Re: Holiday Music

[robert wiener <wiener...>]

Reyzl,

You wrote "What's wrong with "Holiday Music" [CD displays] only having
Christmas music? ...  Who cares?"  The answer, as my posts show, is that I
do.  These bins are not what they pretend to be.  They don't contain
anything but Christmas music.  Not only usually no Hanukah music, but no
Easter, Fourth of July, or Thanksgiving music either.  (The fact that there
is little, if any, music on the latter holidays is precisely the point.)
Yet it's labeled "Holiday Music" rather than "Christmas music".

It seems that I have not been sufficiently clear for you.  I don't expect to
see more Hanukah CDs in a "Holiday Music" bin.  I would much prefer a
Christmas section and a Jewish record section.  (Your claim that "Hanukah
records are produced only for Jewish children as far as I know.  Never seen
one not for children."  is surprising in light of the last week's worth of
posts.  Just review them, ask Simon, or surf over the jewishmusic.com and
check out their incomplete list of 21 titles (including about a half dozen
for adults without Jon Simon or Pianolite...).

My main point is that, in America, Christians (and many Jews) accept the
dominant Christian culture as identical to American culture so much so that
when a generic term such as "Holiday Music" is used to refer to Christmas
music, they say "Who cares?"  If only Christians were represented in public
or private positions or admitted to universities I think that we would
notice.  Yet when it's a matter of popular culture, some of us are willing
to vanish into the American wallpaper and learn more Christmas songs for
caroling than our own Hanukah songs.  (Even this minor holiday has dozens of
songs -- I have a single LP with 30 songs on it.)

As to the economics of merchandising I need no lesson in marketing.  (I'm a
business professor.)  If Hanukah records don't sell, I don't expect record
stores to display them.  (Although my sense is that they would sell better
if they were displayed better.)  I only ask that mega-stores not engage in
false and deceptive advertising that would lead the uninformed consumer to
think that if the store has tens of thousands of CDs and none for Hanukah
that's because there aren't any.  I'd be delighted with a sign that said
"Christmas Music -- Go to a Judaica store for Hanukah Music).

You wrote at length about Hanukah as a minor holiday.  Had you remembered my
post from earlier today (to which you responded) you would know that I
agree.  (I wrote there, "Even to display Hanukah recordings prominently in a
Holiday Music section elevates it (Hanukah) above the many more important
Jewish holidays and thus demeans them.")

You also wrote, "Most American Jews think that Jewish music is only a hora,
so is that the record store owners [sic] fault?"  My answer is yes -- if
they falsely represent that they are selling "Holiday Music" when they are
just selling Christmas music.

Perhaps the difference between our perspectives is that I've lived in New
York City nearly all my life.  I can walk into West Side Judaica (or read
Simon's posts or surf over to JewishMusic.com or look at my own record
library) and find hundreds of Jewish Music records (including dozens on the
holidays).  I am aware of the persistent attempts of the dominant Christian
culture in the States (whether intended or accidental) to make everyone
believe that it is the only thing that matters; that there is no significant
Jewish culture beyond bagels (which anyone can eat) and the "Old Testament"
(which has been supplemented, if not replaced, by the "New Testament").  The
results are so pervasive that even identifying Jews barely notice the signs.
Sometimes the signs are subtle -- terms that tell a tale. "Holiday Music" is
one example.  ("Judeo-Christian tradition" is another.)  I wonder if our
members from other countries feel the same way.  Are we all accustomed
(except, perhaps, Israelis and those in predominantly Jewish areas) to being
the minority, for whom Judaism, including Jewish music, is a private matter.
That there is no Jewish music worth displaying.

Thanks for responding to my thoughts and good luck with your work.

Bob

-----Original Message-----
From: Reyzl Kalifowicz-Waletzky <reyzl (at) flash(dot)net>
To: World music from a Jewish slant. <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Cc: wiener, susan <Susan(dot)Wiener (at) us(dot)schroders(dot)com>; wiener, 
jack ralph
<Jack_Wiener (at) dtc(dot)org>; gold, jacqueline sabina <gold (at) 
tfn(dot)com>; androphy,
ronald l. <roandrophy (at) JTSA(dot)EDU>; androphy, ezra <era11 (at) 
columbia(dot)edu>
Date: Tuesday, December 15, 1998 8:37 PM
Subject: RE: Holiday Music


Bob,


I think you are assuming knowledge store-owners don't have, or else they
really do know better than you think.

