3. Keep the Change

 BACKGROUND:

Keep the Change is the 7th Apologetix album (counting Isn't Wasn't Ain't as the first and Radical History Tour as the second). It came out in October 2001. It consists of 19 tracks of both classic rock and modern rock parodies. Statistically speaking, Keep the Change is ApologetiX's most successful album, as it eached #15 on the National Christian Retail Bestsellers Rock Charts, according to CCM Magazine.

TITLE:

ApologetiX have put multiple meanings behind the album title Keep the Change. Christian should hold fast, or keep, the change that Jesus brings to their lives. Therefore, many of the songs talked about how Jesus changes lives. Christians should also keep the change of lyrics that lyricist and lead singer J. Jackson wrote in these parodies because they glorify God more than their secular counterparts. Keep the Change also describes the spoof "Cheap Birds" (parody of "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd), which comes from Luke 12:9, which reads, "Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God." Of course, ApologetiX use puns to further emphasize the album title in the album description. For example, ApologetiX note that one of their spoofs give their "two cents" for the views of evolution. As another example, in the album description, it says, "Obviously, Keep the Change isn’t a phrase we coined ourselves; although looking at the CD cover, you could say we coined ourselves on Keep the Change." Then, looking at the album cover, you'll notice the band members' portraits on coins. Again, another good example of how ApologetiX use their album cover to reinforce their title. The title Keep the Change deserves extra praise for having multiple meanings without resorting to wordplay.

CRITIQUE:

As always, the critique section will look both the diversity and the unity of the album.

Keep the Change has the diversity in musical decades. The oldest parody is "Monkey Scheme" (parody of "Monkees Theme" by the Monkees) from 1965, and the newest spoofs are "Manger" (spoof of "Angel" by Shaggy) and "Life Restored" (spoof of "Last Resort" by Papa Roach), both from 2001. While on the surface that looks like Keep the Change covers 5 decades, but a closer look will reveal that it only covers the 60's, 70, and 00's. Yes, "You Booked Me All Along" (parody of "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC) has its origins in 1980, but AC/DC is very much a 70's classic rock band, and "You Booked Me All Along" sounds very much like a 70's classic rock song. That leaves a gap for the 80's and the 90's. Despite this gap, Keep the Change has a good balance between classic rock and modern hits. The classic rock is the classiest of hits that have passed the test of time, and the modern hits are the most modern, as they came out the same year or the year before Keep the Change released.

Speaking of which, Keep the Change has plenty of genre variety. You desire disco music? Then check out "Stay in the Light" (parody of "Staying Alive" by The Bee Gees). You like rap? Then take a look at "The Real Sin Savior" (parody of "The Real Slim Shady" by Eminem) or "Manger" (parody of "Angel by Shaggy). You prefer the oldies rock 'n' roll over classic rock? Try out "Monkey Scheme" (parody of "Monkees Theme" by the Monkees). Surprisingly, the only thing really absent is country. The closest would be "Cheap Birds" (parody of "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd), but that would be more southern rock than country. Still, the southern rock twang gives more variety than the typical classic rock. Indeed, Keep the Changehas genre variety.

Just to quickly note as well, Keep the Change has the variety in original artists. Keep the Change has 19 tracks and 19 artists parodied. No single artist has multiple songs spoofed. Again, this widens the net broad to bring in more potential fans.

Unfortunately, just like with Biblical Graffiti, the biggest factor ruining the variety on Keep the Change is that multiple tracks cover the same Bible songs. Keep the Change has 2 parodies about the Flood: "Story of a Squirrel" (parody of "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" by Nine Days) and "All the Stalls Stink" (parody of "All the Small Things" by Blink-182). The album has 2 spoofs about the Nativity: "Christmasnite" (spoof of "Kryptonite" by Three Doors Down) and "Manger" (spoof of "Angel" by Shaggy). At least time the songs are spaced apart, making it less obvious, unlike Biblical Graffiti, which put them side-by-side. Still, past albums and future albums kept to a single use of each Bible story. I don't why Biblical Graffiti and Keep the Change had this problem.

This album does technically have a re-recording. "Bethlehemian Rhapsody" (parody of "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen) originally appeared on Radical History Tour. The parody not only has a real studio recording (Radical History Tour was recorded in a hotel room turned into a "studio"), but the spoof also has new lyrics. I will admit that the Keep the Change version is better, but I don't think it was necessary either because the Radical History Tour sufficed.

