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30 May
I <3 Bob Dole
I always loved Bob Dole, he got robbed when he ran, whoever ran his campaign sucked. Here is another great reason to love Bob Dole.
29 May
Yeedles Cover
Yeedle has just released the cover for his new album “Lev Echad.”
I’m not yet sure what I think of it. It’s cute, it’s alright, I get the idea, but haven’t we seen the silhouette thing done to death already? Hear a track off his album here. There is a lot of good music hitting stores soon, it’s going to be nice.
I’m planning on reviewing more albums then usual, and I hope at a quicker pace then usual. I’m still waiting for the go ahead with Lipa’s cover. I’ll have samplers for Yosef Karduner and 8th Day Live later today.
Speaking of new Jewish Music, as promised, I have some more information.
Here is the cover and preview sampler from Benny Amar’s debut album.
The album is called Am Echad. I really like the sound of the album, the music is outstanding and Benny’s voice stands out from many of the guys “typical” yeshivish vocals. I’ll be reviewing this album along with all the other new releases.
Here is a bit more about the album:
“Songs composed by Abie Rotenberg, Baruch Levine, Elimelech Blumstein, Shmuli Rosenberg, and Benny himself, this is sure to be a stellar record. This album was arranged by Shmuli Rosenberg and Leib Yaacov Rigler and features superb musical performances by the likes of Conrad Korsch (Rod Stewart), Rich Arrigo, Benny Koonyevsky, Antoine Silverman (Warner Bros.), David Weiss (The Lion King), among others. Two time Grammy® Award winning engineer Marc Urselli mixed and mastered the album - for an unprecedented level of quality in Jewish Music.The album was produced by SkyLine Music, NYC (www.SkyLineMusicNYC.com)”
Here is another new CD that just came out of nowhere. This CD is from Ari B, whose first album was really good. Unlike the first album, this is a group effort. We heard some of this album a while back on Nachum Segal’s radio show. The CD features a new group, including Ari B. It’s Yoshi Fruchter, Avrumy Shreiber, Jesse Asher and Ari. The group is called Six Days of Creation and from what I could tell it’s a straight up rock group. I’m looking forward to hearing more.
28 May
New Jewish Music Is Coming …
Friends, the drought is ending very soon. The hardest time of the year for any devout Jewish Music fan is coming to a close. Very soon we will have new music from Lipa Schmeltzer, Yeedle Werdyger, Baruch Levine, Benny Amar, 8th Day and Yosef Karduner. I’m not sure how much further after that, but my sources tell me we can also expect new music later in the summer from Sruly Werdyger, Yosef Chaim Shwekey and Menucha 2. Then around Rosh Hashana time the very long awaited and much talked about debut album from Dovid Stein.
So let’s talk about what we got right now. Here is the cover and sample from Baruch Levine’s 2nd album.
The CD is called Chasson HaTorah. From the sampler I’m looking forward to this album. I am still not crazy about his voice, but the first album really grew on me. The songs are really classy songs. I also happen to think V’zakeini from the first album is one of the top 5 slow songs of 2007. (HT Shlager)
Next we have a Live album from 8th Day. Here is an updated cover I got from their Facebook page.
You can also hear two full length tracks from the album if you want. The first track is Chassidim Don’t Say Goodbye, it’s on the facebook page. I loved the original and I LOVE the live version. You can hear the other song, Been a Long Time on their MySpace page.
Now let’s talk about Lipa’s new CD.
The Lipa cover is done and will be online very soon. I can report that the album is called “A Poshiter Yid” and there will be 14 songs on the album. As we heard a while back, Wake Up is on the CD, it’s composed by Yossi Green. There are also songs on there from Pinky Weber, Gideon Levine, Motty Ilowitz, Yitzchak Fuchs, Meshulam Greenberger, Rabbi Hillel Paley and 3 songs composed by Lipa himself.
I am expecting samplers from Benny Amar and Yosef Karduner very soon. As soon as I get those I will post them as well. Benny Amar is on the cover of this months Jewish Insights Magazine.
