Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Yuval Dayan-Don't Say



This radio song is exactly what I needed for these very tense days. There's something very comforting in Yuval's voice and something very enjoyable in her contradiction of innocence and maturity. Yuval wowed the judges of 'The Voice' with Idan Raichel's "Remainders of Life" and she's about to release her debut album featuring intriguing collaborations with Amir Dadon, Lea Shabat, Idan HavivGilad Kahana and Dudu Tassa (the last two wrote and composed this lovely tune which fits Yuval perfectly). I'm also curious to hear the 5 songs on the album which Yuval wrote and composed on her own. Yuval also just started her army service in the military band and you can follow her army adventures over here.

All the nights I had with you
I stored the warmth of your body
For the bitter winter
One smile of yours that I remember
Won the forgetfulness
In the cold rain
Don't say don't say don't say to me come
Don't say don't say don't say to me no
Don't say don't say don't say to me come
Don't say don't say don't say to me to come
Placing my head between the clouds
Hoping for a pleasant dream
In the middle of the day
Every salty second of alone
Is a comma in one story
That will only have a good ending...
Don't say don't say don't say to me come
Don't say don't say don't say to me no
Don't say don't say don't say to me come
Don't say don't say don't say to me to come
All the nights I had with you
Brighten my darkness
With your smell

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Yali Sobol and Rea Mochiach-Snow



Tel Aviv is again covered in snow
Couples are skating on the Yarkon
Children are playing on the boardwalk
Sculpting with ice a castle
Sidewalks are spread with salt
The city snow plowers are broken
I am standing by the little window
Looking at backyards

Snow in Tel Aviv, not to mention snow in Israel, was always a fantasy. It was something you dreamed of when you were a kid watching American television. Up until last week we weren't even sure that a regular rainy winter would arrive, making it a bit (just a bit) hard to enjoy the warm and sunny weekends. To say the truth, I found last week's reports on the approaching storm too dramatic-okay, so there will be a lot of rain and maybe some snow in Jerusalem, you'd think this was a hurricane...But then the rain came and with it the heavy snow in Jerusalem and the North and it was clear that this wasn't a regular winter storm and it was actually much worse than expected. It's quite shocking that there are still 20,000 households without electricity since Thursday and that Jerusalem is still besieged by the snow (update: the main highway to the city just reopened a short while ago for public transportation). I woke up yesterday morning to discover that there was a power outage but thankfully it only lasted for about an hour-I can't even begin to imagine what 3 days without power in the freezing cold feels like, especially when it comes by surprise. And yet, the snow is so beautiful and these photographs of snowy Jerusalem are stunning. It's as if the white blankets all the dirt and troubles, even the massive news coverage is comforting, "What did the news talk about before the snow?" a friend asks. In Tel Aviv we didn't have any snow but we did have a dramatic hailstorm and for a short while cars and roofs were covered in white. I had to get to work and had no choice but to take a taxi. The driver, an elderly Russian man, was silent and we both stared at the icy roads and remains of hail, well aware that it was a special moment. When I got out of work of course everything vanished as if it had been a dream.
This song opens Yali Sobol and Rea Mochiach's album "El Dorado". I think it's one of the last albums I bought, from a friendly cd store that no longer exists, in a town I no longer live in. I love how it sets the tone of the album and I was so happy to see that someone finally uploaded it to youtube yesterday. The album is made up of little stories and the next one is this gem 'Approaching Tel Aviv' which captures the exact feelings of greeting a loved one from the airport, after he or she has acquired a world of new experiences and in a way beginning together a fresh page, leaving behind everything that had happened before. Yali, the son of playwright and director Yehoshua Sobol, is also a composer and novelist but best known as the vocalist for Monica Sex. The band just released the clip for their latest single "Again descends a grey khaki light" and I love how it makes a simple get-together with close friends for a picnic by the Yarkon so magical and nostalgic. Rae Mociach is best known as Berry Sakharof's musical partner, from the breakthrough 'Signs of Weakness' which he produced to 'Adumey HaSefatot' in which the two gave a new interpretation to poems by Ibn Gabirol. He's also the head of 'OrchestRea' and a very talented producer, which I think especially comes to play here with his album which he produced and arranged, and specifically with this song. I love how there's something magical and temporary about it, just like the snowy weekend-in a few days everything will go back to "normal" and we'll have something else to endlessly talk about.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Danski - Overton



In the sandcastle there's a snow storm
Arising here, arising there
Half an overtone in my space
Generating sounds, crumbling pain with flowers
I have an overtone where I used to have a heart,
I have a black hole where I used to have a heart

In a black castle there's a thunder storm
Arising in it, arising there
Half of it only mine in the space of years
Punching holes, breaking down pain with plants

I have an overtone where I used to have a heart
I have a black hole where I used to have a heart

The rain has finally arrived and I can't think of a better soundtrack than Danski's new album '11'. I first came across Danski's e.p a couple of weeks ago and I was waiting for the full single on youtube, as well as a rainy day to go with it. I was delighted to discover that the e.p is now a full album-it's so wintery and beautiful, perfect for a day like today.

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Arik Einstein- Fly, little bird



It's already been four days since the death of Arik Einstein but a part of me still has trouble believing it's all real. I'm so used to Arik hiding away from the spotlight, it always felt like he would forever be at home, away from the public, and then one day he might make a surprise appearance at one of Shalom Hanoch's late night shows at the Barby, or maybe at the more intimate Ozen Bar. But that day will never arrive and we are left with the interviews, the archive footage (like this golden clip from the cult comedy Lool) and most of all the music. In the last few days so much has been said about Arik Einstein and what he symbolized for us and what his passing means for us, but I just want to focus on a few highlights which offer a glimpse into his world-a world we all wanted to be a part of and in a way has found a permanent place in our hearts.

My little birds have already left the nest
They spread their wings and flew away
And I, an old bird, remained in the nest
Hoping that everything will be fine

I always knew the day would come
When we will have to part
But now it came to me so suddenly
So what's the wonder that I'm a bit worried

Fly, little bird
Soar the skies
Fly wherever you want to
Just don't forget
There's an eagle in the sky
Be cautious, little one

Now we are alone in the nest
But we are together
Hold me tight tell me yes
Don't worry, together it's fun to grow old

Fly, little bird...

I know that this is how it is in nature
And I too left a nest
But now that the moment has arrived
So I'm a bit choked up in the throat
I'm a bit choked up

Fly, little bird...

