JDub Records

The above picture you’re looking at isn’t a B&W image of the Grand Canyon, or something taken from space, instead, its the grooves of an ordinary vinyl record, magnified 1,000x.  The lumps and other bumps you see on the otherwise smooth looking surface is dust, which is why it pays to keep those records clean!  The image was captured under an electron microscope by Chris Supranowitz, a researcher at the University of Rochester.  Just another reason vinyl is cool.

I know it’s not Christmas nor any time close to it, but i recently stumbled upon this gem that i felt like sharing with the world. Atom Goren led a synth-heavy, punk rock, one-man band called Atom and His Package from 1997-2003.  His songs were made on some music sequencers and synthesizers, named the package and the guitar.  Some instrumental tracks, some classic punk covers (Waiting Room), the random hip-hop cover (My Mind’s Playin Tricks on Me) and all around electro-punk sing along brilliance. He really likes punk rock, hockey, metal and other things. Over his 6 years, Atom put out multiple cds, 7″s, and tapes and played countless shows, with his package in hands, blowing minds and shaking dancefloors from here to there.

Thanks to Battle of Midwestern Housewives, i just stumbled on an amazing tune called What We Do on Christmas. It’s an ode to … the Jews.

Atom and His Package - What Jews Do on Christmas DOWNLOAD

ever hear the right wing crazies talk about the jewish conspiracy. and how the jews run the media, and they have all the money, and they pretty much dominate the world. no, well i’ve heard of it and that would pretty much leave one day of the year when no one else is around to have a whole year of planning of world domination, and that’s christmas. merry christmas buddies! Read Full Lyrics

More music:
She’s in the Bathroom & She’s Shaking Me Until Tomorrow (Andrew Dick & AC/DC Medley)
Atom and His Package (Theme Song)
Snowshoe BBQ

You know, I’ve taken a lot of crap from the Kosher police in my lifetime: marshmallows, select Dunkin’ Donuts locations, fancy cheese, and while I was growing up, Oreos!  All verboten by the munchy-hatin’ rabbis that make the Kosher rules.  But now they are going after my beloved lox, and I am putting my foot down.

Gothamist reports that though the OU denies it, ultra-Orthodox group Chevra Mehadrin is revoking the hechsher (stamp of approval) of all lox, due to a parasite that sometimes infests wild salmon.  Personally, I’m willing to risk a few worms here and there if it means chowing down on that perfect bagel on a Sunday morning!

Sure, I might be falling prey to the sensationalist nature of internet news, but I can’t help starting a call to arms when a Jewish delicacy is threatened: save the lox!

The new JDub Webstore is here and it’s better than ever. We’ve teamed up with Insound/White Label to bring you the easiest and best in online shopping. We’ve added free downloads, new releases and our full catalog available in all formats. We are also proud to announce that all of our releases are now available in digital format for only $8.99 each (that’s $1 less than iTunes).  So, head over to store.jdubrecords.org to check it out and also keep your eyes peeled for new releases and free music to be updated regularly.  I’m sure there is something for everyone at the jdub webstore, no matter how you are!!

Bouncing Souls - The Freaks, The Nerds and The Romantics

START SHOPPING

If he was alive, today would be Dr. Seuss’s 106th birthday — which would make him very old.  Did you know Dr. Seuss wasn’t Jewish?  You might think he is, with a last name like Seuss (which was really Geisel), but the good doctor was actually a practicing Lutheran, though one with a great deal of sympathy for Jews and other minority groups.  I unearthed an article that ran as a part of PBS’ documentary “The Political Dr. Seuss” that said:

“From condemning isolationism and attacking anti-Semitism to his later works for literacy, the environment, and against the arms race, Dr. Seuss’s most popular works reflect his passion for fairness, democracy and tolerance.

But this is a side of Dr. Seuss’s work that is rarely discussed. Most Americans don’t know, for example, that during World War II he drew editorial cartoons for the left-wing New York newspaper PM, or that he made army propaganda films with Frank Capra. Many readers didn’t know that The Sneetches was inspired by Seuss’s opposition to anti-Semitism, that Horton Hears a Who! was a political statement about democracy and isolationism, or that The Lorax and The Butter Battle Book were parables about the environment and the arms race. Dr. Seuss’s true genius may lie in the fact that all of this was done with such humor and finesse, that few realized he was being political at all.”

Our Purim was a BLAST!  There were 4 different JDub artists playing parties, 3 in NYC and one in Los Angeles — were you at any of our events?  Tell us how they went!

Luckily, we’ve got loads of photos from our HAMANBASHIN’ Purim party at the CSV on the Lower East Side in NYC.  The rest of those pictures are HERE.  All photos courtesy of Dan Sieradski.

Want more?  Metromix New York sent a photographer out, and that gallery is HERE.

For those who can’t wait for the official release of JDub Kids 1st project The Macaroons - Let’s Go Coconuts, have no fear. In celebration of Passover, The Macaroons will be releasing a Passover EP with 5 tracks including 1 exclusive track that will not be featured on Let’s Go Coconuts. The EP celebrates the traditions and more importantly the delicious food that is eaten on Passover. This will be a digital only release and will be available at iTunes and the JDub Webstore on March 16th and proceeded by their full length release, Let’s Go Coconuts on April 6th, 2010.

Tracklisting:
1. Matzoh Ball (Don’t Kick It)
2. Seder Plate
3. Flying on Matzah Brei
4. Elijah
5. Karpas (EP Exclusive)

Sample a track off the EP:
The Macaroons - Matzoh Ball (Don’t Kick It) Download

We were really excited for Ben Steiger Levine, the director of SoCalled’s “You Are Never Alone” video, when we heard he was tapped to do the new Sprite commercial with JDub favorite Drake.

But when we finally saw the video, there was a little something we couldn’t ignore:

Look familiar?

A new Israeli tourism campaign in Canada is using some tactics I’ve never seen before to promote Israel; specifically, ones citing “size doesn’t matter” in reference to Israel being a small country with a lot…more to offer.  You can check out the video, which is definitely worth the loading time, above.

My roommate is somewhat of a ‘free spirit’, and I knew that when I got an email from her titled “HELEN HAS AN IDEA”, it had to be something a little off the beaten path.

Little did I know that she was demanding my company at a Shamanic ceremony going down the Observatory Room in Brooklyn.  The night, of course, is titled “Meeting Power Animal Spirits: The Journey to Non-Ordinary Realities” and is led by Israeli Shaman Itzhak Beery, a founding member of the NY Shamanic Circle.

Though Beery is Israeli-born, he has trained with Shamans in Hawaii, Ecuador, Peru, Greenland and more.  Does this mean Israel doesn’t have a Shamanic tradition?  C’mon!

You can read more about the event HERE, but from what I gather from that source, it looks like I am in for a lot of the following:

“Accompanied by drumbeat, participants learn to journey to the animal energies and shape-shift into them, allowing each person to merge with their animal nature—a reflection of our innermost self that represent those qualities we need most in this world, but which are often hidden, or repressed.”

If you’d like to join me on my journey to the astral plane, the event goes down TONIGHT at the Observatory Room at 7:30 and is $8.  I am pretty sure my spirit animal is a sleepy blogger.