Thursday, August 13, 2009
Hava Nagila
A bit hokey and badly-pronounced, but a rare and joyous use of Jewish music in a mixed forum...their hearts are in the right place...I hope.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Michael Jackson and us...
I see that people do have strong opinions to share about Michael and his passing.
I don't wish to repeat what I've already said, but I am sad he's gone and I'm even sadder about what people say at his expense, without truly knowing him or the truth behind the stories.
He made mistakes, like anyone but I don't believe they were deserving of the gross abuse he was subject to by the public and the media. The things he shared with the media were often his own undoing.
We were not there and he was legally vindicated, yet so many are willing to pretend they know enough intimate details that they are willing to malign the name of a man whose scales were constantly tipped towards the more positive side of human consideration, charity, dignity, art, discipline and, yes...even morality. For every misjudgment we gather with gossip, speculation & sensationalism, there are hundreds more acts of kindness and positive contribution that can be cited from genuine fact.
Watch him, listen to him...recently and when he was a kid...look at his fans... watch his videos, pull up past concert reviews... when was there ever any incident of violence, drugs or indignity that occurred in the vicinity of his performances?
People still pass judgment on stories they consider to be facts, when they're not. He was not found "not guity" due to technicalities. Though I believe he excercised poor judgment in sharing facts people would misinterpret, it was proven that he did nothing sexually wrong or illegal, the accusers were appropriately discredited, some even admitting it.
Nonetheless, it's easier to believe the juicy stuff...that a 135-pound guy in his 40's with no prior history of sexual misconduct, inviting thousands of sick children to his home, suddenly has the strength to overpower some teenagers to something obviously against his normal nature, while millions of teenagers have knocked at his door for years ready to go willingly.
I do believe it was poor judgment to lie anywhere near an unrelated child, even if it was for the childs emotional comfort, in this day and age when I can't even pat a kid's head without getting nabbed. Just for PR, telling the press was a dumb mistake, holding his child over the railing for display, even for a split second, was a dumb mistake, but he doesn't deserve this...especially after death. No one was harmed and everybody benefited from his time here on Earth.
Not everyone liked his style or his music. Not everyone believed that the makeup was to hide splotches developed on his face from an inherited condition that quite visibly exists with other family members. Many still believe that there is such a thing as bleaching your skin. And, though I wish he didn't fix his nose, it's not for me to condemn him for doing so.
The lies have been exposed in the courts & explanations have been given, but they don't sound as credible as "pedophilie" and "freak."
The imbalance of facts in the middle east have been exposed for all to see, yet, even after 9/11, the clear targeting of the state of Israel, the obvious non-existence of the Palestinian people before 1967, that doesn't sound as credible as the terms "Zionist oppressors," "settlers," or "Palestinian State."
I'll say it again...We, as Jews, should know better. And yes, it IS that deep. Michael Jackson's music affected millions of people, including me and my family...including my parents, who didn't identify with his music as much as fully recognize the enormity of his talent and influence.
Our willingness to malign him, mock him, make jokes about things that hurt him & his family and make fun of his death, exposes a cruel and undignified nature about us that I wish I hadn't seen and that none of us should have.
I don't wish to repeat what I've already said, but I am sad he's gone and I'm even sadder about what people say at his expense, without truly knowing him or the truth behind the stories.
He made mistakes, like anyone but I don't believe they were deserving of the gross abuse he was subject to by the public and the media. The things he shared with the media were often his own undoing.
We were not there and he was legally vindicated, yet so many are willing to pretend they know enough intimate details that they are willing to malign the name of a man whose scales were constantly tipped towards the more positive side of human consideration, charity, dignity, art, discipline and, yes...even morality. For every misjudgment we gather with gossip, speculation & sensationalism, there are hundreds more acts of kindness and positive contribution that can be cited from genuine fact.
Watch him, listen to him...recently and when he was a kid...look at his fans... watch his videos, pull up past concert reviews... when was there ever any incident of violence, drugs or indignity that occurred in the vicinity of his performances?
People still pass judgment on stories they consider to be facts, when they're not. He was not found "not guity" due to technicalities. Though I believe he excercised poor judgment in sharing facts people would misinterpret, it was proven that he did nothing sexually wrong or illegal, the accusers were appropriately discredited, some even admitting it.
