Amit Erez & The Secret Sea - Not About Us

Wow, this track really blew me away. I like Amit Erez's work, but I've always associated it with wintery days and this song is so...alive and perfect for early summer. You can almost hear the bees buzzing. This song refuses to leave my head and I'm not at all complaining. There's a whiff of Belle & Sebastian, but Erez and his talented group manage to create a unique sound of their own. There are so many instruments and styles here but they all blend together perfectly and I love the sharp lyrics which are so easy to identify with.

I'm calling you over every day
When I'm alone
For nothing has strayed you
From dirty lanes back to your home
Our god in his crown
Is judging us down

In pity and purchased heavenly sins
Buzzing around
I'm picking a frequency from within
Hammering on
My god is a sound
A pusher in town

I see you slipping away
I hold you anyway
I know it's not about us today

And I was tearing it up
In a new confusion
Sealing it off from inside
And as the barrier rose
It was quickly moving away
And back and behind
No one ever treats you right

I see you slipping away
I hold you anyway
I know it's not about us today
I see you slipping away
I hold you anyway
I know it's not about us
I know it's not about us

And you get to stay full time
And you get to be your kind
And you get to fit just fine
Enough for everyone to see you
When you're walking blind

I see you slipping away...
I see you slipping away

http://amiterez.bandcamp.com/

Ido Shoam - XL Nightlife Anthem 2012

So at first I thought I'd post this as a link together with another song but then I realized that Ido Shoam's song is so great that it deserves a post of its own. I don't really write about the Israeli techno scene (or live it for that matter) but it's a pretty huge part of Israeli culture, especially in Tel Aviv. I remember seeing a documentary a while ago about America in the 70's and how it was really a low point economically with the Arab Oil Embargo so it was only natural to dance the night away in disco clubs to help forget about depressing problems, even if temporarily. I really get that and it could help explain why Israel has such a great nightlife. Tel Aviv especially has become a nightlife capital attracting clubbers from all over the country. Along with that, it's also become the gay capital and there's a sense that if you're gay and want to live the gay lifestyle, you have to live in Tel Aviv. On one hand, it's great that there's a city in Israel where gays can feel free to be themselves and live their lives peacefully but outside of Tel Aviv it's a completely different universe. I'm not talking about Orthodox cities but secular smaller cities where it's just not that acceptable to live an openly gay life. I personally know that in Beer Sheva there's a growing gay scene yet because of the conservative atmosphere it's rare to see open gay affection. It shouldn't be such a big deal to just hold hands in the street and teens shouldn't feel so ashamed about their sexual orientations because of the negative vibe from their community. I have a lesbian friend in Beer Sheva who's very open and keeps on complaining about how she can't find a girlfriend and that eventually she too will move to Tel Aviv. She told me "It's planning to become the gayest city in the world so why would Israeli gays want to live outside it?". This year's gay pride parade has the slogan "all of the country flags, flags" with the intention to bring the gay parade out of Tel Aviv to places where raising awareness is really needed. Yet there's a huge protest against the gay parade in Petah Tikvah, just 15 minutes from Tel Aviv, and all of the protesters are saying the same thing: "You have Tel Aviv, isn't it enough?". In addition, many city councils don't want to budget the parades. It's important to remember that the first gay pride parade took place in New York in 1970 (back to the 70's...) marking a year after the police raid on the Stonewall Inn and the riots that followed, which "was the first time in modern history that a significant body of LGBT people resisted arrest"(Wikipedia). Naturally over the years gay rights have become more accepted so the parades have become much more festive and less political. Now it seems that it's just a good excuse to have a great party and meet cute tourists but it's not like that everywhere- I don't think the gay pride parades in the cities outside Tel Aviv should feel the need to compete with the provocative and glamour of Tel Aviv-just raising flags and saying "this is my city and I want to live here so please accept me as an equal" feels so much more powerful and also meaningful in making a real change. Of course that doesn't mean you can't party in Tel Aviv (it's not like they're on the same date)-next week's parade is planning on being the biggest ever with events all week: http://www.gaytlvguide.com/component/content/article/12-fp-articles/63-gay-pride-parade-tel-aviv-2012-june-8
I love this video not only because of the great music (so catchy!) but also because it really shows how accepting Israelis (in Tel Aviv) are to somebody so different who just wants to put a smile on our faces. Who can resist and not join the party? Oh, and the song is available for free download here: http://www16.zippyshare.com/v/41852316/file.html

