14. Future Tense

 BACKGROUND: 

Future Tense was the ApologetiX album for 2008, the band's 15th album. Notably, it is the 1st album for the post-Karl-Messner ApologetiX. Bill Hubauer takes on the role of lead guitarist, as well as still contributing keys and backing vocals. The album consists of 12 tracks, with about an even mix of classic rock and modern rock.

TITLE:

This title is another good example of how ApologetiX uses beautiful wordplays for their titles. When people think of the phrase "future tense," they probably think of the verb tense used for defining actions that will happen in the future. While thinking about actions that may happen in the future, it can make people quite tense. According to these people, the future is tense, again, pointing back to the album title. To add another layer of wordplay, the album description goes from talking about tense to talking about tents, as Paul was a tentmaker on top of a minister. It's interesting that that the album description does not go on to say that Paul knew his future was not tents but ministering the kingdom of God. It does point out, though, how Paul used tents as an illustration to the gospel he preached, which probably came from his experience as a tent maker. While I applaud the creativity in the title's wordplay, I equally applaud how it comes together to communicate the overall message and themes of the album. Indeed, a majority, if not most, of the songs addresses present issues that might make the onlook of the future pretty tense. Even the songs retelling Bible stories give relevant application to the 21st century.

CRITIQUE:

I hate to sound mean and possibly pick on a wound that has scarred over, but for the first post-Karl album, it shows. This album only has 12 tracks on it. At this point in the band's history, the average album ranged from 18 tracks to 22 tracks (with the exception of Apol-acoustiX and Chosen Ones, but Chosen Ones might also be due to Karl's exit). With only 12 tracks, Future Tense seems to sell short of what the previous albums offered. Also, considered what Karl did for the band prior to his leave: he played lead guitar (for both albums and concerts), he mixed & produced albums, he wrote the newsletter and he did PR pre-concert while the rest of the band warmed up for concert. With Karl gone, his spot needed filling. J. Jackson took on the newsletter and PR, and Bill Hubauer took on lead guitar and mixing & producing. albums. It was Karl himself who recommended that Bill Hubauer becomes the new lead guitarist. From context clues, however, I have always gotten the vibes that Bill Hubauer can do guitar, but his heart is with piano/keyboard. I can almost imagine J. and Karl presenting Bill the idea of playing lead guitar, and Bill replying with a melancholy, "Ok, fine, I guess I'll do it..." With both Bill and J. taking on more responsibility, writing, recording, mixing and producing 18-22 parodies must have been hard, so it was easier to just do 12. Still, with Karl's departure, it's hard not to feel like this was the beginning of the "downfall." It doesn't help that so many future albums will also only have 11-13 tracks on them.

Those 12 parodies, however, are solid. For me, Future Tense feels like a time capsule of sorts. Future Tense released in June 2008. For a majority of the tracks on this album, the original came out in either 2005 or 2006. Not only are all these spoofs brand new, but the original songs are still fairly new, too. In regard to the original songs, some these songs are still played on the radio regularly, while other songs faded into obscurity. Regarding the original band, some still perform today, while others have become one-hit wonders. On a personal level, these songs all came out during my high school years, and thus, in a way, these songs are "my music" or "my generation's music." I remember hearing them on the radio constantly while in high school. They give me nostalgia, for better or for worse. Hence why this album feels like a time capsule for me. In its original context, this album is truly a greatest hits album for its time...well, with the exception they are all parodies of the original.

"Turning a Little Seasick" (parody of "Dirty Little Secret" by All-American Rejects) is another song about Jesus calming the storm. After this parody, ApologetiX promised "No more songs about Jesus calming the storm!" I think they have kept their promise over 15 albums later, but I would encourage them not to hold onto it too tightly, for if the song allows it, go for it! This spoof takes it in a new direction. It uses the calming the storm story as an illustration to not panic or stress over what life brings because the Lord sees and hears us at all times.

"Land of Delusion" (parody of "Land of Confusion" by Genesis and Disturbed) is another ApologetiX which presents the problems in the world, and also supplies the solution of Jesus Christ, but is equally dismayed at so few people who will resolute to the perfect solution. In a way, it kind of sort of redeems the song. The original song already speaks of a world with too many problems, but it makes the grave mistake of turning to Superman or the next new generation. The spoof accurately updates the song to point out the world's problem is sin and that the only Savior will be Jesus, not Superman or a generation. ApologetiX credits both Genesis and Disturbed, and rightfully so, for they sound like a mix between both bands, like they went half-and-half on it.

"Stupid’s Stronghold/Reckless in America" (parody of “Cupid’s Chokehold/Breakfast in America” by Gym Class Heroes) is the epitome of time capsule feeling that Future Tense has. So many references to current events spanning 2005-2008 crammed into this spoof. It would not surprise me if most people can't remember what a majority of the lines reference. If anything, that alone should teach Christians not too caught up in the hype of current events, for in the words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes, nothing new is under the sun and it will pass away like a vapor (the Hebrew term translated as "vanity" or "meaningless" in Ecclesiates comes from the root word meaning "vapor"). Still, lyricist and lead singer J. Jackson gets kudos for jam packing so many pop culture reference into 1 song. The more pop cultural references, the more meaning this song has.

