Labrador Labratories-Dance All Night In The Rain

When I first heard this song I thought it was sweet and charming-and that's about it. But after hearing it again and especially as part of Labrador Labratorie's new album "Lonely Tribes" I realized it's exactly what I was looking for-sweet, humble and charming-a perfect companion for warm spring days. Make sure to check out their lovely video "Don't Take That Flight" from their previous album "Labra Cadabra". And the album itself, and basically their whole discography!

Roei Freilich-Tonight She'll Dance

It's officially Spring meaning the first wave of spring weddings before the Counting of the Omer. I personally enjoy engagement parties much more than the weddings themselves and this video really captures the magic of it-just a group of close friends celebrating the good news with just the right amount of people and (so it seems) the right amount of alcohol. If Roei's voice sounds familiar it's because he's the lead singer of the much loved band Reines Girls (bandcamp here)-don't worry, they're not breaking up-just on a break since bassist Guy Goldstein is currently living in the States for a few months. I love how Freilich is experimenting with new material and this is his third single (and so far my favorite) after 'Electrical Storm' and 'ADD' from his upcoming album 'Raising Smoke'. I also love how the songs don't take themselves too seriously-just excellent music to dance to at a memorable party.

I dance and don't sweat it
I'm afraid that my steps are limited to rules
I trip and don't keep the pace
And disgrace the floor with ill dances

At home on the screen
There's one who is waiting
If I miss my goal
In front of her I'll stain my bed
But maybe tonight she'll dance with me

I stand on it and don't reach
And cling to the tops of tall trees
My pride is now at the height of grass
I'm willing to compromise even on flashing lights
Light...light...light...
Lights!
Light...light...light...
In the end she'll nest, with me she'll grow old
Lights!

At home on the screen
There's one who is waiting
If I miss my goal
In front of her I'll stain my bed
But maybe tonight she'll dance with me
Maybe...maybe...maybe...maybe...tonight she'll dance with me

Noar Shulayim-Draw Yourself a Mustache

In a city very close
To Satan's dwelling
Grew a girl, possibly a girl
She was always like a little boy

So draw yourself a mustache, draw yourself a mustache
Draw yourself, draw yourself, draw yourself a mustache
Draw yourself a mustache, draw yourself a mustache
Draw yourself, draw yourself, draw yourself a mustache

With the years she grew
And her manly root grew with her too
Now in paratroopers
She commands over a whole troop

So draw yourself a mustache...

Recently she discovered
Some hair on her left cheek
Now she has a beard
And the mustache is still on the menu

So draw yourself a mustache...

In a city very close
To Satan's dwelling
Grew a girl, possibly a girl
She was always like a little boy

So draw yourself a mustache...

It's Purim! Well, the official holiday is tomorrow but celebrations have started since Thursday. I can't think of a more fitting song than this tune from 1990 by Noar Shulayim (translates to Marginal Youth). Lead singer Mickiyagi has said in interviews that it's simply about a girl he knew in the army who,well, had a bit of a mustache but I like to believe there's a deeper meaning underlying it regarding gender bending and choosing your own identity. In any case it's a super catchy tune which makes you want to loosen up and temporarily be something else which is basically what Purim is all about. I read in an interview that while Mickiyagi was inspired by emerging new wave artists his band mates came from the world of 80s heavy rock and I think you can really hear that in this song and it's what gives it an edge. The whole album, which was their second after a mild debut (despite this hit) kind of dresses up as a pop album (and was a very successful one) but there's still a complexity to it. You can't really discuss it without mention two of its hugest hits "Anog" (Tender) and "Amsterdam" so here they are:

The night is over
Over into the light
The moon falls
Too drunk
Up there
Like a pure baby
You up there
Aren't you sad to be alone?

How tender he is
How tender
In me crumbles the fear
How tender he is
How tender
In me awakens love

The sun
My hot fire
You are burning
With your pain alone

How tender he is...