As soon as I have more information on Lipa of Yeedles albums I will update the blog. If anyone WITH any information on these or any other new albums wants to contact me please email me at lifeofrubin@gmail.com
27 May
Being Nice Won’t Kill You.
I know this may be shocking to some, but Jews can be very rude sometimes. I’ve come to accept that anyone can be rude, it’s not a Jewish thing or a NY’er thing. There are jerks everywhere. But it would seem that frum Jews, especially living in the most frum communities have very serious problems when it comes to being nice.
This is something I should really speak about more, but never know who to work it into its own post. The recent politics in Crown Heights is a good way to bring it up, but I didn’t want to make the issue, about that, if you know what I mean.
Sure it will make the relationship between Crown Heighters and their Black neighbors better, but it won’t solve the problem. In my eyes there are two problems that are only loosely connected. There is the relationship issue between the two diverse groups, and then there is the crime issue.
The thing about being nice is that it shouldn’t just apply to one group in one neighborhood. The problem with rude frum people makes a difference everywhere frum people are. We have a real problem here with how frum people treat those around them.
Here is a short story to better illustrate what I’m talking about. If you have lived in NY long enough you will undoubtedly have seen such a story first hand, especially in Boro Park.
A couple weeks ago I went to fill up on gas at the gas station in Boro Park off of Ft Hamilton Parkway. While I waited in line to pay for my drink before I filled up a Chassidishe man walked in and went to the coffee area. There were at least 5 other people waiting online by the counter in front of me. All of them each had one or two items. The Chassidishe man walks over to the counter with his coffee in hand, tosses down a couple dollars and and says nothing while walking away.
The non Jewish man behind the cash register calls out to him. He says, “That’s not how it goes, there are other people waiting on line and that isn’t exact change anyway.” The Chassidishe man yells back at him while continuing to walk out the door. “I don’t have time to wait online, keep the change.”
The man behind the counter looked upset, but worse then that he looked defeated. When it was my turn in line the cashier says to me “Why does your friend think his time is more important then anyone else’s?” I looked back at him blankly, then said, your right, and he shouldn’t do that.
The problem is that such stories play out every day all the time all throughout the frum communities in the Ny Tri State area. I’ve personally seen this happen before in other places. I’ve seen guys do it while picking up newspapers, coffee or even one or two items in grocery stores.
In that one story you will find everything that is wrong with being rude. The first and most important thing is the huge Chillul Hashem that you make. Being rude doesn’t just apply to jumping in front of lines at the Gas station. Being rude also applies to driving like a maniac and speaking to goyim like they are from another planet.
Loshan is such an important part of being a frum person. We are always very worried when it comes to negative news stories about Jews in the news. That’s when all the people come out “nu, loshan hora, how can you talk like this about a fellow yid!?” But Loshan also applies to how you speak regarding other people, and yes, even Goyim.
Here is a term that I can not stand. Goyta. This is a term that I thought only 87 year old bubbishe woman from Poland used when referencing their cleaning ladies. Sadly, I have heard this used by many young men and women in the frum community. I hate that I even started this off with connecting it to the Crown Heights crime situation. It isn’t a Crown Heights problem or a Boro Park problem. It’s a frum community problem.
It doesn’t matter if your from Lakewood or Williamsburg, there needs to be a serious rethinking on how too many people deal with goyim. How we speak to them, how we act to them, and how we treat them.
Unfortunately, it isn’t even strictly how they treat Goyim, people who are rude often treat their own Jewish brothers the same way. Like I said, a jerk is a jerk. But when it’s one Jew being rude to another Jew it doesn’t cause the type of problems that are caused when it’s a Goy being treated like a second class citizen.
You can see the immediate affect of being rude to a Non Jewish person from my gas station story. When the cashier asked me that question he said “your friend”, because he sees us all as one. Even though I was Lubavitch and he was something else, it didn’t matter. To him, a Jew is a Jew is a Jew. When one Jew is rude, he applies it to all Jews.
