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30. The Classic Crime
29. Kaimana
28. Rackets & Drapes
27. Further Seems Forever
26. Everfound
25. Flyleaf
24. Flatfoot 56
23. Project 86
22. Another Dream
21. Rough Draft
20. Skillet
19. Debbie
18. Lindsy Morton
17. As I Lay Dying
16. Dead Poetic
15. Haste the Day
14. The Almost
13. Demon Hunter
12. Family Force 5
11. The Devil Wears Prada
10. Messenger of the Word
9.  Anberlin
8.  Three Cord Wonder
7.  Underoath
6.  Fight the Good Fight
5.  J Smiley
4.  Nick Carleton Band
3.  ApologetiX
2.  Foolish Things
1.  Issachar Prophet

Thanks for playing our game. Start ramping up for the Most Wanted of 2008. Call in your requests to 303-873-1935, or slap us an email on the "order a tune" page right here at http://www.invasionradio.com/!

THE MOST INSANE OF 2008

They're not the Darwin awards. But every one of these stories bore something noteworthy enough to become fodder for Jay's warped brainfood this year on The Invasion. Maybe you remember some of the rants and on-air conversations. We could only whittle the list down to 35 this year-- that's still fewer than one a week of the stories that made Jay push the button

'What is the matter with you people-- are you completely insane?'

35. You expect to need vaccinations before travelling to foreign countries. But tetanus shots as protection against your pursuit? You should if you're going to take part in a Philippine Easter crucifixion ritual. Participants are warned to practice good hygiene when being nailed to a cross. It has also become a huge tourist attraction. WHAT?!!?

34. Pringles potato crisp packaging system designer Fredric J. Baur died this year. He was so proud of his invention he had a portion of his ashes buried in one of the iconic cans. 'Once you pop, you can't stop.'

33. It's like 'Weekend at Bernie's'. Two men wheeled a dead man through the streets in an office chair to a check-cashing store and tried to cash his Social Security check before being arrested on fraud charges. The men left the dead man's body outside the store, went inside and tried to cash his $355 check. The store's clerk asked where the man was, and was told they would go and get him.

32. Talula Does the Hula was rejected as a name by a New Zealand family court judge, and made the 9-year-old girl a ward of the court so her name could be changed. She always had friends call her 'K'. Some other blocked names: Fish and Chips, Keenan Got Lucy, and Sex Fruit. But Number 16 Bus Shelter is okay. All together now: 'What is the matter with you people...'

31. Down on your luck and think being a thief is the way to go? Earlier in the year when commodities surged, scrap metal went to nearly $500 a ton. Thieves began stealing cast iron manhole covers in major cities. At weights between 100 and 200 lbs each, is it really worth the hernia for a lousy $50 to $100?

30. A man in Texas had his eyes on bigger sights. The 21-year-old said he wanted to start a record business, so he tried to cash a $360 billion check. He said his girlfriend's mother gave him the check. He was also charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon and possessing marijuana. Police were probably suspicious because there are already enough gangsta-rap record companies.

29. A new children's book set its sights on calming the fears of kids with parents getting tummy tucks. In the exciting new children's epic 'My Beautiful Mommy', illustrations show a crook-nosed mom with loose tummy skin under her half shirt (she's also fashion-challenged apparently) taking her young daughter with her to a strapping and handsome Dr. Michael. 'Why are you going to look different?' the little girl asks. Mom explains: 'Not just different, my dear ... prettier!' And our self-esteem is built around what again?

28. 2007's top cosmetic surgical prcoedure for men was.. male breast reduction. What? More popular than hair transplants? Yes, Virginia, society has come to grips with male pattern baldness, but the constant chips, ribs, pizza and beer are evidently catching up. Here's an idea. Put down the knife and push away from the table! Go on The Biggest Loser!

27. In Tokyo, Yosuke the African grey parrot flew out of his cage and got lost, but refused to speak to the police when they rescued him from a roof. He was taught to recite his name and address to a stranger willing to help, but completely ignored police efforts. To a veterinarian however, he promptly said, 'I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura,' and also gave his home address and even entertained the hospital staff by singing songs. He just wasn't a stool pigeon, that's all.