When the light turns blue
And also the moon is ashamed of its endless loneliness
Disappears so not everyone will see it

Light
How tender it is
How tender
How tender is the light, world
How tender it is
How tender
How tender is your light

Hana Goldberg who wrote the song has said that her inspiration for the song was the comforting sunlight-she didn't really intend for it to be Israel's first gay anthem (it came out that way especially since in Hebrew light sounds exactly like skin-how tender is your skin...) but was delighted that it gave young gays the courage to come out-this was during a time when things were still very conservative and gay culture was very secretive (quite hard to believe given how things have changed so much). Lead singer Mickiyagi never hid his sexuality but the media never discussed it-he was labeled a pop idol and was adored by girl fans, something he was never really comfortable with and this heightened success eventually lead to the band's breakup. It was always a very popular song and it's still so much fun today to sing along to (not to mention the always enjoyable slightly creepy video).



You dream of a different place
A distant continent
There you'll find peace
With a backpack on your back you
Delay a bit at the door
And go on your way

Oy Amsterdam
Oui Madame
No Madame
Magical foreign person
Come to me come home

Girls with yellow hair
Mysteriousness of Europe
Here beyond the district
When you came to Amsterdam
You immediately wanted to leave
You didn't find relaxation

Oh Amsterdam...

You go to find a place
At a specific point
There you'll find the peace
Even to India you've already reached
And the peace is not there
In your house it is hiding

Oy Amsterdam...

Hana Goldberg wrote this song as well (more hits which she wrote you can find here) and says of it: "1985-Many of my friends went to "find themselves" in Amsterdam and in India. Most of them came back wearing jellabiyas, with beads and weird haircuts and spoke of 'the enlightenment' they had experienced, but I felt that nothing had changed in them except for their clothes and hairstyles, I felt that true searching is internal and not external...". I guess this brings us back to dressing up-on Purim and in general in life... There's something so Israeli about this song and it's as relevant today as it was 30 years ago (except maybe Berlin can replace Amsterdam). There's also something so calming about the music making it perfect for Friday afternoons and easy for everyone to relate to. After the band went their separate ways Mickiyagi developed a career as a make-up artist but he did return with a new single a few months ago-I love how mature it sounds reflecting where he is today-and he still has such a beautiful voice.

