A Logical Improvement

Alchemy synth is now a part of Logic Pro X



And it's a free upgrade!!!!

Yosi Piamenta Z"L

Jewish rock guitarist Yosi Piamenta passed away this week.



Here's the first of a series of videos of a great show he played at Wetlands in the mid 90's



Yosi Piamenta live at "Rock for Shabbos" at the Wetlands 10 24 94 part 1



Here's some writing about him at Tablet and the Forward...



Rocker Yosi Piamenta, Who Wowed Crowds with His Soulful Electric Licks for Four Decades, Dies at 64



Yosi Piamenta, a Virtuoso Guitarist Who Reshaped Jewish Music

Hankus Netsky Profiled

Hankus Netsky in Hadassah Magazine.

Aaron Alexander's Klez Messengers

Check it out! Nicely done, boys!



Aaron Alexander, Michael Winograd & Patrick Farrell | Aaron Alexander & the Klez Messengers

The Title Says It All

Streaming Music is Ripping You Off — Cuepoint — Medium

Oy, Jewschool!

Meanwhile, over at Jewschool, Daniel Sieradski posts an anti-Matisyahu screed, "Thoughts on Matisyahu and BDS." Personally, I think Sieradski ought to have mentioned that he had a close relationship with Matisyahu, including designing websites for him when Matisyahu was starting out. That would also be the time that Matisyahu was performing in "Unity sessions" with anti-Israel Palestinian rappers.



At the very least, it'd have been intellectually honest for Sieradski disclose this in his piece. Update: Check the comments too. Even Jewschoolers ain't buying Sieradski's nonsense.

Vox-Splains Matisyahu

The Matisyahu Israel boycott controversy, explained 

Time for Matisyahu

The Problem With Disinviting Jewish Rapper Matisyahu From a Concert in Spain

What A Twisted Geveb We Weave

Ironic Inversions: Rare Soviet Yiddish Songs of WWII | In geveb

Spain Still Hates Jews

Spanish fest cancels Matisyahu gig over refusal to endorse Palestinian state

That's My Jam!

‫שירת העשבים השוטים- רינת גוטמן מארחת את המסיח‬‎

Ortho-rapper Rinat Gutman is back and she's mad!

More on Lipa

Vos Iz Neias: Israeli Radio Station Bans Lipa New Song “Bueh, Bueh”



This quote could easily be applied to this project. "Schmeltzer noted that while Jews tend to be trailblazers in many fields, they tend to settle for second best when it comes to the arts."

More Lipa Controversy

Life in Israel: Lipa pushes the envelope, possibly scoffing at Rav Chaim Kanievsky.


Seems manufactured to me. At any rate, now having heard several tracks off the new album, I'm definitely not a fan of this stuff. I can appreciate good EDM, but this isn't it. It's formulaic, no interesting timbres, solos, or arrangements. A shame, because if Lipa wanted to do the EDM thing right, he could've hired top EDM producers easily enough.

This Song Will Give you A Lift!

Life in Israel has the details

We Love Lipa, But...

... his current musical direction is not compelling. See for yourself here: Lipa’s New CD Set For Release – New Single

Sean Altman is Mourning John Stewart

Avraham Fried Greit Zich! אברהם פריד גרייט זיך – Single

Avraham Fried Greit Zich! אברהם פריד גרייט זיך – Single

Levy Falkowitz Debut Album Sampler

A lot of new Chasidic albums being released this season. This one sounds like it might be a nice hybrid of trad. and contemporary stylings. Falkowitz is a very good singer.

When Dumb and Dumber Taught Seminary

How a Student Schooled the Principal on Hilchos Shabbos: Part 1 | Tales Out of Bais Yaakov

 

How a Student Schooled the Principal on Hilchos Shabbos: Part 2 | Tales Out of Bais Yaakov

Ouch! Sending The Band Home!

Watch a club owner kick Finley Quaye off stage during a sucky performance.

Rav Henkin on Carlebach Minyanin - Torah Musings

Over at Torah Musings... Rav Henkin on Carlebach Minyanim and other musical davening thoughts.

The OU Likes Tablet K

Lipa Schmeltzer Can't Stop. Won't Stop.

A Day in the Life...

...of Lipa Schmeltzer, Ex-Ultra-Orthodox Celebrity.

Squeezed!

Take her to the bridge, throw her overboard... How Squeeze seized the keys to their back catalogue.