(thanks Ulpan la Inyan for the translation)

I've always interpreted this song as the perfect graduation song-it fits how a parent probably feels when his (or her) child finishes kindergarten, elementary and high school, although the association that comes to my head is right before the army when parents have to let go of their kids who have no choice but to grow up into adults (sometimes much too quickly). Although I spent most of my army service away from home I only felt I was "leaving the nest" when I began University and lived on my own learning how to deal with bills, clogged pipes and the perfect rice/water ratio. I always felt that this was a song for parents but this week it became a song for children and anyone who grew up with Arik's music. There's really a sense of emptiness which caught us completely off guard even though we always knew the day would come to part. The first time my throat got really choked up (and eventually I let a few tears shed) was when I saw the clip of Shlomo Artzi announcing the death in the middle of a concert. The crowd spontaneously began to sing Artzi's "Where can be found more people like that man?" and after that they decided it was best to end the concert and go home, Shlomo later thanked them on facebook for being so considerate and sensitive. "Now we are alone in the nest, but we are together"-so many people came to the memorial service in Rabin Square and so many people stayed there late at night singing his songs to take part in the collective sadness and shock.

My first memory of an Arik Einstein song (or an Israeli song for that matter) is "You and I" which I first heard as a child when I was living abroad. The first notes are so...Israeli. Only a singer as cool as Einstein could sing such a naive song in such a sincere way.



You and I we'll change the world
You and I, then all will follow
Others have said it before me
It doesn't matter-you and I will change the world.

You and I will try from the beginning
It will be hard for us, never mind, it's not so bad,
Others have said it before me,
It doesn't matter-you and I will change the world.

I first heard "San Francisco" as part of the golden Arik and Shalom in Concert album. It's so poetic, like a modern "My heart is in the East", capturing nostalgic feelings for home that catch you by surprise when you are somewhere distant, and also the longing to share a special experience with someone you love.



Sitting in San Fransisco on the water
Washing the eyes with blue and green
It's beautiful here in San Fransisco on the water
So how come I feel far away

In front of me the geese, swimming between the boats
And the Golden Bridge is beautiful like in a movie
It's a shame you're not with me here to see
You would say that from here you're not going back

Sitting in San Fransisco...

Seeing Dr. J rip the hoops
And Kareem Abdul Jabbar touching the sky,
It's a shame you're not with me here to see
It's so beautiful in San Fransisco on the water.

Sitting in San Fransisco...

Suddenly I want to go home back to the swamp
To sit at Kasit and laugh with Moshe and with Hetzkel
Give me a piece of Tabor give me a piece of the Galilee
I love falling in love with the small country of Israel
Warm
And wonderful

Sitting in San Fransisco...

Einstein was a talented songwriter but he was also a very talented performer in that he was able to take texts written by others (in this case Avraham Chalfi) and perform them with all his heart, from the point of view of the speaker in the song. I sometimes watch the music talent shows and what bugs me a bit is that the contestants all have beautiful voices-but that's about it. They emphasize in their songs their vocal abilities but you sometimes get the sense that they aren't really aware what they're singing about-and for me it kind of ruins the experience. Einstein was famous for his modesty and I think it really shows here in this beautiful song-he knows how to harmonize with Yehudit Ravitz and Korin Elal, looking here like their older brother, and he knows how to emphasize the text and really tell the story. He does all this with effortless charm making you feel as if he is singing only to you.



Adorned is your forehead with black gold
(I don't remember if they wrote that in a song)
Your forehead rhymes with eyes and light,
(I don't remember if they rhymed like that in a song)
But for whoever you'll be
His life will be filled with song.

Your pink robe is fleecy and soft
You always wrap yourself in it at night
I wouldn't want to be your brother,
Nor a monk praying to the image of an angel
And seeing gloomy dreams of holiness
And in front of him you, a woman...

You like to be
Sad and silent
Listening to a story about something close, something far
And I, who not once will be watching you quietly
There is no sound and words
Forgetting everything about others.
My soul lies within the walls of your home
And captivated between your walls
Separated from me
While I in my body part from you.

My dream is stretched out like a carpet at your feet
My beloved steps over its flowers your paces
Wear your pink robe at night
I will soon come to you.

And your forehead adorned with black gold
Will approach my lips like a rhyme to a song
So I'll whisper in your ears until the morning, until the light
Like an intoxicated man...
Your forehead adorned with black gold.

(thanks Boomerang for making this rich text much easier to translate)

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Malca Baya - State Of Love And Trust



A few days ago I came across the amazing cover of 'Jeremy', made by members of Orphaned Land (who are rapidly taking the world by storm), as part of the massive Bring Pearl Jam to Israel movement. You can read a bit about what Kobi Farhi has to say about it over here at Metal Hammer (respect!). I first came across Bring Pearl Jam to Israel with the cute "Eddie card" clip-over here an Addie card has a much more serious purpose-it means that you have signed your name as a potential organ donor. In any case it was a very original idea to endorse a fictional "Eddie" card showing your support for Pearl Jam. Pearl Jam were always one of those fantasy bands whom you dreamed of seeing live in Israel even though for obvious reasons the chances were always very slim. But radio host Ben Red, the person behind the campaign, realized that there is a very huge fan base in Israel ranging from 30 somethings who grew up listening to 'Ten' to teens who see in Pearl Jam something they can't find in other bands these days. What really made waves over here and also overseas was a very sweet and surprisingly emotional cover to 'Alive' made by kids from the 'Olam Hamuzika' Music School. What was very special was the enthusiastic support from Pearl Jam fans from around the world. Since then Israeli artists such as Geva Alon, The Blue Pill and now Orphaned Land have made covers to Pearl Jam classics lending their support. But my favorite has to be this one by the charming band Malca Baya. I love how they gave their own interpretation to the song and the video is so beautiful. There have been rumors that Vedder has been contemplating on whether to perform in Israel and has even met with Roger Waters to discuss the matter. I can only hope Vedder will come across what Gert from K's Choice said in response to criticism performing in Israel: "If all of us, everywhere and around the world (not just artists, I mean everyone and from every profession, and yes: activists, too) would decide only to work in countries whose leaders are righteous and pure at heart, there would be very little activity, and no progress whatsoever". (Gert's full response can be seen here, when you scroll down to Sep. 13, 2010). Whether Pearl Jam will come to Israel or not, you can't deny the strong community that's been formed and the wonderful music it's bringing with it.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Cannons-Invisible Cities



22. That's the age of the members of Cannons and it's exactly how their music feels. It really captures that period when you're after the army, maybe also after the traditional after-army trip abroad, figuring out what's next in life, waiting for something big to happen. I've been waiting for the debut album to come out for quite a while and it was well worth the wait! I don't think I've heard such a cohesive and well produced (and also foreign sounding) Israeli English album since Umlala's excellent StandGoShowShout (who by the way have a new E.P coming out soon). What really makes this band special is not just their distinctive sound but also their very thoughtful lyrics, which can sometimes be easy to miss under the upbeat music. I'm looking forward to the bandcamp release just so I can closely read the lyrics but in the meantime here is the full album from youtube-37 fantastical minutes which will make your day a lot more brighter.

