David Lavi - Lotus Flower

When my best friend and I bought tickets to see the Radiohead show way back in February we half expected it not to happen, not because of BDS but because summertime is usually also wartime (just ask Neil Young). Many artists have been called on not to perform in Israel but Radiohead was one of the only acts to respond, leading to a back and forth which dominated headlines. It also led to a renewed interest in Radiohead's music with radio stations playing plenty of their songs and tributes to the band like this stunning cover by David Lavi.

There were many memorable moments at Wednesday's show, whether it was Thom Yorke reminiscing about the band's 1993 gigs at the Roxanne (their first international shows!) followed by Creep and The Bends, or the surprisingly emotional sing-along at the end of Karma Police, but a moment that will always stay with me was the shift in the air when the band began to play "No Surprises". Amidst all the chaos, it felt so good to hear the lullaby-ish notes and to cheer with everyone to the lines "bring down the government/ they don't, they don't speak for us". No alarms and no surprises please.

I will shape myself into your pocket
Invisible, do what you want, do what you want
I will shrink and I will disappear
I will slip into the groove and cut me up, and cut me up

There's an empty space inside my heart
Where the weeds take root
And now I'll set you free
I'll set you free
There's an empty space inside my heart

Where the weeds take root
Tonight I'll set you free
I'll set you free

Slowly we unfurl
As lotus flowers
'Cause all I want is the moon upon a stick
Just to see what if
Just to see what is
I can't kick your habit
Just to feed your fast ballooning head
Listen to your heart

We will shrink and be quiet as mice
While the cat is away; do what we want
Do what we want

There's an empty space inside my heart
Where the weeds take root
So now I set you free
I set you free

'Cause all I want is the moon upon a stick
Just to see what if
Just to see what is

Put the lotus flower into my room

Slowly we unfurl
As lotus flowers
'Cause all I want is the moon upon a stick
I dance around a pit
The darkness is beneath
I can't kick your habit
Just to feed your fast ballooning head
Listen to your heart

Maya Polizer - Lighthouse

I originally planned on posting Maya Polizer's song "Shabbat in your heart" but in light of yesterday's terrorist attack it didn't feel right and it was a bit too joyous for my mood. So I was glad to discover Maya's stunning version of "Lighthouse" which was originally performed by the great Shoshana Damari in 1958. A beautiful beacon of light shining in the darkness.

He knew that there was no lighthouse on the coast,
But always, when he came back at night,
From the coast he would notice, in the darkness,
A wondrous light winking at him and rejoicing.

He knew that there was no lighthouse on the coast,
But there was always a light from the darkness.

She waited for him with salty lips,
He held her silently to him,
He promised: "I'll stay with you, sister!"
But at dawn he again slipped back into the sea.

He knew...

Once she clutched him tightly:
"Stay, because I can't take it anymore!"
He kissed both her eyes, and was silent;
But at dawn he was seen rowing again.

But at night, when he returned with water and darkness,
There was no more light shining like a lighthouse.

They found her on the beach, among the seashells.
And her heart was like a lump of black coal.
And only then the seagulls slowly revealed to him,
That her heart was a lighthouse to him.

He knew...

He then cupped her heart as well as he could,
Suddenly it was warm and shone again.
And today at the top of the cliff, at the head of a tower,
He gives light to every sailor at sea.

Because even though there is no lighthouse on the coast,
One heart always lights up from the darkness.

Jimbo J and the Spa Band - I did

A few years ago I came across Jimbo J's poetry slam bit "I did" and it really got me thinking about how instead of using verbs like "I served, I traveled, I studied, I cooked... we all just say "I did". I did this, I did that, reducing the action to something you just check off a list without really going into detail, not to mention how it implies that the speaker is at the very center of the experience. It's also just a really lazy way of speaking. Jimbo J and the Spa Band succeed in turning this linguistic observation into a lively song that sums up the Israeli experience of growing up. It's well worth checking out their other songs from their debut album. I did!

IdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdid

What's I served? I did the army

Basic training in Shavta, from there to Jenin
Then the Etzion Brigade, Na'alin
Guarding with Nachal, training in the Golan
Then I did a commanders course
I did a patrol with the Border Police
I did guard duty eight-eight on the line
I did really great coffee
Black, strong, to wake up in an ambush
I did an arrest in Hebron
I did one war in Lebanon
When I did an officer in Be'er Sheva at Beit Hachayal they said
"It's a shame, do a bit of Keva"
How did my commander say to me? "You did good here"
But walla, I didn't want to
I said no to Keva and no to shoes because I did my part

IdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdid

What's I traveled? I did India

In the north I did almost everything
Dharamsala, Manali, and nothing beats Kasul
But then I was a little tired
So I did a U-turn
Nubra Valley, I did the trek in the desert
Three days, two nights, motorcycles
Then I did Kashmir and it was over
All that was left was to do the south
I did a stop in Rajasthan on the way
The cheapest shopping in Pushkar, I did
From there to Goa and Mumbai another month, to Palolem, Om Beach, a bit of Hampi
I had enough
I did my part

IdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdid

What's I used? I did drugs
Green, brown, not hard drugs
Hits, joints, blunts, spliffs
I also flew some pipes, I dropped heads
I did the Coca and a bit of Hagigat
Nose only, lines, I didn't swallow, I snorted
And if it was enough to do once, but it didn't open
So walla I didn't fly
Persian Cocain I didn't do, why because they say you're stoked
But spitz, trips, acid, right on the spot, that I did do
But I'll leave you now

Now I just want to do to my home, to do names, to do business
To do the hit, to do kayaks, I want to do the time of my life

But I also want to do thoughts, to do teshuva, to do soul searching
To do love, to do kids, to do what a man needs to do

Dirty Fly - All That's Left of Us

♥

https://www.facebook.com/DirtyFlyMusic/

Ben Golan - Sunset Song

A review of this song described it as if Arik Einstein met The Band to write a song together but the collaboration that comes to my mind is probably George Harrison and Tamouz. In any case, while Ben Golan's first single doesn't shy away from dark thoughts, the result is warm and comforting.

https://www.facebook.com/AVAZARECORDS/

If there's no more strength to cling to hopes
You can be silent towards the setting sun
If there's no more wind and the sea doesn't change
So take a look at the setting sun

Sometimes you break down
You won't always be the same
Looking at the great sun

I want to escape and hide inside myself
I gaze at the setting sun

Sometimes you break down
You won't always be the same
Looking at the great sun

Swing De Gitanes - Honey Moon

The perfect soundtrack for warm June evenings, before the heavy heatwaves take over.

https://www.facebook.com/swingdegitanes

Noy Roitenberg - Let's Talk

It's Pride week!! Actually, I'm a bit less excited because even though I fully support LGBTQ rights (and there's still a long way to go) and I fully support the right of over 200,000 participants to party at the pride parade, huge crowds in the heat have never really been my cup of tea. So I'm glad to take part in the festive day by sharing the music of Noy Roitenberg with you. Noy sings songs directly to women (you can't avoid this in Hebrew) which has raised quite a few eyebrows and marked her as 'a Lesbian singer' when she's so much more than that. I prefer to see her as a gifted singer/songwriter/guitarist with a wonderful talent for expressing complicated emotions in a beautiful way.
Here is what she wrote in FB, linking to a recent interview:
"I gave an interview for Maariv's Pride edition which will be published tomorrow.
Last week at a show in Jerusalem I said that in most of my interviews I'm asked if my music is just for lesbians.
I always repeat and say that I'm a proud lesbian, I'll continue to create music from my personal world and I'll never hide my sexual identity and in general my identity as a musician and this doesn't contradict the fact that my music is definitely not just for lesbians.
I write about the feelings inside me and I want to believe that we are all people who feel-whether it's related to a relationship or whether it's between us and ourselves.
We all have thoughts, fears, dreams, and desires.
Happy Pride day, to anyone who is proud of him/herself, in any field.
With great hope that one day being a lesbian won't make anyone make a face, but rather will be natural just like being straight."

https://noyroitenberg.bandcamp.com/

Let's talk about what's going through your mind
About who you want to be
About what you're afraid to say

Let's embrace what erases your smile
Instead of being angry all the time
Let yourself loosen up a bit

And I'll contain for you all the sadness

Let's talk about what's going through your mind
You don't always have to go crazy
In order to see clearly

Let's give up on what takes up all your air
Make some room
For something new