Tomer Yeshayahu - The Arava Road

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I'm driving down the Arava road
When you'll be big, they told me
There won't be an army
I was in love
When I received a draft order
Little children
We went out to dance back then in the kibbutz

The Minister of Transportation is guilty
Or the Minister of Economy
The Minister of Communications
Is the Prime Minister
The wife already went crazy
In the summer there's a war

We'll go to India
We'll take hard drugs
In Israel for already two years
They didn't call for reserve duty
We'll connect and lie down outside during the sunset
We'll stick out our tongues to the stars
Why are you crying?
She remembers Petah Tikva
7-hour flight

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David Lavi - Lotus Flower

When my best friend and I bought tickets to see the Radiohead show way back in February we half expected it not to happen, not because of BDS but because summertime is usually also wartime (just ask Neil Young). Many artists have been called on not to perform in Israel but Radiohead was one of the only acts to respond, leading to a back and forth which dominated headlines. It also led to a renewed interest in Radiohead's music with radio stations playing plenty of their songs and tributes to the band like this stunning cover by David Lavi.

There were many memorable moments at Wednesday's show, whether it was Thom Yorke reminiscing about the band's 1993 gigs at the Roxanne (their first international shows!) followed by Creep and The Bends, or the surprisingly emotional sing-along at the end of Karma Police, but a moment that will always stay with me was the shift in the air when the band began to play "No Surprises". Amidst all the chaos, it felt so good to hear the lullaby-ish notes and to cheer with everyone to the lines "bring down the government/ they don't, they don't speak for us". No alarms and no surprises please.

I will shape myself into your pocket
Invisible, do what you want, do what you want
I will shrink and I will disappear
I will slip into the groove and cut me up, and cut me up

There's an empty space inside my heart
Where the weeds take root
And now I'll set you free
I'll set you free
There's an empty space inside my heart

Where the weeds take root
Tonight I'll set you free
I'll set you free

Slowly we unfurl
As lotus flowers
'Cause all I want is the moon upon a stick
Just to see what if
Just to see what is
I can't kick your habit
Just to feed your fast ballooning head
Listen to your heart

We will shrink and be quiet as mice
While the cat is away; do what we want
Do what we want

There's an empty space inside my heart
Where the weeds take root
So now I set you free
I set you free

'Cause all I want is the moon upon a stick
Just to see what if
Just to see what is

Put the lotus flower into my room

Slowly we unfurl
As lotus flowers
'Cause all I want is the moon upon a stick
I dance around a pit
The darkness is beneath
I can't kick your habit
Just to feed your fast ballooning head
Listen to your heart

Maya Polizer - Lighthouse

I originally planned on posting Maya Polizer's song "Shabbat in your heart" but in light of yesterday's terrorist attack it didn't feel right and it was a bit too joyous for my mood. So I was glad to discover Maya's stunning version of "Lighthouse" which was originally performed by the great Shoshana Damari in 1958. A beautiful beacon of light shining in the darkness.

He knew that there was no lighthouse on the coast,
But always, when he came back at night,
From the coast he would notice, in the darkness,
A wondrous light winking at him and rejoicing.

He knew that there was no lighthouse on the coast,
But there was always a light from the darkness.

She waited for him with salty lips,
He held her silently to him,
He promised: "I'll stay with you, sister!"
But at dawn he again slipped back into the sea.

He knew...

Once she clutched him tightly:
"Stay, because I can't take it anymore!"
He kissed both her eyes, and was silent;
But at dawn he was seen rowing again.

But at night, when he returned with water and darkness,
There was no more light shining like a lighthouse.

They found her on the beach, among the seashells.
And her heart was like a lump of black coal.
And only then the seagulls slowly revealed to him,
That her heart was a lighthouse to him.

He knew...

He then cupped her heart as well as he could,
Suddenly it was warm and shone again.
And today at the top of the cliff, at the head of a tower,
He gives light to every sailor at sea.

Because even though there is no lighthouse on the coast,
One heart always lights up from the darkness.

Jimbo J and the Spa Band - I did

A few years ago I came across Jimbo J's poetry slam bit "I did" and it really got me thinking about how instead of using verbs like "I served, I traveled, I studied, I cooked... we all just say "I did". I did this, I did that, reducing the action to something you just check off a list without really going into detail, not to mention how it implies that the speaker is at the very center of the experience. It's also just a really lazy way of speaking. Jimbo J and the Spa Band succeed in turning this linguistic observation into a lively song that sums up the Israeli experience of growing up. It's well worth checking out their other songs from their debut album. I did!

IdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdid

What's I served? I did the army

Basic training in Shavta, from there to Jenin
Then the Etzion Brigade, Na'alin
Guarding with Nachal, training in the Golan
Then I did a commanders course
I did a patrol with the Border Police
I did guard duty eight-eight on the line
I did really great coffee
Black, strong, to wake up in an ambush
I did an arrest in Hebron
I did one war in Lebanon
When I did an officer in Be'er Sheva at Beit Hachayal they said
"It's a shame, do a bit of Keva"
How did my commander say to me? "You did good here"
But walla, I didn't want to
I said no to Keva and no to shoes because I did my part

IdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdid

What's I traveled? I did India

In the north I did almost everything
Dharamsala, Manali, and nothing beats Kasul
But then I was a little tired
So I did a U-turn
Nubra Valley, I did the trek in the desert
Three days, two nights, motorcycles
Then I did Kashmir and it was over
All that was left was to do the south
I did a stop in Rajasthan on the way
The cheapest shopping in Pushkar, I did
From there to Goa and Mumbai another month, to Palolem, Om Beach, a bit of Hampi
I had enough
I did my part

IdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdidIdid

What's I used? I did drugs
Green, brown, not hard drugs
Hits, joints, blunts, spliffs
I also flew some pipes, I dropped heads
I did the Coca and a bit of Hagigat
Nose only, lines, I didn't swallow, I snorted
And if it was enough to do once, but it didn't open
So walla I didn't fly
Persian Cocain I didn't do, why because they say you're stoked
But spitz, trips, acid, right on the spot, that I did do
But I'll leave you now

Now I just want to do to my home, to do names, to do business
To do the hit, to do kayaks, I want to do the time of my life

But I also want to do thoughts, to do teshuva, to do soul searching
To do love, to do kids, to do what a man needs to do