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