Rock Thru The Bible with ApX: The Psalms Project
Sat., Sep. 24. 2022 1:02pm EDT
In April, we introduced a new feature called "Rock Thru the Bible." Our friend David Michael has been making lists of ApX parodies to go with each week's readings. He's also been creating playlists of corresponding lyric videos for them on YouTube. You can find those video playlists at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt2lHtRV1wziK5v4xYKu9Qw/featured
As we begin the Book of Psalms today, David has cooked up something extra special — at least one ApX parody for every single Psalm! Here's what he had to say about this endeavor:
"As we've been going chapter to chapter through the Bible, matching ApX songs to our Bible journey, I realized I would need to take a slightly different approach with the Psalms and Proverbs. Since songs and Psalms are so closely related, I couldn't help but to read the Psalms and think of ApX songs that can fit within that Psalm. I decided to treat this as its own entity without considering any songs that have been or will be used in the other books of the Bible. I did want to make sure there were no song repeats in the Psalms itself, however.
"Not only was the process great fun and educational for me, it was very interesting to see how nicely these fit. In some cases, the song is closely tied to a particular verse or set of verses but, in most cases, the song is meant to be tied to the theme of the Psalm. I treated Psalms 119 in a special way since it has 22 sections, with each section representing a Hebrew letter. I can explain more about that next week.
"If you are interested in the process used for this, here it is: I first used the ApX songbook and mapped out entries using the Bible verse index. Next, I went through the lyrics of each song in the ApX catalog and looked for when a Psalm was directly referenced in the lyrics. I wanted to be sure a song was used for that Psalm mentioned in those cases. Next, I went through the journal entry for each song and tried to see if any Psalms were mentioned and then used that for more ideas. With each match, I still read through the Psalm to make sure it was a good fit.
"Once the songs were mapped out from that, I still had about over half of the Psalms to determine a good song for. I took each Psalm one at a time, read through it (using multiple translations in some cases), consulted different commentaries and dug into some of the original Hebrew in a handful of instances with multiple concordances. The concordances especially came in handy for Psalm 119. If you'd like to hear some music as you read a Psalm, I encourage you to try out some of these!
"The more I read and study, the more I am convinced of how amazing God and His Word are as well as how much I still have to learn! I will continue to study His Word and deepen my relationship with JESUS in the process. That's why I enjoy doing these Rock Thru the Bible features so much! Thank you for your time and for being a fellow fan and friend."
Here are the songs for the coming week:
Sat., Sept. 24 - Psalms 1-10
1. Pick It Up - Lick It Up - Kiss
2. Babel Babel - Rebel Rebel - David Bowie
2. Excuse Me, Pal, It's Christmastime - Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix
3. God's Presence - Good Riddance - Green Day
4. Psalm Passage at Night - Sunglasses at Night - Corey Hart
5. Quite a God - What I Got - Sublime
6. Here I Go Against All I've Known - Here I Go Again - Whitesnake
7. Seven Romans - Every Morning - Sugar Ray
8. Be Like David Was - Feel Like Makin' Love - Bad Company
9. Oppression - Obsession - Animotion
10. Stupid World - Stupid Girl - Garbage
Sun., Sept. 25 - Psalms 11-20
11. It's All in God's Control - It's Only Rock and Roll - The Rolling Stones
12. Learning Blasphemies - Turning Japanese - The Vapors
13. Bends to Low Places - Friends in Low Places - Garth Brooks
14. Psum 14 - Fat Lip - Sum 41
14. The Atheists - The Way It Is - Bruce Hornsby and the Range
15. Brash, Impulsive - Brass in Pocket - The Pretenders
16. Tom Saw Ya - Tom Sawyer - Rush
17. Singled You Out - Figured You Out - Nickelback
18. Credence Thru Deepwater Survival - Proud Mary - CCR
19. Flurry - Blurry - Puddle of Mudd
19. I Feel the Earth Proves - I Feel the Earth Move - Carole King
19. Psalm 19 - All I Need - Jack Wagner
19. Telescoper - Under My Wheels - Alice Cooper
20. Gimme Helper - Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones
Mon., Sept. 26 - Psalms 21-30
21. Crazy Little King God Loves - Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen
22. The Jews' Lost Hero - Juke Box Hero - Foreigner
23. Shepherd's Paradise - Gangsta's Paradise - Coolio
24. Messiah - Desire - U2
25. Humble Heart - Hungry Heart - Bruce Springsteen
26. Rollin' in the Yeast - Reelin' in the Years - Steely Dan
27. Bad Dad - Bad Day -Daniel Powter
28. Can't Fight This Kneeling - Can't Fight This Feeling - REO
29. The Man Born to Scale the Mountain - The Man on the Silver Mountain - Rainbow
30. Psalms Come True - Song Sung Blue - Neil Diamond
Tue., Sept. 27 - Psalms 31-40
31. How You Rewind Me - How You Remind Me - Nickelback
32. Goodnews - Footloose - Kenny Loggins
33. He Spoke - The Stroke - Billy Squier
33. Something from Nothing - Nothing from Nothing - Billy Preston
34. Back Intact - Back in Black - AC/DC
34. He Hears Me - Be Near Me - ABC
35. Lions - Signs - Five Man Electrical Band and Tesla
36. Stupids Stronghold - Cupid's Chokehold - Gym Class Heroes
37. Toughened Up - Tuff Enuff - The Fabulous Thunderbirds
38. No More Mr. Wise Guy - No More Mr. Nice Guy - Alice Cooper
39. Embarrassing Moments - American Woman - The Guess Who
40. Try and Try Again - Flying High Again - Ozzy Osbourne
Wed.., Sept. 28 - Psalms 41-50
41. Blabbed Through the Phone - Bad to the Bone - George Thorogood
42. I Want in That Place - I Want it That Way - The Backstreet Boys
43. You Give Up on Bad Days - You Give Love a Bad Name - Bon Jovi
44. Change Your Tone - Danger Zone - Kenny Loggins
45. Sermon in a Love Song - Heard It in a Love Song - Marshall Tucker
46. Get Serene - Glycerine - Bush
47. Trumpet Sound - Funkytown - Pseudo Echo
48. You Simply Write Down - You Spin Me Round - Dead or Alive
49. Your Money Don't Last - Your Mama Don't Dance - Loggins & Messina
50. Don't Bring Me Cows - Don't Bring Me Down - ELO
Thu.., Sept. 29 - Psalms 51-60
51. Cleaned-Up Heart - Queen of Hearts - Juice Newton
51. Something of Value - Something About You - Level 42
52. Nabal Was a Mean Guy - In the Meantime - Spacehog
53. Braggin' and Lyin' - Draggin' the Line - Tommy James
53. Ignorant Song - Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
53. No One Is Good But One - Only the Good Die Young - Billy Joel
54. Someone Shaved My Locks Tonight - Someone Saved My Light Tonight - Elton John
55. Talk Daily to Me - Talk Dirty to Me - Poison
56. (Don't Fear) The People - (Don't Fear) The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
57. Living, Loving Faith - Living Loving Maid - Led Zeppelin
58. Dumb Questions - Come Dancing - Kinks
59. Dweebs - Dreams - Van Halen
60. Busted God's Laws - Must of Got Lost - J. Geils Band
Fri.., Sept. 30 - Psalms 61-70
61. Bethlehemian Rhapsody - Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
62. Hit 'em with Your Slingshot - Hit Me with Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar
63. Enter Samson - Enter Sandman - Metallica
64. Burly for You - Burnin' for You - Blue Oyster Cult
65. These Streams - These Dreams - Heart
66. Want it Dead or Alive - Wanted Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi
66. We Will Walk Through - We Will Rock You - Queen
67. Offer Your Prayer - Scarborough Fair/Canticle - Simon & Garfunkel
68. Cemetery Came Alive - Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind
68. Didn't Just Die - Live and Let Die - Paul McCartney
68. Died and Rose - China Grove - The Doobie Brothers
68. Rose Up - Roller - April Wine
68. Selling the Dogma - Selling the Drama - Live
69. Book of Life - Walk of Life - Dire Straits
69. Turning a Little Seasick - Dirty Little Secret - All-American Rejects
70. She's Got Cooties - She's a Beauty - The Tubes
Sat., Oct. 1 - Psalms 71-80
71. Matching Punches - Bullet with Butterfly Wings - The Smashing Pumpkins
72. The Very Last City - Paradise City - Guns n' Roses
73. These Books God Made You're Mockin' - These Boots Are Made for Walkin' - Nancy Sinatra
74. Babylona - My Sharona - The Knack
75. Meshach - Love Shack- The B-52's
76. Do You Know What I Dreamed? - Do You Know What I Mean - Lee Michaels
77. Addicted to Christ - Ticket to Ride - The Beatles
78. Don't You Be Like That - Don't Do Me Like That - Tom Petty
78. Selfish Sheep - Self Esteem - The Offspring
79 Jezebel - Just a Girl - No Doubt
80. Killing My Suffering - Killing Me Softly - Roberta Flack
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