26. No plastic surgery for your dog, but definitely on the marketing bandwagon. 100-calorie packs of Doggie Paw doggie biscuit treats. Takes the edge off poor puppy's appetite without overindulging in his owner's self-loathing.

25. Greeting cards for inmates. How does one express just the right sentiment to a loved one in prison? One Christmas greeting says, 'You had the choice to be 'naughty or nice.' And you chose... Oh, well, now you have to do your time.' Ah, that's sweet, isn't it?

24. Another 21-year-old, this one in New Mexico, drunk and leading police on a chase finally drove through a ditch and a barbed-wire fence before stopping. At that point he tried to put the truck into park, but it ended up in reverse and ran over himself when he fell from his open door and the truck's front tire rolled over both his legs.

23. Stupid.com back another year with the holiday's Top 10 Stupid Gifts. Included were the Men's Underwear Repair Kit, the Barack Obama 'Yes We Can' opener, and the Pole Dancer Alarm Clock. Pole Dancer alarm clock?

22. It wasn't just anti-freeze toothpaste or date-rape-drug toddler toys. The Chinese also used anti-fungal chemical dimethyl fumarate sachets in French chairs and sofas that left the French suffering from 'painful eczema and stinging allergic reactions and infections'. During monsoon season, the manufacturer decided they needed to add more sachets. Some contained as many as ten. What's next from China? Plutonium in boxes of corn flakes?

21. Perhaps the first individual President Obama can sit face to face with in diplomacy could be Japan's Doraemon. The country has appointed an animated cartoon and his 'dorayaki' red bean pancakes to convey the kind of future the country wants to build. The robotic cat travels back in time from the 22^nd century and an 'anywhere door' that came out of a fourth-dimensional pocket on his stomach to travel anywhere and to any time they wish. Earlier Japan named Astro Boy as ambassador for overseas safety. Alrighty, then!

20. Jeff Peckman in Denver wants us prepared in case we're driving down the highway and you see a crash of a small spaceship and a car or bus full of kids. That's why he says Denver needs to create an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission. An election in April 2009 to protect both human and alien would itself cost half a million dollars. Oops! Trainwreck.

19. Back in Japan this summer they created a cold drink with that great taste of eel. 'Unagi Nobori' or 'Surging Eel' hit stores just ahead of the country's annual eel-eating season. Many Japanese believe eating eel boosts stamina in hot weather, and the $1.30 drink costs about one-tenth as much as broiled eel, but has a similar flavor. Well, if it's cheaper than real eel...

18. A flowerpot was blamed for destroying a home in Minnesota. Rare spontaneous combustion can happen to pots with the right mixture of soil, moisture and heat. Fire Chief John Maczko said a flowerpot on the home's deck spontaneously combusted after days of high temperatures and humidity, and wind helped the fire grow and spread to the deck and then to the house.

17. In Florida, two men entered a man's home. One held a pistol, the other brandished a knife to the resident's neck. What could they possibly want? 'Give us.. your eggbeater!' Police caught the men outside the home. Together... 'What is the matter with you people...'

16. In 2008 Qwest male field technician workers became upset because a manager gave them urinal bags so they wouldn't have to waste time searching for a public bathroom. The 20-ounce plastic pouch with a one-way valve and funnel that leads liquid waste to a holding compartment filled with a proprietary blend of powdered enzymes, polymers and deodorizers. The Qwest web site says it can save time and boost morale. Oh, I know it sounds appetizing, but isn't this what we have Snapple bottles for?

15. Minnesota had lots of things on the stick at their state fair. But nothing quite like the Pig Licker. Bacon half-strips dipped in dark chocolate and covered with sea salt. Mmm-mm good! Not outdone in California was a fourth-generation candymaker with bacon bonbons, the secret is to keep the bacon crisp not chewy. And in Colorado from the pig-centric restaurant The Berkshire, Peanut Butter Bacon-flavored Truffles.