There's nothing romantic in waiting for this feeling to pass.
I cannot find the charm in spending so many nights alone.
Devices are not effective, again it's hard to breath.
A few calls and my soul is already spread upon the operating table.

The letters are hiding in the tired facial creases.
I owe you so much of this.
Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever stop thinking about you.
I wonder, no longer able to understand clearly what I'm missing.

When will time be in our hands again?
Love, I don't ask for much.
Do kids still jump into the river from the bridge?
Weaving strings, over their backyards, staying up all night,
crossing fingers, staring down,
waiting for something big to happen.

My own blood doesn't scare me anymore.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Document - Where You Are



A couple of years ago I wrote about a very impressive band called "Modern Tapes" and I was recently wondering where they had disappeared. So I was very happy to get a mail from this band which once was Modern Tapes. Document describe themselves as a mixture between post-art punk, shoegaze, new-wave and alt rock. They "tend to write songs with unconventional structures and with a sense of urgency. The music video is a 2013 psychedelic montage of odd and impactful GIFs gathered from across the interweb (some originals were also created)". When watching the stunning video you do get a very strong feeling of urgency as well as chaos. Their sound reminds me a bit of Cloud Nothings (another band who changed their identity) only it's much more rushed and also more complex. With Cloud Nothings I sometimes feel like I would love their music much more if I were, say, 16 but here it's just right for me at this moment and I don't see myself growing out of it anytime soon.

Here's a translation of an interview they gave to a Hebrew blog:

You guys started as Modern Tapes and drew some local attention, why did you change your name?
When we were Modern Tapes playing in the bombshelter, we were sort of creating our own musical landscape down there. Most of that material was written before there even was a complete band. Eventually both our playing environment and the music we were making started to feel very claustrophobic. As we began playing and writing live as a band, we began exploring new creative places. The songs became much more daring, much more free. By the time we moved into the Junkyard the sound and dynamic of the band had changed. We started exploring new writing styles and even new roles within the band. When it came time to record, it was pretty clear to everyone that this would be a new band.

Modern Tapes had a more 80's sound. Would you say you're now more into the 90's thing?
We don't look at it like that. It's not about bring back an era. The evolution of the band has more to do with the fact that we've been playing together for more than 3 years. What interests us now is writing songs that take you through a range of emotions-songs with interesting arrangements that move and twist and turn. From desperation to catharsis, sometimes in the same song. We're looking back, we're looking at what's happening now, and we're thinking of where we want to take things. But in the end we're just trying to write good songs.

What have you been listening to lately?
A lot of Fugazi, Galaxie 500, Neutral Milk, The Clash. 'Yeezus' is probably my favorite record of the year so far.

Why don't you sing in Hebrew?
I grew up in the States so English is really the only language I'm comfortable writing in.

So you moved into the Junkyard. What is that?
It's our rehearsal space in South Tel Aviv. It's surrounded by all these locksmith workshops. There's always a bunch of junk around. At night it gets really sketchy. There are the hookers on the corners turning tricks and a bunch of dealers hanging around. You feel like you're playing to all the sinners and junkies and invalids. And for Sophie [the dog] and her new puppies.

Where did the idea for the video for Where You Are come from?
It's a bunch of gifs we gathered this past year-internet junk really. The idea was to create a sort of montage of the current state of the internet through gifs. We wanted it to have a cinematic or vintage feel but also feel very current at the same time. It seems very appropriate for our distraction-craving culture. For a while we were calling it 'internet head'. We went through a lot of versions of the video to get the feel and timing right.

'Where You Are' is part of a 6-song EP that will be released in early January. Good luck guys!

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Didi Erez feat. Dana Ivgy-For me it's enough



Winter is over, we opened a window, soon we'll put away blankets in the closet, a quiet morning, we were able to sleep, I get out of bed first.
You smile and it makes me laugh, today you are good to me and for me it's enough.
An open house, the floor is cold, from the shutter a good wind enters, this day will pass by slowly.
There's not a cloud in sight and that's saying a lot, you smile and it makes me laugh, today you are good to me and for me it's enough.

A perfect song for a day like today, a lazy and sunny Saturday after yesterday's dark and cloudy preview of Winter. It may be better suited for Spring but I don't really care as today feels just like Spring (and even Summer). I love Didi Erez's vocals in this song and Dana Ivgy complements them in such a lovely way. Erez is best known for his radio hit "Every Look" but he is also a well respected composer for dance, theatre, film and television. He's also one of the original band members of the epic "Girafot" playing the drums until he left in 2000. These days they're celebrating 15 years since their debut (and now cult) album "Talking with a Chair" including reunion performances with Erez and keyboarder Rotem Dror. "For me it's enough" is Erez's second single after "Breathe" from his upcoming and highly anticipated new album "Berlin".

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Itzik Yona-Mountain Song



I came across this magical gem while browsing through local gig listings and I'm so happy to have discovered it. It goes perfectly with the wonderful weather we've been having lately, reminding us to fully appreciate the present moment. It's so calming and peaceful and captures the spiritual journey so many Israelis embark on in India and the far East. With so many Israelis travelling there it's a bit of a surprise that there isn't more influence in local music, but then again so many travel to clean their heads and come back ready to face the next part of their lives leaving the adopted Indian (or Eastern) influence behind. I've found that with spiritual music you have to be in the right mindset to really enjoy it but when you are it's so rewarding. Here's a beautiful clip of Yona on the sitar playing Indian music with other Israeli musicians.