>If the true intent were to display "Holiday Music" we could look forward to
>a year-round "Holiday Music" display that would have music for Purim,
>Passover, Shavuot, the Yamim Noraim, and Sukkot as part of an annual cycle
>(rather than only a seasonal showcase from Thanksgiving to Christmas).

Other than Passover and Yomim Noraim, Jews neither produce and nor seek to
buy records for specific holidays.   And Passover and Yomim Noraim are each
too tiny a category to count.   Most of them probably get grouped as
"cantorial".  Because of Christmas, assimilated Jews look to buy holiday
records for the season, or else Jews and non-Jews seek to buy some "holiday"
appropriate gift to give or play where they need it for a variety of
reasons.   So record producers create these records for people looking for
season-related material.   But it's a relatively small category.

There are no Shavuos, Purim, or sukkos records, as far as I know.  If you
know of any, I would love to know about them.   So would a whole bunch of
Jewish educators.   They usually settle for a song or two.  You may find one
or two records, if that many, but that doesn't count as a category, so the
"holiday" category doesn't apply too well.  Hanukah records are produced
only for Jewish children as far as I know.  Never seen one not for children.
Someone please correct me if I am wrong.  Jewish record producers want to
put out their material early in December, but they don't expect their
clients to look only for Hanukah music, because they know that their clients
are looking for anything distinctly Jewish in the Christmas season.   Any
Jewish record will serve as an appropriate gift for Khanukah.


>If not, the term "Holiday Music" is at best disingenuous and at worst
insulting,

I don't know if it's disingenuous, but insulting?   There are real insults
out there.   I don't think that this is one them.

>to suggest in their Christmas-only "Holiday Music" displays that the only
holiday worth singing about is Christmas >does offend me.

You know that in Yiddish, we Jews say that Khanuke is not a holiday.  Only
in America has it gained a special meaning to give Jewish kids something to
do during the Christmas hoopla.  It's been needed only with assimilation.
Otherwise, it has been a minor occasion to mark.   Being Jewish has now come
to be defined by the fact that you light khanukah candles or not, because
everything else is just too ethnic and too Jewish.   What's wrong with
"Holiday Music" only having Christmas music?  Why not?  You don't want the
newly 80's and '90's-created Kwanzaa music for non-Christian oriented
non-Jews in there?   OK, put it elsewhere.  Who cares!  I wouldn't want
Jewish music to be put in the same bin with the Christmas music.   It's its
own genre.   Hanukah records could go in either bin.  Life is too short.
You want other Jewish holiday music, then record it and everyone will
hopefully learn the music.   I love all Jewish holidays, but as a Jew, I
don't make a big deal out of Hanukah and ask my non-Jewish friends not to
make it on my account either.

>We all know how important a role Jewish music can play in one's life,
>but most people (again, both Jews and non-Jews) probably
>think that it includes not much more than the Hora.

Most American Jews think that Jewish music is only a hora, so is that the
record store owners fault?  I am sure that they would love to get new
categories with new records for whatever market is out there.   I don't
think that Jews listen to Jewish music because they want it to play "an
important role in their life".   Maybe the first few times, but not much
longer.   They listen to Jewish music only because they either like it or if
they think that the "in group" is listening to it, who ever that in group
is, or the music has been packaged to look like the in group would like it.
My grandmother is not the in group.  If klezmer wouldn't have become part of
the avant-garde scene, it would still be lying in the garbage cans or some
shelf gathering dust in YIVO.

Yes, I do think that you are over-reacting.

Gotta stop writing on this thread.  Too much other work is waiting for me.


Reyzl





----------
From:  robert wiener[SMTP:wiener (at) mindspring(dot)com]
Sent:  Tuesday, December 15, 1998 3:27 PM
To:  World music from a Jewish slant.
Cc:  wiener, susan; wiener, jack ralph; gold, jacqueline sabina; androphy,
ronald l.; androphy, ezra
Subject:  Re: Holiday Music

Reyzl,

Thanks for your response.  I think that we agree almost entirely.

But I still think that if "Holiday Music" is the politically correct term
for Christmas music, it is an example of political correctness gone awry.
Say what you mean and mean what you say is what I think.

If the true intent were to display "Holiday Music" we could look forward to
a year-round "Holiday Music" display that would have music for Purim,
Passover, Shavuot, the Yamim Noraim, and Sukkot as part of an annual cycle
(rather than only a seasonal showcase from Thanksgiving to Christmas).

