1:1- Mars

Ynet is holding a video clip contest so it's a good chance for me to check out some artists and clips that I overlooked. One of the clips that really stood out was this one by the group 1:1. I had heard about the band before but never really listened to their songs carefully, which is really how they should be heard. 1:1 isn't really a band but rather a project based on books by the writer Eran Bar Gil, who I admit I hadn't heard of before but I now want to start reading. The text is the main focus here but the music is a perfect companion and everything just flows. Very introspective and beautiful. Makes me want to hear the whole album-from start to finish.

Sometimes I walk
I reach Mars
Everything is white on Mars
Like in a hospital
In the night the stars here
Are like fragments of glass
I wander for hours and hours
In the white spaces

If I want a space man
I move him from door to door
If I want love I try to make you laugh
You don't crack

Advancing on white plains and Mars
Reaches a dead end
Opens a door
Goes into a hallway
Another dead end
Again opens a door
Goes to Mars
Jumps on it heavy and sharp
Free fall
To the white depths

If I want a space man I move him from door to door
If I want love I try to make you laugh you don't crack
When I want a space man I tell how he moves from door to door
I don't say if he's happy

http://www.facebook.com/pages/11/37223049949

Back to Zion - Jah Love

Jah love take care of me
Most of the day and all of the night when my heart begins to be confused
Your faith in the nights is what will give me the strength to live

This past weekend I was at the wonderful inDnegev festival which took place in the desert in the middle of nowhere (40 min from Be'er Sheva but it felt like in another world). Lots of sand, sun, good music and good people-just what I needed to recharge before going back to school (I'm already exhausted and it's only been 3 days!). Unfortunately I didn't get to see these guys perform but I did get to hear them from the tent area where we were wondering whether to make coffee in the sweltering heat (in the end caffeine won). I really believe that the first song you hear in the morning sets your mood for the entire day and this was a perfect energetic yet laid back start. The clip also really captures the free spirited feel of the festival and wide variety of different styles and sounds (it might be an indie festival but it's so much more than just alternative rock bands). Plus it makes me want to visit Jerusalem which has a unique vibe that's so refreshing from Tel Aviv. There's something in the air that makes even the most cynical and secular feel at least a bit spiritual.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%91%D7%AA-%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%95%D7%9F/29900256257

Vaadat Charigim-The world is long lost

So unsurprisingly Bibi announced early elections, which will probably be the most unsurprising elections yet. The real question on people's minds is who will join Bibi's coalition. To say the truth I'm not sure how much energy I have for these elections-the newspaper articles, the polls, the interviews, the propaganda ads, the posters on buses and most of all the endless discussions around the dinner table with family and by the bar wth friends. Endless discussions which all end when someone points out that there isn't any real alternative, which seems to be the only thing we can all agree on. Of course that doesn't mean that I won't participate-it just makes me want to go to the beach and forget about everything. Which brings me to this excellent band I've recently dicovered and their great clip which really captures the "it's the middle of August so I don't want to think about anything serious" feeling which sweeps over the nation in the summer, and the holidays. Only now it's already October and it's getting too chilly to go to the beach, but at least I can always disconnect for a bit and get lost in Vaadat Charigim's (Exceptions Committee) mesmerizing guitar riffs.

Let's lie on the beach
Let's lie on our stomachs
As deep as possible
If we'll fall in love it's okay
Because there's no tomorrow
And the world is long lost

http://www.facebook.com/vaadatcharigim

Danny Sanderson-Crying and Laughing

It seems that you can't dislike Danny Sanderson. Even if you're not a huge fan of his music-he's such a likeable person-always good humored and positive. He made a huge impact on Israeli music by singing and songwriting with the mythological Caveret band, as well as Gazoz and Doda and you can hear in this song a lot of nostalgia for those good old days, especially in the music itself. The lyrics here are quite dark and very fitting for the end of the holidays beginning of autumn feel of these days but the music is so bright and cheerful. It sounds like it could have been written 30 years ago but it still manages to feel fresh and relevant-and exactly what people want to hear today.

Crying and laughing, what's going on with me
I don't distinct between day and night
Crying and laughing, what hit me
How do I continue from here on

I used to play in orange fields
The sun sailed high up in the skies
On my way I met happiness and troubles
They're with me along the avenue

Crying and laughing, what's going on with me
I don't distinct between day and night
Crying and laughing, what hit me
How do I continue from here on

When my friends left me
Only their songs remained
In a crowded street I hear a melody
In my heart a little tear weeps

Crying and laughing...

The days become shorter
The winds are becoming colder
I wake up in the morning revised and refreshed
And aching each time again

http://www.dannysanderson.net/bioENHome.html

One of Sanderson's most loved songs (also by me): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WqvYZiEDrM