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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
March 2, 2004
/9 Adar, 5764
NEW PURIM PARTY MUSIC!
By Paul Wieder
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The main theme of Purim, says the Megillah, is "v'nahapachu," or "turnabout." And the main activity of Purim is… making noise! So what better time to explore some of the new Jewish music that is turning the (turn)tables and standing music's Hamans on their triangular ears:
The Rabbinical School Dropouts ear-popping CD, Cosmic Tree. The standout track is its irrepressible opener, "Dung Gate." The Arabic-tinged big-band sound is made by, well, a big band: 10 musicians on 18 instruments, ranging from a trombone to a tabla to a toy piano. Fun is the objective, as evidenced by the titles themselves: the swinging-in-the-shuk "Mosquito from Megiddo," the lounge jazz of "Nuclear Jet Set," and spacey tango "Warp to Level Three."
The Dropouts record on John Zorn's envelope-shredding Tzadik label. So does Paul Shapiro, whose album Midnight Minyan is interested in exploring traditional Jewish liturgy through jazz. There are no vocals, but you will find yourself doing mental karaoke to "Ma Lecha Hayam" from the Hallel, "Sim Shalom," and "Aitz Chaim He." Shapiro experiments more with these melodies than say, Jon Simon, but so ends up in more dissonant territory. He also plays some niggunim not often thought of as songs: Haftarah blessings, the Misheberach, and the Amidah.
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Back in 2000, a DJ known as Zoom Golly put out an elctronica-dance album called Let My People Go-Go. Along with Wally Brill's The Covenant from the previous year, it opened up the idea of laying Jewish vocals (in Brill's case, those of classic cantors) over electronica tracks. Go-Go features Golly's booming voice and is the more dance-able of the two. The songs on it are evenly mixed between Israeli folk songs and Jewish traditional; Golly weaves them with reggae, disco, Latin, and other rhythms and both acoustic and electronic instruments. The sound is that of a kid happily discovering which of his old toys work with the new ones he just got for Chanukah.
Somewhere between Brill's work and Golly's is that of Zohar's onethreeseven. Not to be confused with the American-Jewish band Zohar (from Putumayo's Jewish Odyssey), this UK outfit twines traditional cantorials like Yoselle Rosenblatt's with sophisticated electronica tracks. Where Zohar's work expands on Brill's is in the use of modern and non-Jewish singers like Zehava Ben and Oum Kalthoum, and in their cutting and pasting these vocal tracks themselves. The album is also more subtle than either Zoom Golly's or Brill's, but matches them in playfulness.
Still, in that area, few can match the rambunciousness of YIDcore, the Australian Jewish punk band. Their second release, The Great Chicken Soup Caper E.P. is more of their speaker-immolating desecrations of favorites from the Jewish holiday and campfire songbooks. The top-of-the-lungs delivery, the faster-than-speed guitars, the turn-that-junk-down drums… this is a Spinal Tap done by a Jewish doctor (in fact, the lead singer is a lawyer). The last track is a live cut of "To Life" done at the legendary CBGB's, so they have "cred," too.
If punk is "from" that club, then David Krakauer is from Krakow, and that is exactly where he cut his most recent album, called, simply enough, Live in Krakow. Krakauer, a veteran of the Klezmatics, plays klezmer clarinet. But his music is anything but old-fashioned; his band, Klezmer Madness!, features an electric guitar- and on this concert, he was accompanied by samples and beatbox provided by turntable prodigy SoCalled Krakauer switches between klezmer bulgars and street beats, and sometimes combines the two. Less than an hour's drive from Auschwitz, Krakauer summons up music ancient and anguished, futuristic and freylach. Am Yisrael chai, indeed.
Purim is a time when, as a great Jewish poet has said, "The first one now/ Will later be last… For the loser now/ Will be later to win." It is a day of masks, surprise endings and turnabout. So this Purim, surprise yourself and your guests with some of the endless supply of innovative Jewish music. You just may end up enjoying the whole megillah.
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JWR contributor Paul Wieder is a public relations associate at the Jewish United Fund and a columnist for
JUF News. Contact the author or the magazine by clicking here.
© 2004, Paul Wieder
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