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01.15.21 The Expanding Album Challenge: Week 36
01.10.21 Some Bible Verses to Ponder
01.09.21 Bible Reading Update: Daniel 7-Micah 7
01.05.21 News Bulletin: January 5, 2021
01.05.21 New CD in Stock: Buy 1, Get 1 of 34 CDs Free
01.05.21 New CD in Stock: Get 1 of 34 CDs Free
01.05.21 Get Over 1350 Tracks for $100 This Week
01.02.21 Links to Our Recent Newsletters
01.02.21 New USBs Have All 61 CDs
01.01.21 How to Donate & How to Get Multiple MP3s
12.26.20 New CDs in Stock Tuesday (Buy 1, Get 1 of 34)
12.26.20 More Encouraging Responses to Our Newsletters
12.26.20 The 365-Day Album Challenge: Week 33
12.26.20 ApX Keyboardist Has Gifts for You (2 New Songs)
12.26.20 More from Micah, ApX Alum on Amazon
12.22.20 Get Multiple Downloads for One Donation
12.22.20 This Week's News Bulletin: New USBs
12.19.20 New CD BOGO & Other Updates
12.16.20 This Week's Mini-Bulletin
12.11.20 Enthusiastic Responses to Last Week's Newsletter
12.11.20 New CD Coming in December
12.11.20 ApX Alum's Amazon Store Has Great Holiday Gifts
12.09.20 Will There Be a Another CD?
12.04.20 New Single & Other Updates
12.04.20 The 365-Day Album Challenge: Weeks 26-30
12.03.20 In Case You Missed Our New Single
11.20.20 ApX Episode 146 This Weekend
11.20.20 Happy Belated Birthday, Rich!
11.06.20 Band Members Celebrate Big-Time Anniversaries
11.06.20 ApologetiX Needs Prayer and Help Now
10.29.20 New Songbook Expected by End of Weekend
10.29.20 New CD in Stock, BOGO Ends Sunday
10.26.20 This Week's News Update: CD in Stock, BOGO Ends Sunday
10.22.20 Bible Teacher Reacts to New Single
10.22.20 The Stories Behind the Songs on Our New Single
10.22.20 New USB Thumb Drives in Stock
10.19.20 New Single: '74 & '79
10.17.20 The Story Behind the Title of Our New CD
10.17.20 What's on the Decent Alternative CD?
10.17.20 Prayers for Jeff Pakula's Brother
10.16.20 Clues for 2020 Single #18
10.12.20 Weekly Email Update
10.09.20 New ApX Digital Songbook Almost Ready
10.09.20 New ApX CD Coming Soon
10.02.20 The Stories Behind the Songs on the New Single
09.25.20 Keith Haynie Is a Grandpa Again
09.18.20 New Donor Will Match All Donations This Week
09.15.20 New Single, Another Matching Donor
09.11.20 Fans in Kansas Will Match Donations Thru Wed.
09.11.20 New USBs on the Way
09.11.20 ApX USBs Contain Complete Catalog
09.04.20 How to Donate Online or by Mail
09.02.20 New Single, 2 New Matching Donors
09.01.20 New Single: 2 Groups We've Never Spoofed Before
08.31.20 We Need Help but Fan Will Match Donations
08.28.20 From a New Fan in Virginia
08.28.20 ApX Reaching Kids in Canada
08.21.20 Encouragement from FL, SD, TN, TX & VA
08.21.20 Fan in Kenya Reacts to New Single
08.17.20 New Single: East Coast 80's, West Coast 90's
08.13.20 Clues for This Weekend's Single
08.11.20 Weekly News Update
08.11.20 New Video from Our 25th Anniversary Show
08.08.20 Alphabetical ApologetiX IV: The Final Frontier
08.07.20 Get All of Our Parodies at Once on Download or USB
08.02.20 New Single: Old Testament Ladies, 90's Style
07.30.20 New CD BOGO Ends Friday
07.30.20 He's Heard ApX Played on Five Continents
07.30.20 ApX Lead Singer Interviewed on Philly Radio Show
07.30.20 Wonderful Words from MI
07.30.20 Touching Testimony from TX
07.27.20 New CD BOGO Ends This Friday
07.24.20 Jimmy "Vegas" Tanner Recovering After Surgery
07.24.20 Former ApX Sound Man Needs Prayer
07.24.20 Fans React to New CD
The 365-Day Album Challenge: Week 21
Fri., Oct. 2. 2020 3:06pm EDT
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
Back in May, two friends asked me to share 10 albums that influenced me on Facebook. I narrowed it down to 365. I post the cover art for a different album every day with a brief explanation of how/why they influenced me. Fans have asked me to include them in the newsletter, too. Here are this week's entries:
141. Misfits – The Kinks
This album was originally released in 1978 (about three years before I heard it), and some of the songs haven't aged as well as others, but the title track is timeless. Another highlight was the tune that brought The Kinks back to the Top 40, "A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy," which predated Bad Company's similarly-titled-but-totally-different hit "Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy" by 10 months. Alas, The Kinks only went to #30, whereas BadCo went to #13.