Yael Deckelbaum-Song Banishes the Darkness

What a fitting song for Women's Day-I personally find the "holiday"which was marked here with sales on cosmetics to be a bit ridiculous but I guess it does raise awareness and discussion of where we are in society. I'm well aware that I tend to post much more songs by male singers and songwriters and it's probably because for whatever reasons there are much more well known male musicians and also because I tend to be much more critical towards female singing. This song is part of a newly released tribute album for Chava Alberstein and apart for a few songs here and there, a lot of the versions made me want to return to the originals, but I guess it's always like that with these kind of tribute albums. But this song is different. It's a perfect choice to end the album with and it breathes new life into Chava's original which I wasn't familiar with before (a possible reason why I like it so much). Chava took a Georgian folk tune (Gogoli Gogo) and added her own lyrics to it. In Hebrew, like in many other languages, there's a grammatical difference in how you speak to men and women-for example when you say "you" to a boy it's "ata" and to a girl it's "at" (and of course even if there is only one boy in a group of girls you'll automatically say "atem" instead of "aten" which is just for girls). In this song the singer sings directly to a woman which gives it a strong sisterly effect-in the translation the singer could be singing to anyone,making it more universal but also much less, dare I say, empowering. I love the singer's "get yourself together" attitude and how it's not at all aggressive or righteous-just straightforward. There are two versions by Chava and I can't decide which I like more. The very original, from '91, sounds like some kind of spiritual folk chant-especially with the drums and fast tempo. A newer version is taken from Chava's concert in 2008-it's much more soothing and peaceful: "you have a voice and a guitar so sing" is said as an encouragement, and it sounds much more personal-as if speaking to a close friend or family member. And then there's Yael Deckelbaum's version which highlights her unique voice and also conveys some sort of progress throughout the song-as if she herself is getting stronger with each verse.
I first came across Yael  at the 2007 Jacob's Ladder Festival when she joined the reunion of "The Taverners" the Jerusalem folk group founded in the 70s by her father Dr. David Deckelbaum together with Shay Tochner and close friends. My friends and I were heartbroken a few years later when we came to the festival and heard that he had passed away a few months after suffering from a stroke. It was heard to grasp because when we saw him he was so...alive with his terrible jokes and carefree disposition. He was also a pretty amazing banjo player. In the meanwhile Yael had become a household name with the very successful group "Habanot Nechama" with Karolina and Dana Adini. In 2010 she released her first solo album, "Ground Zero" with songs in English. A year later she was about to record her second album, which was supposed to include songs in Hebrew and English, as well as collaborations with other artists, but on the first day of recording she got the news that her father had passed away "From that day, I was thrown to a new path. I started a new journey, which brought me to create a Hebrew album, unlike my debut album which was entire in English". -(Translated from this interview in Hebrew from 2011). Later in the interview she's asked to choose between Hebrew and English and answers "It's like asking 'Which one of your children do you prefer' or 'which song that you wrote do you feel most connected to'. It's two entities that exist inside me, when each time a different one takes a place and is expressed. There's something in English, which brings me to a more imaginative place. My songs in English, it's as if they come from a different dimension. In Hebrew, it's more here and now".
At first I wasn't sure how the Hebrew album would be-I was used to hearing her sing in English and I felt at the time that maybe the switch to Hebrew was an attempt to connect with a wider audience-at the expense of her artistic abilities. But today I heard "Joy and Sadness" and it feels so personal and mature-it's really beautiful  from start to finish. Here's an IndieCity clip of one of my favorites: "A free man".
Towards the end Yael says something which I find very insightful: "I deal less with 'what' and more with 'how'. How I experience myself when I'm writing a song, or teaching, or when I go see a concert, or when I'm sitting in a van, or waiting backstage, or when I'm going to the bank, or even when I'm calling Social Security, it's 95% of life. Those moments on stage, it's a really small part. Because of that I try to give it the right weight. Ultimately, I believe that all of these things come to play into my art. After all, the person you, is the artist you are".
These days Deckelbaum is performing new material together with songs from her previous albums. Earlier this year Alberstein released the excellent album 'And How are You' which you can buy here. She also sings together with Shlomi Shaban in his latest single (and one of his best) "Exercise in Awakening".

He won't return and you see already
You have no reason to keep crying
He won't return and you're not a child anymore
It's time to stop waiting
You have no reason to keep crying
It's time to stop waiting

Don't turn sadness into a home
Don't get addicted to longing
Get up and go out the world is before you
It will compose for you different songs
Don't get addicted to longing
It will compose for you different songs

Song banishes the darkness at night
Song strengthens the heart in difficult times

Love wanders on the way
A gypsy who got lost
She has hair the color of the burning sun
You'll easily recognize her
A gypsy who got lost
You'll easily recognize her

Don't stop her let her go
Follow her wherever she'll go
Go after her go after her
She'll override obstacles for you
Go after her wherever she'll go
She'll override obstacles for you
You have a voice and a guitar so sing

Song banishes the darkness at night
Song strengthens the heart in difficult times

She'll teach you she'll tell you
You'll understand the language of birds
What happened to you and what will happen to you
You'll learn to turn into songs
Understand the language of birds
You'll learn to turn into songs
You have a voice and a guitar so sing

Song banishes the darkness at night
Song strengthens the heart in difficult times

Tzook-All The Glasses Are Empty

I can't believe it's already March, and with it the "Winter" we've had is pretty much over. I feel like I didn't get the chance to say goodbye to the rain... Even though the skies are blue this is a perfect Winter song and video. I didn't find too much information about Tzook-just that this is his first single from his upcoming album which he produced on his own. Very promising.

Friday night
The mood is personal
Sitting with her on a bench
Yesterday a miserable heart was broken
Wolves in the crowd
I became good at dreaming
I prey in my daydreams
And don't let her peek
She'll try too much
I'll repeat my steps

Drops, walk between them
All the glasses are empty
My plenty feels less
Couples and more couples
In all of the streets
And what from this remains
What will happen to me if you'll leave tomorrow

And I try
To complete the act
To run to that same mountain
That I marked years ago
Running at an uneven pace
You're watching in the audience
And my age presses on the side
Thinking of Lennon running on the path nearby
Maybe I lost precious time
I think and get up to sing