Notation Notions

Interesting... To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade? A Notation Software Update

Senior Set List

Played a dinner for a shul with a largely senior population.



They requested line dancing.



Here's the request list.

Shalom Aleichem - Regesh

Turkish Kiss

Hinei Ma Tov - MBC

Hafachta - Avraham Fried

Chiribim - Oif Simchas

Adan Doeg - Avraham Fried

Revach - MBC

Numa Numa

Electric Slide

Rashi's Nigun - MBD

Hadegel Sheli

Adone Olam - MBC

Cotton-eyed Joe

Am Echad - Ari Goldwag

Fulfill Your Tefilah - Benny Friedman (Never had a request for this one before)



Felt like a Bat Mitzvah. One of the younger (20's) guests came over and requested that we play a game of Coke/Pepsi.

From the mailbag...

Reuven A. Stone writes:

In memory of the Three Boys who were murdered last year in Israel, Shloimy Bluth and I wrote,
recorded and produced a video tribute called "Can You Hear Us," which is now on Youtube.

We humbly submit to you this link in hopes you will post it and keep the memory of these
boys alive.

Thank you!

Finn

An interview with Ben Finn, co-founder of Sibelius [Part 2 of 2]

Why Do I Think There's More To This Story?

Anonymous Ultra Orthodox Contestant Shines on Israel's 'X Factor'

Lack of Familiarity Breeds Contempt

Lipa Schmeltzer:  Now I Know How I’d Answer The New York Times

Holy Rock!

Over at the Wall Street Journal... Israeli Rock Music’s Spiritual New Sound

An Interesting Approach!

A producer started a GoFundMe page so people who pirated the album can pay for it.



Pay for the music you like! by Naftali Schnitzler - GoFundMe

Maybe The Etz Hada'as Was An Apple Tree

Apple Shines Spotlight On Unsigned Artist... Who Doesn't Exist

Bass Kol!

‫"הסנה הבוער מצפת" - שולי רנד מארח את אהרן רזאל‬‎

This Does Not Look Good!

תחקיר: כך ניסה איש עסקים להפיל את הרב ריסקין



Several familiar names show up here. And to think I thought the minor lack of honesty/payment issues I've had to deal with recently from one office were troubling. Ouch!

UPDATE: Some details are at FM, "Top Modern Orthodox Rabbi Files Countersuit Against Enemy," but the entire story is laid out in the Hebrew Makor Rishon investigative article posted above.

Team (Lorde) Yiddish cover by The Technicalities

‫מי שהיינו -חיים גולד Chaim Gold‬‎

‫'עבודת הניגון' בקבלת שבת יחד עם חיליק פרנק - ישיבת עתניאל‬‎

A shiur on the "art of the nigun" from a master!

Shlock Rock w/Maccabeats - Minyan Man (Acapella)

Bar Kochva/The Last of the Mohicans Mashup‬‎

What if someone made a Bar Kochva/Last of the Mohicans dubstep mashup?

Sizzle Reel for One of My Fave Bands

Biz Hundred Un Tzvontsig!

In the NY Times... an Irving Fields (of Bagels and Bongos fame) profile.

She's Bringing Out The Cholent Tonight!

Film Ban?

Over at Failed Messiah... Hasidim Ban Ex-Hasid Luzer Twersky's New Film, Felix And Meira



Personally, I'd be more impressed if FM had any actual info about which community this happened in, who was behind the ban etc.

The Grateful Dead/Jerry Garcia Hebrew Project

Sagol 59 & Ami Yares - The Promised Land



Check this out!!! Hebrew translations of classic Dead tunes.

▶ ‫ניגון מקדש מלך -הרב ישאל מאיר לאו ורביעיית "הלב והמעיין"‬‎

Simply gorgeous!

 

Pro Tip

If you're going to play a gig for one of those singers who gets all sweated up during his shows and doesn't carry a wallet... get the cash BEFORE the show. Bonus pro tip: Skip the post gig hug too!

I'll Take Six of These! מחרוזת פסח

"Midnight Escape" / "Bachatzi Halayla" by Yehudah Katz

Twas Brillig and the Matzo Balls Did Gyre And Gimble in the Wabe

Loz 'Em Geyn!

More Passover Acapella

It's A Plague of Passover Videos

Time for Passover

Watch a Passover-Themed A Cappella Parody of ‘Uptown Funk’ | TIME

Oy(d) Yishoma!

