Willie Mays, Book Reviews, New Clues
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J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here. If you follow our newsletters, you know I’m usually reading about three books (plus the Bible) at any given time. My mom raised all four of her kids to be readers. I know my ongoing list of influential albums seems like it’s never going to end, but if I could ever assemble a list of all the books I’ve read, it would probably be even longer. When I was a kid, I read a lot of fiction, but ever since I became a born-again Christian in 1988, I read mostly non-fiction, especially biographies, autobiographies, and other historical accounts. I also perused plenty of those when I was growing up, too, especially books about sports and music.
But in all of my years of reading, this week was the first time I ever remember somebody dying while I was in the middle of reading a book about them.
On Tuesday, I got the news that Hall of Fame baseball player Willie Mays had passed away. Although I’ve probably read hundreds of baseball books in my life, and I always admired Mays, I’d never read a book specifically about him until ApX fan Steve Bertles sent me Willie’s 2018 autobiography, 24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid, written with John Shea.
I was about two-thirds of the way through the book at the time he died. In fact, I'd just been reading shortly before the news broke. It felt like I’d just hung up on the phone with him 20 minutes earlier. Willie was one of baseball’s “immortals” and, at age 93, it had almost seemed like he literally was immortal.
On Thursday, I finished reading It’s Not Too Late to Turn Back Now: Back to the Open Arms of God by Eddie L. Cornelius, lead singer and songwriter for Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose, who scored huge hits with the songs "Treat Her Like a Lady" (#3 Billboard, #2 Cash Box, #3 Record World in '71) and "Too Late to Turn Back Now" (#2 Billboard, #1 Cash Box, #1 Record World in ’72).
On the next to the last page of the book, Eddie said this, which I thought was poignant in light of what happened while I was reading the Mays book: “I know I mentioned throughout this book, including in the title of this book, that it is not too late to turn back. That is only true for those of us who are living and breathing at this very moment.
"Unfortunately, the moment we stop breathing, it does become too late. As of now, there is no cure for physical death. For all of us who are born into this world, there is also an appointed time to die. As a believer in Christ, I have an eternal hope that gives me peace about death and eternity. I know to be absent from the body is to present with the Lord, and it will be glorious event when I see my Savior face to face.” Although he grew up in God-fearing home, Eddie lived a prodigal life and made a lot of mistakes along the way before coming to Christ. He eventually became a pastor, too. While I was reading the book, I wrote down two other encouraging things he said, because I wanted to share them with you: “If you’re facing a problem bigger than you are, know that’s it’s not bigger than God. He can fix it for you just like He did for me.”
“It is simply amazing how God will use the skills that we developed while living unsaved and then use them for His purposes when we are finally living our lives for Him.”
There was further proof of that last statement in the book I finished before reading Eddie’s — Pickin’ up the Pieces: The Heart and Soul of Country Rock Pioneer Richie Furay. After achieving fame as a founding member of both The Buffalo Springfield and Poco, Richie later became a born-again Christian and served as a Calvary Chapel pastor from 1983 through 2017. He is now 80 years old. He has a great testimony, too. I still have yet another book I’d like to tell you about in the second article below. But first, let’s get to the clues for our upcoming single. |
| Clues for 2024 Single #13 |
We hope to release our 13th single of 2024 by the end of this weekend, Lord willing. Here are your clues. Want to really impress us? See if you can spot all of the references in both entries. We counted a total of 20. SONG #1 With humans being what they are, everybody wants somebody to tell them the secrets of eternal life, but too many fools reject John 3:16. They’d rather dance the night away and hear about it later when they have one foot out the door. You’re not good enough for Heaven as is. Don’t be D.O.A. on Judgment Day. The time to listen is right now! SONG #2
If God told you to ask Him for anything you wanted, what would you do? Have you heard the story of King Solomon? We’re gonna double back and tell it again. The greatest minds of his day couldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole. Many folks probably envision him as a wise old man, but he actually got that wisdom in the early stages of his reign.
Once the new single is released, we'll announce it in our news bulletin, on our website, and on our Facebook page. |
| Here's Another Great Book for Music Lovers |
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J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
I recently finished a fascinating book called Off the Record: An Oral History of Popular Music written by Joe Smith and published in 1988. It’s 429 pages long and features interviews with over 200 notable figures in pop music from the Big Band Era through the ‘80s.
I’d previously read about Smith (1928-2019) in a number of other books on rock history. He was a music industry executive who served as general manager and later president of Warner Brothers, chairman of Elektra/Asylum, and vice chairman and chief executive of Capitol-EMI.
