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 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 she 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 led 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 and 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 many more songs by male singers and songwriters, and it's probably because, for whatever reasons, there are many more well-known male musicians, and also because I tend to be much more critical of female singing. This song is part of a newly released tribute album for Chava Alberstein, and apart from 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 kinds 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 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 hard 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, each time a different one takes a place and is expressed. There's something in English that brings me to a more imaginative place. My songs in English are 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 video 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 are 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 are 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

Ligion Hazarim - Time

I was about to post this week's song yesterday. I had everything ready, but suddenly the selected song didn't match up at all with my mood, so I decided to wait and post the next day. I also felt that maybe I was missing something, so this morning I skimmed over the 'Oneg Shabat' and came across Ligion Hazarim (the Foreign Legion)'s brand new album. Guy from Oneg wrote: "It's hard to say that I'm thrilled about all of the musical/producing choices of Ligion Hazarim, an Israeli band that released their debut album just now, A Man Sliced to Slices, but I can't remain cynical or indifferent to this album. It has beauty, honesty, simplicity (which isn't necessarily simplification), and an almost complete lack of cynicism, which I totally dig. Listen on Bandcamp, it's all there". How could I not be intrigued by this grand introduction? Before I even began listening, I took note of the album's official introduction:

"Hello dear listener,

The album in your hand contains pieces of a torn heart and divided mind.
It was written on days in which the darkness was much greater than the light and the hidden over the apparent.
I left my new home
And my old God
And I went out in search of salvation
Wherever it may be.

Between the sounds in its songs, you can hear a man coming out for the second time from the warm womb to cold night air.

Udi."

Just from these lines, you can indeed feel the complete lack of cynicism, as well as honesty and beauty. I first intended to translate just the opening song, but each song here is so unique, and the album must be heard from start to finish, so I ended up translating all of the songs, which are really poems. I think the music and production choices give this album a magic touch, making it a strong contender for one of the best albums of the year. I was delighted to discover that the band sounds just as great live, and it is well worth listening to their live recording "Live and Bleeding at Levontin 7". One of my favorites from there, The Curtain Fell, even has its own very recently released live video.

1. Time

Time does with me what he wants to, running his fingers through my hair
Time registers his movement driving his lips on my neck.

Days pass
Nights arrive
And roots deepen.

Time does with me what he wants to, setting the pace of my heart
Time carries his prayers, moving my mind like a big wave.

Days pass
Nights arrive
And roots deepen
Deepen.

2. A man sliced to slices

If you'll only lift up your eyes to see
You'll see here a man sliced to slices
Dressed with carelessness
Going into details
A vagabond and a clown
A rich man or your beggar
This way or that.

If you'll only send hands to touch
I'll be ready to disappear without knowing
The taste of the tree
Or the taste of the fruit
Which came first
Your death or my life or my death

Si seulement tu levais les yeux pour voir
Tu verrais un homme fabrique de parcelles
Habille de n'importe quoi
Decortiquant ses penses
clown et Vagabond
Riche ou mendicant
Tour a tour

3. Flower girl

Between the 60s and 70s a flower girl with gold in her hair
A backpack on her back and a smile on her face, looking for the autumn
A thousand fields, one hundred songs are playing in her head, for her they sing
Now.

Between yesterday and tomorrow, the day that passed, the cold night
And in the open window, comes the wind, calls the familiar field
A thousand days, a hundred years are waiting for her, to laugh and to cry
With them.

4. In the Asylum #2

This is the beginning of a perfect evening, he is in black she is in white
A full moon here and there a few stars,
This is going to be a night of once in a lifetime.

In the blood wedding there are four participants
The groom the bride the rabbi and God, and the ministering angels in the role of the band
Playing for them a waltz...

And then in the honeymoon, they knit themselves clothes from blood and straw
Losing themselves again and again finding
That's how it is when you love.

They build themselves a house of gold from peels of oranges
And plant in the garden new old books,
And farm with milk and farm,
And wait and farm and wait,
Living at night sleeping in the day
Living at night sleeping in the day.