Breslev Hassidim Dancing In Jordanian Airport Stirs Massive Controversy

Interview with Lew Soloff Z"L

Did you know his first trumpet teacher was one of the Epstein Brothers?

Hava Nagila in Paris

Big In Japan!

הניגון ואפילו בהסתרה בשפה היפנית

Devaluing With A Nigun

Elizabeth Kirshner writes a nice piece,  Praying With Zusha.

Oh Today, We'll Merry Merry Be!

Bibi Remixed!

איך טאנץ דו טאנץ

A Freilichin Purim

Israeli Filmmaker Caputures Ultra-Orthodox Devotion and Debauchery

‫נהפוך הוא - ג'אש לאופר ו"אחיות השחר"‬‎

That Should Be Leksikon!

Lexicon of Klezmer Terminolog

VeNOYhapoch Hu!

DJ School!

Chain, Chain, Chain

Harry Maryles on Skver and Lipa in Breaking the Chains

Gothamist: Why Are Ultra-Orthodox Rabbis Trying To Destroy This Hasidic Pop Star?

The title of this Gothamist piece says it all... Why Are Ultra-Orthodox Rabbis Trying To Destroy This Hasidic Pop Star?



Great article!

If I Were A Rich Man....

In the Jewish Week... Modern Orthodoxy Has Its Costs – Not Just Financial



Here's a taste:

In Israel, the head of a yeshiva is also a best-selling and award-winning novelist. In America, we get excited about holiday-themed a capella parodies, newly (and briefly) observant reggae artists, paint-the-parsha programs, and novelists who do not know the difference between Tosafot and the Tosefta but know and use a dozen Yiddish words for genitalia.

A reader might be tempted to ask: “So what?” As long as Modern Orthodoxy is producing rabbis, teachers, and enough big earners to support the community’s infrastructure and personnel, does it matter that it is not producing playwrights, poets, and pianists?

It does. Modern Orthodoxy is, or ought to be, a rich and challenging lifestyle that profoundly engages a broad range of thick Jewish experiences. It has a great deal to offer the Jewish world and the broader religious world. But without a vibrant creative class, there is no communal unpacking of that experience, no collective expression or catharsis, no mirror to show the community how it looks from the outside, no legacy of the community’s unique contributions.

More peeps

"The Idiot Photographer"

This peep has no self awareness or self control.

When I play smaller events, with just a keyboard/small system, I occasionally skip bringing a mixer, and simply plug my vocal mic into my keyboard and run the keyboard directly into my powered speaker setup. Up until today, this worked great.

However, when this peep is around, the system has a flaw. That is, when the Bat Mitzvah girls friends are singing their a cappella song about the Bat Mitzvah girl on the mic, said peep will go over to the keyboard and start banging on it along with them. The few 'out of key' right handed flute notes were annoying, but when he triggered the full-on arrangement of "Te Pego" with his left hand, the presentation was done.

Since there's no way to have the volume of the keyboard off, when the mic is being used for presentations in this setup, musicians need to keep a sharp eye out when the "Idiot Photographer" is on the gig.

"The Hapless Videographer"
This peep, who is not connected in any way to the "Idiot Photographer" will show up at the gig and discover that his camera isn't working. Naturally, he won't have a backup. Also naturally, he won't tell the client or call a colleague for help. Instead, he'll walk around pretending to shoot the gig, only to tell the client at the end of the gig that something went wrong and the footage is gone.

"The  Clueless Booker"
This person will text you to ask if you're available. When asked what time/where the gig is, there will be no response. A few days later, they'll text again, asking about availability. The same exchange ensues and they drop the conversation again. A few days later... same thing. Just had three with one such peep, but had more with someone once.

An interview with Daniel Spreadbury

Over at Sibelius Blog An interview with Daniel Spreadbury

I'm very much looking forward to seeing what they come up with!

Its All About That Jingle

Over at Tablet... Kars 4 Kids Rakes in the Buckz—by Not Touting Its Jewish Beneficiaries

Shark in the Mikve, er Super Bowl

Ha! Super Bowl halftime show review: A professional dance critic defends “Bad Left Shark”

Robert Fischmann Quartet Plays "A Sukele"

From the mailbag....