http://soundcloud.com/ido-shoam

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_parade

Drunk Machine - Fogg Future

Wow, this is so good- the drums, the guitar riffs, the singing-it all sounds like it was made from the guts- just like rock music should be. It's hard to explain how this loud music makes me calm but after a long and frustrating day (make that month) this is just what I need to relax. On another note, it's Student Day! There's definitely a festive atmosphere in the air and it's great to put everything aside and have a mini vacation. The performers were voted by the students and this year's lineup is pretty impressive with Infected Mushroom, Shalom Hanoch, Idan Raichel Project, Aviv Geffen, and more but I really wouldn't mind seeing something new and fresh like these amazing guys-who I'll make sure to catch live when the chance arrives. 

http://drunkmachine.com/

I Got the Hotties - All the Reasons

This is one of those songs that you hear in the morning and it stays with you all day. And although it's quite melancholic you don't really mind because it's such a good song. I Got the Hotties better known as Kol HaChatichim Etzli (כל החתיכים אצלי) are known for their energetic "we don't care" attitude and candid lyrics. This is much more mellow, but it still has painfully honest lyrics. And everything about this song just clicks. This is the unofficial video part of a same freeze shot project to battle the band's biggest enemy-ADHD (translated from the youtube description). There's something very therapeutic about just sitting in place for so long without doing anything. It's just as therapeutic for the viewer. Personally, I felt that I had to give them a little respect for their huge effort (it must have been freezing!) so I just sat still watching the waves and the sunset and it made me really listen to this great song. They just released their official video and it's also great. It has a plot and everything but whenever I hear the song I think about this one- it's just so more real.

I gave her a twenty shekel bill
She's sitting screaming and cursing
To the air
And about this country
I gave her twenty shekels
She won't buy with it teeth for her mouth
But I bought myself a good conscience

I don't need to go very far
To know
That I have all of the reasons in the world
To be happy
How is it that I'm not there yet
I think

Gillian left to study French
She's wasting her time because she'll never get
How crooked her teeth are
Gillian left to study French
At 45, she doesn't have a husband, nor kids
And how she's so dumb
I'm trying not to laugh

But I don't need to be so smart
To know
That I have all the reasons in the world
To be happy
How is it that I'm not there yet
I think

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KAzB9MYKFM&feature=youtu.be

http://www.igotthehotties.com/

Asaf Avidan-Different Pulses

So beautiful. This is much more than a video clip and really a work of art directed by the very talented Vania Heymann (remember the name!). The song itself is also great and goes perfectly with the video. Avidan rose to fame with the Mojos- I still enjoy listening to their first album except for Weak which got on my nerves because it was played so much. I only heard a few songs from their later albums, but I liked the fact that they were trying out new things even if it didn't always guarantee success. Now Avidan is flying solo and he's off to an amazing start. He has such a unique voice that it's so easy to make it a gimmick but here it goes wonderfully with the music and it's just right. You can really feel that he's matured as a singer and songwriter. He amazingly manages to sound so relevant and at the same time so different than everything else out there.

My life is like a wound I scratch so I can bleed
Regurgitate my words, I write so I can feed
And Death grows like a tree that's planted in my chest
Its roots are at my feet, I walk so it won't rest

Oh, Baby, I am Lost...

I try to push the colors through a prism back to white
To sync our different pulses into a blinding light
And if love is not the key. If love is not a key.
I hope that I can find a place where it could be

I know that in your heart there is an answer to a question
That I'm not as yet aware that I have asked
And if that tree had not drunk my tears
I would have bled and cried for all the years
That I alone have let them pass

Oh, Baby, I am yours...

http://www.asafavidanmusic.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/vaniaHey

Five in the Morning - Roni Yedidia feat. Kobi Oz

What a great song to open the month with. After the wave of Passover and national days, there's an "after holidays" feel and it's a bit hard to get back into routine- especially with summer just around the corner. I'm so used to opening the day with Ynet- checking what happened while I was sleeping and usually something happened. It's always so surreal when I go abroad and don't hear hourly news updates on the radio and there's no main evening news program that the whole country watches. It would be nice if everyone would take a break during the summer. Nothing bad would happen, there would be nothing to report, and everyone would just chill and do whatever they please. Of course, that's unrealistic and everybody would probably just talk nonstop about how nothing ever happens. Or become obsessed with the weather. But there is always the hope of just for a bit living in a normal world where not much happens. This song is part of a project by Roni Yedidia of new versions to Nathan Alterman's wonderful poetry. I really like what he did with this song. It's so energetic and nostalgic for early Israeli music and the video is so bright and creative. 