Gazing around the hills
Deciding to stay a little longer
But the fire already wants to go to sleep
If we won't freeze to death we'll live and continue from there

Impressions from yesterday
Like a cloud now we're going down
And the tear is a tear of laughter
The same principle argument you were arguing

People say hello
A shining street and the traffic flows around
Everything passes by nothing stops
And Anata explains to me that the trip is over

Till then the sun will come back again
Till then the sun will come back again
Till then the sun will come back again

Friday, October 18, 2013

The Back Yard-Voicemail



Yesterday marked 18 years since the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, by the hebrew date. To say the truth it's a bit weird marking the hebrew day-the date that will forever be remembered is November 4th. It's also weird to realize that the students commemorating him in school ceremonies were all born after his death and some of them are children to parents who were "Noar HaNerot", the youth who mourned not just the death of their leader but also a certain death of their innocence. It's amazing how they're just about a decade older than me, and at my age it's not supposed to be such a big difference, but I feel so distant from them and I think it has a lot to do with the assassination and the rift it created in the already fragile society. I don't have any significant memory from that day (I was very young and living abroad) but I do remember how in high school my teacher showed us a very difficult video clip showing the right wing extremist incitement before the murder as a result of the Oslo accords and the bombings it brought with it. We were all shocked by the verbal violence, including those of us who disagreed with Rabin's views. The clip wasn't a constructed part of the lesson plan and I wonder how many teenagers are exposed to those images today, how many are encouraged to have a thought provoking discussion and learn about the context of the event, not just memorize Rabin's famous quote "violence erodes the basis of democracy".

The Back Yard or in hebrew HaChatzer HaAchorit, is an intriguing project formed by Tomer Yosef and Itamar Zieigler from Balkan Beat Box together with Gedi Ronen from Devek and 1:1 and the legendary lyricist Yankale Rotblit. Rotblit has a reptuar of albums which feature his candid and poetic lyrics: 1978's  "How I Released Jerusalem", wriiten 11 years after he fought in the six day war in which he lost a leg, 1989's "Letters from the Fourth House" (Side A and B here), 2004's "The Country of the Jews" and 2011's "Alol Junction". The truth is I hadn't heard of these controversial albums before reading about them on Kutner's post about this group (though now I'm very curious) and Rotblit is best known for writing some of Israel's most loved songs. Among them are, "It's So Good That You Came Home", "I See Her On the Way to the Gimnasia", "Saturdays and Holidays", "Wooden Horse", "Seeing far seeing clear", "Let Us Grow Up in Peace" and "Our Way" (Darkenu). He also wrote "A Song for peace", first performed by the Nachal Army Group in 1969 and later on November 4th 1995, in the peace rally right before Rabin's assassination. I don't think anyone will ever forget the image of the blood stained lyric sheet.

I first heard this song sometime last month and though I really liked the melody I (ignorantly) dismissed it as a mainstream radio song made for the holidays. But then I heard it again yesterday when I saw that it had entered Galgaltz's day playlist. Probably because of the day's circumstances I suddenly realized what the song was about, or at least what I think it could be about, making it so much more more complex, relevant and also heartbreaking.

It hasn't arrived by now
It won't arrive now
Without "do us a favor"
Understand the situation
It's a matter of air time
A matter of price tag
Now it's on sale

Again you came out as an idiot
You bought an illusion
It can't be
Yet it was
You felt upgraded
You dressed in holiday night
So what's the problem?
Suddenly the magic expired
And the rod to the fish
Said you're mine

What was yours
And won't be any more
What goes with you
And doesn't always come back
An unborn star
You had in your hand
I'm here for you
And if you'll feel lonely
You're welcome to sing
A few notes with me-

Oh my far one
Will you hear my voice

Maybe on another day
Maybe on an occasion
And whoever is in a hurry
Shouldn't open a shop
The sages' words
Are heard in comfort
It was a great pleasure
It was very pleasant
As if you came without
But left with

Oh my far one
Will you hear my voice
It hasn't arrived by now
It won't arrive now
Understand the situation
The turtle is again on its back

*this just in: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4442312,00.html

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

The Flying Baby-I Want You to Love Me



Maybe it's because I spent the day in Jerusalem but yesterday was such a perfect Autumn day-cool and bright. It was so fun to enjoy a few rays of sunshine while wearing a cardigan(!). But today, well it feels like Summer isn't ready to say goodbye just yet and it was one of those days when you faced the heat outside only if you really had to. At least I can enjoy some light summer tunes like this one. When I hear this song and close my eyes I feel as if I'm at a summer concert at the Barby, which is always accompanied by a sense of freedom and sweet escapism. I'm still a bit bummed out that I missed The Flying Baby's reunion concerts this past July (but I had a good excuse as I was abroad) and that I'm going to miss their concert at this year's inDnegev (and I have a good, though not as a fun excuse for that too). The truth is I'm surprisingly okay with not going to inDnegev this year-maybe because I won't be coming from Be'er Sheva but I think it has more to do with the fact that I just feel like I need a break from the festival so that I'll be able to enjoy it again. Two years ago it was amazing experiencing it for the first time and last year it was...okay. The performances were great and I enjoyed spending time with festival friends I don't see very often but something was a bit off and I can't really explain what. Maybe the feeling that in its sixth year it was becoming a much bigger event than it had planned to be-which is great, I'm all for success, especially among independent artists who really deserve it. But still, the atmosphere wasn't the same and I regret not going to the first inDnegev festivals which my friends came back from wide-eyed and with the feeling that they were part of something truly special. Now that I think about it, it's a bit how I feel about Geva Alon. I wrote here about the delight of discovering Alon just before his big break and I can't help but wonder how amazing it would have been to experience in real time the early years of his career with The Flying Baby instead of a reunion show. I've heard people say similar things about bands from before their time but this is much more dissapointing because being a teenager I was at the perfect age to experience them live-I just wasn't aware of their existence. I just realized how 'oy oy oy' this sounds given the fact that their reunion show in July was amazing (here's proof) and the band members may not be in the same place they were when they first started out but they have really matured as musicians. Geva's latest EP is flawless and it sounds like he really found himself as an artist and I guess also in general as a person. This song was recorded as part of material for their third album after Inner World, which had a very limited release, and Pain to Give,which in my opinion perfectly captures the chaotic period of the Second Intifada. The album never happened and Geva went on to a solo career but luckily the band released in June a remastered album of Inner World along with unreleased material. It's one of the best rock albums I've heard in a long time and I almost felt as if I was back in middle school, when I first dived into grunge and classic rock. Almost.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Tatran-Anew



Lately there's been quite a buzz surrounding Tatran but only when I heard this song did I really get what's so magical about them. Much more melodic than their other singles and also more emotional. It reminds me a bit of Camel's magestic 'The Snow Goose' which first introduced me to the wonderful world of instrumental music only it's much more complex and somehow feels like 2013. It's also a perfect soundtrack for this refreshing time of the year when "after the holidays" has finally arrived and it's time to start anew.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