And then when they finished singing all the songs, they locked the door and went up to the office
Of the Creator
Placed the keys on the table and took off their clothes
And stood naked like two kids, only them and the Creator.

"How was it?" he asked, and they stood laughing
He climbed on a chair and took down from the closet two glowing crowns
And placed them on their heads and said with his impressive voice
"That's how it is when you love"

5. The Darkness

Two riders on a dirt road, into the night which has broken
Towards rest, in the darkness.
Two much too beautiful girls, thinking maybe, they will find for themselves love here,
In the darkness.

Nothing will be as it already was
Nothing will seem as it already appeared to be
Before the arrival, of the darkness.

Two wanderers by the fire, which in a minute will die out
Falling into sleep
In the darkness.
And the young widow, she is crying into her pillow
Her man left her and went
Into the darkness.
Nothing will be as it already was
Nothing will seem as it already appeared to be,
Before the arrival, of the darkness.

6. The Jewish State to Where

And the Arabs will tile and the Chinese will floor and the Romanians will paint
And another building will rise
In the Jewish State to where.

If you will it, it is no dream, it reminds me of a joke
Of a man with a beard standing on an old bridge
The lost time is crucified to a pole
In the synagogue they are collecting another minyan, for glory
The Jewish State to where.

All of the homeland heroes, the cultural figures
The Palmach club the pen and the gun
Retired with the diminishing generations
And scattered to here and to there
In the Jewish State to where.

If you'll touch the cold stone, it will give you chills
It will scratch at the threshold of consciousness
And a small note will fall on your head, you will open it and read a question instead of a wish
On the simple paper, in a little boy's handwriting:
"The Jewish State to where?"

7. Yoni

A hot night in a foreign town, singing Dylan during guard duty
Like the cigarettes in the mouth, burning.
With the weapons the uniforms looking like two children
Caught in war.
And you say "As soon as this ends I'm outta here, I'm not staying
My heart is calling to the distances"
While around us there is shelling, both of us talk quietly
Of a summer of love

Only your brown eyes
Are saying from a photograph
That you're coming right away.
You just went to grab yourself a corner
On the wings of the divine presence
You beautiful child

On the banks of the Dan River are sitting, two freshly discharged soldiers,
With feet in the flowing water.
While on the side lie backpacks prepared and ready
Towards a new life.

Only your brown eyes
Are saying from a photograph
That you're coming right away.
You just went to grab yourself a corner
On the wings of the divine presence
You beautiful child.

And now when you are close, to the chair of honor
Rest your mind
And know only peace and quiet, and rest in peace
You beautiful child.

8. Pure

Teach me knowledge, teach me pain.
Teach me to see, everything around
Teach me fire, teach me frost
Teach me heat which comes from the cold.

Let me into the secret of things
Let me into the shadows
Make me pure
From cheap sins.
Let me into the secret of things
Let me into the shadows
Make me pure
Of unclean things.

Make me a sign, so I'll stay
And here I'll turn, and the moment passes
Make me a sign, so I'll remember
The light that was from inside me burning

Let me into the secret of things
Let me into the shadows
Make me pure
From cheap sins.
Let me into the secret of things
Let me into the shadows
Make me pure
Of unclean things.

9. Land of Gold Fire

With time my eyes close, and see less and less.
With time my skin peels, my blood changes, into other blood.
I don't remember, where I'll go, where I'll drag myself to when the day will be over.
I don't have medication for the liquid pain, for the passing sadness, for the rising sadness.

So I'll call to the sea which will rise
To the light which will be revealed
To the light which will be revealed.

When the sun will set I'll get down from the mountain
And come to a lake at the end of the world.
And wash my clothes my face my feet
Which have been filled in dust which my pain has risen
And I'll know the quiet at the end of the storm
And I'll hear the sound that's after the silence.

So I'll call to the sea which will rise
To the light which will be revealed
To the light which will be revealed.

