4. Biblical Graffiti

BACKGROUND:

Previously, ApologetiX came out with Jesus Christ Morningstar, an album of classic rock parodies. Prior to that album, ApologetiX released Ticked!, an album of modern rock spoofs. Biblical Graffiti combines the past 2 albums. As headlined right on the album cover, Biblical Graffiti consists of biblical parodies of both classic and modern rock hits.

TITLE:

As discussed before with other albums, ApologetiX will sometimes parody not just the songs but also the album title. Sometimes they will go all in and spoof the album cover with it as well. Biblical Graffiti stands out because its album title parodies one band, and its album cover spoofs another band. The title Biblical Graffiti parodies Led Zepplin's Physical Graffiti. The album cover spoofs the album cover of Pink Floyd's The Wall. Biblical Graffiti puts them together and gives them a biblical twist. Original to Biblical Graffiti, ApologetiX adds a finger writing on the wall, writing "MENE MENE TEKEL PARSIN," the writing on the wall Daniel interpreted for King Belshazzar, as found in Daniel 5. Lyricist and lead singer J. Jackson even adds a person anecdote, retelling how he in elementary school would write Bible verses on the bathroom walls next to the other kids' crude and rude graffiti. It all does together. It's very fitting album title and album cover tie together Led Zepplin and Pink Floyd, as each have a song representing them on this album. Indeed, the finger writing on the wall does make the mind think of graffiti, and it takes place in the Bible, so that definitely makes it biblical graffiti. Also like J. Jackson says in his notes, Biblical Graffiti may sound like an oxymoron, but people have also thought "Jesus Freak" and "Christian rock" sound like oxymorons, too. While in a way another album using wordplay for its title, this wordplay is so creative, it seems to go above and beyond a simple wordplay.

CRITIQUE:

As mentioned in the background information, Biblical Graffiti combines Jesus Christ Morningstar and Ticked! by combining both classic rock and modern rock. The 22 tracks on the album span from "Jail Got Rocked" (parody of "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley), which came out in 1957, to "One Way" (parody of "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies), released in 1999. Yes, the 50's, 60's, 70s, 80s and 90's all have representation on this album. If you grew up in any of these decades, either as a kid or as a teen, you'll find "your music" or "your generation's music" on her. This album definitely has the musical decade diversity.

With musical decade diversity comes in musical genre diversity. Now to be up front, it's not too diverse. You won't find disco or rap on this album (I don't consider "One Way" rap). The country song "Bends to Low Places" (parody of "Friends in Low Places" by Garth Brooks) is not just the only country song on the album, it's also the only non-rock song on the album. Everything else on the album falls under classic rock or modern rock (although both classic rock and modern rock have subgenres). More specifically, this album has a good balance of each. As I have stated with other ApologetiX, sometimes the ApologetiX focus too heavily on the classic rock songs, so heavily that the modern hits are really just the most popular songs in the past year or two. When the modern hits are so close together and so recent, it really feels like they were afterthoughts. Here on this album, they feel considered. Biblical Graffiti has 7 songs from the 90's (about a third of the album), and those seven songs came out in 1991, 1995, 1997, 1998 and 1999. While the decade leans heavier on the latter half, it still feels spread apart. Even with an album that's mostly rock, it's hard to argue it's "just rock" with the rock spanning from 60's to the 90's. Rock changes in each decade, and each of parodies on this album reflect those changes. Again, Biblical Graffiti has no diversity in music genres, it does have diversity in rock subgenres, and that overarching theme of rock gives the album unity.

Another way this album has diversity is in the bands parodied on Biblical Graffiti. This album has 22 tracks and 22 bands spoofed. Yes, not single band is spoofed more than once. The 22 artists give this album variety because each parodied band brings in their own version of rock. For example, Metallica brings in the metal rock. As I have said before, ApologetiX wants the full variety of band representation on their album because it will attract the most fans. ApologetiX succeeds here with 22 bands, which may be the most representation to date.

Usually, it's usually a given that ApologetiX receives praises from their balanced diversity in Bible stories and theology teaching. Oddly enough, this is one of the weaknesses of Biblical Graffiti. Biblical Graffiti has 2 parodies about David: "Crazy Little King God Loves" (parody of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" by Queen) and "Dancing Dave" (parody of "Dancing Days" by Led Zepplin). Yes, I know one is a 1 Samuel story about David hiding from Saul and another is a 2 Samuel story about the ark of the covenant returning to Jerusalem, but technically in the Hebrew tradition 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel are 1 book. Nonetheless, both stories are about David. This album has 2 spoofs about the end times: "Revelation Man" (parody of "Secret Agent Man" by Johnny Rivers) and "Armageddon Valley Some Day" (parody of "Pleasant Valley Sunday" by The Monkees). This album has 2 parodies covering the first 6 chapters of Joshua: "Lawful Woman (in a Bad Place)" (parody of "Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress" by Hollies) and "Kick in the Wall" (parody of "Another Brick in the Wall" by Pink Floyd). To make matter worse, these pairs of songs are right next to each other on the album! If they were at opposite ends of the album, it would be less obvious, but since they are next-door neighbors on the album, it's obvious.

FAVORITE SONG: "Credence Thru Deepwater Survival" (parody of "Proud Mary" by Creedence Clearwater Revival)

This song is definitely not a theology teaching parody, but it really can't be fully considered a Bible story telling spoof either. It's more like halfway between both, a topical biblical parody. The spoof centers around all the miracles the Lord did with bodies of water. The song headlines Moses, who parted the Red Sea, Joshua, who parted the Jordan River, and Simon Peter, who walked on water. That's on the tip of the iceberg (no pun intended) when it comes to God's watery miracles, so J. raps some other examples (Elijah, Elisha, Noah, Jonah). during the musical interlude, which doesn't hurt, for the instrumental interlude really doesn't add anything. Speaking of that instrumental interlude, I like how ApologetiX's version adds just a touch of surf rock to the interlude to remind the audience about the theme of water. Furthermore, while the instruments best follow the original from Creedence Clearwater Revival, J. Jackson does a sing-and-response to the chorus, which echoes the famous Tina Turner cover. This song alone has variety, in both the biblical department and musical department.

FINAL VERDICT: 4th

As a positive, Biblical Graffiti has a variety in musical decades. As a negative, this album has little to no variety in music genres. While it lacks variety in musical genre, it has plenty of variety in rock subgenres. As a plus, Biblical Graffiti has plenty of variety in original bands represented. As a minus, the album has less variety in Bible stories and theological teaching because it has 3 pairs of songs coming from the same Bible passage. On one hand, I praise Biblical Graffiti for including "Kick in the Wall" (parody of "Another Brick in the Wall" by Pink Floyd) because it goes well with the album cover. On the other hand, ApologetiX missed the opportunity to include a parody about the writing on the wall, as found in Daniel 5, for it would have gone along with the album theme. While this final part might seem like a balance between the good and the bad, in reality, the good outweighs the bad. The bad does prevent it from landing in the top 3, but all the good gives it a solid 4th place.