From the mailbag...
Michael writes:
Per the “hashgacha for music” discussion – I think that would pose a very interesting problem. For Kashrus, the mashgiach or machshir has to know halacha. He doesn’t have to taste the tarfus; he just has to be able to ensure that a certain set of conditions is met. For putting a hechsher on music, the machshir has to be familiar with ‘goyish’ music, doesn’t he? Or should we just rely on his innate sensitivity to “know treifene music when he hears it?” And what happens if a catchy-but-goyish song gets stuck in his head and he hums it while he’s sitting over a sefer at home? Either way, the treife influence permeates the pure, holy, Yiddishe home! How insidious this evil music is!!
Per the unusual music choices at weddings – I have a cousin who ‘walked in’ to “Can’t turn you loose” – more commonly known as the Blues Brothers Theme. Fun song. Bass-line intro gets people jumping, then the horns come in – it was really quite enjoyable.
I have to give a lot of thought to the “five or ten defining albums of JM” discussion. I’m not ready to post on that yet.
Jordan writes:
I email you my response to lab rabbi's post:
One of the reasons for the faux Chaisdic accent in the song "Yodi" is for the same reason we sing Oovinee Malkynee. We are not faking Chassidut, but emulating the original recordings. On occasions where we MO performers try to pronounce the lyrics the way we might normally, the crowd often urges us to go back to the recorded style. Also, since a number fo thje songs are written with the Chasidic pronunciation in mind, there are often problems with getting the words to fit the rhythms of the melodies. This is also true in a number of Carlebach tunes. When I try to sing with correct grammar, the words end up on the wrong parts of the melody.
Shmuel writes:
In response to your post on weird songs by weddings, I recently played a Mitzva Tantz, where by the fathers dance with the Kallah the requested song was "Can you hear me" from Yentl.
Yosef writes:
Well, I noticed you posted my question about the top-5 or top-10 "must haves" for any jewish music collection, but none of your readers have chimed in yet. What gives? This should be something right up your alley (and theirs). Please don't take offense to my words, I'm only being sarcastic, but I'm keeping an eye out for feedback. Keep up the good work.
E writes:
Speaking of strange requests, how about the theme song from the TV show Angel? Its not the kind of song you would think to hear at a chuppah for a bridesmaid but the specific request was to drop all the music except for the slow violin melody in the backround of the song. Alone it is a nice piece.