The book was full of so many insightful and humorous quotes that I started writing down my favorites and shared some of them with my family members and fellow band members along the way. Now I’d like to share my master list with you. Ready? Here we go:
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“I remember reading an article about the fellow who wrote only one song, ‘Yes, We have No Bananas.’ I said to myself, ‘Am I one of those fellows who can only write one song? ‘ I wrote about twenty songs that day just to show i could write more than one.” “My great lesson in life was: Do something for the joy of doing it and pray you won’t be punished." Sammy Cahn
Famous Lyricist“But the holy father [The Pope] had listened to the program, and he picked out two stars to be his guests — me and Louis [Armstrong]. We went to Rome to see him at the Vatican. He treated us beautifully. He said if there’s one thing we should see at the Vatican, it has to be the catacombs. Louis said, ‘What’s that?’ And the people said, ‘It’s way down in the basement, where they keep all the dead saints.’ Louis looked a the holy father and said, ‘Hey, pops. I’m splitting because I’m a Baptist. I’m not going down to look at no dead things.’" Lionel Hampton
Jazz Musician, Composer and Bandleader“I used to be terrified every time a new record of one of my songs came out. I‘d hear it on the radio, be hearing it for the first time, and I’d get totally freaked out. Almost like I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t want to be disappointed because I knew it wasn’t going to be as good as I wanted it to be.” Burt Bacharach
Renowned Songwriter“I find it very hard to watch what I do as a performer because every couple of seconds I see something I do that I hate. I look terrible, or the shirt is horrible, or I sang that note wrong, or why didn’t I direct myself to the audience, or what are my eyes closed.” “Opening night, I came out on stage, I looked at the audience [at the Winter Garden in New York City] and they didn’t look like a regular audience to me. They looked older, they looked like people who were there to stare as opposed to participate. So I said to the audience — my first remarks — I said, ‘Hello, my name is Neil Diamond and I intend to own you tonight. There was a gasp from the crowd, an audible gasp. You don’t own these people. It was not the fright foot to start out on. I should have been a little more humble and said, ‘Love me,’ or something. Well they gasped and I heard it, so I said, ‘I’ll settle for along-term lease.’ There were some laughs, and we went into the show." Neil Diamond“It was a competitive collaboration. In fact, Paul misses it terribly now. He misses that spark of John being rude to him, saying, 'You can’t write that, Paul. It’s awful.’ Paul needs that, and John was the only one who could really say that most effectively to him.” George Martin
Producer of The Beatles“All my life since I’ve been making records, I always tried real hard, but I always thought I failed. ‘You’re No Good’ and ‘Heat Wave’ are good records, but I still feel like I didn’t sing very well on them. I was always very disappointed in my contribution to them, even though I turned myself inside out with effort." Linda Ronstadt“In my case, I went from the very interior kind of process of making music and finding a personal outlet to thinking of how best to prepare for a huge audience. That process can be very disruptive, especially to musicians and songwriters who in many cases are ill-adapted to that kind of public life.” James Taylor“The truth is, I don’t even know what I do, and I don’t quite know how it’s supposed to be done. My songs are the residue of my life. When everything else is done, the songs are what’s left.” “I’ve never been able to collaborate with others. Another person with an idea is a problem for me. I’ll be thinking of something, and then another person will say, ‘Hey, how about this?’ And I won’t even know what they’re saying because I’ve been off in my head thinking of something else.” Jackson Browne“It wasn’t that I was disdainful of success, but it didn’t tear me up when I didn’t get it. Except after ’Short People.’ When I finished the album right after ’Short People,’ I didn’t want to fly in a small plane. I didn’t want the plane going down and me not knowing how the record did. As it turned out, I should have flown in the small plane." “But ’Short People’ was the worst kind of hit anyone could have. It was like having ‘Purple People Eater.’ I’d try to watch a ball game and the band would play the song and the announcers would make jokes about it. It was too noisy. I prefer quiet money.” Randy Newman“Hey, when the Beatles came out, people laughed at them, too. I don’t think you can lead a parade and not have people stare at you.” Paul Stanley
