What’s funny is Christian rock, except it’s Jewish.
I was at the Boogie last week and there was some guy doing a live set that kicked off with a hey-Cleveland-do-you-wanna-RAWK version of “Esa Einai” (Psalm 121) that was so weird that I had to just stop and, like, look around at all the bouncing kippot and secular Israelis. When he moved later to a sway-and-hold-your-lighter-in-the-air metaly ballad thing and I realized that the refrain everyone was singing along to was “×”×¡× ×” בער” (the bush was burning”), I began to get really creeped out. Torah can be and should be and is part of every aspect of one’s life, but by my accounts that can take a lot of forms, not just gettin’ jiggy with pasokim. The fact that it was only mediorcre musically was also a factor, but still–I was never really into that whole Moshav Band/Blue Fringe phenomenon. Some Jewish musicians are genuinely talented, and then they can pretty much get away with whatever they want, but I guess what bothers me about this is that it felt so contrived. Here we are, worshipping Hashem through the mighty korbon (offering) of the booty shake, knowing that when we rock, we rock for THE LORD.
Dunno. I love songs that have God in them, but when it feels more organic and less like canned, pseudo-pious frumrock.
Of course, I’m a total hypocrite, because their version of “Shir HaMaalot” was really boppy and I totally had to hop into the middle of everything and start singing along. So you know. Snark and its discontents.
ks here…
Have you seen the movie “Saved”?
Pokes fun at the Christian version of some of this stuff…very funny in parts (predictable & contrived in others, but overall worth watching).
I heart your blog here:
I love that film Saved it is very good!
Jerusalem Syndrome I LOVE the way you talk about describe the gig:
“…. look around at all the bouncing kippot and secular Israelis. When he moved later to a sway-and-hold-your-lighter-in-the-air metaly ballad thing and I realized that the refrain everyone was singing along to was “×”×¡× ×” בער” (the bush was burning”), I began to get really creeped out. Torah can be and should be and is part of every aspect of one’s life, but by my accounts that can take a lot of forms, not just gettin’ jiggy with pasokim…..
……Of course, I’m a total hypocrite, because their version of “Shir HaMaalot” was really boppy and I totally had to hop into the middle of everything and start singing along”
LOVE IT!
Dear Anon–thanks for your excellent words!
KS–ya, count me in for enjoying Saved too, even though it did get all sappy and Mandy-Moorish at the end….
hey, by the way, I love your blog… discovered it through jewschool, which I read often.
for me, the fact that I don’t really know Hebrew kinda helps with that kind of music. it’s easy to forget that it is in fact the jewish version of the prom scene in “saved”, with equally brainwashed fundie fans.
I’m not Jewish, but I had a religious experience (sober) the first time I listened to Phish doing “Avenu Malkenu”.
I did. It makes me cry.