18. Music Is as Music Does

 BACKGROUND:

Music Is as Music Does is the 2nd of 4 albums ApologetiX released in 2015. The album contains 12 tracks, all of which were previously released as singles. 10 of the tracks are brand new, while 2 of the tracks are re-recordings.

TITLE:

In the movie Forest Gump, Forest's mother famously says, "Stupid is as stupid does," which means that the action is ultimately what defines something as stupid or not. ApologetiX borrowed these words and that idea to title this album Music Is as Music Does. In essence, let the music speak for itself. In his journal, lyricist and lead singer J. Jackson turns around another famous quote to capture what he's trying to say: "You can't judge a book by its cover, but you can judge our 'covers' by the Book." Anyone reading the album description can tell J. has faced much criticism, and for those critics, he has an apologetic (see what I did there?). Quoting Luke 7:44, he reminds everybody that even the Bible says that a tree is to be judged by its fruits, or, an action is to be judged by its results. After hearing all the testimonies ApologetiX has received from its fans, it's hard not to acknowledge the good tree and the good fruit. J. goes on to counter the claims that rock n roll is from the devil, even if given new, Chrstian lyrics. J. reminds everyone that, just like people sin in what they say and do, so music can cause sin in what it says and does. Therefore, it only makes sense that lyrics rewritten into Christian lyrics would not be sinful. Overall, the title of the album is a creative and fun way for J. and ApologetiX to communicate his message.

CRITIQUE:

I don't mean to sound repetitive, but I do want to give a friendly reminder. Music Is as Music Does is ultimately a singles compilation album because all 12 parodies were originally released as singles. This sets up a lose-lose situation for the fans and band alike because fans who don't mind downloading the songs will not want the album when it comes out, and fans who want the album will have to delay their patience while other fans can enjoy the spoofs. I will acknowledge, though, that this CD feels more like an album and less like a singles collection because the album has a name, a theme, a message and some correlation between the tracks. You also get a little bit of variety in the music genre, which is reminiscent of older albums. Anyone can tell that ApologetiX had an album in mind when creating these singles, making sure they go together, not like a bunch of singles thrown together.

While Music Is as Music Does has a playful title, I have my doubts that it conveys the message of judging these covers by the Book or judging the tree by its fruit. The song that enraptures this theme and message the most is "Fight for Your Right to Parody" (parody of "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)" by Beastie Boys). Your heart goes out to the band as you listen to the lyrics, for it sounds like they face an equal amount of criticism from both Christians and non-Christians alike. Indeed, that does definitely capture the messing behind the album's title. Sadly, it's really the only track that does so. Even sadder, I wonder why this was the closing track. It should have been the opening track because it introduces what the band does. Heck, it would have made a great introductory track to a concert, too.

Alright, let get my annoyance out of the way: the re-recordings. "Be Like David Was" (parody of "Feel Like Makin' Love" by Bad Company) was originally on Isn't Wasn't Ain't. The Isn't Wasn't Ain't recording wasn't that bad. The readings from the Psalms (Psalms 34:1 103:1, 8:1 and 94:19, to be exact) was a nice addition, but it wasn't necessary. The lyrics didn't need the revamping either. If anything, I prefer the lyrics of the original (I don't like how the new version added "dude" and "stuff.") "Addicted to Christ" (parody of "Ticket to Ride" by the Beatles) originally appeared on the cassette Beatleg (Beatles bootleg) and was part of the Rare Not Well Done rarities downloads. I have never heard this version before, so I can't make an accurate comparison. Reading the lyrics, though, the 2015 version does have the better lyrics. I will give this one a pass. It's just that I would prefer to hear brand new parodies than hear re-recorded spoofs. This wouldn't be as noticeable on an album with 18-22 tracks, but on an album with 12 tracks, 2 re-recordings sticks out clearly.

As always, let me blitz through the rest of the album's setlist, culminating with my favorite song. If you see me skip over a song, it's because I don't like the song, not because of ApologetiX, but because of the original song performed by the original band. It's just seems unfair to judge ApologetiX on basis of the instrumental music composed by the original band.