LFNT- I Won't Tell



What an exhausting holiday, and it isn't even half over yet. After a double weekend (because Wed night was Erev Sukkot), I'm not sure if I'm mentally prepared for another double weekend (Simchat Tora, which my family never really celebrates because there's a limit to how many holiday family dinners you can handle) and in between Chol HaMoed which just seems like an excuse to take vacation off from work and go shopping or travelling. I would feel pretty okay about this endless holiday if I didn't have paper deadlines looming over my head getting frighteningly closer. Even going out just to "clear my head" is starting to be accompanied by a guilty conscience which is maybe why I can relate to this video so much. It's quite frustrating not to be able to join the careless party, for whatever reason. L.F.N.T stands for Live Free Not Troubled, Ran Nir's philosophy, which I sometimes need to remind myself to do! Nir is the bassist and one of the founders of the very successful Asaf Avidan & the Mojos. His debut album 'Tales of a Drunken Man' consists of songs he wrote while on the road with the Mojos and immediately after they split up. Listening to the album you can really tell that Nir had a lot on his chest and he's able to express his emotions perfectly through the lyrics and music. This is one of my favourite songs from the album but it works even better when listening to the album as a whole. L.F.N.T. recently released a new single from their 2nd album, which they're currently working on: "What Passes Off for Love" which sounds more musically developed and still maintains the candid lyrics and high energies from their debut. They filmed an acoustic version of it as part of the Indie City Jerusalem project and it's really charming with the tourists and Purim atmosphere. Hopefully that will be a holiday that I'll be able to fully celebrate this year!

Never been to Vietnam, I never fought the war.
Didn't know that living in the city can be such a bore.
One guy plays the trumpet and two girls play the drums.
They think it's pretty clever, but I think it's pretty dumb.
The more I know about tommorow, the less I care about today.
And I've never been so sick in my life.

The people on the streets, they act like fools.
People on the streets, they try to look cool.
Every girl's fashion and everybody's drunk.
Every man has a passion some keep i in the trunk.
Some sink to depression, others only smile.
And I've never been so sick in my life.

And I know all about the world my friend, I do and I won't tell.

I'm a very young man, I'm just twenty five years old.
But I've got all the answers, Yeah I know it all.
I never claimed to be some kind of god.
Yeah, I'm just skin & bones, I'm just flash & blood.
It may upset you every once in a while.
To know that you've been living in a lie.
But ever since I've known and until the day I die.
I've never been so sick in my life.

And I know all about the world my friend, I do
All I know about the truth my friend, I know, but I won't tell!

I've never been so sick in my life.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Dudu Zakai-We Met Again




We met together again
The guys from '67
Yehezkiel, Gidi and Hanan
And the poet too
There was a feeling of no choice
Grey was the color
There was loneliness, the heart was heavy
There was that feeling
As if we were being planted here in nature
I knew then, that you I love

Sing to me my homeland your beautiful songs
How much I loved to sing them during difficult times

We met again the same half-track
From '67
The same smile, the same gaze
The same touching laugh
One was singing softly a song
About Dan and about Beersheva
Another sat absorbed and thinking
And around us the thundering of the night
Nature scowling his face
Irritated by the stranger approaching

Sing to me my homeland your beautiful songs
How much I loved to sing them during difficult times

We met together again
The guys from '67
It was hard, what is there to say
The heart was sad
We knew we'd overcome, simply
We did this for permanency
We knew this despite all the pain
We felt it in every valley
On every mound and hill
We let the ambusher feel it

Sing to me my homeland your beautiful songs
How much I loved to sing them during difficult times

I usually try to post the newest Israeli music but today [note: I began writing this post on Friday morning, before Yom Kippur began] is a day for looking back. Since Rosh HaShana we've been in the Ten Days of Repentance, a time for reflection, and it feels that the New Year will only officially start on Sunday after Yom Kippur. Since Rosh HaShana the newspapers have been filled, alongside current news regarding Syria, with special articles regarding 40 years since the Yom Kippur war, whose importance as a defining moment in our small history as a country seems only to grow with time. I vaguely remember learning about the war in high school-I just remember the key terms: post '67 euphoria, Intelligence failure, the Bar-Lev line...I also remember a school trip to the North and Avigdor Kahalani recalling to us the battles as if it were yesterday, pointing at hills where there were tanks and I just couldn't grasp that this was a former battlefield, it was so peaceful and pastoral. The information about the war feels endless and new items are popping up even today, for example Golda Meir's testimony at the Agrenat committee, released for the first time on Thursday. I was especially interested not really in what exactly happened (although it's one of the most fascinating wars to read about) but its affect on Israeli culture, even today. This article is about the artistic response to the trauma, specifically in recent literature, and touches on collective memory in general. I got a bit lost in all the articles but what did leave a lasting impression on me was the photo albums taken by soldiers, mostly reservists, who brought their cameras with them into the battlefield, completely aware that for some of their friends they photographed it might be their last picture. All of the albums are intruiging and give important insight into what it was really like during the war, at least in "off-time", but a few really stood out for me:
The first is Danny Barzilay Goldstone's. Goldstone heard about the war when leaving the synagogue in Miami and after some difficulty he managed to catch a flight to Israel-and went straight from the airport to the battlefield. Because of his experience in the Intelligence he was recruited to the Jerusalem Brigade which headed towards the Ismailia line. He recalls being impressed with the Egyptian Third Armia's pedant and sharp appearance, which stood in contrast to the Israeli soldiers who didn't shave and maintained a somewhat unkept look. Goldstein's album is so surreal-posing by the bridges of the Suez he looks more like an amused tourist happy to be reuinted with the guys rather than a worried soldier at war.
Another reservist who flew in from abroad is Amnon Horev, who was working in Columbia. Horev joined his troop where he was a commander in the past and they helped rescue the headquarters of battalion 71, while he was still in his civilian clothes. He was able to get hold of an Uzi gun from a soldier who stayed behind because of illness. He recalls Moshe Dayan's visit towards the end of the war and how he turned his back to him. "I was mad at him because we had learned in the Attrition War that the strongholds aren't for stopping the enemy and during the war they'll be evacuated. Up till today I still don't understand why there wasn't a command to the guys to just get up and flee. It would have taken a few minutes and would have prevented hundreds of casualties". He says that the command probably wasn't ordered because of Gorodish, whom he had critiqued in '67, when he came to Horev's troop to lecture about the battle in Jersey and had said about him then "They should kick him out of the army. He's arrogant and dismissive of the enemy". Yossi agreed before his death and said "they should have kicked him out back then".
Another fascinating album is Eran Ronen's. Ronen, who was from Kibbutz Chulda living there with his wife and 7 month daughter, was recruited at 31 and served as a Zelda driver in Brigade 271. He died years later and during the war kept a journal in which he recorded the battles and entertainment performances. IDF archive just released mute documentation of those performances which served as much needed momentary escapism, a bit of which you can see here.
But one of my favourite album's is Tzvi Shiler's not only because of the thoughtful photographs but also because of his recollections of the war 40 years later which give the photos a whole new meaning. Here is a partial translation.