Kiss“Critics can get vicious sometimes. If they don’t like you, there isn’t much you can do about it. I can’t pretend it doesn’t irk me because it does. You want everyone to like you. The reason you go into show business in the first place is to be accepted. But when they call you ‘a singing air hostess,’ that’s cruel and vicious.” Olivia Newton-John“She never thought she was a good singer. It took her two hours to get her face made up before she could go in and stand in front of a mike … she was a terribly insecure person in the studio. She never thought she was that good. I thought she was brilliant.” Producer Mike Chapman talking about Blondie’s lead singer Debbie Harry
“Mine is not a pretty voice. Actually, it sounds ugly sometimes. I don’t like to ’sing’ that much. The pretty way of singing is not my style. I don’t enjoy singing pretty songs. I like them rough, rock, and rock ’n’ roll because it suits my type of voice." Tina Turner“I went to Ahmet [Eteregun of Atlantic Records] again and I said, ‘I’m telling you this guy [Jackson Browne] is good. I’m the guy who brought you Crosby, Stills and Nash. I’m doing you a favor.’ And he said, ‘You know what? Don’t do me any favors.’ I said, ‘You’ll make millions with him.’ And he said, ‘You know what? I got millions. Do you have millions?’ I said, ’No.’ He said, ’Start a record company and you’ll have millions. Then we can all have millions.’" David Geffen
“He had recorded an LP called Tonight’s the Night: Live at Studio Instrument Rentals, which was basically a bunch of songs he had written after the death of someone in his band. So he opens the set with ’Tonight’s the Night,’ plays the entire LP, and closes the set with ’Tonight’s the Night’ again. I’m standing with promoter Ron Delsener, one of the great comedians of life, and Neil walks offstage, comes up to me, and says, ‘Well, Mr. Manager, do you have any advice?’ I said, ‘Yeah, go back onstage and play something the audience knows.’ He says, ‘Good idea.’ He goes back onstage, plays ’Tonight’s the Night” for a third time, and leaves. True Story. To Neil, this was one of the greatest practical jokes of all time." Irving Azoff
NOTE: Azoff went on to greater glory with Dan Fogelberg, Joe Walsh, The Eagles, and Steely Dan, but this was in the earlier days when he had to fill in temporarily as manager for Neil Young, who had just released his new album Tonight's the Night , which is acclaimed now, but wasn't then.“Most reviewers, at least in my case, base their reviews on lyrics. When I read the reviews to Southern Accents, I thought I’d written a book. I remember saying to my wife, ‘I didn’t mean to write a book.’ It was taken much more seriously and literally then I ever intended it to be. Part of me enjoyed that, and part of me was rather disgusted." “Dylan told me recently I was a poet. Although I was impressed by what he said, I couldn’t help feeling it was like being told you’re an archer. Well, they may think you’re an archer, but you know you don’t own a bow.” Tom Petty“I wasn’t prepared for everybody wanting a piece of me, literally and figuratively … Now it doesn’t matter as much. Now, when I’m ready to go out, all dressed in my black clothes, looking real cool, I notice I have baby throw-up on my shoulder.” Pat Benatar“Everyone focuses on the sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll aspect of metal, the fire and brimstone, the devil aspect. Most of the bands I know who sing about it do it for the shock value. They’re not real serious. If they ever came face to face with Satan, they would (soil) their pants.” Dee Snider
Twisted Sister“Writing is the hardest thing. Someone once said that Frank Sinatra cut 1,300 tunes, none of which did he write. I‘ve written about 80 in my time and every one of them has been real work.” Robert Palmer“Everybody, deep down, who is an artist has got to wonder, 'What if they find out?’ I mean, you think you’re good a certain things, but the fact that people listen to you time and time again makes you wonder. Once in a while, I try to intellectualize, which is a dumb thing to do if you’re onstage … With me, it gets to the point that when I get off the stage, sometimes I go, ‘Who the h*** was that? What was that that just went on? What happened?’ It’s almost like a trance. People tell me that I’ve done things on stage that I don’t even remember.” Billy Joel“The dentist asked me the other day, ‘Why do you get up so early?’ I get up at six in the morning. He said, ‘What gets you up so early? Where do you get your energy from?' I told him, ‘Fear and revenge.’” David Lee Roth |
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If you liked these quotes, you’d probably enjoy the book, too. I encourage you to pick up a copy for yourself. I just ordered copies for a few other ApologetiX guys — Bill Hubauer, Rich Mannion, and Tom Milnes — because I thought they’d also appreciate it.