Nonetheless, it's easier to believe the juicy stuff...that a 135-pound guy in his 40's with no prior history of sexual misconduct, inviting thousands of sick children to his home, suddenly has the strength to overpower some teenagers to something obviously against his normal nature, while millions of teenagers have knocked at his door for years ready to go willingly.
I do believe it was poor judgment to lie anywhere near an unrelated child, even if it was for the childs emotional comfort, in this day and age when I can't even pat a kid's head without getting nabbed. Just for PR, telling the press was a dumb mistake, holding his child over the railing for display, even for a split second, was a dumb mistake, but he doesn't deserve this...especially after death. No one was harmed and everybody benefited from his time here on Earth.
Not everyone liked his style or his music. Not everyone believed that the makeup was to hide splotches developed on his face from an inherited condition that quite visibly exists with other family members. Many still believe that there is such a thing as bleaching your skin. And, though I wish he didn't fix his nose, it's not for me to condemn him for doing so.
The lies have been exposed in the courts & explanations have been given, but they don't sound as credible as "pedophilie" and "freak."
The imbalance of facts in the middle east have been exposed for all to see, yet, even after 9/11, the clear targeting of the state of Israel, the obvious non-existence of the Palestinian people before 1967, that doesn't sound as credible as the terms "Zionist oppressors," "settlers," or "Palestinian State."
I'll say it again...We, as Jews, should know better. And yes, it IS that deep. Michael Jackson's music affected millions of people, including me and my family...including my parents, who didn't identify with his music as much as fully recognize the enormity of his talent and influence.
Our willingness to malign him, mock him, make jokes about things that hurt him & his family and make fun of his death, exposes a cruel and undignified nature about us that I wish I hadn't seen and that none of us should have.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Monday, March 10, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
What's Jewish Music's problem? What's ours?
My, my, my... we are in trouble, aren't we?
From the point of view of gossip alone, the already shaky Jewish music "industry," already under constant fire, is now being made an ever-growing target by the mostly ignorant, but loud critics of their own definition of "wrong."
uuggghhhh... where to start?
I'm not going to attempt to address it in one sitting, because I've gotten all sorts of hate mail and support mail for my work over the years, saying this is not such a simple fight. It should, however, begin with certain necessary definitions and observations that I'd like to touch on first. The rest is up to you:
JEWISH vs. "GOYISH":
In short, if anyone is is hoping to link to specifically pure-bred Jewish sources of of Jewish music available in this last century, they will come up very short and disappointed, unless they accept some hard truths.
Musical composition of any major consequence, in general, has historically depended upon other musical influences to shape it into a unique mixture. Many of those mixtures, intentionally or not, can often closely resemble one of its actual sources, a style created for another purpose, or even something it had no knowledge of.
Saying that certain uses of an organ in a song, for example, with chord structure and actual choice of sound settings on the organ itself are reminiscent of non-Jewish religious music, is a fair statement. Saying that using an organ at all is therefore wrong, is not fair, anymore than using an electric guitar is wrong due to it's connections to paganism's role in metal or modern Christian music.
If the requirement for Jewish Music (an ambiguous term, to say the least) is to resemble nothing else but Jewish sources, then roughly 60-75% of music created for Jewish entertainment, nationalism and prayer in the last 60 years must be eliminated.
If you are among those who object to "non-Jewish" music, you must know how to answer the questions of "what is..." and "what can be..." before you criticize music intended to contribute to the global Jewish community.
Finally, the term "goyish" has, unfortunately become an over-used term that remains undefined to most of its users, while its derogatory nature satisfies their anger at the present shortcomings of the Jewish music industry, which has been destroyed by their ignorance and sanctimony.
Those who have learned to hate non-Jews feel that "goyish" is the worst thing something or someone Jewish can be. In fact, musical influences created or used mostly by non-Jews or non-religious Jews for music not related to prayer have become the #1 source of influence in Jewish music this past century.
The issue has come to surround the fascinatingly un-defined term "goyish," rather than the more understood and respected term of "improper." "Goyish" is a paranoid term, in my opinion, suggesting that some underlying purpose of the "improper" influence is for the underhanded infiltration of a religion that conflicts with ours.
I can say, with 35 years of intimate involvement with just about every dimension of the Jewish music field, that much of todays so-called "yeshivish" and "chassidic" music (not all, of course), including many of those being used on the bima (prayer pulpit) contains influences in it's musical arrangements, composition, performance and even words that I feel are "improper," but often for reasons that have little to do with the influence of conflicting religions.
