ApologetiX Sets the Records Straight

It's a packed house. Dozens of private conversations drown each other out as the audience waits for the main event. When the band emerges, it's pandemonium. Four guys grab instruments and spring into action. As they play the opening notes of "Twist and Shout," feedback screams from a monitor. But it can't match the screams aimed back at the stage. Then from the singers' mouths come the words, "When Jake was a baby, now (Jake was a baby)/Twins came out (twins came out)..."

Huh?

The crowd isn't surprised. Fans echo every lyric in this Christianized version of The Beatles classic as it tells the biblical story of Jacob and Esau. John, Paul, George and Ringo may have popularized the tune in 1964, but ApologetiX redeemed it in 1999. In fact, ApologetiX has built an entire ministry around intelligently crafted song parodies. The group has parodied more than 500 hits by everyone from the Steve Miller Band and Creedence Clearwater Revival to Eminem and Green Day. And each lyrically overhauled track makes a strong biblical statement.

As a relatively new Christian and voracious reader of God's Word, ApologetiX co-founder J. Jackson started writing song parodies simply as a means of memorizing Scripture, never dreaming they'd catch on publicly. "I was thinking, 'There's got to be a way I can remember the books of the Bible, the 12 Apostles and all of these different lists.' Music is an extremely powerful teaching tool. Most of us learned our ABCs by singing them to the tune of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.' You can read or hear something and it may not stick, but hearing the same message set to music really drives it home. That's why commercials use jingles."

From Trash to Treasure
Jackson and his colleagues aren't the only ones hip to the power of parodies. When Joan Osborne's controversial single "One of Us" ruled the airwaves, a teenage girl from West Virginia wrote to Plugged In magazine to share a personal epiphany. "The first time I heard the song, the message seemed weird to me. Unfortunately, it's the kind of song that sticks in your head. But I got an idea—why not insert positive words into it?" So she did. She re-crafted the lyrics to celebrate God's true incarnation. Her version explored Christ's humanity and empathy for people.

Another teen owned a karaoke tape that included Billy Joel's "Only the Good Die Young." He bristled every time the track came on and decided the only way to squelch the words entrenched in his memory (about a guy urging a Catholic girl to forsake her faith and jump into bed) was to change them. His version, titled "Save It for Only One," celebrated abstinence.

Creative discernment. These young people concluded, "If you can't purge 'em, redeem 'em!"

A Biblical Precedent
Some people might argue that popular culture shouldn't be used to drive home spiritual truth. But why not? The Apostle Paul did it in Acts 17:16-34. While in Athens, he addressed the Areopagus and, without compromising the Gospel, used an inscription from a local pagan altar ("To the Unknown God") as a jumping-off point to tell the Greek council about the God who can be known. Paul even quoted their poets back to them before calling the people to repentance and telling them about the resurrection of Jesus.

Jackson is taking a page from Paul's book and rewriting rock 'n' roll history for God's glory. Remember Tommy Tutone's early '80s hit "867-5309 Jenny"? Retitled "Genny 22," the ApologetiX version examines Abraham and Isaac's famed mountain-climbing expedition in the 22nd chapter of Genesis. And when was the last time a CCM song related the tale of Balaam's donkey? This band does so on a playful spoof of The Rolling Stones' 1969 chart-topper "Honky Tonk Women" ("Donkey Talked With Him").

More recently, the band told the story of Zacchaeus with the strains of U2's "Vertigo," saw a leper healed to the tune of Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and used the hooky samplings of Gym Class Heroes' "Cupid's Chokehold" to put pop culture in its place. (The band gives a sly mention to Plugged In in that song. You can listen to "Stupid's Stronghold" by either streaming it or downloading it here.)

Reaching a Broad Audience
ApologetiX has touched lives in unexpected places. Jackson laughs when relating stories of how his fans have approached—and impressed—artists such as Kid Rock and Kiss guitarist Paul Stanley with ApologetiX parodies of their songs. There have also been documented cases of suicidal teenagers hearing the life-affirming words of "Young As You Are" (a takeoff on Nirvana's tragic "Come As You Are") and calling radio stations for spiritual counseling. "They even got plugged into local churches," Jackson recalls. "If nothing else happens, that's the pinnacle. We've served our purpose."

By including send-ups of artists as diverse as The Beatles, Bon Jovi, Kanye West, Big & Rich, The Who, Daniel Powter, Whitesnake, Velvet Revolver, Stevie Wonder and Trace Adkins on the same album, ApologetiX is serving another purpose. The band is uniting parents and teens over music. Together, families are studying lyric sheets, dissecting what the original songs had to say and digging into Scripture to better understand the parodies.

Jackson realizes that long after he's done performing and recording CDs with the band, he'll be in the business of sharing God's truth with others. So he's building an arsenal. "These songs are kind of like index cards for me. A song like 'Pray Now (Lost Art)' [to the tune of Smash Mouth's 'All Star'] is my card for prayer. Somebody asks, 'What about the Trinity?' and I think of our version of The Rolling Stones' 'Satisfaction.' Some of our songs are lighthearted, but I don't want any to be throwaway fluff."

Weird Al Yankovic has spent 25 years successfully rewriting pop tunes to make them funny. It's nice to see someone doing the same to make them holy.