142. Dream Police – Cheap Trick
I think I bought this album in the winter of 1979-80, so it should be about 40-50 slots earlier on the list, but I forgot to include it till now. I didn't like it as much as its predecessor, Cheap Trick at Budokan, but who could resist "Dream Police" and "Voices"? My other favorites were "Way of the World" and "I Know What I Want." ApologetiX spoofed the title track in 2016.
143. Making Movies – Dire Straits
I had bought the "Sultans of Swing" single in early 1979 but hadn't kept up with Dire Straits after that. Michael Ranieri insisted I borrow this, their third album. I wouldn't truly appreciate the genius songwriting of Mark Knopfler till many years later, but it was hard not to like an album that featured "Tunnel of Love," "Romeo and Juliet," and "Skateaway." And that's just side one!
144. Paradise Theater – Styx
I first heard about this album in early 1981 on some radio promo that featured selected cuts. I was a sucker for concept albums, and I loved the contrast between the front and back covers. Of course, our local radio station played "The Best of Times" to death. I borrowed a cassette copy from a high-school friend and bought my own copy years later. ApologetiX has spoofed two songs from this one, "Rockin' the Paradise" and "Too Much Time on My Hands," but my other favorites are "Half-Penny, Two-Penny" and the admittedly corny "Nothing Ever Goes as Planned."
145. Love Stinks – The J. Geils Band
This album's first single, "Come Back," was my introduction to The J. Geils Band, even though they'd been around for over a decade. The second single, "Love Stinks," was the one that got me interested enough to borrow the album from Michael Ranieri. Calling them "hits" would be a bit generous — "Come Back" went to #32 and "Love Stinks" went to #38. The real hits would come on their next album. My favorites on this one were "Just Can't Wait" (the third single, which went to #78) and "No Anchovies, Please" (the flip side of that third single). I bought my own copy in the spring of my junior year in high school.
146. Reggatta de Blanc – The Police
I'd enjoyed the Police's first and third albums, so I figured it was time to investigate their second one, and it became my second-favorite Police release. The opening tracks on side one and side two — "Message in a Bottle" and "Walking on the Moon" — were The Police's first two #1 hits in the UK, but my favorite cuts were "Bring on the Night" and "On Any Other Day." We played one of this album's lesser-known tracks, "It's Alright for You," in Terminal (the first band I was ever a member of), and I think we may have played "Message in a Bottle," too. I know we spoofed it in ApologetiX.
147. The Who by Numbers – The Who
This album is relatively quiet by Who standards, but it contains two of my favorite Who songs, "Slip Kid" and "Success Story." "Blue, Red, and Gray" is a pretty little song, too. ApologetiX spoofed "Squeeze Box" back in our early days.
Note: The albums are not listed in order of preference or excellence, but in chronological order of when they influenced me. Also, just because the albums on my list influenced me back then doesn't mean I give them all a blanket endorsement now.
I started actively listening to music in the early 70's and didn't become a born-again Christian until early 1988, so it's going to be a while before we get to the Christian albums, but there will be many of those when the time comes (literally).