14. In California, it was BBQ grandma. The family cremated her remains on a makeshift barbecue and continued collecting her retirement checks to more than $25,000 before being arrested on suspicion of embezzlement, elder abuse and disposing of a body without a permit. The woman had been left on her bedroom floor for a week before being cremated in the backyard fire pit. California luau?

13. A man in New Zealand was fined $545 for assaulting a teen with a spine-covered hedgehog. A more serious charge of assault with a weapon- the hedgehog- was dropped. Maximum penalty for that charge would have been five years in prison. It's unknown whether the hedgehog was dead or alive at the time of the attack, but afterward it wasn't looking so good.

12. In Iowa, they throw M&M's. A college student whose friend was being questioned in a hit and run devised a plan for 'sticking up for his friend'. Throw M&M's at the officer. It's nonviolent and it irritates the policeman. That should get the friend off the hook. What do they put in the corn in Iowa?

11. In Michigan, it's a little rougher. A 40-year-old man stabbed his mother in the back of the neck and about an hour later hit a woman in the head with a plastic bag of frozen chicken after they exchanged rude words while he rode his bicycle. She needed five surgical staples to close her wound. Imagine if he used frozen hedgehog. He was later found guilty of the assault. Some people just can't get along with anyone.

10. In the original colony of Massachusetts, a penny saved is a... well, almost a seized house. A 74-year-old blind woman somehow underpaid her water and sewer bill by that amount. Her daughter found a letter from the city saying a lien would be placed against her home unless it was paid. The city collector asked, 'My question is, how come it wasn't paid when the bills went out?' I don't know, maybe she was blind?! A former city councilor later wrote a check for one penny. Mayor Kevin Dumas says the whole situation was blown out of proportion. Of course it wasn't his house.

9. A bank robber in Pennsylvania was thwarted because tellers were waiting for their cash drawers to be filled. The first teller fainted and the next two showed their empty cash drawers. The robber then threatened to file a complaint with bank management. Can you hear his angered voice? 'When I come to rob a bank, I expect there to be cash. What kind of a bank do you people run here? I don't have this trouble with the bank down the street!'

8. An Italian priest and theologian thought a beauty contest for nuns would be a good idea to fight the stereotype they are all old and dour. How about a 'Miss Sister 2008' contest? Web visitors would have a month to vote for the nun they consider a model. 'External beauty is a gift from God and we mustn't hide it.' The contest drew criticism, and he shut down the contest.

7. Maybe it wasn't the gunshot wound that killed President Kennedy. Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, the hospital Kennedy was taken to following his shooting, had bad press this year. A woman waited 19 hours for treatment but never got to see a doctor. A nurse checked her vital signs to assess her level of need, but when she was still waiting after the 19 hours she gave up and went home. Two weeks later she received the bill for $162. 'She's paying for the assessment she received,' said the hospital's vice president in charge of billing. A few days earlier a 58-year-old man who went to the ER with stomach pains also waited 19 hours and suffered cardiac arrest and died. What was his assessment? You'd expect there would have been improvement over the last 45 years, wouldn't you?

6. In Florida, a man used a BB gun to make his getaway after stealing deodorant from a supermarket. A manager caught up with the 23-year-old man at a store next door. When he asked the thief to return the deodorant, he pulled a gun. A nearby school was put on lockdown and a helicopter and dogs were called in to assist with the search when he got away. If a man smells that much, wouldn't it have been easier to let him have the $1.50 stick?

5. An 800-lb monument to the enema was unveiled in the southern Russian city of Zheleznovodsk. The bronze syringe bulb is held by three angels. 'An enema is almost a symbol of our region,' the Associated Press was told. The monument cost $42,000 and was installed in front of a spa. A famous Soviet film comedy 'The Twelve Chairs' says, 'Let's beat constipation and sloppiness with enemas.' The line is posted on one of the spa's walls. Yeah, let's do that.

4. A seller offered official rain from the extended World Series Game 5 rain delay for sale on eBay. 'You are bidding on rain from the same storm system that brought the game to a screeching halt. It was collected no more than 5 miles away from Citizens Bank Park.' Not from inside the park, just from the same storm system. Anybody want some pseudo-famous rain?

