Slade & Iron Butterfly, Greetings from Hungary |
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J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here.
In 2022, I started receiving occasional emails from an ApX fan in Hungary, Farszki László. He always has encouraging things to say about our latest releases. This past Wednesday, he wrote about our new digital songbook, which just came out last weekend. He even sent a couple photos, so I asked his permission to share them with you.
Here’s what he had to say: |
The songbook is very good! My parents liked it, too! Congratulations to you and your wife, Lisa, on creating the songbook! What a beautiful story about how you met your wife! I was happy to see that the songbook also included pictures from your latest Immortal Fest Versailles OH concert, which you held on September 1, 2024.
I had an ApologetiX t-shirt made for me in Dorog in late 2024. They printed a 2014 single cover on a blank t-shirt. As a Hungarian ApologetiX fan, I’ve wanted an ApologetiX t-shirt for a long time. These photos were taken of me on December 26, 2024.
I Live in Tokod, In Komárom-Esztergom country. You can also share the photos in the upcoming newsletter.
With regards and respect, László is an Hungarian ApologetiX fan. |
Praise the Lord! What an honor! |
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New Single: Hard-Rock Hits From ’68 & ‘84 |
We just released our first single of 2025 last weekend. It spoofs hard-rock hits from 1968 and 1984. |
Run Unafraid - Run Runaway - Slade In the Garden of Eden - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida - Iron Butterfly |
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The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single |
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
Here are the stories behind the songs on our first single of 2025:
RUN UNAFRAID
British glam rockers Slade dominated the U.K. pop charts from 1971-75 and had a couple more big hits there in '79 and '82 but were relatively unknown in the United States till American heavy-metal band Quiet Riot covered their '73 U.K. #1 smash "Cum On Feel the Noize" and took it to #5 here in '83.
That opened up the door for Slade to release a new song, "Run Runaway," in the States in '84, where it reached #20. I thought it was catchy in college, and I introduced it to my two oldest daughters while driving them to school about 30 years later. They loved the tune, but I discovered I had one of the lines wrong. It turns out Slade was singing "don't beat around the bush" not "don't be an octopus.”
Oh well ... it wouldn't be the last time I'd change the lyrics to that song. I got the idea to spoof it and replace "runaway" with "unafraid" on November 21, 2024. At one point, I was going to modify my previously misheard line to "don't feed the octopus" as a way of saying that we shouldn't feed into our fears, but then I changed my title from "Come Unafraid" to "Run Unafraid.”
Roy Orbison had a #1 hit in 1961 with "Running Scared," so "Run Unafraid" seemed like a nice contrast, particularly in light of the Apostle Paul's comments comparing the Christian life to a race (1 Corinthians 9:24-27, 2 Timothy 4:7). He also said, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7), so I gave him a shout-out in the third verse.
"Run Unafraid" features J. Jackson on lead vocals, Tom Tincha on guitars, Rich Mannion on keyboards and backing vocals, Keith Haynie on bass, and Jimmy "Vegas" Tanner on drums and percussion.
IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN
This parody was in a book of lyrics I published in December 1997, but I may have written it a few years earlier. The reason I held off recording it for so long was that the idea seemed so obvious. Plenty of fans since then had suggested we spoof it as such without knowing I'd already done so.
In fact, the writer of the original had initially intended it to be "In the Garden of Eden" but was so drunk when he performed it for his drummer that his slurred words came out sounding like "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," so that's what it became. The LP version famously lasted for the entire second side of the album (17:05), but the single version, which hit #30 on the Hot 100, was way shorter (2:52).
In November 2024, I got the idea for ApologetiX to do an entire CD (or two) of hard-rock/metal classics, and the time finally seemed right to record this one. I felt that the rest of our lyrics, which I revisited and rewrote significantly in December, went beyond the obvious rhymes and took the theme in an interesting direction by alluding to something theologians call the protoevangelium, protovangelium or proto-evangelium.
The name means "the first Gospel" and refers to Genesis 3:15, directly after Adam and Eve sinned, where God tells the serpent, “And I will put enmity (open hostility) Between you and the woman, And between your seed (offspring) and her Seed; He shall [fatally] bruise your head, And you shall [only] bruise His heel" (Amplified Version).
"In the Garden of Eden" features J. Jackson on lead vocals, Tom Tincha on guitars, Rich Mannion on keyboards, Keith Haynie on bass, and Jimmy "Vegas" Tanner on drums and percussion.