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| Bible-Reading for Next Two Weeks |
We began our latest trip through the Bible on Wednesday, April 3. Here's our Bible-reading plan for the next two weeks for those of you reading along with us: Sat., June 22 - 1 Samuel 7-9 Sun., June 23 - 1 Samuel 10-12 Mon., June 24 - 1 Samuel 13-15 Tue., June 25 - 1 Samuel 16-18 Wed., June 26 - 1 Samuel 19-21 Thu., June 27 - 1 Samuel 22-24 Fri., June 28- 1 Samuel 25-27 Sat., June 29 - 1 Samuel 28-31 Sun. June 30- 2 Samuel 1-3 Mon., July 1 - 2 Samuel 3-6 Tue., July 2 - 2 Samuel 7-9 Wed., July 3 - 2 Samuel 10-12 Thu., July 4 - 2 Samuel 13-15 Fri., July 5 - 2 Samuel 16-18 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. |
| Getting Our Complete Library Just Got Easier |
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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 1678 tracks, including various versions (studio, live, rarity, album, single, EP, revised, remastered, etc.), plus side projects ... even our most-recent single, “Got My Mindset From You / Media Circus" and our latest CD, Unchained Medley.
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- Standard CDs 1993–2024 (919 tracks)
- Remastered Classics CDs (219 tracks)
- Singles, EPs, Rarities, Side Projects (540 tracks)
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New USBs Include Latest CD & Single
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We recently got a brand new batch of ApologetiX USB thumb drives.
They contain the digital versions of all 73 of our CDs, plus any singles, EPs, or rarities that aren't on CD ... including our latest single, “Got My Mindset From You” and “Media Circus."
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 1500–1506 |
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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.
1500. Cloud Nine - George Harrison
Released on November 2, 1987, George Harrison's 11th studio LP, Cloud Nine, was his first in five years. I didn't have high expectations, considering the fact that its predecessor, Gone Troppo, hadn't produced any hits and had only made it to #108 on the Billboard 200. Harrison brought in ELO's Jeff Lynne to co-produce Cloud Nine, but none of us could have foreseen the success Lynne would have as a producer in the years to come. The sight of a smiling, sunglasses-sporting Harrison on the cover was somewhat startling. I was sharing an apartment with my bandmate and former college roommate Tom Dellaquila when Cloud Nine came out, and Tom bought it on CD — one of the first albums I heard in that newfangled format. Of course, you couldn't avoid hearing the lead single, "Got My Mind Set on You," on the radio; it wound up going the whole way to the top of the Hot 100 — Harrison's first #1 hit since "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" in 1973. He followed that up with "When We Was Fab," which went to #23. When all was said and done, four cuts from the album made it to the top 10 of the mainstream rock chart: "Got My Mind Set On You" (#4), "When We Was Fab" (#2), "Devil's Radio" (#4), and the title track (#9, of course). Cloud Nine sold a million copies in the United States and made it to #8 on the Billboard 200. I finally ordered my own copy in May 2006, and ApologetiX eventually spoofed "Got My Mind Set on You" in 2024. Harrison and Lynne would continue their successful collaboration with The Traveling Wilburys, releasing that group's first LP on October 18, 1988. Lynne would next co-produce successful albums for Wilburys Roy Orbison and Tom Petty, which would be released in January '89 and April '89, respectively.
1501. Even Worse - "Weird Al" Yankovic
Weird Al's fifth LP, Even Worse, was his second highest-charting album up till that point. It went to #27 on the Billboard 200, whereas his second LP, "Weird Al" Yankovic In 3-D, had made it to #17. But Even Worse did even better in terms of sales. Released on April 12, 1988, it sold a million copies, making it his biggest-selling album at the time and his first to go platinum. The sole charting single, "Fat" (a parody of "Bad" by Michael Jackson) only went to #99 on the Hot 100, although it went to #12 in Australia and #3 in New Zealand. Moreover, the hilarious accompanying video won a well-deserved Grammy for Best Concept Music Video. Other parodies on the album included "(This Song's Just) Six Words Long" ("Got My Mind Set on You" by George Harrison), "I Think I'm a Clone Now" ("I Think We're Alone Now" by Tiffany), "Lasagna" ("La Bamba" by Los Lobos), and "Alimony" ("Mony Mony" by Billy Idol). ApologetiX has spoofed all four of those songs as well, although we've never attempted "Bad." Even Worse also included six Al originals. The two that left the biggest impression on me were "Good Old Days," a warped take on James Taylor, and "Twister," which was basically the old commercial theme for the Milton Bradley game of the same name ... redone in the style of The Beastie Boys. You gotta fight for your right to party games.