Let me also mention how much this album teaches its audience. "Monkey Scheme" (parody of "Monkees Theme" by the Monkees) discredits all the claimed missing links during the instrumental interlude. In all honesty, that musical interlude does nothing for the song, so you might as well turn it into something useful. "Old Times Romans Road" (parody of "Old Time Rock 'N' Roll" by Bob Seeger) teaches the verses of Romans Road. "Rock and Roots" (parody of "Rock and Roll" by Led Zepplin) can help anyone memorize the genealogy of Jesus. ApologetiX says its mission is to teach the rest, and these parodies definitely teach.

ApologetiX also say in their mission that they reach the lost. The one song that reaches the lost the most is "Life Restored" (parody of "Last Resort" by Papa Roach). In fact, of all the ApologetiX songs that brought people to Christ, "Life Restored" fall in 3rd place. That's kind of a shock, considering 1st and 2nd place go to "Narrow Way to Heaven" (parody of "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zepplin) and "Every Crown Has Its Thorns" (parody of "Every Rose Has Its Thorns" by Posion). Whereas those 2 songs start out soft and crescendo into a climax, "Life Restored" is just loud the whole time. Perhaps the secret is in how much J. Jackson redeems this song from the original. The original song praises suicide as Papa Roach's last resort to his life in pieces. The new spoof gives hope in Jesus Christ. The lyrics alone give glory to God, and God receives even more glory when the lyrics bring people to Jesus.

FAVORITE SONG: "The Real Sin Savior" (parody of "The Real Slim Shady" by Eminem)

The original rap is anything but glorying God. As a matter of fact, it almost seems like Eminemn set out to make the rap the most sinful and the least godly as possible. ApologetiX totally turn it around by doing the opposite. They take the opportunity to call out everything sinful in the world, from evolution to scandalous televangelists to the removal of Bible reading and prayer in schools to atheists making anti-Christan remakes to a society that has rejected the need for the Christ. Rap has to say something, and ApologetiX definitely has something to say in this album. In fact, J. writes in his journal that he intended his rap as an altar call. It would be interesting to hear how many people came to Christ as a result of this rap. Speaking of rap, J. keeps up his version up to pace with Eminem's version, which isn't easy to do. The creative mixing keeps the sound effects from the original, making a nice homage. Another thing worth appreciation is J.'s use of metaphors and illustrations, another key factor in rap. I love lines like "Your panting tongue is just thirstin’ for more," "If you feel a slight chill, I got the antifreeze," "Were just like triple fudge ice cream; we’re just quite sweet" and "I’m like a breath mint you listen to." My favorite line, however, is "If Jesus loved his enemies and Pharisees," for it connects the two so well and makes the listener realize that Jesus lived out his command to love his enemies by loving the Pharisees. While I'll admit I like the other Eminem parodies more than this one, this one will always hold a special place in my heart, as it technically is my first experience with Eminem.

FINAL VERDICT: 3rd

Keep the Change has a better balance of classic and modern rock then other albums. Yes, it comes at the cost of sacrificing 80's and 90's rock, but the more emphasis on the 00's hits gives good balance to the 60's and 70's rock hits. By doing, ApologetiX attracts both the older generation and the younger generations. Both generations find greater appeal to this album through its genre variety. Lovers of disco, rap, oldies and southern rock will find something on here. From an evangelistic standpoint, this may be one of ApologetiX's greatest albums to evangelize because, "Old Time Romans Road," "The Real Sin Savior" and "Life Restored" constantly call for a person to come to repentance and to come to Christ. While this album definitely deserves to fall in the top 3, too many factors prevent it from finishing first or even 2nd. Here is another ApologetiX album that repeats Bible stories within the same album. An album 19 tracks is too short when ApologetiX albums can have 20, 21 or 22 tracks. If "Bethlehemian Rhapsody" is to blame as the longest track on the album, it was really unnecessary, as it appears on Radical History Tour. If they were going to only have 19 tracks, they could have at least given the full guitar solo outro to "Cheap Birds" instead of the shortened solo into a fade out. For these reasons, the album can finish no higher than 3rd.