Metal Jew

Welcome to the new rock underground

Nice piece by Julian Cope on how metal is the new avant-garde:

Link: Bassoons, flamenco, monks' cowls ... welcome to the new rock underground.

It's not easy being a religious Jewish metal fan

A Simple Jew forwarded me a recent post of his Trapped in the Lower Levels - Jewish Heavy Metal . From what I can gather, the author is a baal teshuvah (newly orthodox) guy with a strong interest in Hassidic and kabbalistic thought.

The post is interesting, not simply because he argues (rightly of course) that there is no reason why heavy metal can't be drawn on to make religious Jewish music. What's most interesting about it is the evident frustration of someone who's 'past life' included a love of metal, but who finds it impossible to find a place for it in his 'new life' - and yet the yearning remains. His post ends as follows:

I acknowledge that it might be problematic for a religious Jew to listen to heavy metal today if it contains obscene language and explicit subject matter, however from the sources above I cannot see anything wrong with the use of heavy metal music by itself. People may point to the fact that heavy metal music is music that draws from baser emotions such as anger. But not all anger is bad. While anger for the sake of anger is a negative thing, anger can also be merirus; propelling one to positive action. What if the music was filled with anger towards injustice or other problems in the world? Isn't there a musical place for this?

Missing today on the Jewish music scene is an equivalent to the guitar playing of Marty Friedman, Scott Ian, Dan Spitz, or Dave Mustaine. While 99% of the time I prefer Jewish music that is more melodic in nature, I am still waiting for someone to uplift the sparks from the lower levels, expand the boundaries of Jewish music, and make quality Jewish heavy metal.

Right now I am left without a kosher option.

My response (as a non-orthodox but not secular Jew) would be: First,  why is it necessary  for a religious person to only surround themselves with religious art?  Provided that critical faculties are well attuned, one  can enjoy other forms of art without necessarily embracing all its connotations. Second,  one doesn't have to buy into metal lyrics to love metal music. Plenty of metallers are uninterested in the lyrics anyway. Third, there are some decent Jewish metal bands anyway . Well actually, there is only one that's much good  - the ever wonderful  Orphaned Land

Of course I have loads more to say than this rather glib post would suggest but I have no time at the moment.

Middle East Fantasy

My Middle East fantasy:  an Israeli or Lebanese punk, hardcore or extreme metal act tours Israel and Lebanon during the war, playing in bomb shelters and dodging missiles. A big 'fuck you' to the warriors on both sides. An angry expression of the unity of all those who love extreme music against the madness of the world.

A fantasy of course (although Orphaned Land have done remarkable work in bringing Jews and Muslims together).

Still, here's something hopeful (from Jewschool ):

Dear Friends,

In this time of crisis in the Middle East, many compassionate individuals are at a loss for an effective way to help those whose lives have been disrupted by the conflict affecting Israel and Lebanon. Thousands, on both sides of the border, have been driven from their homes, or worse yet, have had their homes destroyed by airstrikes and rocketfire, leaving them with nowhere to return once calm is restored. Regardless of where one stands politically on this issue, it is incumbent upon each of us to have compassion for those who have suffered in this war, and to alleviate their suffering in whatever way possible.

With that in mind, I, along with my friends Amy Kaplan (a student a Yeshivat Simchat Shlomo) and Stuart Siegel (a student at Yeshivat Bat Ayin), are organizing a benefit concert to raise funds to support those who have been displaced by this conflict, in both Israel and Lebanon.

Our mission is two-fold: 1. To collect funds that will be evenly distributed and used to provide direct aid to Israeli and Lebanese refugees; and 2. To create awareness that we, as Jewish people, are moved to compassion for all those whose lives have been ill affected by war.

The event will take place at The Yellow Submarine in Jerusalem on Monday, August 28, and feature Jewish and Arab musicians including Coolooloosh, Eden MiQedem, Sagol 59 and Saz, among others. Proceeds will be given to reputable Israeli and Lebanese relief funds, which have had their efficacy verified by those receiving aid.

Though we have received a reduced-rate booking from the venue and are pursuing support from local foundations, in addition to welcoming your donations, we are in direct need of your support to insure the costs of the event are themselves are covered. We are thus specifically seeking support from our friends and relatives abroad to help cover our overhead so that we can channel the maximum amount from the event itself towards direct aid.

We expect the event to be well-covered in the media, and is thus an excellent opportunity to show that the people of Jerusalem, and the Jewish community itself, are concerned with the suffering of individuals on both sides of the conflict, even while in the midst of our own trying times.

Please lend your support.

Eno and Byrne are Godz (of the non-Metal variety)!

One of my favourite albums of all time My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts by Brian Eno and David Byrne has been re-released with extra tracks etc. Brilliantly, the original 24 track masters have also been made available for remixing under a creative commons licence via the album's website .

Jewdas returns

Everyone's favourite naughty Jewish pixies Jewdas have a nice update to their site. Lots of scrumptuous satire, much of which will be, needless to say, hugely offensive to many. Good work!

Fun with Cannibal Corpse in Australia

Everyone's favourite Death Metal munchkins Cannibal Corpse have encountered another of their periodic bursts of publicity, this time in Australia. Various usual suspect type groups have denounced their forthcoming tour in Oz - for a report see here .

Anyway, the controversy has prompted the following hilarious response on an Australian comedy show:

Everyone's favourite messianic Jewish rapper - yeah right

Everyone's favourite messianic Jewish rapper Aviad Cohen (previously 50 Sheckel) has posted some new tracks to his website - well up to his usual hilarious standard:

Aviad has recently produced a new song titled "Israel". You can listen to it as track #1 in the music player on this website and read the lylrics by clicking the lyrics button in the music player. He has also posted the full versions of his album songs on this website. The album will be out soon. Thank you for your patience. Your prayer and support are very much appreciated at this time. Note: If you can't hear the song, clear your web browser's cache folder then click refresh at the top of your browser.

Link: AVIAD COHEN :: SHARING THE TRUTH WITH THE YOUTH - home.