Yosef Peysin writes: 

We are Rogers Park, a Chicago-based Hassidic Folk/Pop band that just released this video today as part of the national NPR "Tiny Desk Concert" competition. 

This song is based off of the old Russian Chabad niggun - "Nyet Nyet Nikavo", which is the concept of "Ain Oid Milvado", and this is how we interpret it in English.

The song is called "The Holy One" 

Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6B2Jd1PBpM

A Fire-Breathing Turtle and Chazzonus

That Time When Pink Floyd....

... put an anti-Semitic sax player on their new record. 'Circumcised trolls' row: Protest after Jewish jazzman has Nottingham concert cancelled.

One of the Greats!

Pete Sokolow Is the 'Youngest Old Guy' of Klezmer

שגריר ג'אז: "בכל מקום מחפש את המוזיקה"

Nice Hebrew interview with percussionist Gilad Dobrecky: שגריר ג'אז: "בכל מקום מחפש את המוזיקה" | Xnet.

Politics Makes Strange Bedfellows

"The Voice" finalist Eyal Cohen, who wouldn't perform with women during the program, and whom the producers graciously accommodated in this regard, and Ofir Ben Shetrit, the daati finalist from last year's season, released a political single in support of Naftali Bennet's "Bayit Yehudi."



‫ג'ינגל הבית היהודי 2015 - אנחנו אחים - אייל כהן ואופיר בן שטרית‬‎

Divorced So She Could Sing

Details at the Forward's Sisterhood blog... After Ten Years, Finding Her Voice

The Peeps Are Out In Force Again!

Vafilu Behastore Guy
 No need to describe this peep. The name says it all. He needs to sing "Nigun Hastore". Many times. Doing the A section four times each time through. Then doing the B four times to end. Genug!

The Dinner Singer
This peep comes over with a laundry list of songs he wants to sing during dinner. Four-five at least. Wishes Chayil, Carlebach's Mimkomcha. Yes, the long one. Vezakeini. And more.Naturally, the chosson "wants" him to sing. For real. Also naturally, he wants to finish his set with "Nigun Hastore." Of course, with all the extra repeated bits, as his friend we just mentioned likes to do it. Oy!

Varda Gets Her Groove Back

In Tablet... "How One Orthodox Woman Got Her Musical Groove Back"

Quoting

In the Telegraph... Beware the wrath of the church organist – musical revenge is sweet.

Jesus Was a Dreidel Spinner

Jill Sobule sings all about it!

Extended Album Covers

I always knew there was a shark in that pic... Famous Album Covers Extended To Reveal Background Action

Salome's Mechitza

Over at Tablet... Using Dance To Explore The Mechitza's Effect On Women

Classic Film Score Sunday

Extreme Shabbos!

What's the Tempo?

Tempo Tap

Where Are The Musicians On This?

And, where is President Obama? The EU leadership?



Sick hit parade: Another Palestinian song praises running over Jews 

Food for Thought...

How To Make Streaming Royalties Fair(er)

He's Not Going to Shacharis!

Shema Yisrael!

You can make a Kiddush Hashem anywhere... even on a pop TV show! Really!

Sing, Sing, Sing

Over at Cross-Currents... Aaron White pens "TheThree Cardinal Sins of Singing".



With regard to Sin One - I agree with him about the song "Zochreini Na". In fact, I wrote about it in 2003 here. However, it is not Mordechai Ben David's song. It is Dov Shurin's. Credit/blame where it is due.



With regard to Sin Two... Mr. White judges people based on superficialities, ironic given his intended point about moving past superficialities in choosing music. One can be sitting in a hotel in the "lap of luxury", seemingly jovially,  while still having serious personal issues on one's mind, whether health, financial, or faith based, any of which would well connect to those lyrics.



I think the underlying issue is not only, as the author notes, that singing is vertical rather than horizontal. I think it is also connected to the fact that so many are Jewishly illiterate, and even after years of Day school, cannot translate the words to many popular songs, and certainly can't identify the textual source. I can't even estimate how many times frum singers have asked for the source of lyrics to a new (or rediscovered) "in" song like "Mareh Cohen" (from the high point of the Yom Kippur musaf).

Too Much Free Time - Frum Shred Guitar Edition

עשרת קטעי הסולו גיטרה הנבחרים של המוזיקה החסידית

Hava Nagila for Real

Sharon musician Daniel Gil wants you to hear real Jewish music.