3. The Colorado Association of Cemeteries hosted the 10^th Biennial Cemetery Skills Competition last August in Colorado Springs. Contestants were to be judged and awarded on safety, time and accuracy in Interment excavation, backhoe obstacle course, funeral equipment set-up, trailer backing, power blower, and mowing and trimming. Cemeteries throughout the state were represented. Why do we waste our money on a state fair when we have entertainment like this?

2. In North Carolina, home of 'Andy and Barney', five sheriff's deputies used a Taser on a pallbearer when they served an arrest warrant on a man at his father's funeral. Two deputies grabbed him and kneed him in his back before using a Taser on him. One deputy's gun fell out of its holster. Of course. The man had agreed to surrender to authorities after the funeral on charges of threatening his ex-wife. But when deputies approached him at the funeral, he 'went wild' and spat on the officers. County sheriff Sid Causey told the local paper he apologized to 'anyone that was there. Family, friends, relatives... That was a bad decision.' Well, you know, some things just can't wait.

1. PETA's latest campaign is to get Ben & Jerry's to stop mistreating cows in using their milk in B&J ice cream. They would prefer if the company would start using nursing mothers' milk instead. 'It would reduce the suffering of cows and calves and give ice cream lovers a healthier product.' And lots of males an Oedipal complex, or the chills, and really ruin Cherry Garcia and Chunky Monkey. Besides, where would all the milk come from? Volunteers? Hmm? Anyone?

Who knows about The Invasion?

Who knows about The Invasion?

It's all up to you. The Invasion is a secret only you can tell.

If they don't hear it from you, they might not hear it.

And if no one hears, away goes the music you love.

Tell someone about The Invasion this week! 

THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS CERTAIN GRAPHIC NON-POLITICALLY CORRECT CONTENT THAT SOME READERS MAY FIND OFFENSIVE. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Time for a gut check.

Is The Invasion or its music worth a thing? Would it be time better spent for all of us in more productive pursuits? And don't believe just because of who the author is speaking that I'm merely looking for pats on the back or affirmation of a job "well done".

It's a question that should be asked -- and answered -- with a proper degree of prayerful consideration.

The Bible counsels, "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-- think about such things." Philippians 4:8

Now if The Invasion, and the music it plays is worth anything according to the standard this Scripture sets up for Godly living and help, then it should show itself productive, bearing fruit as a ministry in these areas.

Over the last decade, I have heard the discussion turn from "Is this music from the Devil or from God?" to "Is there such a thing as 'Christian' music?" and "Does Christian music always have to say 'Jesus, Jesus, Jesus' all through it?"

One thing I'll have to admit about the old days when the artistic skills still suffered, there was less artistic license about lyrics, and the Devil was credited with the beat, but Jesus' name and Biblical content were adhered to right up front more "religiously" if you will -- is that listeners earned a steady diet of teaching to support them in the concepts taught through Sunday School and could be certain to present material to be used as a launching point to witness, not that this is totally missing today but on the whole seems a bit more muted.

My question comes on the heels of a newspaper article from the beginning of this year, and my own observations which unfortunately can lend some support, if viewed one way, to the antagonist's view from the article.

The story specifically is about Dem Unknown WarriorZ and their concerts in Atlanta-area churches, bringing a "faith-infused version of the hip-hop style called crunk".

Group leader Bennie "Preacha" Foster says, "We take that music, dice it up, we put some Jesus flavor to it and save souls in Jesus' name."

The article comments, "With distinctive baggy clothing, long shiny chains and Foster's mouthful of gold teeth, the group members are often mistaken for thugs."

Foster defends the approach: "We represent harder than any other person. We are born-again, sanctified, delivered in Jesus' name. It's time for some Christians to stand up and represent in the industry and the media."

But does it make a difference?

Detracter Rev. Rodney Turner, a Baptist minister in Atlanta, believes bringing crunk into church isn't right. A pastor for 17 years, he said youngsters can be saved without using worldly tactics. "Does God need new gimmicks? No. Romans 12:2 says, 'Be not conformed to this world.' Are young people turning from things such as their bad habits and fornication after the show?"