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New ApX Songbook (1992-2024) Is Here |
At last, the new digital interactive ApologetiX Songbook (1992-2024) is now available. And it's over 1350 pages long!
The songbook is available for a donation of $50. |
indexed by original song title, original artist, and year original was a hit indexed by parody title, topics it pertains to, and Bible verses covered 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 J.'s original handwritten rough lyrics to 40 ApX classics photos from ApX's first and 25th-anniversary shows print any pages you like or use for slides in church list of ApX parodies most likely to be redone list of the first ApX concerts in each state discography of out-of-print cassettes DVD discography and synopses downloadable in PDF format
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New features in this edition: |
1359 pages long (173 more pages than previous edition) photos from the ApologetiX concert at Immortal 2024 pertinent topics listed on each song’s lyric page over 94 new parodies and journal entries three new full-length feature articles profiles of current band members never-before-seen rare photos lyrics for 906 parodies
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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 click on any subject on a song’s page to go directly to that subject in the index click on any artist on a song's page to go directly to that artist in the index
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Note: This e-book is a download only (416 MB) and doesn't include sheet music. |
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We began our latest trip through the Bible on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, BUT we just started the New Testament on January 1, 2025, so there’s still time to jump on the train before you get too far behind!Note: If you don't have a Bible handy, you can look up these passages for free on Bible Gateway. 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. |
CLICK HERE to see the reading plan for the whole year. |
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Get Our Complete Library for $100 |
We recently revamped the downloadable version of our complete library. Now it comes in a PDF with pictures of every album and single for easy reference. You just click on the ones you need to download them instantly.
We're giving our complete library on download to everyone who donates $100 this week.
That's 1740 tracks, including various versions (studio, live, rarity, album, single, EP, revised, remastered, etc.), plus side projects ... even our most-recent single and our latest CD. |
Standard CDs 1993–2024 (955 tracks) Remastered Classics CDs (219 tracks) Singles, EPs, Rarities, Side Projects (566 tracks)
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New USBs Include Latest CD & Single |
Our new ApologetiX USB thumb drives include our latest CD, X-Tract, and single, “Run Unafraid / In the Garden of Eden."
Our ApologetiX USB thumb drives contain the digital versions of all of our CDs, plus any singles, EPs, or rarities that aren't on CD.
Emblazoned with the band's logo, they have a storage capacity of 16 GB, and they’re write-enabled, so you can add more music to them if and when you get future ApX downloads.
They’re available for a donation of $150 or more. If you've donated for our complete library before, they're available for a donation of $50 or more. |
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Influential Albums #1710–1716 |
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.
Note: Just because an album appears on this list doesn't mean I give it a blanket endorsement. Many of the secular albums on this list are mainly there because they wound up being spoofed by ApologetiX.
1710. Septuagint - ApologetiX The Septuagint (often referred to as the LXX) was the first official translation of the Bible into another language. At the time (the third and second centuries B.C.), all that existed was the Hebrew Old Testament. After conquests made by Alexander the Great (336–323 B.C.), Greece ruled much of the known world, including the Holy Land. Alexander's successors strongly encouraged the peoples they ruled over to speak Greek, and by the second and first centuries B.C., it was the primary language of most people in Israel. Consequently, a need arose to translate the Scriptures into a language everyone could read. It has traditionally been believed that 70 (or 72 — six each from the 12 tribes of Israel) Jewish scholars worked together to make that translation, which is why it's called the Septuagint (from the Latin word for 70). This album was also called Septuagint, because it was our 70th CD and all of the songs it spoofed are from the '70s, including at least one song from every year from 1970–79, and three from '72. See what we did there? In ApologetiX, we think of music as a language, too, and ourselves as Bible interpreters. Though the ancient Greeks were pagans, that didn't stop the Jewish scholars from translating the Old Testament into Greek, or the authors of the New Testament from writing it in Greek. Like them, our goal is to reach as many people as possible with God's Word, and we trust that won't get lost in the translation. Released in mid-August 2023, Septuagint featured parodies of The Cars, Chicago, The Doors, Jay Ferguson, Humble Pie, Jethro Tull, Elton John, Barry Manilow, The Marshall Tucker Band, Paul McCartney & Wings, Steely Dan, and Vanity Fare. 1711. Greatest Hits - Richard Marx
Born and raised in Illinois, singer/songwriter Richard Marx began singing commercial jingles for his father's company when he was five years old and moved to Los Angeles at age 17 upon Lionel Richie's recommendation. He soon met Tubes lead singer Fee Waybill, and the two became best friends and frequent collaborators. His early successes as a songwriter included "What About Me" by Kenny Rogers with Kim Carnes and James Ingram (#15 pop, #1 adult contemporary) and "Crazy" by Kenny Rogers (#79 pop, #5 AC, #1 country). Marx released his debut solo LP in 1987 and achieved immediate success, with four Top Three pop singles. In fact, the first seven singles from his first two albums hit the Top Four on the Hot 100, and he also crossed over onto the mainstream rock and adult contemporary charts: "Don't Mean Nothing" (#3 pop, #1 mainstream), "Should've Known Better" (#3 pop, #7 mainstream, #20 AC), "Endless Summer Nights" (#2 pop, #2 AC, #41 mainstream), "Hold On To The Nights" (#1 pop, #3 AC), "Satisfied" (#1 pop, #5 mainstream), "Right Here Waiting" (#1 pop, #1 AC), and "Angelia" (#4 pop, #2 AC). Released in November 1997, Greatest Hits contained all of those plus later hits "Now And Forever" (#7 pop, #1 AC for 11 weeks), "Hazard" (#9 pop, #1 AC), "Keep Coming Back" (#12 pop, #1 AC), "Children Of The Night" (#13 pop, #6 AC), "Take This Heart" (#20 pop, #4 AC), "Until I Find You Again" (#42 pop, #3 AC), "The Way She Loves Me" (#20 pop, #3 AC), and two non-charting songs, "Angel's Lullaby" and "Touch Of Heaven." The only one of his Top 40 singles missing was "Too Late to Say Goodbye" (#12 pop, #17 mainstream, #47 AC). Marx's voice has some similarities to Kenny Loggins. I'm sure I'm not the only one who noticed. "Should Have Known Better" reminds me a little of "The Boys of Summer" by Don Henley, "Hold On to the Nights" calls to mind the opening of "Dream Weaver" by Gary Wright, and "Don't Mean Nothing" seems to have hints of "The Long Run" by The Eagles and "Life's Been Good" by Joe Walsh. That last one shouldn't be surprising, seeing as Walsh played the slide guitar and lead on it and fellow Eagles Randy Meisner and Timothy B. Schmit sang backing vocals. I don't say of any of that to disparage those tunes or Marx. All music is derivative (as a parodist, I understand that as well as anybody), whether or not it's intentional, and the dude is an outstanding songwriter and singer. Greatest Hitspeaked at #140 on the Billboard 200. ApologetiX spoofed "Right Here Waiting" in 2016. That song was written for his first wife, actress/singer/dancer Cynthia Rhodes, who co-starred in the movies Flashdance, Staying Alive, and Dirty Dancing, and also sang with the group Animotion from 1988-90, including on their second-biggest hit, "Room to Move" (#9). The two divorced in 2014 after 25 years of marriage. He has been married to former MTV VJ and actress/model Daisy Fuentes since 2015. 1712. Greatest Hits - The Bangles
During their initial run, The Bangles lasted from 1981 through 1989 and put out three LPs. Released on May 8, 1990, Greatest Hits featured selections from all three plus non-album cuts/singles, all in chronological order. Unlike some "greatest hits" albums, it actually does have all of their greatest hits. That includes the Top Five smashes "Walk Like An Egyptian" (#1 pop), "Eternal Flame" (#1 pop, #1 AC), "Manic Monday" (#2 pop, #43 mainstream, #10 adult contemporary), "Hazy Shade Of Winter" (#2 pop, #41 mainstream), and "In Your Room" (#5 pop, #5 alternative), plus their other Top 40 hits, "Walking Down Your Street" (#11 pop, #33 AC), "If She Knew What She Wants" (#29 pop, #24 AC), and "Be With You" (#30 U.S. pop, #23 U.K., #14 Ireland). Five other cuts that missed the U.S. Hot 100 charted elsewhere: "Hero Takes A Fall" (#59 U.S. mainstream rock, #96 U.K.), "Following" (#55 U.K., #22 Ireland), "I'll Set You Free" (#74 U.K., #81 Australia), "Going Down To Liverpool" (#79 U.K., #42 New Zealand, #48 Netherlands), and "Everything I Wanted" (#41 Ireland). The only non-charting song is a cover of old Grass Roots hit "Where Were You When I Needed You," which first appeared on the flip side of the group's first single, the aforementioned "Hero Takes a Fall," which is still my favorite Bangles tune, although I like plenty of them. ApologetiX spoofed "Walk Like an Egyptian" in 2016 and "In Your Room" in 2022. Greatest Hits only went to #97 on the Billboard 200, but went on to sell a million copies. The Bangles reunited in 1998 and have since released two more albums of new material, Doll Revolution in 2003 and Sweetheart of the Sun in 2011. Two singles from Doll Revolution were mild U.K. hits, "Something That You Said" (#38 U.K.) and "I Will Take Care of You" (#79 U.K.). 