1502. Unusual Heat - Foreigner
Foreigner's seventh studio LP was their first and only with new lead singer Johnny Edwards (formerly of the bands Montrose and Wild Horses), who stepped in after Lou Gramm left in 1990. Released on June 14, 1991, Unusual Heat only went to #117 on the Billboard 200 and didn't even go gold, whereas each of the band's previous efforts had gone platinum and all but one had gone multiplatinum. But you know what? I picked up a used copy in 2006 and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the music. If you liked Foreigner's earlier efforts, you'd probably like this one, too, if you gave it a chance. It's primarily made up of melodic rockers, and Edwards sounds enough like Gramm to make for a smooth transition. None of the tracks hit the Hot 100, but two of them hit the mainstream rock charts, "Lowdown and Dirty" (#4 mainstream) and "I'll Fight for You" (#42 mainstream). My favorite cut is probably "Only Heaven Knows" but I also really like "Moment of Truth" and "Ready for the Rain." Other catchy numbers include "Mountain of Love," "When the Night Comes Down," "No Hiding Place," "Flesh Wound," and the title track. Unusual Heat fared a lot better in other countries, hitting the Top 50 in Switzerland (#8), Germany (#13), Norway (#18), Austria (#30), Finland (#39), and Canada (#50). The advent of the grunge/alternative movement may also have had to something to do with its poor performance in the United States. Pearl Jam's debut single, "Alive," came out just three weeks later, and Alice in Chains had already established themselves, with "Man in a Box" hitting the mainstream rock chart in mid-April.
1503. Dare to Be Stupid - "Weird Al" Yankovic
About 16 months after his breakthrough second LP, which launched the million-selling single "Eat It" (#12), "Weird Al" Yankovic put out his third, Dare to Be Stupid. Six songs were selected as singles, although just one hit the Hot 100 — "Like a Surgeon" (#47), a parody of "Like a Virgin" by Madonna . The other five included "This Is the Life," "Hooked on Polkas," "I Want a New Duck," "One More Minute," and "Dare to Be Stupid." Of those, only "I Want a New Duck" was a parody; it spoofed "I Want a New Drug" by Huey Lewis. My third daughter, Kelly, doesn't know the original, but she cracks up (quacks up?) every time she hears Al's version. "Hooked on Polkas" was a medley of pop hits from 1983-84 redone in polka style, and "One More Minute," was a doo-wop pastiche. The remaining two singles found further fame in films: "This Is the Life" was specifically written for Johnny Dangerously (1984) and the Devo-esque "Dare to Be Stupid" was eventually used in the The Transformers: The Movie (1986). My favorites of the bunch were "One More Minute" and "Dare to Be Stupid." Ironically, one of the five tracks not chosen as a single went on to become possibly the most popular on this project — "Yoda," which spoofed "Lola" by The Kinks. Never underestimate the power of Star Wars. The other parody on the album was "Girls Just Want to Have Lunch," which lampooned Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." Released on June 18, 1985, Dare to Be Stupid went to #50 on the Billboard 200 and eventually sold over a million copies.
1504. Forever Your Girl - Paula Abdul
Former choreographer Paula Abdul's debut LP, Forever Your Girl, arrived in stores on June 21, 1988 and entered the Billboard 200 on July 23. A record-setting 64 weeks later, it finally reached #1, where it spent a total of 10 non-consecutive weeks, selling over seven million copies in the United States. It generated six singles. The first, "Knocked Out," just missed the Top 40 (#41). The second, "(It's Just) The Way You Love Me" initially stalled at #88. Then came three straight #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: "Straight Up" (#1), "Forever Your Girl" (#1), and "Cold Hearted" (#1). After that, the record label re-released "(It's Just) The Way You Love Me," and this time it went to #3 on Billboard and #1 on Cash Box. The final single, "Opposites Attract" (with The Wild Pair) returned Abdul to the top of the Hot 100. She would go on to have three more Top 10 hits — all from her second LP, Spellbound, released in 1991 — "Rush, Rush" (#1), "The Promise of a New Day" (#1), and "Blowing Kisses in the Wind" (#6). My wife, Lisa, and I saw Paula in concert along with New Kids on the Block and DJ Jazzy Jeff on June 19, 2024 at the Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown PA. You can probably guess which one of us was the bigger fan of those artists back in the day, but I volunteered to go. We both enjoyed the show. Speaking of which, Lisa also got me to watch seasons three and four of American Idol in 2004 and 2005, and Paula was one of the judges at the time. I always liked "Straight Up" and "Kisses in the Wind," even before I met Lisa, and I purchased Forever Your Girl in the first half of the 2000s to supplement my playlists of #1 and #3 songs. The concert we saw took place on Paula's 62nd birthday, and she performed every song I mentioned in this entry except for "Blowing Kisses in the Wind." Her set list also included one other hit from Spellbound, "Vibeology" (#16).
