What Is ...?--(mostly playful) musings

[Robert Cohen <rlcm17...>]

Since I too find this exchange often provocative and often somewhat funny, I 
guess I'm pleased at having unexpectedly prompted it (that is, w/ Bob's 
initial prompting).  A few not very vital thoughts:  Bob's "Does it have 
Jewish significance?" (as opposed to "Is it Jewish music?") question is a 
very useful distinction--I'll have to keep that in mind (pedagogically and 
otherwise).  In re same:  I think the way in which Gershwin, as a very 
self-conscious outsider (and wannabe not), appropriated American/Black 
musical idioms into his work is very much of Jewish significance, whatever 
we make of (i.e., in this, Jewish, context) the music itself.  I don't know 
if we can say the same of Dylan, though, _musically,_ in an outsider sense, 
but maybe; I don't, FWIW, see Carole King (nee Klein, BTW) or Burt Bacharach 
at all; and I don't even (thankfully?, he says philistinely) _know_ the 
music of most of the others!  Dylan surely does have Jewish "stuff" going on 
in some amount of his work, though, and I'd, at least, find it interesting 
if people wanted, when they have a chance (i.e., when it would be fun and 
there's something more important and less enjoyable that they _should_ be 
doing--see Robert Benchley's priceless essay on this), to share their 
thoughts on this. (Stephen [sp?] Pickering wrote a book on it.)  _I,_ FWIW 
(no doubt little), have my personal nominee for the most Jewish line he ever 
wrote--a free brownie or cupcake for whoever can identify it!  Oh, and 
Willie Nelson actually _did_ record a Jewish (?) song, Kinky Friedman's very 
moving "Ride 'Em Jewboy," which somebody on the list, no doubt w/ the best 
of intentions, at some point flamed as an anti-S. or self-hating song, which 
it surely isn't. Jewish music?  Even if Willie N. sings it? Well, despite my 
having sort-of (re-)started this, maybe, a la Pete Seeger (in re folk 
music), it doesn't really matter.  Or maybe, a la our Bob, it's surely of 
Jewish _significance,_ anyway....Final (thoroughly unimportant) musing:  In 
re the Shirelles, there _were_ _some_ Jewish doo-woppers. (I realize that 
Spector bands don't really count as such, but I'm thinking contemporaneous.) 
  So another cupcake (I'm not sure how I'll redeem this) if you can name a 
NYC-based doo-wop group that had at least two Jewish members!  Question:  If 
you tax-deduct a proportion of your computer usage, can any time spent 
reading or responding to this missive count as remotely 
work/professional-related?  Oh well, it's summer--rlc


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