1713. The Raw & The Cooked - Fine Young Cannibals
I first became aware of the English pop-rock band Fine Young Cannibals in 1985 through their debut single, "Johnny Come Home" (#76 U.S. pop, #9 U.S. dance, #8 U.K.). The chorus was a little bit of an earworm for me. The follow-up single, a cover of the Elvis Presley classic "Suspicious Minds," also made the U.K. Top 10 (#8 U.K., #23 U.S Dance), but the group didn't really hit the big time in the States until their second LP. Released on January 13, 1989, The Raw & Cooked topped the Billboard 200 for seven weeks and sold two million copies here, largely on the strength of two #1 singles that also crossed over onto the rock charts, "She Drives Me Crazy" (#1 pop, #5 alternative) and "Good Thing" (#1 pop, #2 alternative, #39 mainstream rock). Three other singles from the album followed, with diminishing success: "Don't Look Back" (#11 pop, #9 alternative, #38 mainstream), "I'm Not The Man I Used To Be" (#54 pop, #8 dance, #20 U.K.), and "I'm Not Satisfied" (#90 pop, #46 U.K.). The album came front-loaded, with the two chart toppers first, and the other singles all appearing among the next four tracks. I initially heard — and instantly liked — "Good Thing" two years before it was a hit, because it was used in trailers for the 1987 film Tin Men starring Richard Dreyfuss and Danny DeVito. ApologetiX spoofed it in 2016. "Good Thing" has some elements of the 1966 Capitols Top 10 hit, "Cool Jerk," and "I'm Not the Man I Used to Be" reminds me a bit of Al Green's early '70s singles. The Raw & Cooked makes for a very pleasant listen. Lead singer Roland Gift's distinctive voice is instantly recognizable throughout, but we get to hear his lower range on "As Hard as It Is." He also uses a high falsetto like Prince on the song "Don't Let It Get You Down." FYC called it quits in 1992 without ever putting out a follow-up album, although they reunited to record a new track, "The Flame" (#17 U.K.), to promote their 1996 "best of" collection, The Finest. The group took their name from a 1960 movie, All the Fine Young Cannibals, starring Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood. It was the first movie the couple (who were married to each other twice, from 1957-62 and 1972-81) ever made together. 1714. Wilson Phillips - Wilson Phillips As the daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and The Papas, Chynna Phillips had a lot to live up to when she formed a vocal trio with her childhood friends, Carnie and Wendy Wilson. Not only could the other two harmonize, they could empathize; their father just happened to be Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson. With such prestigious pop pedigrees, Wilson Phillips was bound to attract a lot of attention, but they probably — and improbably — exceeded everybody's expectations. Released on March 27, 1990, the ladies' self-titled debut LP sold over five million copies in the United States and over 10 million copies worldwide. It registered 10 weeks at #2 on the Billboard 200, held out of the top spot by MC Hammer's blockbuster Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em. But the uber-ubiquitous rapper/dancer never achieved a #1 pop single, whereas Wilson Phillips had three: "Hold On," "Release Me," and "You're in Love," all of which also topped the adult contemporary chart. Those songs were the first, second, and fourth tracks on this album, and the third, "Impulsive," did pretty well, too (#4 pop, #2 AC). The tenth and final track, "The Dream Is Still Alive" became the fifth single (#12 pop, #4 AC). Not only that, every one of those tunes except for "Impulsive" was co-written by Phillips and at least one of the Wilsons. Producer Glen Ballard also shared songwriting credits on "Hold On," "You're in Love," and "The Dream Is Still Alive." He would go on to collaborate with Alanis Morissette on her Jagged Little Pill album, which he also produced. Chyna sang lead vocals on all of the hits except "Impulsive," which was sung by Wendy. Carnie shared lead vocals with Chyna on "The Dream Is Still Alive." I consider "Hold On" to be