We don’t know how you treat one goyishe person the effect it can have on us negatively down the road. Aside from the very serious issue of dragging Yiddishkeit and Hashem’s name through the mud when you act like that.
I don’t mean to make this a general issue. I’m not saying all frum people are rude. I know that isn’t true because I’ve seen many frum people who are polite. But I can’t downplay it and make it an exception to the rule. The fact is that there are a ton of very rude frum Jews out there, and it needs to end.
I guess I can try to write more on this, I know I can’t fit everything I want to say into one post. So I will just end this with one thing I think will make a difference.
Just being nice will make a world of difference. Hold the door for someone when you enter a building. When you walk past your non Jewish neighbor, smile and say hi. Consider that the person working for you is not just “some goyta”, they are a mother, a father, a son, a student, a person. They are people too, no one is saying you gotta invite them to your house for dinner, but just smiling, saying hi and being polite will make a huge impact.
27 May
The Group
27 May
Pravda Ne’eman is Back.
I think this will be a very welcome return at a time when its needed most. To read their original “who we are” blog post click here.
Now that they have returned from an almost 2 year blogging absence they have expanded their commentary from strictly Yated to all things Chareidi. I would have loved some posts on Shaitel store boycotts, Big Event cancellations and other such things.
Check it out, open auditions.
Jewish a cappella band Six13, based in New York, is looking for a high tenor. We are a six-man, part-time venture, with frequent paid performances throughout North America each year.
We are looking for the candidate who possesses the most of the following characteristics:
- Male, appearing age 18 - 35
- Top-notch solo ability
- Solid stage presence
- Strong Jewish background
- Comfortable up to at least an A in full voice and up to an F above that in falsetto
- Excellent pitch and musicality
- Clear, pleasant tone and ability to blend
- Ability to learn voice parts for complete songs autonomously, quickly and reliably
- Team mentality and affable personality
- Availability for weekly rehearsals in Manhattan
Anchored by thumping beatbox, intricate arrangements, and soulful harmonies, six-man vocal band Six13 brings an unprecedented style of Jewish music to the stage. With songs that range from hip-hop dance tracks to rock anthems, the members of the New York-based group sound like a full band — while using nothing but their voices. In 2005, they released the Jewish music community’s best-selling album — the recipient of extensive radio play within that community, two Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award nominations, and selections for four different “best of” compilations — to critical and commercial acclaim. In 2007, they reinvented Jewish a cappella again with their follow-up, Encore, which earned two more nominations and a perfect score from the Recorded A Cappella Review Board. Currently, the group tours nationwide to standing ovations. Recent highlights include the Chabad Telethon, sets for crowds of 30,000+ at Jewish Heritage Day for both the Florida Marlins (Joe Robbie Stadium) and the New York Mets (Shea Stadium), the North American Jewish Choral Festival, New York City’s Salute to Israel Parade, a commission by the Orthodox Union for a national video campaign, and private concerts, affairs and simchas from Tuscon to Toronto. For more information, visit www.six13.net.
Interested individuals should e-mail Mike Boxer at mike@six13.net with a recent picture, a recording of themselves singing a lead, and a brief introduction.
25 May
Turning Darkness Into Light.
This is what makes Chabad so beautiful.
I really like the idea of releasing a free downloadable remixed version of a song a few months after the CD comes out. I hope other Jewish artists will do the same. Here is my review of that album. Download the free song here.
25 May
A New CD From 8th Day!
It’s not all new songs, but it’s a new CD none the less. This will be their third album, it’s a Live CD. The CD will be available June 12th 2008
There wasn’t much in the Jewish Press about what seemed to me at least like a major NY Jewish issue over the last two weeks. But at least there was something. Which is better then I can say for two other Frum newspapers. There wasn’t anything at all in the Hamodia or Yated. If our own Jewish brothers ignore us then why should politicians and non Jewish press be any different.
UPDATE: The reader who tipped us off in the first place e-mails again to say Hamodia did in fact write about it. Although I will still say it isn’t much.
25 May
A Nice Crown Heights Video
(HT JOEL)