If not, the term "Holiday Music" is at best disingenuous and at worst
insulting, as though we Jews either have no other important holidays or have
no significant music recorded for them.  Our group could easily prove the
latter claim wrong.

Perhaps I am overreacting to what goes on in the super chains.  After all,
maybe the result will be more people going to Judaica shops for their
purchases and will have their eyes opened to the wealth of material
available today.

On the other hand, most Jews and non-Jews will simply assume that Jews don't
make music about being Jewish.  And if the record store owners know better
(and they certainly should), to suggest in their Christmas-only "Holiday
Music" displays that the only holiday worth singing about is Christmas does
offend me.

I think that this thread and the comments about Jews and Christian music may
not be too far apart.  We all know how important a role Jewish music can
play in one's life, but most people (again, both Jews and non-Jews) probably
think that it includes not much more than the Hora.  So they satisfy their
human need for music at this time of year with the music most readily
available, even if it is limited to Christmas elevator music, the top 100,
and Handel's Messiah.

Bob Wiener

From: Reyzl Kalifowicz-Waletzky <reyzl (at) flash(dot)net>
To: World music from a Jewish slant. <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Date: Tuesday, December 15, 1998 1:34 PM
Subject: RE: Holiday Music


>I believe that there is
>a Jewish tradition and a Christian tradition, but no Judeo-Christian
>tradition.  That is the message of Hanukah to me.

I totally agree, but you don't need to get offended by the attempt for store
owners to be politically correct.  It's difficult for them and things get
confusing.   I have had to explain to friends that I don't send out or
reciprocate Hanukah cards we receive because that is not a Jewish tradition.
My neighbors get Christmas cards and holiday greetings, but Jews get nothing
and I don't want anything either.  My kids get/got no Hanukah gifts only a
one-time giving of Hanukah gelt unless it's a Jewish book or CD.  No ands,
buts, or ors about that.
There is the constant attempt to equalize Hanukah with Christmas in America
which is very offensive to me as a Jew, a holiday that celebrates the
refusal to assimilate.   Why don't they make a fuss about Shavuous, a
holiday that deserves a fuss, but most Americans haven't even heard of it.
Maybe that's what we can do, gather/build new repertoires for Shavuous.
Jews in Europe used to decorate the insides of their homes with greenery and
(sephardic tradition) roses the way non-Jews do their homes at Christmas
time, but this tradition seems to have been totally forgotten in America.


Reyzl





----------
From:  robert wiener[SMTP:wiener (at) mindspring(dot)com]
Sent:  Tuesday, December 15, 1998 7:27 AM
To:  World music from a Jewish slant.
Cc:  wiener, susan; wiener, jack ralph; gold, jacqueline sabina; androphy,
ronald l.; androphy, ezra
Subject:  Holiday Music

I hate going into record stores this time of year.  Even before
Thanksgiving, Tower has a display of "Holiday Music".  The label offends me.
Maybe it is an attempt to be multi-cultural, acknowledge diversity, and not
offend non-Christians.  But I don't think so, and that is not the effect on
me.

In fact, "Holiday Music" is simply the politically correct term for
"Christmas Music".  Enter the emporium, look at the CDs on the wall(even on
Manhattan's Upper West Side), and count how many Hanukah (or Kwanzaa)
recordings there are.

This is no competition (and as our discussion of Hanukah recordings shows,
general record stores carry only a tiny portion of what is available), but
these displays (and the way Hanukah is depicted in the media) makes it seem
that we're all in this holiday season together, that it is something that we
have in common.

Perhaps some Jews feel left out of the seasonal festivities.  If so, I think
that's a good thing.  Hanukah is not the Jewish Christmas.  Even to display
Hanukah recordings prominently in a Holiday Music section elevates it above
the many more important Jewish holidays and thus demeans them.   I hope that
we as Jews don't feel the need to mimic Christian practices to feel proud of
our own heritage.  (One of my students was shocked when I asserted that
giving a present each night of Hanukah is about as Jewish as a Hanukah
bush.)

Appreciate the aesthetic beauty of Christmas music, but be mindful that even
something as apparently innocuous as the red stripe of the candy cane
symbolizes the blood of Jesus.  Even if Christians claim that they are the
"new Israel" that doesn't make us the "old Israel".  I believe that there is
a Jewish tradition and a Christian tradition, but no Judeo-Christian
tradition.  That is the message of Hanukah to me.

Bob Wiener