"Saturday, October 6th 1973, two years after discharge from the military service as division sergeant in the Golany brigade. I was a student at the Tel Aviv University, on my summer break before starting my third year in Mechanical Engineering.
I passed the fast sleeping until the hours before noon when I got a phone call from a friend who told me that there was heavy movement on the roads. Geha road, by Ramat Efal, was bustling with traffic. It was clear that something had happened but we didn't know yet what it was. At 14:00 in the afternoon a siren was heard so we turned on the TV and realized that a war had broken out. Later in the day we saw helicopters evacuating the injured to the nearby Tel HaShomer hospital.
On the radio we heard recruitment passwords as if there wasn't a general recruitment. My twin brother, an officer in Combat Engineer, received on that same night a command to report to his unit the next morning. My unit was less organized, and because I hadn't heard from them until the next morning, I drove on my own to the Squad Commanders School in the North. As usual I brought with me my Zurky C Camera, a Russian imitation of Leica, which I received from my father for my school trip in the 4th grade, and has accompanied me since on every trip, in regular service and in reserves.
I saw in photography during the war a mission: to document the people and to tell in photos what we went through. I photographed out of the fear that some of the subjects won't survive the war. For this reason I spared no photos of soldiers, even those I didn't know.
On Monday morning the 8th of October, I arrived with the rest of the brigade soldiers to Rosh Pina. We waited for what was to come while Air Force Skyhawks passed by us on their way to the Rama. Because of a lack of half-tracks we couldn't join the fighting force. The few half-tracks were used by the regular forces who passed through Rosh Pina on their way to the Rama.
At the place a war room for brigade was set up from where the troop's Operation Officers followed the movement of the forces in the first fight on Hermon.
There was tension in the air and it was clear that the situation wasn't good. At a certain point the Operations clerk brought to the war room the list of casualties in the fight on Hermon. The Operations Officer, I don't know his name, quietly went over the list but you could see the shock on his face upon learning the names of those killed.
On the commanding network I heard Raful commanding the forces as if it was an exercise. In his voice it was difficult to tell the proximity of the Syrian forces...We passed time reading newspapers and watching the foreign reporters broadcasting to the world about the war. Yoram Gaon passed by, not clear to where.
The next day, Tuesday, the 9th of October, we put our equipment on the buses and drove up to the Rama. We reached Kilaa ... Once in a while Israeli planes who avoided Syrian rockets flew above us. Major Amanual Hart, whom I knew from my regular service, and who later became Golani brigadier, arrived to the area and told us about the difficult battles taking place at the outposts.
From Kila we moved to a forest by Bukata, and from there we crossed the border in buses on Thursday evening (October 11) or Friday. A strange feeling. We are in the midst of fighting and sitting in an Egged bus...
...From Chaadar we went out to actions in the conquered area and on the way defended ourselves from strikes by Syrian aircrafts. When we received a warning of an air attack the routine was to get off the half-tracks, keep one soldier on the heavy machine gun, spread out in the area and be prepared to shoot at aircrafts, Luckily we weren't attacked.
...On one of the nights I was assigned to replace a half-track commander who was taken to action deep in the Syrian area. On the half-track were regular soldiers from battalion 17 and they were quite indifferent to what was going on around them. I didn't know them and didn't question what they had gone through but I figured they had had enough of battles.
...The last mission in the war was to reinforce troops stationed during the second battle on Mount Hermon on one of the peaks in control of the Wadi descending from the mountain ridge. We carried water, equipment and coats so that the forces on the mountain wouldn't freeze. On the mountain we received two Syrian captives caught on their way from the Hermon post. We shared with them the coats we brought so they wouldn't freeze and brought them down to the camp the next morning.
With the end of the fighting we stayed in the enclaves and performed additional tasks such as assisting forces on one of the peaks over Bet J'aan. In the first round of releases to home after the war we passed by a Syrian convey destroyed in east of Kunetra by the Israeli Air Force.
After more than six months in Reserves I returned to my studies and completed them with success after two years. I worked for a few years before I was sent by the Aerospace Industry to study a master's degree in Robotics at MIT. The studies lengthened to a PhD and a position at UCLA.
After more than 20 years I came back to Israel in October 2001 to establish the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics in Ariel college, which recently became Ariel University, and in which I am a professor today.
The photographs of war take me back 40 years and they connect the hazy fragments of memory from that bloody war. It's strange to see in the pictures war "routine" which does not reveal the horror of that time. Moments of fear have been pushed out and forgotten and made the way for memories of brotherhood between fighters, mutual aid, and common fate in a seminal event which will not be forgotten for a long time.

The feelings of brotherly compassion Shiler describes are what I felt when I heard this gem by Dudu Zakai. He highlights how despite the difficulties there was a sense of solidarity and somewhat positive outlook which is very admirable. The song is part of a collection of songs released in the mark of 30 years after the Yom Kippur war and features a variety of songs from the period, some of which went on to become classics.
It reminds me of where I was 10 years ago on Yom Kippur. My family decided to take advantage of the long weekend and we went down to Eilat. It was surreal but very peaceful and relaxing-there was a really calm atmosphere I had never experienced in Eilat before. One vivid memory I have is from the beach, of my father attentively reading the commemorations about the war he experienced as a child just months after emigrating with his family from Romania. It seems so normal to read the paper at the beach but something about it struck me as strange-maybe the realization that you can't completely disconnect from everyday war-filled reality, which is what trips to Eilat are basically for. So, I feel that now that I have commemorated the war in my own way I'll now switch off the laptop and spend the rest of Yom Kippur reading books I have put aside because of lack of time, not newspapers. And of course I'll go on my annual ghost city walk which always helps me clear my head before the official beginning of the New Year.


Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Buttering Trio-Little Goat



I'm a little goat
My mother was a goat
But I still dare
Even though I'm small

After a very tense weekend it's such a relief to return to normalcy, even if it's just temporary. And what better way than to dig into Kol HaKampus' (the national college radio station) end of the year album chart? It was an outstanding year for Israeli music and Aviv Guedj really deserves to be #1. It was also a lot of fun discovering new music which I overlooked over the year for example Buttering Trio. I remember reading about them when they released their LP and being very curious, mainly because of the amazing cover art. I never really got around to listening to them, except for Falafel and Voyage which caught my eye on youtube. The album was made in Berlin, Tel Aviv and Kibbutz Dunietz and it makes a lot of sense when you listen to it. I love how each song has its own style and story and the band isn't afraid to experiment while still maintaining a signature sound. This specific song isn't from the LP-it might have been done as a parody but it's a really adorable and catchy song. It's also a sharp reminder that even though it's very easy to forget, we live in the Middle East and also happen to share a border with Syria. I really like the Arabic influence in the song and once you start thinking about it, it's quite surprising how unusual it is. I've heard grown ups recall with nostalgia the Friday afternoon Arab movies on the TV which everyone would watch and cry to and it's a pity it doesn't exist anymore. It reminds me of the clip I came across this week of IDF soldiers and Palestinians dancing together at a wedding in Hebron. It seems so hard to believe but then you realize that it's actually quite logical given the fact that they're so young. What I don't get is the criticism towards the IDF for suspending the soldiers. Of course they were suspended-they were on patrol! In any case, I hope that the new year will bring with it great Israeli music just as amazing as this past year and maybe even with some more local influences. Shana Tova!

Monday, August 26, 2013

Gabriel Balachsan-Even with my eyes open



Even with my eyes open I do not see a thing
Even with my eyes open I do not see a thing
And I'm the one who saw from above I heard
And I'm the one who kept her so long
Particles of air are fading and floating thinly above us

Even with my legs standing there's a widening pit below me
Even with my legs standing there's a widening pit below me
And I'm the one who caught fire
And I'm the one who roared
And I'm the one who chased signs
Particles of fog are coming towards us to cover us in the dark
Nothing fills me
Maybe god maybe a woman maybe drugs
Will I last another week another year

Only with my eyes closed a world is discovered before me
Only with my eyes closed a world is discovered before me
And it's not pink and has no fairies
And the angels sang toothless
But full of ideas
Which have a clear truth
Nothing fills me
Maybe meat maybe heavy breasts
Maybe eternal sleep and enough…and enough

Last Tuesday afternoon the buzz of Yehuda and Ninet's split quickly spread through the net, mainly joking about the "national tragedy" and the shock it brought to the entertainment world. But a few hours later we mourned a real tragedy-the untimely death of 37 year old Gabriel Balachsan, famous as the guitarist of Algiers with Aviv Guedj but also a highly respected singer and songwriter in his own right, who suffered from Bipolar disorder. He was never shy about his illness as it was a huge part of his life and his music. I first came across Balachsan in an interview he did a couple of years ago-I can't quote sentances but I was very impressed with how he was able to express his complex inner world in such a clear and honest way. I tried to check out his music but it was too overwhelming for me-the emphasis was on the lyrics-long endless monologues which were difficult to digest, also due to their dark content. I felt that I really needed to put aside time to listen carefully to his music while reading the lyrics, like reading a book, and I kept putting it off, I was never in the right mood. Several months ago I came across his songs again, and this time I made an effort to really listen to his music. I couldn't hear more than a few songs but this one, maybe his most famous, caught my attention the most:



Bad flowers and the depression is sour and damned
I lie on the bed all day and think
About how I will end my life,
An air balloon lost in the sky
Steel weights in the body, in the head
I'm sick God I'm looking at the sunrise in a movie on TV
And miss the sun I knew before I broke down
Miss the color of things before they became dark
Nothing moves me
I want to vomit all of this despair
And time crawls about, a door opens, the sun dies
Iron birds are chirping, my eyes are half closed
Watching the grass and it hurts it hurts to sink like this
In the middle of life and to die every day from everything that moves
To chain-smoke to hug the cigarette
To ask her to pray that here you'll get up in the morning and everything was and isn't
Absorbed in memory
And Gabriel gets up from the sick bed and begins to sing
A sing of praise to the real time in which you breathe
The real breathes which are full of glory
And the dew lands on your happy body and fills you with life
To breathe the skies to walk barefoot on moist ground to smile
To dance in the air as if without weight
To feel the music in the body floating in the breathing space
To sing, to jump from the bed in excitement from a day full of surprises
From just a kind of excitement
To drink coffee and to feel the taste
To hug someone, hug something, touch the spirit
To see the color of things
To talk with someone just because without hurting no hurting
Where is it where did it disappear

Darkness shadow of death sandman crumbling with every step
The pounds of feet on the earth are crumbling me
I'm hiding from the world in bed
The eyeball stares stillness visible darkness
A shadow from the past passes by, I choke

What's worth a round eye in front of the sun
All of my writings I burned in the sink
The hand that holds the pen scares me
Like the big abyss in which my world fell which is small and narrow
Like a dark alley
And the eye sees all of the cars and all of the towels hanging on the rope
Moving in the wind whispering to the stones which whisper to the plants
Gabriel what happened to you, moving like a shadow seeing the sights and not being able to
To speak is to whistle the words from the lungs and it leaves me exhausted
Tikun of my grief guides before you
A dog with an injured eye is bitten in a battle in the night of Telmy Eliahu
And there's no one to pray to and no one to ask
Because the night that fell on Sodom is very dark
And the morning doesn't bring light and the sun has no color.
Cos Ochto all of the words and tunes and talk
Only the coffee has taste and the cigarettes burn and this too barely in this hell
I'm stuffed of pills and can't see the end of this damned thing
Walking around like in a particularly bad dream
And I have no words at all to explain the feeling
Everything is sour and thick how can you describe this suffering
Everything's dead, dead
Everything's different
I'm not me
Sealed and sticky

Cos Ochto for everything


The song is very hard to digest but for me it was extremely helpful because at the time (and still today) I was trying to deal with the mental illness of a close family member, trying to understand, just a bit, what's going on in her head and for that I'm very thankful for Balachsan. I talked to her about his death and she had a bit of
difficulty understanding why everyone's so sad-he's obviously in a much better place. Maybe, but there was still hope for recovery, for a happy ending. I recently saw the doco about him and he was so full of life, so full of love for those around him.