You should continue to comment here, there and everywhere. This is not going away and it's going to get worse.
The furor is now reaching new heights and pretty soon, if you don't already think that Jewish music's pickings are slim now, just watch what happens when you let it happen.
Leaving the subjective art of music to be judged by the black and white will not work and it will prevent the many different musical talents out there from contributing their art to Jewish life. Do you think Judaism needs music? I'll leave that question open.
From the point of view of gossip alone, the already shaky Jewish music "industry," already under constant fire, is now being made an ever-growing target by the mostly ignorant, but loud critics of their own definition of "wrong."
uuggghhhh... where to start?
I'm not going to attempt to address it in one sitting, because I've gotten all sorts of hate mail and support mail for my work over the years, saying this is not such a simple fight. It should, however, begin with certain necessary definitions and observations that I'd like to touch on first. The rest is up to you:
JEWISH vs. "GOYISH":
In short, if anyone is is hoping to link to specifically pure-bred Jewish sources of of Jewish music available in this last century, they will come up very short and disappointed, unless they accept some hard truths.
Musical composition of any major consequence, in general, has historically depended upon other musical influences to shape it into a unique mixture. Many of those mixtures, intentionally or not, can often closely resemble one of its actual sources, a style created for another purpose, or even something it had no knowledge of.
Saying that certain uses of an organ in a song, for example, with chord structure and actual choice of sound settings on the organ itself are reminiscent of non-Jewish religious music, is a fair statement. Saying that using an organ at all is therefore wrong, is not fair, anymore than using an electric guitar is wrong due to it's connections to paganism's role in metal or modern Christian music.
If the requirement for Jewish Music (an ambiguous term, to say the least) is to resemble nothing else but Jewish sources, then roughly 60-75% of music created for Jewish entertainment, nationalism and prayer in the last 60 years must be eliminated.
If you are among those who object to "non-Jewish" music, you must know how to answer the questions of "what is..." and "what can be..." before you criticize music intended to contribute to the global Jewish community.
Finally, the term "goyish" has, unfortunately become an over-used term that remains undefined to most of its users, while its derogatory nature satisfies their anger at the present shortcomings of the Jewish music industry, which has been destroyed by their ignorance and sanctimony.
Those who have learned to hate non-Jews feel that "goyish" is the worst thing something or someone Jewish can be. In fact, musical influences created or used mostly by non-Jews or non-religious Jews for music not related to prayer have become the #1 source of influence in Jewish music this past century.
The issue has come to surround the fascinatingly un-defined term "goyish," rather than the more understood and respected term of "improper." "Goyish" is a paranoid term, in my opinion, suggesting that some underlying purpose of the "improper" influence is for the underhanded infiltration of a religion that conflicts with ours.
I can say, with 35 years of intimate involvement with just about every dimension of the Jewish music field, that much of todays so-called "yeshivish" and "chassidic" music (not all, of course), including many of those being used on the bima (prayer pulpit) contains influences in it's musical arrangements, composition, performance and even words that I feel are "improper," but often for reasons that have little to do with the influence of conflicting religions.
You should continue to comment here, there and everywhere. This is not going away and it's going to get worse.
The furor is now reaching new heights and pretty soon, if you don't already think that Jewish music's pickings are slim now, just watch what happens when you let it happen.
Leaving the subjective art of music to be judged by the black and white will not work and it will prevent the many different musical talents out there from contributing their art to Jewish life. Do you think Judaism needs music? I'll leave that question open.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
What IS Jewish Music?
I'm going to leave much of this answer to those responding.
My point here is to show the differing opinions out there and, certainly, share my own.
Whoa, baby, do I have my own...
I'm an American, born-and-bred, growing up on Beatles, cantorial, Walt Disney, zemiros, Dean Martin, Shlomo Carlebach, Peter, Paul and Mary, CSNY, EW&F, ELO, Marvin Gaye, Gerrer and Modzitzer, Sherwood Goffin, Ruach and Joni Mitchell... an often-depressing combination of cultures for a growing musician...and that's just spanning one decade of almost five.
I made a career combining (!) many of these elements. Finding a balance is still an artistic and personal struggle, but it also involves dealing with the constantly-changing morays of Jewish audiences.
My next question will be "what is American Jewish music?" Answering that question (and arguing it, I expect) may very well involve responses to the first one.
