Vegan Friendly - Cows

It's actually not very surprising that there's an Israeli band called Vegan Friendly, considering all the vegans who live here. I'm not a vegan but it's nice that there are so many vegan options no matter where you eat- it makes it easier to eat healthy, and much easier to go out with vegan friends. Vegan Friendly are Assaf Reiss on drums, Jango on base & vocal and the one and only Geva Alon on guitars and vocals. It's great to hear Geva in a band again (he shined in The Flying Baby before going solo) and everything about this band works so organically.

My eyes are open but I can't see through
Each time you're walking down the avenue
I think I've known you for all my life
My heart moves forward but my feet step back

Cows left in the wild
Cows left in the wild

My stomach is aching and I can't go on
My diet is changing between right and wrong
The things they told me most all my life
Are changing shape before my lingering eyes

Cows left in the wild
Cows left in the wild

My heart is bursting from discoveries
And you're still walking down the same old streets
And I've known you for all my life
I know you

Cows left in the wild
Cows left in the wild
Cows left in the wild
Cows left in the wild

Noam Banai - Tel Avivit

Noam Banai (Meir's son, in case you were wondering) is continuing the Banai legacy while making his mark as an emerging artist with this edgy and vulnerable hit.

They say it's because you're a Tel Avivit
I think it's because you're tall
There's something aggressive
In your dance always

They say you're hollow
I think it's because of the heels
There's something unstable
In your dance always

And you don't know how to stop telling lies

They say you're lonely most of the time
I think it's because of the stares
There's something uneven
In your dance always

And you don't know how to stop telling lies

They say it's because you're a Tel Avivit
I think it's because you're beautiful
There's something mesmerizing
In your dance always

And you don't know how to stop telling lies

Yotam Mahler - Late Bloomer

With all the chaos going on, this lush gem by Yotam Mahler is just what I needed. Like stepping into a beautiful air-conditioned room after a sweltering day outside.

Driving through my attempts
I've been beaten up (you've been beaten up)
A sweet release
I can only be myself

No beginning has to end
Nothing worse yet to announce
I'm a late bloomer

Cooling down this time
I have learned myself (I have learned myself)
What a sweet release
I don't see the end ahead

No beginning has to end
Nothing worse yet to announce
I'm a late bloomer

Through the obstacles (late bloomer)
(This time)
When they got me down
(I have learned myself)
I can only be myself

Maureen Nehedar - Gole Gandom (Wheat Flower)

I've been following the tragic news in the U.S. but it's not really enough to understand the atmosphere there and what's on people's minds. It feels a bit like looking into a house from the street- you see what's going on, more or less, but not how the people there are feeling, or how they're communicating with each other. All I can offer is a few minutes of beautiful music from a far away land. Maureen Nehedar was born in Iran and made aliyah with her family as a small girl in 1980. This song is the first single from her new album which is devoted to Persian classical and folk songs set in new arrangements. Gole Gandom, meaning 'wheat flower', is based on a traditional Persian song and is a celebration of women harvesting the fields:

My yield has been ample
I no longer fear what the day will bring

The Bells - At the End of the Day

What a refreshing contra to all those over-produced 'feel happy' hits. The Bells offer a stripped-down sound, strong vocals and above all, very honest lyrics.

Again I reach the end of the day
I never keep up with the pace
Just thinking about not thinking
In a moment of silence

Like a kind of magical promise
That's waiting at the end of sadness
Again a melody rises in me
From the depths of imagination

The street is flooded with presence
When the city changes again
The yellow becomes orange
Always at the end of the day

For years I wandered in time
Between loneliness and silence
A country far away from here
Seems like a dream to me

And now coming back
With love discovering that...
Even with all the mess
I belong here

The street is flooded with presence
When the city changes again
The yellow becomes orange
Always at the end of the day
The light seems like a hallucination
The trash bins in the corner
The orange becomes red
Always at the end of the day

At the end of the day again
I return to you
From the tired city
To your arms