Lands of gold fire
I'm coming now
I'm coming now
I'm coming now

10. Coal

I opened my eyes to see
And here all the gold has become
Coal

Hacabinet - You'll get fired

"Were you unjustly fired? Is your boss riding you? Do you feel as if you're passing through your life from one failure to another? Well, so do we.
Come see the story of Or "Orko" Cohen from the band "Hacabinet", which has created a rare and fascinating document regarding the Israeli labour market.
"Remarkably accurate"-The Times
"If you don't empathize with this, you've probably never been a failure"-The Guardian
"A fascinating human document"-Haaretz
"Denigrates Olmert. We like it!"-Israel Today
"In any case nobody reads us"-Maariv

This is how "Hacabinet" introduced their latest video on Facebook, and it really says it all about the band. I love their infusion of catchy riffs, candid lyrics, and perfect comic timing (it also doesn't hurt to have a very charismatic lead singer). Oh, there's an Israeli phrase called "big head"- it's not about having an inflated ego but rather going the extra mile, doing more than the minimum, hence "enlarging your head". I'm pretty sure it's derived from Army slang, but it's a very common phrase, especially in the workforce...

You'll get fired
If you won't wake up
I'm not interested at all
There's nothing to talk about
Because it's the minimum
That I ask for

You'll get fired
If you won't show personal responsibility
It seems trivial to me
There's nothing to talk about
Because it's not much
That I ask for

You'll get fired
If you won't enlarge your head a bit
It seems to me a legitimate request
To enlarge your head a bit
Because it's the minimum
That I ask for

Look at yourself
Look at you
Pull yourself together
Look yourself in the eye
Look at you
I think you
Should be ashamed
Of yourself

(Now listen)

Get out of my office
And go away, go
"No no Yaakov, don't touch him Yaakov"
Because it's the minimum
That I ask for

Hacabinet's videos are so awesome that I just had to share these two: This one is a stark criticism of music reality culture at the expense of real music. How is this not viral?



"Who will flush the water first?"

I'm sick of stars being born
You've made the music cheap entertainment for the masses
I don't want to hear a panel of judges
It's not music
When standing in front of you are judges

I don't want to hear life stories
Peppery, twisted, adjusted
I don't want to hear how they're destroying the songs I love
Cutting, editing and shouting at us

Give us the music back!

I'm sick of stars
You've choked already all of the young artists
From above only pushing and shoving
But it doesn't help
You're not playing on everyone

I don't want to hear vocal pyrotechnics
I don't want to hear Aviv and Sarit
I don't want to hear how they're destroying the songs I love...

Give us the music back!

And one day a new program-
Thirteen contestants,
One toilet
Who will flush the water first?

The young generation
Is getting idiotic
Getting idiotic
Getting idiotic

And this is a very sweet love song for...black coffee. So Israeli in the best way.



"Strong like a man, bitter like life"

In a complicated, branched, confusing reality
You need one reliable source of light
When it's dark, foggy, murky and unclear
You need a place where you can return to

He pumps my blood, he grows a beard for me
He lights the way for me when it's dark
Like the fire and the wheel, he keeps me alive
He's the difference between us and animals

Let it sink
And not cool down

He dissolves my anger
He is worth my sweat
He's a cure for all sadness and pain

He's a port in the storm
He's a substitute for a girl
He's always available hot and receiving

Let it sink and not cool down

UBK - Desert Love

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that UBK, better known as Uri Brauner Kinrot and even better known as Boom Pam's lead singer and guitarist, is one of the most talented musicians around. I really like how with this upcoming (and very anticipated) debut solo album he's just doing his own thing and playing music he loves. There's also something very charming about him. I still remember the first time I heard his deep voice in the golden duet with Karolina "The ballad of the freedom knight and the mermaid". And of course there's also his work with Boom Pam, just check out their brilliant performance at the Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow. I can't think of better fitting ambassadors for the current Israeli music scene. I love the 70s feel of this song and clip, as if it belongs to a much simpler time and place. It's crazy that the desert is only about an hour from Tel Aviv but so, so distant. Reminds me of my bus trips to Beer Sheva when the wide open scenery of the South would merge with daydreams and much needed escapism from the hectic daily life.