öyster Cult)
155. Mr. Don't/Hey Philistines (Counting Crows, Gin Blossoms)
156. Sermon in a Love Song/Isaiah 9-1-2 (Marshall Tucker Band, Spirit)
157. Thessalonians Letters/Rippin' Out a Whole Lot of Favorite Parts (Howard Jones, Stone Temple Pilots)
158. Lonesome Leper/If You Don't Look at Numbers (Little River Band, Steely Dan)
159. All You Need Is Done (Beatles)
160. She Got Away/Learning Love (Billy Joel, Elvis Presley)
161. They Didn't Believe Her/Humble Heart/Greetings from PNC Park PA (The Monkees, Bruce Springsteen)
162. Die Without His Grace/Eli's Callin' (Billy Idol, Three Dog Night)
163. Strive/Talk to Doctors (The Cars, Thompson Twins)
164. Amazing Acts/Train Them Up Before They Grow-Grow (Michael Sembello, Wham!)
165. Where's Ten Girls?/Parrseverance (Pet Shop Boys, John Parr)
166. Karma's Convenient/Come to Corinthians (Culture Club)

Donations are not tax-deductible but help keep this ministry going.


How to Donate Online or by Mail
May 21, 2021, 7:02 pm EDT

If you'd like to donate to the ministry of ApologetiX, you can do so online at http://www.apologetix.com/store/store-donate.php

If you prefer to mail a check or money order, please make it out to "ApologetiX" and send it to:

ApologetiX
208 Charlemma Drive
Pittsburgh PA 15214-1414

Although the donations are not tax-deductible, they will be received very gratefully and used immediately. Thank you!


Matthew 5:5
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."

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