I used to do a radio show with Tzvi Turner who turned me on to a lot of hasidic pop. Because Tzvi lived in New York, he personally knew a lot of the top performers such as Shloime Dachs, Mendy Wald and Yosi Piamenta. I thought for sure a guy named Yeedle could never be cool. But as soon as Tzvi played the first couple seconds of Yeedle IV, I liked it. It was like a mix of acoustic guitar and hasidic pop. Catchy and cool. You can listen Tzvi's show at http://jewishcommunityradio.org/

Today I saw a bus in Jerusalem with a big ad for Yeedle's 5th album. It's enjoyable. Not too complicated. Very listenable. One track is a slow song in Yiddish. Most of the album is in the same upbeat, fast danceable, catchy style with a horn section, some sprinkles of electric guitar and some light electronic beats. But mostly the good old tried and true hasidic pop you know and love. The stuff pioneered by Yeedle's father, Modechai Ben David.

Yeedle's grandfather, David Werdyger (also spelled Dovid) is a well known cantor and has released several popular records. Although I never heard of David Werdyger growing up, when I listened to one of his albums I recognized many of the melodies from synagogue and the Shabbat table. David has an interesting story of how he was saved in the Holocaust by a song. It can be read here: http://heichalhanegina.blogspot.com/2007/04/saved-in-holocaust-by-song.html

One last comment on the new Yeedle album. The cover has this moving image thing. It's like a hologram or something. I thought it was so cool, I went around the radio station showing it to everyone (and interrupting the news anchors). But I can't figure out what exactly to call it. Is it a hologram? Or what? Whoever can give me the correct technical name of it wins a free CD. You can email me at bbresky@israelnationalradio.com.