With that in mind, it is ironic I start with "Come On, Heal the Boy" (parody of "Cum on Feel the Noize" by Quiet Riot). I say it's ironic because the original "Cum on Feel the Noize" was originally performed by Slade, but it was made famous by a cover from Quiet Riot. In his journal, lyricist and lead singer the J. Jackson said they went with making the song sound more like the Quiet Riot version over the Slade version because ApologetiX likes how the Quiet Riot version sounds more. I couldn't agree more, and I imagine a lot of people feel the same way. After all, there's a reason the Quiet Riot version went higher on the U.S. charts than the Slade version. The spoof talks about Jesus healing a boy with a demon that made the boy deaf and mute, as found in all 3 synoptic Gospels. This is a classic Bible story parody form ApologetiX, and it accurately retells the story.

Meanwhile, "Jesus and Moses" (parody of "Heat of the Moment" by Asia) is more of a theological spoof. Its main basis comes from Deuteronomy 18:18-19, although the parody brings in other Bible verses. The song explains Jesus the prophet better than Moses that Moses prophesied. The track also does a good job on comparing and contrasting the Old Testament and New Testament.

Going back to Bible story songs, "Sa-maria" (parody of "My Maria" by Brooks & Dunn) does an excellent job of combining the story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well with the background information needed to understand the animosity between the Jews and Samaritans. My only criticism is that, unlike Aquila, there is no alternative pronounciation of Sa-maria, but I get that they did this to make it sound closer to the original song. It's saying a lot to say I like this song, for I am not a fan of country music at all. Somehow, however, ApologetiX got me to like this song and "Good News Bookie (parody of "Boot Scootin' Boogie" by Brooks & Dunn). ApologetiX, are you turning me into a Brooks & Dunn fan?

"Resist Him" (parody of "Rihannon" by Fleetwood Mac) reminds the listener how the devil tempts people to sin and how the Christian has the Holy Spirit to fit the sin. Fun fact: J. Jackson's only credit for this song is rewriting the lyrics. Janna Jackson sings lead vocals, and Tom Milnes sings backing vocals. Had me fooled. I could have sworn that was J. Jackson! Maybe I should just compliment Tom Milnes for his excellent job of backing vocals, lead guitar and bass.

"Pharaoh-noid" (parody of "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath) was a much-welcomed spoof. Up to this point in ApologetiX's career, the Exodus story was much underrepresented. Seriously, this is the 28th album, and in the 27 albums before, the only songs that come to mind are "YHWH" (parody of "YMCA" by The Village People) and "You Ain't Been Nothing Yet" (parody of "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" by Bachman Turner Overdrive). Yes, I know that "Credence Thru Deepwater Survival" (parody of "Proud Mary" by Credence Clearwater Revival) mentions Moses parting the Red Sea, but that's more of a topical song than a song focusing on Exodus 14. Just as important, no ApologetiX song every told the story of the ten plagues. In a way, this parody actually can teach somebody the order of the plagues. That leaves one more track...

FAVORITE SONG: "A Source with No Name" (parody of "A Horse with No Name" by America)

Again, a lot of these songs almost made the favorite sing (of course, the re-recordings didn't). I decided ultimately on "A Source with No Name." Not only does ApologetiX give a full survey on the book of Hebrews, but the band also even fills you in on some of the background information, like the debate on the authorship of the book. This has to be the one of the most, if not the most, scholarly spoof J. has written to date, if not ever. This parody just goes to show how much J. knows the Bible.

FINAL VERDICT: 18th

Even looking past the fact that this album is a singles compilation album, which is harder with this one because the background and title loosely tie all these parodies together, this album is way too short at just 12 tracks. To make matters worse, 2 of those tracks are re-recordings, so the fan only feels like he or she purchased 10 tracks. Personally, it doesn't help that I only like 9 tracks, and that even includes the re-recordings. Still, the parodies on this album are solid. They cover the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 1 song even covers the 90s. While most of these spoofs fall under the genre of classic rock, country, heavy metal, rap and pop all make an apperance. This album covers fans of most decades and most genres. Whether you like biblical parodies or theological parodies, this album covers both. While many other albums do a better job of uniting the singles together under a single theme, this album deserves recognition for doing an OK job.