"Miss Martha" (parody of "Miss Murder" by AFI) is one of ApologetiX's classic Bible story retellings. This one covers the story of Mary and Martha, as told in Luke 10:38-42. The spoof is humorous in the sense of matching the Bible story with the music genre. The original band, AFI, falls very much under the category of emo. Therefore, it naturally has a screamo part in the song, more specifically, the bridge. J. Jackson designed this parody to tell the story of Mary and Martha from Martha's point of view. It's kind of funny hearing Martha sing screamo about how much her sister won't help her, especially with lines like "Well, these dishes aren't going to do themselves, and the silverware could use some polish." Apparently according to J.'s journal, J. had problems first nailing that screamo bridge, so much so that Bill secretly turned it into a bloopers reel. ApologetiX should totally released that ;) . Future Tense came out shortly after the video game Guitar Hero 3 came out, so this parody triggers some nostalgia for me. I remember singing ApologetiX lyrics while playing the song on the game.

"Iraq & Iran" (parody of "Jack & Diane" by John Cougar Mellencamp) is an interesting way to retell how the events Daniel prophesied in the book of Daniel unfolded. It rightfully talks about the history of the Babylonians, Persians, Greek and Romans. The moral of the story is that kingdoms come and kingdoms go, but God knows all, and so his kingdom will remain forever. The closing line "You American kids do your best to understand" serves as a warning to the next generation of Americans they they are not immune to the same fate as Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome.

"Transplants" (parody of "Dance Dance" by Fall Out Boy) is another good example of a song redeemed right. The original "Dance Dance" is a typical teen love song, albeit with a emo take on it. "Transplants" is concerned about humans loving God and loving each other as God intended love to be. The only way to do that is with a new heart. "Transplants" beautifully combines Jeremiah 17:9 with Ezekiel 36:26.

"The Tablecloth (Peter's Vision)" (parody of "Over My Head (Cable Car)" by The Fray) is a Bible story spoof, this time from Acts 10. It is very faithful to both telling the Bible story and communicating the theological message. Just like God making all animals clean, he makes all humans clean, and they all deserve to hear the gospel message.

Next up on the album is 3 consecutive songs about Christmas: "Bethlehem Boy" (parody of "My Best Friend's Girl" by The Cars), "Tip from an Angel" (parody of "Lips of an Angel" by Hinder) and "Try Micah" (parody of "Drive My Car" by the Beatles). This does not do the album favors in terms of variety. The album is already limited in variety when it comes to musical decade and musical genre. Having 3 tracks tell the same story (even if from different points of view) is repetitive and redundant. I'm guessing ApologetiX didn't have in mind a Christmas CD (5 years between Future Tense and Handheld Messiah), for these would have been a great addition to Handheld Messiah. Naturally, they all made ApologetiX Classics - Christmas. What I like most about all 3 parodies is how they redeem the original. "My Best Friend's Girl" has the singer lusting after his ex-girlfriend, who is now with his best friend. "Lips of Angel" has the singer telling his ex-girlfriend how much he misses her, despite the fact he's moved on to a new girlfriend. In "Drive My Car," a girl tells the Beatles she plans to become a famous movie star, but the Beatles tell her that she can becomes famous faster by "driving their car," an innuendo for sleeping with them. All these songs get redemption by telling how the loving God did the ultimate act of love by sending his son, Jesus, to die for our sins and rise again, thus defeating, sin and death. Talk about redemption!

The album concludes with "Animals I Have Begun" (parody of "Animal I Have Become" by Three Days Grace). Another Bible story song, this time retelling the need for Adam to have a helper, Eve, to help him name all the animals. Some of the lines on this spoof would not age well with the current state of political correctness, but J. assures his audience in his journal that these lines are all out of jest. In fact, it's quite funny that Adam goes from generally asking for some help to name the animals to demanding specifics this helper must have. The humor comes from the fact that, even today, people say they are not picky in choosing their spouse, yet they have a long list of dos and don'ts. I also appreciate the line "We'll grab a bite to eat," foreshadowing the fall in Genesis 3.

We got 1 last song to talk about because that leaves...

FAVORITE SONG: "More That a Healing" (parody of "More Than a Feeling" by Boston)

Go figure that the album that a majority of "my songs" or "my generation's songs," I choose the song originally from 1976, which is definitely in the minority on the album. In fact, the only song older is "Try Micah" (parody of "Drive My Car" by The Beatles). I appreciate how the parody teaches that salvation is more than just a plain old regular healing. It does so much more. I also like how J. has worked on his vocal capabilities to bring us the best possible rendition of this song. I know these notes aren't the easiest to hit, but J. does it every time.

FINAL VERDICT: 14th

With the departure of Karl Messner comes the departure of a lot of things. No longer will albums have 18-22 tracks, but now, albums will have 11-13 tracks. No longer will all albums have brand new, studio recorded albums. Studio recorded albums will compete with live albums and singles compilations. As the first album post-Karl, Future Tense makes this changeover feel very real, even though it will eventually become the norm. It does not help either that this album lacks variety. It lacks variety in music decade, as a majority of parodies come from 2005 & 2006. It lacks variety in genre, as all the songs fall under the genre of rock, with no representation from country, disco, pop or rap. With a major of the songs discussing how fallen this world is, and 3 songs conversing about Christmas, Bible variety lacks here, too. What Future Tense lacks in variety it makes up in unity. While the albums lacks variety in biblical and theological themes, it unifies by agreeing the future might looks tense, but Jesus is still the answer. Yes,  the album only has rock on it, but the rock here covers several rock subgenres, including classic rock, punk rock, emo rock, pop rock and even rap rock. Most importantly, even though a majority of the parodies originated in either 2005 or 2006, which might push away older fans, it appeals to younger fans, which might in turn create new fans. New fans is exactly what this band needed in a post-Karl time, when ApologetiX's outlook on the future was tense.