Jack in the Box - Redy redy

It's been quite a while since I've had such a great song stuck in my head and actually grew to like it more and more. When I first saw this video my first thought was "this is way too hipster" but you get the feeling that this is who Jack in the Box are and quickly stop caring about it. I love how the bandmates chime in and there's a feeling that they're having a really fun time. At first I thought the song was complete nonsense but then I saw that it's actually a modern poem by Aharon Shabtai published in the highly acclaimed poem magazine Maayan. I can just see in my head the band members flipping through the magazine, seeing the poem and making a song out of it, just for fun. I first came across Jack in the Box through a video they did for the Indie City project for last year's white night. They performed "Cafe Adir" in Kerem HaTeimanim (vineyard of the Yemenites), one of my favorite neighborhoods in Tel Aviv. What's so great about the video isn't just the original song but the encounter between Jack in the Box, who are clearly out of their comfort zone, and the residents of the neighborhood who probably don't usually listen to that kind of music, which is in itself very fresh in the music scene. There's a feeling that the authenticity of the neighborhood is dying away with the older generation and as rent prices just get higher and higher there will likely be a completely different feel to the neighborhood in 20 years (or even earlier).

Get off get off get off
From the sinking Aharon ship

Get off get off get off
From the sinking Aharon ship

Shame on your shoulders
Too bad about your neck

You have bougainvillea hair

You have bougainvillea hair

Make yourself carrot juice
Make yourself beet salad

But I can't get off
From the sinking Aharon ship

I can't and don't want to,
I'll go ahead

Can't and don't want to,
I'll go on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCVY9DEbHc4&feature=related

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

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jack-In-The-Box/120908584610098

Sun Tailor - You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go

I was so sad to hear about the Toulouse murder in which a gunman killed a rabbi and three children at a Jewish school. I found out the news when I was buying vegetables after class and it was on the TV. The grocer and I together with a few other people just stood there in a bit of shock horrified by the news. When I came home to check the news on the internet I saw that the European Union Foreign Affairs Chief Catherine Ashton condemned the attacks and compared them to the killing of children in Gaza: "And the days when we remember young people who have been killed in all sorts of terrible circumstances - the Belgian children having lost their lives in a terrible tragedy and when we think of what happened in Toulouse today, when we remember what happened in Norway a year ago, when we know what is happening in Syria, when we see what is happening in Gaza and in different parts of the world - we remember young people and children who lose their lives." I feel very sad for the children in Gaza who have to live in a horrible reality because their parents elected Hamas, which uses children as human shields and launches its rockets at Israeli civilians from civilian populated centers near schools giving Israel no choice but to fire at the rocket launchers to stop the rockets. Israel tries very hard not to hurt civilians and I'm pretty sure it's part of the reason why there weren't any more military attacks on Gaza- even after grad rockets kept falling in southern cities two days(!) after the cease-fire. The situation in Gaza is messed-up but to compare it to the murder in Toulouse? The comparison that appears in my mind is last year's Itamar shooting when Palestinian shooters broke into a house in Itamar and murdered a whole family just to create controversy. Of course, there are victims of all religions and it's important to note that the gun used in the shooting also killed two Muslim paratroopers last week. I hate bringing stuff like this up when the focus should be on mourning the Toulouse victims, but it just feels like remarks like Ashton's just lead to more unnecessary violence.
On another note, I really like this version of Bob Dylan's song, even more than the original. It just feels much more emotional. Of course, it's about saying goodbye to a lover and not the death of a family member but it seems very relevant today. Sun Tailor is extremely talented and he's definitely on my list of performers to check out live.

http://www.facebook.com/suntailor

I’ve seen love go by my door
It’s never been this close before
Never been so easy or so slow
Been shooting in the dark too long
When something's not right it’s wrong
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go

Dragon clouds so high above
I’ve only known careless love
It’s always hit me from below
This time around it’s more correct
Right on target, so direct
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go

Purple clover, Queen Anne’s Lace
Crimson hair across your face
You could make me cry if you don’t know
Can’t remember what I was thinkin’ of
You might be spoilin’ me too much, love
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go

Flowers on the hillside, bloomin’ crazy
Crickets talkin’ back and forth in rhyme
Blue river runnin’ slow and lazy
I could stay with you forever and never realize the time

Situations have ended sad
Relationships have all been bad
Mine’ve been like Verlaine’s and Rimbaud
But there’s no way I can compare
All those scenes to this affair
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go

Yer gonna make me wonder what I’m doin’
Stayin’ far behind without you
Yer gonna make me wonder what I’m sayin’
Yer gonna make me give myself a good talkin’ to

I’ll look for you in old Honolulu
San Francisco, Ashtabula
Yer gonna have to leave me now, I know
But I’ll see you in the sky above
In the tall grass, in the ones I love
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go

