I have been influenced by so many awesome blogs and podcasts out there. When I started blogging about Jewish music there were few. Now there are many. I hope they will continue to grow. Here is some of my favorites. If I missed some, let me know.
Jewish Music Report - A great siote with news, interviews, audio and CD reviews focusing on Hasidic and Yeshivish music.
Teruah Jewish Music - One man's quest to discover a wide mix of Jewish music.
Klezmer Podcast - In depth interviews with klezmer and other world beat Jewish musicians around the world.
Shir Bliss - A new podcast and live radio show from Florida from what appears to be a young hippy hasid who plays a mix of rap and Carlebach inspired new Jewish music.
KlezmerShack - The original klezmer blog with plenty of information on klezmer and Yiddish music.
Blog in Dm - A blog that cheerfully disects hasidic and yishivish music including the famous wedding peeps section of indiosyncratic people you meet at a Jewish wedding.
Metal Israel - A great resource for Israeli and Jewish heavy metal.
Shemspeed - Concert promoters, record label and blog that promotes and awesome mix of great new hip Jewish music including rap, rock and jazz.
The Cool Jew - Lots of awesome videos of Avraham Fried and other hasidic musicians.
Let me know if I missed any in the Talkback section!
Iyar 19, 5769, 5/13/2009
Write Israeli music articles for Spin Magazine!
Spin Magazine is now looking for global correspondents to write articles for their new Spin Earth web site. This site features contributors in English from all different countries. So for all you Israeli / Jewish music fans out there here's your chance. You may notice that in the Middle East section, on Tel Aviv is listed and not other cities. This is because there are currently not enough contributions from Jerusalem for them to list it yet. So help spread cool Israeli and / or Jewish music and write a review of your favorite concert or latest CD. Spin Magazine is similar to Rolling Stone and based in the United States. Spin Earth has hundreds of volunteer writers from all different countries. For more info click here. http://www.spinearth.tv. To become a correspondent click here: http://www.spinearth.tv/write
Nisan 18, 5769, 4/12/2009
Funky Jewish Songs for Pesach
From heavy metal to punk rock to traditional ethnic table pounders, Passover has some great music. Here are some more modern renditions of the holiday of matzah.
Although still in his 20's, Yerachmiel "Rocky" Ziegler has done it all from metal to hasidic boy bands to starring in Uncle Moishy tapes. Although his latest release is a collaboration with Aaron Razel, his music released as the duo Yossi and Yerachmiel spawned a great version of Mah Nishtanah. Here it is downloadable for free from Sameach Music. Here is my article with Yerachmiel on his band Optimystical.
David De'or, (also spelled David D'or) the Israeli pop singer with the operatic voice, has a new version of Vehi Sheamda. Here he is singing it for Arutz Sheva's Israel National TV.
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Yigal Bashan - This old school Israeli singer began in the 1970s with Uzi Hitman. He has a great version of Mah Nistanah. I couldn't find it on YouTube, but I did find a video of him wearing an awesome red and grey suit.
Hebrew University's Jewish Music Resource Center has some great super old mp3s downloadable for free. So if you're into 1940's Yiddish versions of Passover songs, click here. The JMRC has saved a lot of random musical traditions and released them on CD. The albums include Music of the Mountain Jews and Jewish Women's Songs from India.
Rehov Sumsum is the Israeli version of Sesame Street. In this vintage episode, one of the muppets gets drunk on Passover wine.
Reva L'Sheva - This Carlebach inspired rock group mixes Jewish prayers with a Grateful Dead rock feel. They have a version of Dayenu that we have in rotation on our live stream on Israel National Radio.com, but I can't actually find it on any of their albums. If you know, leave me a talkback. On their latest, they have a light reggae tinged song in English called Jumpin' in the Red Sea. You can hear it on their MySpace site here.
The singer for this particular track is Adam Wexler, who before moving to Israel, used to play with Prince. When I interviewed him he said he never actually played with Prince, only some of the Prince band members. I'd like to think he was just being modest bcause I think it's cool to have one of Prince's musicians roaming around Israel playing Passover music.
Yehoram Gaon - One of most well known best loved Israeli performers, still going strong since the 1960s, has a Passover album featuring Hebrew as well as Ladino, the language of the Spanish Jewish community from the pre-Inquisition days.
Amaseffer - Their CD Slaves for Life is the first in a trilogy about the Passover story. This Israeli progressive metal band won Best CD on USA Progressive Music. You can real my full length interview with them here, and download the podcast here.
Yidcore - They have versions of Dayenu and Vehi Sheamda in the traditional melodies done punk rock style. But Yidcore doesn't just yell and scream. They add little touches making them more then just parodies. I interviewed Yidcore last year when they toured Israel for Passover. They wore matching t-shirts for each of the 4 sons in the Hagaddah. It was cool seeing people mosh to Dayenu. Here is a photo of us outside the Yellow Submarine in Jerusalem. I'm the one in the back looking normal, not the one holding the Israel National Radio sticker. The t-shirt on the guy with the red dreadlocks says "The People's Front of Judea." If you know what that's a reference to, leave me a talkback.
Tuvia Bolton - This American born Israeli singer has a great rocking version of Echad Mi Yodeah. Here's an Arutz 7 video interview with him.
Lars Fredricksen - The lead singer of Rancid has a song called The Ten Plagues of Egypt. If anyone knows if he has any Jewish connection, let me know. I like it when he chants about "lice, frogs and hail". In the 1990s Rancid had a song called Time Bomb and the Steits Matzo factory can be seen in the video.
Metallica - Creeping Death - Released in 1984, this song is about the Ten Plagues, mostly the slaying of the first born. None of the members of Metallica are Jewish. I supposed the history of the Jewish people just makes for great punk rock and heavy metal music. Although my friend Eli says that Purim is better for punk rock and Passover is better for metal. You can leave a talkback if you agree.
Remedy - This Jewish rapper is known for his striking Holocaust hip hop song Never Again originally released on the 1998 compilation Wu Tang Killa Bees. Exodus is from his second album. On his web site he has a new unreleased song about the history of Israel.
Matt Bar - The self described Bible Rapper got his start teaching Hebrew School. The students became more interested when he would rap the lessons. Here's his Moses Rap produced by Doogree studios in Jerusalem.
Mimuna - This holiday is celebrated by the Jewish community of Morocco. It means Emunah, or faith, and comes the night Passover ends. It features traditional Jewish Moroccan food such as baklava, mufletta and other pasteries. Each food represents something, so if you need a blessing or a certain thing, go to a Mimuna celebration and they can tell you which food corresponds. Let me know in the talkback section if you know of any great Mimuna music I can play.
If you have a favorite Passover song I missed, leave me a talkback!
Ben Bresky is a music journalist and recording engineer living in Jerusalem. On The Israel Beat Jewish Music Podcast he interviews the latest Israeli and Jewish artists and covers a wide range of styles from Carlebach, cantorial, klezmer, Israeli trance, Mizrachi, rock, Sephardic, hasidic and everything in between. The Beat brings you live in-studio performances with up and coming Israeli musicians as well as interviews with the stars of the Jewish music world. Plus your music requests and the free CD give-away air live on the show. Past interviews have included Matisyahu, Avraham Fried, and Miri Ben-Ari. The Beat broadcasts live every Tuesday from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Israel time on Arutz Sheva - Israel National Radio.
