The Answer, My Friends, Has Been Blowin’ In the Wind

So that the answer to my ApologtiX Song Challenge will no longer be, as Bob Dylan puts it, “Blowin’ in the Wind“, let me reveal the solution to how many song references I used in my post ApologetiX — Health Food Ear Candy.

There are 21 by my count: 9 “greatest” songs, the main example, its parody, and 10 references to popular songs cleverly woven into the fabric of the prose. (If you include the 9 links to Apologetix parodies that are in the Notes, that makes the total 30. However, there’s some ambiguity as to whether they should be a part of the count or not. Sorry about that.)

If you haven’t already, and you’re up for the challenge, head back to the post first and try to find them all before reading on.

Also, a big “Congratulations!” goes out to Walt of Walts Writings! His guess was the closest! (Well, actually no one else was brave enough to even attempt it.) As his prize, I encourage you to pop on over to his blog and check out some of his work! One of my favorites is “There Comes a Time“. Well done, Walt!

The Obvious Direct Mentions:

• 9 “greatest of the great” song examples.
• 9 accompanying ApologetiX parody links to YouTube.
• “Bohemian Rhapsody“.
• The parody “Bethlehemian Rhapsody“.

The Not-So-Subtle Refrences:

1. “But, start to pay attention to the lyrics, and… he-he-he-he-he-he, wipeout!” “Wipeout” has been covered by several artist, but most notably, at least to me, is The Surfaris and The Ventures.
2. “…that peaceful easy feeling would be gone, gone, gone, woh-oh-woah, woh-o-ohh.” Did you recognize “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” by The Righteous Brothers?
3. “And they called it, Puppy Love“ is straight out of an eponymous Golden Oldies song by Paul Anka.

The Cleverly Hidden References:

1. “My toe was tapping in sync with the joyful rhythm of my heart” borrows the song title of “Rhythm of My Heart” by Rod Stewart.
2. “So it saddened me that the lyrics, time after time, were something less desirable than…” “Time After Time” is a song by Cyndi Lauper.
3. “…and with that short list we’ve only just begun” is from “We’ve Only Just Begun” by Carpenters. (I didn’t forget the “The”. This was back when it was in vogue to not have “The” as a part of your group name. It’s a little awkward if you ask me, but, to rip on KC and The Sunshine Band, that’s the way they did it back then, uh huh, uh huh, but I don’t like it, unh uh, unh uh.)
4. “…would weigh heavily on my heart and that peaceful easy feeling would be gone…” alludes to “Peaceful Easy Feeling” by Eagles. (Technically no “The” again. Yuk! The things we have to put up with in the name of uniqueness.)
5. “And it felt like the best thing that had ever happened to me!” is a reference to the song “Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me” by Gladys Knight & the Pips.
6. “…even though they’ve cleaned up the lyrics, it’s still rock and roll to me” is, you guessed it, “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” by Billy Joel.
7. “…when it comes to ApologetiX, they always play their funky music right.” “Play That Funky Music” by Wild Cherry.

And the Winner Is…

Congratulations again Walt! Well done!

How about me? Did I miss any? Let me know in the comments if you think I did. It wouldn’t be a big surprise at all if I referred to one without even realizing it! (Like I just did right there. I didn’t even realize for a moment that I was alluding to another song, “Baby What a Big Surprise” by Chicago.)

Oh, and by the way. You get a bonus point if you caught the cartoon reference.

• “YES! Look at that! They did! They did!” is a play on the classic Tweety Bird line “I did! I did taw a putty tat!“

How did you do? Let me know in the comments so I can give you a high five!

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A Special Thank You

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