Well, how about it? Are concert goers being transformed?

In other words, the central question: Is the music making a change? Is it helping cause its audience to consider their sin, repent, and turn toward God? Is it influencing positively for the Kingdom?

I know this is a question that has much larger context than just the music. The question specifically though still has relevance -- is it making a difference?

What do you think?

Is there power lacking in the music we listen to to change lives, i.e., God is not in it working through His Spirit-- or is there another reason why so many young lives seem not to be affected and transformed more radically by the message when they fill up on a diet of 'Christian' music?

I am being repeatedly saddened of late by witnessing examples of teenagers on the brink of adulthood, teenagers raised in the Church and given benefit of this alternative form of music that glorifies God and could edify the listener in a format that doesn't embarrass next to what "everyone else is listening to," instead reaching an age at which they turn their backs or ignore doctrines of Christ and the Bible as though there is no power, all to be like those around them, instead of refusing to be conformed as the Rev. Turner preaches.

This sounds for all the world like poor, backsliding adulterous Israel who whined before God and His prophet, "Give us a king that we may be like other nations", spiritually turning their backs on God in a time of plenty and God's provisional blessing on the nation.

"Be not conformed to this world." So why are so many of us electing to conform?

One feels the need to experience things in the world.

Another thinks adopting coarse language used in the world does nothing to pull apart from communion with God, that neither such language nor getting drunk is anything that affects their witness before others who should be evangelized, nor will it have adverse effect on the generation following.

One casually has sex in the backroom of the workplace. Asked "why would you do that?", replies: "She was really hot!"

One so craves to be dating that he is willing to talk of moving in together with the girl without benefit of marriage and tolerates her heathen attitudes and Druid philosophies though his upbringing would clearly condemn both.

And all from Christian homes and teachings. All tuned in to the music that should help hold their lives steady, the teaching transforming their minds. All at an age where they are beginning lives independent of Mom and Dad. Most even plainly seeing no compromise of faith in their present state. But each quietly slipping into the mucky depths of the world's sin and evil instead of growing into powerful men and women of God, convincing those around them rather to live as they do transformational spiritual existence.

From whence comes this failure of the message to take rootj and give abundant life?

The Bible is clear, speaking of the seed planted in varied types of ground with varying results. Our world today yields bountiful shallowness, plenteous cares and woes, and persecuted feelings of being different, all seemingly more than up to the task of killing off Life Christ died to make possible.

James 4:4 says: "You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."

"He said to them, 'You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.'" Luke 16:15

"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters." Luke 11:23. With this verse, the NIV Study Bible comments, "The one who does not intentionally support Jesus opposes him, making neutrality impossible." An actual active pursuit as claim to being a follower seems indicated.

The Gospels declare from Jesus' own lips that the person who loves him obeys him and does his commands. We simply can't agree with viewpoints from outside the Church and yet obey Christ. We can't be tolerant, we can't "just get along", we can't silently assent to evil that grows more so all around us without fighting back and taking our stand in front of others. We MUST refuse to ingest the worldly viewpoint ourselves.

Our society lobbies to legalize what it can't control rather than fight for what's right. Examples-- abortion, drugs, gambling. Sometimes it just wants to skirt any kind of controversy which might force it to hold an opinion. Sometimes it wishes to participate in sinful indulgences without consequence. If it pleases, embrace it. Prayer we can legislate out; symbols of Christmas we can ban from the public stage. Instead legalize drug possession, then complain about crime and sue over deterioration of health in areas where meth labs reside and deadly chemicals are released.

Support stem-cell reseach with embryonic stem-cells from "unwanted non-humans" out the back of clinic doors, and turn on the tears over needless tragedy with emotional pleas for great human beings like Ronald Reagan, Christopher Reeve, and Michael J. Fox. Their lives -- aged, damaged by their own actions, or merely a charismatic actor that "it's just so sad to see this happen to" -- are obviously worth so much more than the potential life that will never be realized tossed in the dumpster because of selfish interest that "because of archaic laws will now never be able to help anybody".