He was also an amazing guitarist and really shone when he performed with Guedj in Algiers



I smoke only when I have to
Never more than I have to.
If I had the energy I would get up and shout.
Run away break down never come back again.
A million pills,
The doctors give me.
So I won't scream won't laugh,
Won't wake up anymore. That's the game.
A well designed game,
Not like in dreams you need to move. Move and quickly.
From the sniper's fire from the thought's fire from the sword's fire.
I'm in the pipe.
Now it's four in the morning,
Sweating under the black cotton blanket,
Looking at the crooked ceiling.
I would like to love you.
Without waiting.
Without breaks.
Here and now among the ruins.
To take you with me into the pipes.
Now begins the music of illness.
Music of hell it's not happiness.
It's just depression.
I don't like when they bother me to concentrate in my dreams.
Autumn will come and get rid of all the dirt on me.
And tonight,
You are going to dream the most beautiful dreams.
Our dreams are the true story.
Now I'm perfect.
Now I don't remember any little thing,
Not even a little detail.
And there is and there is and there is
And there is all the time possible, that's left, a month, two.
Maybe a year maybe more.
The pill is already in the blood,
There are no more thoughts,
No more voices,
There is only love among the ruins.
I am in the pipes.
For already several days.
Already several weeks.
Already a good several years.
Maybe I lost all feeling,
Thinking I'm flying but actually on the ground.
So I drink the salty rain.
Stoned from the sea or drunk from the wind, drunk from the wind.

http://www.haaretz.com/culture/arts-leisure/.premium-1.542844

Sunday, August 18, 2013

The Angelcy-Dreamer



The Jewish New Year is right around the corner and with it comes the annual songs of the year lists on the radio. I was looking through Galgalatz's (the national radio station) picks when I came across this gem, which for some reason I haven't posted yet. The song is from 2011 but it only began to receive heavy air play on the radio this past year. One of the songs I'm still not sick of hearing after so many times! I love how it slows everything down and makes you just want to enjoy the moment. I also really love the singer's slight Israeli accent. They have amazing stage presence and their indie-city performance of "My Baby Boy" is a must-see and one of the best in the series. Right now they're making big waves abroad (follow on fb here) which is very exciting and they're set to release their debut album in December but you can hear and buy their demo e.p over at bandcamp-it really gives a taste for more!

O dreamer dreamer fold your wings the rain is coming
Illusion feeds your lucid dreams the rain is coming
It's time to fade to simple things all hail the emptiness
So dreamer dreamer fold your wings it's time to feel blessed

And when I howl honey I love you don't you know I love you I need you

O dreamer dreamer fold your wings the rain is coming
It's time to shed this naked skin the rain is coming
Illusion feeds your lucid dreams all hail the emptiness
So dreamer dreamer fold your wings it's time to feel blessed

And when I howl honey I love you don't you know I love you I need you
And when I howl honey I love you don't you know I love you I don't know what am I supposed to do

I am not here no more I am now just a shadow of your grace
You have become the face of everything I wish I had of everything I wanna have
My childhood dreams they have taken me to this dead end at you doorstep
And I've got nowhere else to go and nothing else to do ever since I laid eyes on you

Monday, August 5, 2013

The Hybrid Lavas- I-D-N



At first I thought this video might be too over the top but it manages to be very accessible and catchy and it's a really great song. Really captures the Tel Avivian fashion scene and mindset (or at least a dominant part of it). Interesting article on fashion and culture with Maayan Goldman, the video's stylist here. More Hybrid Lavas here.

*Oh, I'm taking a break from the heat and will be back in about 2 weeks :)

Friday, July 26, 2013

LolaMarsh-Waitress



Such a beautiful song. I fell in love with LolaMarsh's BalconyTV clip "Stranger to My Past" and they seem to just be getting better and better! I really love their singles on bandcamp and the influence of Fleet Foxes (whom Yael covers here). I'm a bit tired of Fleet Foxes but I don't see that happening at all with this talented group, mainly due to the lovely vocals and the band's high spirits. Perfect for warm summer nights.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Renana Ne'eman-Sand Storm



This isn't a very new song but it is a new addition to Galgaltz's prestigious playlist so it's well worth mentioning. Renana Ne'eman is so captivating-I could watch her for hours. She shines with talent and I can't wait to hear her debut album. You can download the official single for this song here.

And outside it's already the end of the world
The grey skies are dirtying me
And the city is again all hills and sands
There's no difference between skies and land
And the land was in chaos
And I called for help

And outside it's already the end of the world
Rainstorm of winter not winter
Desert air from a different country
A full moon hangs in the sky
Showing and hiding and alerting-
My girl there is still a long way to go
And I called for help

And not to your god
And not to the Merciful Father
Not to the hero
Not to the prophet

And outside it;s already the end of the world
And I don't even care
I go to sleep and my whole head is flooded
Pictures of people written words
No time to think no time to rest
Always someone chasing someone
And someone is always chased
And I called for help

And not to your God
Not to the Merciful Father
Not to the hero
Not to the prophet

I called to myself and did not get a response


Friday, July 12, 2013

The Ramirez Brothers-Who?You!



Yes!!! The highly anticipated new Ramirez Brothers' album is now out and you can stream it here. Bandcamp coming soon. I can't think of a better soundtrack for summer in Israel.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Daya Raz-Don't Take it to Bed



I first came across Daya a couple of years ago with her excellent "Polish" song and clip which really captured the vibe of Tel Aviv and her loveable rock-star "I don't give a damn" attitude . But I also really love how her music style has developed since then-she sounds a lot more comfortable here, but in a very good way. Plus the clip is perfect for dreamy summer days.

Open the front door
Leave it all outside
Nothing is important anymore
There's nowhere to run
Take off your socks
Do you feel your knees?
Long arms are waiting just for you

Forget the Italiano
The metro
Forget that you didn't know to decide
So come home take a taxi
Buy flowers at the Carmelit
Forget that you didn't know to decide
Big eyes are waiting just for you
Don't take it to bed

Forget all that was
Just fall and lie down
Cover your head under the shirt
Tell her everything and don't say a word
Take a close breath
It doesn't matter who you are
Just don't take it to bed

Forget the Italian
The metro
Forget that you didn't know to decide
So come home take a taxi
Forget that you didn't know to decide
Big eyes are waiting just for you
Don't take it to bed

https://he-il.facebook.com/dayaraz