Re: Interesting Music lecture

[Sylvie Braitman <curlySylvie...>]

Dear Judith,

Could you give us more info on the lecture: who, where, and a contact
possibly with the lecturer.
Thanks,

Sylvie
----- Original Message -----
From: "Judith Pinnolis" <pinnolis (at) brandeis(dot)edu>
To: "World music from a Jewish slant" <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 28, 2003 11:41 AM
Subject: Interesting Music lecture


> Dear Jewish Music Listers:
> I just saw and heard in the last hour an interesting music lecture, so I
> thought I'd share this with you while still fresh in my mind.
>
> It was a gentleman by the name of Avi Hadari who was lecturing on the
music
> scene in Israel today. He showed clips from Israeli tv, rock videos,
popular
> music and various music from every walk of life in Israeli society-- from
> the ultra orthodox to the left wing doves and Arab youth rappers.
>
> Apparently many Palestinian kids are watching the same music videos as the
> Jewish kids, and many of the songs are just as popular with them.
(although
> it was also said that a lot of the teenagers are not watching as much tv
as
> before and/or some songs don't get that much air play.)  It was a
> fascinating hour and half video/lecture.
>
> He talked about how popular the sing-along tv shows are in Israel right
> now....Everyone is singing.  How 2500-3000 kids try to get tix to a woman
> doing weird piano music every Thursday night in Tel Aviv.... (I didn't
quite
> catch what that was all about)
>
> He also showed clips from a series of films where 17 different producers
> were given support to each make 3 minutes to show some idea about life in
> Israel, --and the sounds they captured and music they used for those
films.
> The producers were from different age groups, different political
> persuasions, men, women, religious and non-religious, Arab and other
> non-Jewish and so on. It seemed that many nuances of the society were
taken
> into consideration and represented on the film makers. One of these shorts
> was a rap song linked to sounds that people are surrounded by, like
security
> devices in everyday Israeli life. Another was a dreamlike sequence taken
> from talking heads on tv compressing all the bombings and death overlayed
to
> "mein ruhe platz", an older Yiddish song. Another showed Israeli teenagers
> doing rap in a school room, as if  'lecturing' kids about their difficult
> futures to come.
>
> There are so many contrasts, and complexities as artists, young and
> seasoned, struggle to explain what they are feeling about life today and
> their futures. They showed a clip by Shlomo Artzi on Israeli tv with an
> "unwritten" song about not knowing who to vote for, because he doesn't
know
> the way to go. It was quite poignant. Another clip showed aging rock group
> getting together for the first time in over a decade to play music to
> lambast the politicians. Another was a music video by a comedian making
fun
> of just about everything with very bitter satire using a black women's
choir
> doing American gospel music in the background.
>
> One popular song was Rachamim--Compassion where a young woman singer was
> boiling the whole experience of the last year down to a message that
> everyone should just be compassionate to themselves and to everyone else.
>
> He showed a clip of a song commissioned by parents of both Jews and Arabs
> whose kids had been killed in the violence. The song was written to be a
> sort of a consulation to them, the parents, and it was about finding ways
to
> get along between Palestinians and Jews. It was very idyllic. There were
> also hard liners rapping in a construction setting about not giving in and
> standing up to others.
> Russian immigrant kids also had their own music thing going on.
>
> The whole lecture was totally intriguing, overwhelming, moving --to once
> more be reminded that music can sometimes be the right vehicle to express
> the inexplicable in the human condition.
>
> Part of the video showed today's local election music themes and the ways
> music was being played into either very slick political party ads, or the
> way it was being used by ads with smaller budgets.
>
> Apparently the music business in Israel is also very hard pressed this
past
> year in general. A lot of traditional stars are not producing new music.
>
> The music ranged from basically Western pop, rock, rap, yeshivish... to
> adaptations with Arabic and middle eastern instruments and musical
elements.
> Most used Western rock and studio instruments. There were a lot of
> interesting combinations. There were still a lot of Jews and Arabs working
> together this past year, in music in Israel, despite everything. But there
> were also a lot who weren't.
>
> Maybe the kids today, on both sides, will find a way to peace the parents
> couldn't.
>
> I will try to get the information about the playlist of these artists, but
> wasn't able to get this today.
>
> Judy
>
>

---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+