Legalize homosexual rights, distracting with the claim failed marriages are the real crime.

Jesus upheld the truth of God, saying, "But at the beginning of creation God made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and ... the two will become one flesh." Mark 10:6-8. The two -- male and female. Not "the two" according to sexual preference, or the way you were born. In the book of Romans, "God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones." Romans 1:26. If there is any homosexual tendency born in a man, it is the result of sin and man's willful rebellion against God and His order.

Recently, a newspaper article reported VP Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter and her partner are expecting a baby. "The vice president and Mrs. Cheney are looking forward with eager anticipation to the arrival of their sixth grandchild." (Have they determined who the mother is?)

Family Pride Executive Director said, "Unless they move to a handful of less restrictive states, Heather will never be able to have a legal relationship with her child." Really? So Heather fathered this child then? Remarkable. I wonder how she was able to generate the sperm. Why do you never hear THESE stories on Jerry Springer?

Are heterosexual divorces right, then, because I claim homosexual relationships are wrong? These are not my claims anyway. They are the Bible's claims; we are merely called to uphold the truth as God has given it. Jesus castigated Pharisees by saying that Moses allowed divorce because of "the hardness of your hearts", but "in the beginning it was not so." One of the greatest debating tools used to condemn Christian faith stances is to point away from the topic and point out failure in the Christian's own life. Failure is failure, and both failures can be equally destructive. Simply because one sin is wrong does not let another sin off the hook.

But, "'Which of them will love him more?... Her many sins have been forgiven-- for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.'" Luke 7:42, 47. Of how much do we perceive ourselves as having been forgiven, if hearing the Word presented in various ways including our music produces no increase from our living?

I believe there are so many voices, so much noise, constantly bombarding and crying out for our attention from the time we wake up to the time we go back to bed at night, that often we can't possibly hear the "still small voice" in the wake of the tumult around us unless we WILL ourselves to become "separate" from it all because of our knowledge of how much has been forgiven us. And I believe affluence breeds the sense of self-sufficiency that lies and destroys our consciousness that all we have or ever will be given is owing to the riches that come from God's own hand because of His love for us.

I firmly believe that in a society as richly blessed and materialistically affluent as ours, the lust, the flesh, the eyes, and the pride of life rises up even and especially in the Christian home and makes the offspring particularly vulnerable to feeling like they're missing the shiny baubles and the Big Lie the Devil presents to all mankind to get the race to forsake the worth of God in favor of worshipping virtually anything else, but ultimately Satan himself.

But this is Skillet's meaning in the line from their song, "I'm everything you've wanted... surrender your love... What you got, what you want, what you need gonna be your savior. Everything's gonna crash and break." What captivates you sooner or later is evident, and whatever it is will be your "savior", that which you worship.

Yes, we listen, but only with our ears, not with our hearts of stone, not with ears attuned to hear the voice of our Master and follow only Him. "'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving'. Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." Isaiah 6:9,10

In the end the music is nothing, The Invasion is nothing. God alone is good, and unless one chooses to internalize the one thing that is needed, then this is just entertainment that keeps your ears dull so you will not have to hear the voice of God ever calling you to "come out from among them and be ye separate." Then what is good will bring about death instead of life, just as Paul said the Law did in the Jews. It pointed out man's inability to be good and so condemned him.

So the music that speaks life testifies, and those who listen but do not follow are condemned. As Jesus said of the Pharisees: "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains." John 9:41

So, how about it? Does grace come alive in you when you listen to the show? "Are young people turning from things such as their bad habits and fornication after the show?", as the Rev. Turner asked? Some I know I would have to answer, "No."

Write to me. Respond to this rant. What do you think of The Invasion? Does it minister? Is there worth in the songs you hear played each week, or in the show? I'd like to hear what value you think there is from this and any stories of transformation you can testify to from the songs we play and the weekly show we bring. -- Jay 

____________________________________

What's That Say?

What arE the woRds the beCOmiNg thE ARchetYpe song saYs @ 11:45 th1s SatUrdAy when it wilL "luLL yoU aWaY"?