1505. Greatest Hits - Guns N' Roses
Although not nearly as famous as Guns N' Roses' original LPs Appetite for Destruction and Use Your Illusion I and II, this compilation was a sneaky success. It's in the all-time Top 10 list of albums (by any artist) with the most weeks spent on the Billboard 200 ... over 680 weeks and counting as of June 20, 2024. I bought my copy soon after it came out on March 23, 2004. Greatest Hits initially reached #3 on the Billboard 200 and eventually sold six million copies in the United States and four million in Europe. It featured the group's 11 highest-charting singles up to that point: "Sweet Child O' Mine" (#1), "November Rain" (#3), "Patience" (#4), "Paradise City" (#5), "Welcome to the Jungle" (#7), "Don't Cry" (#10 pop, #3 mainstream rock), "You Could Be Mine" (#29 pop, #3 mainstream), "Live and Let Die" (#33 pop, #20 mainstream), "Sympathy for the Devil" (#55 pop, #10 mainstream), "Since I Don't Have You" (#69), and "Yesterdays (#72 pop, #13 mainstream). The remaining three tracks weren't released as singles but still were hits on the mainstream rock chart — "Civil War" (#4 mainstream), "Ain't It Fun" (#8 mainstream), and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (#18 mainstream). The only GNR Hot 100 hit missing when Greatest Hits came out was "Nightrain" (#93 pop, #26 mainstream). Axl and Company notched another Top 40 single four years later with "Chinese Democracy" (#34 pop, #5 mainstream, #24 alternative). ApologetiX has spoofed seven of the 14 tracks on this album, although one of them dates back to our earliest days when used to release homemade cassettes. My wife and I saw the reunited Guns N' Roses (including Axl, Slash, Duff, and Dizzy Reed) with The Pretenders at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey PA on August 11, 2023. That's not something we would have done on our own, but a friend had four tickets very close to the stage (face value: $725 each!) and asked us to come with him to the show as his guests. He said that seeing GNR live was a longstanding item on his bucket list. Who were we to stand in the way of his dream? The band played for about three hours and performed every song I mentioned already in this entry except their remakes of "Sympathy for the Devil" by The Rolling Stones and "Since I Don't Have You" by Pittsburgh-based doo wop group The Skyliners, who had a #12 pop hit with it in 1959. However, Guns N' Roses did do a cover of Glen Campbell's "Wichita Lineman" at the show, along with many other songs not mentioned in this entry. The following month ApX released a parody of another GNR song not featured on Greatest Hits, "Pretty Tied Up" (#35 mainstream).
1506. "Weird Al" Yankovic - "Weird Al" Yankovic
Although it didn't come out until May 3, 1983, "Weird Al" Yankovic's self-titled debut LP also contained his previously released singles "My Bologna" (parody of "My Sharona" by The Knack) from 1979 and "Another One Rides the Bus" (parody of "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen) from 1981. There were a total of 12 tracks, including three other parodies, "I Love Rocky Road" ("I Love Rock 'n' Roll" by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts), "Ricky" ("Mickey" by Toni Basil), and "Stop Draggin' My Car Around" ("Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers). The album itself went to #139 on the Billboard200 and sold half a million copies. A trio of tracks therein charted: "Ricky" (#63), "Another One Rides the Bus" (#104), and "I Love Rocky Road" (#106). Of the seven originals, my favorites musically are "I'll Be Mellow When I'm Dead" and "Happy Birthday." As far as lyrics go, I think "Gotta Boogie" is clever, but it's too gross for me to fully appreciate. Meanwhile, "Mr. Frump in the Iron Lung" has one of the most interesting and memorable titles I've ever encountered, but the subject matter is a little morbid for my tastes. Nevertheless, it may be the most creative use ever of an accordion's air-release valve. Speaking of accordions, this is the only one of Al's LPs to feature his trademark instrument on every track. Ironically, it's also one of just two of his 14 non-compilation albums to not feature a polka medley. ApologetiX has spoofed "My Sharona," "Another One Bites the Dust," "I Love Rock 'n' Roll," and "Mickey," but not "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around." We have spoofed songs sung by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty ... just not together.
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If you'd like to donate to the ministry of ApologetiX, there are a couple ways you can do it.
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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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We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 1 John 5:19 |
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P.O. Box 101705
Pittsburgh
PA
15237
United States of America |
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