Five in the morning, chilly
A lantern flashes light on the frozen main road
A star left is still shining on the city
Singular in his point of view

A man opens his window to the horizon
And takes out his dreaming nose.
His nose flies like a dove returning and informing
The world is still safe and sound.

On this night nothing happened
No continent in the oceans sank
No political map switched its skin
No republic busted

The history skipped over this night
And the newspaper writers overlooked in the shade
The man slowly gets dressed as if he were a hallucinator
And thinks, thank God.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Alterman

another song by Yedidia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I31SaZwHhzY

Kobi Oz was the leader of the very popular 90's band Teapacks, known for their positive pop oriental style. Oz later went on to a solo career with more acoustic and religous songs.

http://kobioz.bandcamp.com/

http://teapacks.bandcamp.com/

Yehudit Ravitz and Yoni Rechter - Tears of Angels

Today was the first time I stood at the memorial siren outside my house, not in a memorial service or a classroom. I was on my way home and just got off the train. The train came a few minutes before 8 and everyone patiently waited for the siren. On the platform most of us were already standing in position and I could hear the highway become quieter and quieter. The siren seemed softer than usual, but maybe I'm just used to louder sirens. I stood looking at the ground thinking about all the soldiers who lost their lives, grateful for not having to focus on any soldier I personally know and hoping it will stay that way. Tomorrow morning graveyards will be packed with mourning families and ceremonies and I'll be doing last-minute shopping for the Independence Day barbeque festivities which begin tomorrow evening. After the siren ended I walked up the escalator and everything seemed so normal on the bridge between Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan. Everybody was walking quickly and it was hard to believe that the siren was only a few minutes earlier. The only sign of it was an old man peering out to the highway which was now completely back to normal. It reminded me how we all seem to bounce back to life so quickly, even when we're not really ready yet but without much of a choice because life has to go on. It's so sad how such a huge part of Israeli music is memorial music which sadly everyone can identify with. There's something very beautiful and emotional about this fragile song. Unlike other memorial songs, it's less about the loss itself and more about the healing process and trying to cope with the loss "the morning after" at funerals and later on in life. I hear it every Memorial Day and I never get tired of it. The piano and guitar go together perfectly and it's truly a timeless song.

Tears of angels
Quiet tears
Beautiful and sad tears
Stream down on the horizon tears and searching...
What are they seeking? Ah...

Because when the angels cry
In another world,
Then in this world
We're even sadder.

Tears of angels.
Why are they crying the angels?
Maybe because it's not easy
To be an angel,
In such a sad world.

Because when the angels cry...

And also we here
Want to cry together with them
What to do?
Want to cry and the tears don't fall,
The tears don't stream.

Because when the angels cry...

Tomorrow the Independence celebrations begin and here's a message from Mr. Shimon Peres. When he says that he remembers every year of Israel's existence I have no trouble believing it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfLBRqsj41A

Speaking of the next generation, it may seem a bit out of context to post this lighthearted video cover of  Walk of the Earth's cover to the addictive "Somebody You Used to Know" but it actually really isn't. The soldiers here are a sharp reminder of the fact that so many of the 22,993 fallen soldiers and victims of terror were college-aged kids who just wanted to hang out and have some fun. I just love the authenticity of the video especially when the young officer walks in and although he gives them a "seriously?!" look he can't really hide how amused he is and maybe also proud as he looks over them like a big brother. Makes me miss the family feeling of army life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KLLpRGHZwY&context=C4d82223ADvjVQa1PpcFNTyinOn0yGtnbdpXpLkD-vKKdj3EmtrTM%3D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjBTXyJQpE8

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yehudit-Ravitz/23066052200

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoni_Rechter