one of the finest pop hits of the '90s if not the entire 20th Century. The other four singles were worthy successors. My favorite non-hits are "Ooh You're Gold," "Next To You (Someday I'll Be)," and a glistening cover of Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe," first made famous by Rod Stewart. The remaining two tracks, "Eyes Like Twins" and "Over and Over" are quality cuts, too. Wilson Phillips' 1992 follow-up album, Shadows and Light, generated three singles: "You Won't See Me Cry" (#20 pop, #4 AC), "Give It Up" (#30 pop, #12 AC), and "Flesh and Blood" (#119 pop, #17 AC). Those would be the trio's final entries on the pop chart, although their clever a cappella remake of The Beach Boys classic "Good Vibrations" reached #25 on the AC chart in 2012. 1715. Girl You Know It's True - Milli Vanilli Milli Vanilli's North American debut LP sold 10 million copies, including six million in the United States. Released on March 7, 1989, Girl You Know It's True topped the Billboard 200 for eight weeks, yielding five Top Five singles: "Girl You Know It's True" (#2), "Baby Don't Forget My Number" (#1), "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You" (#1), "Blame It on the Rain" (#1) and "All or Nothing" (#4). The German R&B duo even won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. It looked like the sky was the limit for them. Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving, and the sky was falling. In the fall of 1990, producer Frank Farian confirmed longstanding rumors that Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan did not actually sing a note on their recordings. Ironically, he did so after firing them for demanding to be allowed to sing on their next project. In short order, Arista Records jettisoned Mill Vanilli and deleted the album from the label's catalog. Then the National Academy of Arts and Sciences revoked the group's Grammy. Pilatus and Morvan actually were singers; they just didn't sing on the Milli Vanilli recordings. The male vocals were performed by Charles Shaw, Brad Howell, and John Davis. In the wake of widespread public humiliation and backlash, Pilatus and Morvan eventually released an eponymous album under the name Rob & Fab in 1993, but it only sold 2000 copies. In 1997, Farian produced a new album with them actually singing as Milli Vanilli called Back an in Attack. Tragically, just as the promotional tour was set to begin in April 1998, Pilatus, who was facing legal troubles, died of a suspected accidental overdose involving alcohol and prescription drugs. 1716. The Very Best of Prince - Prince Released on July 31, 2001, The Very Best of Prince went to #1 on the Billboard 200 and sold over 2.5 million copies in the United States. It included most of his biggest hits from 1979-91: "When Doves Cry" (#1), "Let's Go Crazy" (#1), "Kiss" (#1), "Cream" (#1), "Purple Rain" (#2), "Raspberry Beret" (#2), "U Got The Look" (#2), "Sign 'O' The Times" (#3), "Diamonds And Pearls" (#3), "Little Red Corvette" (#6), "Thieves In The Temple" (#6), "I Would Die 4 U" (#8), "Alphabet St." (#8), "I Wanna Be Your Lover" (#11), and "1999" (#12), plus lesser, later hits "Gett Off" (#21) and "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" (#23). Four Top 10s from his glory days were missing: "Batdance" (#1), "Pop Life" (#7), "Delirious (#8), and "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" (#10). Prince's highest charting singles after '91 were "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" (#3), "7" (#7), and "I Hate U" (#12). Two of those came out after he changed his name to a symbol in '93 and was subsequently referred to by the media as "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince." He reclaimed his name in 2000, but his last Top 40 hit while still alive was a reissue of "1999," which had gone to #40 in '99. Prince died at age 57 in April 2016 from what the coroner determined to be an accidental overdose of fentanyl. The following month, eight of his previous hits — all of which were The Very Best of Prince — re-entered the Hot 100 and peaked within the Top 40 again: "Purple Rain" (#4), "When Does Cry" (#8), "Little Red Corvette" (#20), "Kiss" (#23), "Let's Go Crazy" (#25), "1999" (#27), "Raspberry Beret" (#33), and "I Would Die 4 U" (#33). |
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If you'd like to donate to the ministry of ApologetiX, there are a couple ways you can do it. |
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! |
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But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. Psalm 3:3 |
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P.O. Box 101705
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
USA
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