My point here is to show the differing opinions out there and, certainly, share my own.
Whoa, baby, do I have my own...
I'm an American, born-and-bred, growing up on Beatles, cantorial, Walt Disney, zemiros, Dean Martin, Shlomo Carlebach, Peter, Paul and Mary, CSNY, EW&F, ELO, Marvin Gaye, Gerrer and Modzitzer, Sherwood Goffin, Ruach and Joni Mitchell... an often-depressing combination of cultures for a growing musician...and that's just spanning one decade of almost five.
I made a career combining (!) many of these elements. Finding a balance is still an artistic and personal struggle, but it also involves dealing with the constantly-changing morays of Jewish audiences.
My next question will be "what is American Jewish music?" Answering that question (and arguing it, I expect) may very well involve responses to the first one.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
My bad... I wasn't here...
I would like to extend my sincerest thanks and apologies to those of you who were who were considerate enough to visit my new blog this past year, but received no response from me.
The formation of the blog coincided with a few other missions that were underway for me, so I was suddenly called away and rendered busy for a long time and for some very good reasons. Visiting the Holyland for a month, expanding my studio for many more, gathering material for a modern Jewish-American wedding album I'm producing in my studio and working hard with my new business partners, Ariel Publicity, to get the word around, organizing PR for the new direction I’ve taken with my group, Takana, the “Reach Out” CD and the rest of my musical endeavors.
The newsletter is coming soon (iy"H, for those who are concerned), so the opportunity to subscribe will be made available on www.veroba.net and all will hopefully begin to make sense.
I see I missed responding to some very tempting comments and I'm hoping you'll return to discuss them again. I'm looking forward to hearing from you and invite you to return as soon as you can.
Thanks again for coming and for listening! A freilechen Adar.
The formation of the blog coincided with a few other missions that were underway for me, so I was suddenly called away and rendered busy for a long time and for some very good reasons. Visiting the Holyland for a month, expanding my studio for many more, gathering material for a modern Jewish-American wedding album I'm producing in my studio and working hard with my new business partners, Ariel Publicity, to get the word around, organizing PR for the new direction I’ve taken with my group, Takana, the “Reach Out” CD and the rest of my musical endeavors.
The newsletter is coming soon (iy"H, for those who are concerned), so the opportunity to subscribe will be made available on www.veroba.net and all will hopefully begin to make sense.
I see I missed responding to some very tempting comments and I'm hoping you'll return to discuss them again. I'm looking forward to hearing from you and invite you to return as soon as you can.
Thanks again for coming and for listening! A freilechen Adar.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Here goes...
I've been in the American Jewish music business for...well, at least a couple of decades.Along the way, I've collected my share of opinions and attitudes and I've received my fair share of praise and criticism for combining the secular and Jewish worlds in my life and in my music. I've got plenty to say, so if you start then maybe I'll argue!
I don't wish to simply use this blog to promote my work, but I do have reason to mention it here. My new CD, "Reach Out" is my pride and joy, accomplishing what I've hoped for a long time...to record an original album with messages that underline our obligations, not simply as Jews, but as human beings.
The album is not meant to be Chassidic, Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, etc... it's human and it's universal. It touches on our relationship to G-d, but it emphasizes our relationship to our fellow man as well as to ourselves. Prayer is fine for those who do, but certain priorities must be in order before those prayers should be expected to have genuine value.For most people, it's easier to address those tangible issues that are right in front of us down here on earth, rather than maintaining faith in a greater power that is not directly visible to us. Balancing the two is the great challenge.
Ironically, the aspect of man's relationship to his fellow man is not addressed in Jewish music as frequently as that with G-d, even though the former is, by all rabbinical authorities of any kind, the most important.
As a lifelong fan and student of hundreds of musical genres outside Jewish categories, I find great use for the many styles of lyrics and music available that can serve the Jewish people in many ways. Many Jewish audiences, however, are reluctant to allow these influences into their lives. Those more open-minded are, unfortunately, part of the minority within the active buying market of Jewish music.
Talk amongst yourselves. Here are some topics. Discuss. No fighting... not yet, anyway.
- Is it just entertainment, or is there more to it?
- The rules of Jewish music are always changing...or are they?
- Should they be?
- Should there be rules at all?
- Is there really such a thing as music that is "purely Jewish?"
- What is the purpose of Jewish music in American life?
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