KOB - Rome

I was supposed to be writing this from my apartment in Beer Sheva- probably writing something banal about how Purim festivities are over and I'm having a hard time adjusting to the new semester and the overload of work. But I'm writing this from my home in the center, where there are no rocket threats (yet) and I can do normal everyday stuff like taking a shower or buying groceries without fearing the dreaded siren. It all started on Friday afternoon when I read in the news that the leader of the Popular Resistance Committees was assassinated for plotting a terror attack from Sinai. I should have known then that things would heat up but I was too preoccupied with a paper I had to finish and my costume for the Sunday parties in the south. I even skipped out on an amazing Purim party on Friday to finish the paper so I'd be able to celebrate on Sunday with a clear head. Needless to say, the Purim festivities were canceled, as well as the University, and the semester hasn't started yet. Just proves that you really never know what tomorrow will bring. On Friday morning, the student union site had a banner reading that the new semester will open with a huge boom, because of all the events. On Saturday they changed it to "The semester will open huge (depending on the security situation)" and by Sunday it read "The semester will open late (depending on the security situation)". There's been a lot of talk of making a 2012 edition of the underGRAD tee shirts that were sold in the past. I'm trying to relax a bit during this unexpected vacation but with one eye on my Facebook news feed checking on friends from the south and the other on the news site to see if there are any developments. Right now there's talk of a cease-fire but at the same time they're saying that Palestinians recently fired 5 mortar shells into the Eshkol Region and two rockets to the Ashkelon coast so to say that things are tense is an understatement. Then again mortar shells to Eshkol were a daily event even on calm days. You can't really understand what they're going through unless you're there. People here in the center are saying that they have the Iron Dome which is saving lives and yes, without the Iron Dome things would be much more awful but it's not 100% effective and you still have to run to safety- not to mention the fact that there are so many old buildings without bomb shelters so you just wait in the stairway (if you're lucky and not outside). It just feels that there's a lot of bitterness from people in the south who feel that the rest of the country (and mainly Tel Aviv) don't really get what they're going through. I hate the feeling of uncertainty and not knowing whether there will be classes tomorrow but at least I have the "privilege" to get a full night's sleep and live in peace.
On another note, I really love this song by KOB- it's been a while since I've heard a really good rock song that managed to evoke strong feelings in me but then again I might be over-sensitive these days. It's just a really great song and just what I need. There's nothing like a good breakup song to remember that other things are going on right now.  KOB is a stage name for a guy who's actually a lawyer and deals with artist's rights. So he makes music as a hobby and as a result doesn't compromise his work to be more successful- luckily for us. I strongly recommend checking out his new album which is available on Bandcamp, as well as his previous one which is dubstep and shows how versatile he is as an artist. Oh, and in the past he sang more about social issues and less about relationships. Here's a clip called "Indifference" from happier times: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTLWYfgwGrg

http://kobmusic1.bandcamp.com/album/simaney-tshuka

Midnight prayer
She has doubts
The heart fell eyes on the sides
It's a lost fight
Dying in agony
She worries about me worries about words

Go to Rome
Go to him
Don't exhaust the heart don't pretend to be interested
Go now
Go to Rome
Fly to him
Don't exhaust the heart don't waste time
Don't send a letter

A heavy city, every step of a dance
Blunt honesty
Honesty of a lost generation
A bitter moon, don't expect anything
It's not over
No...this is the end

The sand is slowly running out...it's the clock
Couples pass by in the crowd
When will the bell announce-final stop

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-wETUOJDmc&feature=BFa&list=UUawNWlihdgaycQpO3zi-jYg&lf=plcp

IZABO - Time

The Purim celebrations have already started, even though the holiday itself is tomorrow or Thursday, I never really know (and of course celebrations will slide into the weekend- I already see how Facebook will make me feel a bit guilty for having only one costume). Izabo officially released their Eurovision single and it goes great with the festive 'time is short let's get drunk' Purim atmosphere. For the first time in quite a while I might even tune into the contest because I think they have a really good chance of taking a top spot. Choosing Izabo came as quite a surprise because they may be super successful in the indie world (there are no official headliners at the inDnegev festival, but they did perform the prime time slot of Friday night) as well as internationally but they weren't exactly a household name. Some of the "who are these guys anyways??" comments reminded me of the "who is bonny bear?" twitter. I really love the song- the Eurovision is supposed to be light and fun and they really succeeded in that without being too tacky. Plus there's the great mid-eastern vibe and overall it's just a fun song. Not to mention that wishing for a bit more time (and for it to work slower) is something we can all relate to. Izabo always has very creative clips-just see this or this. They've also collaborated with Avraham Tal's The Fools of Prophecy and the one and only Barry Sakharof so I'm really looking forward to Time's video clip. Happy Purim!

Time, time, don’t let me down
You’re the man in my playground
What you say I will obey night and day

Feel free to turn me on
Feel free to change my song
I will count and you will go on sing my song

I say
Time, time, give me only a sign-sign, give me the time
Why are you pressing on me, go to sleep

You got to give me more time
Time, time, why won't you sleep-leep tell me how much time
Why be black and white

Time, time, could you be mine?
I will feed you songs and wine
I’ll make you lazy, I’ll make you late
Wait, wait, wait

Wait, wait, we two are one
But you always take the lead
I lay down and you just run
Mind your speed

I say
Time, time, give me only a sign-sign, give me the time
Why are you pressing on me, go to sleep

You got to give me more time
Time, time, why won't you sleep-leep tell me how much time
Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme time
Why be black and white
You don’t know what we talk about

Time time, give me only a sign-sign, give me the time
Why be black and white

Time, time, don’t let me down

http://www.facebook.com/IzaboPage

*as promised, here's the video clip. Maybe not as artistic as others but it doesn't disappoint!