JDub Records

Buffalos - 23 Buildings

Now, you might think we’ve got a monopoly on great new music coming out of Israel, but that just isn’t the case.  For example, Israeli band Buffalos is an act I only recently discovered.  The group’s rusty Americana is somewhat complicated by the clunky vocals, which probably sound that way because they’re sung in English.  Still, the apprehension with which the vocalists croon only serves to add to the overall feeling of being far from your home, perhaps hitchhiking across the American Southwest with only a guitar and a backpack.  I’ve included the rough and ready “23 Buildings” above to give you a sense of what I’m saying–enjoy!

Welcome to the first post of my lyrical guide to Girls in Trouble. Before we get into the first track of this series, i wanted to let everyone know that the Girls in Trouble record is officially available digitally!! Download your copy from iTunes, or pre-order the beautiful physical copy from JDub or Amazon

Secrets / You’re Always Watching

Secrets / You’re Always Watching is about the ritual Sotah from Numbers, the ritual test using deadly poison that determined if a woman had committed adultery.

Lyrics after the jump
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Ruff (Feat. Sagol 59) - Turning the Page

Check out the killer debut of Ruff (Guy Gabriel), a young producer from Hadera in Israel.  The track above is the 1st single off his soon-to-be-released debut album.  It features JDubber Sagol 59

on rhymes as well as sung choruses.

Sexy Movimiento - Wisin & Yandel ft. “Victor el Nazi”

Signs that your neighbor doesn’t quite grasp the gravity of the Holocaust: the popular reggaeton producer who’s adopted the stage name Victor “el Nasi.”  For those of you who don’t habla español, that probably means… Victor “the Nazi.”

Unless, of course, you want to give Victor the benefit of the doubt.  In that case, maybe he’s referring to the high-ranking member of the Sanhedrin, the assembly that convened in Temple times.  Or perhaps Victor is claiming Jewish roots in tribute to the illustrious Sephardic Nasi family, although the cross in the image to the left makes that a tough sell.

If you’re an anthropologist (or apologist), you might side with the findings of an anonymous “Yahoo! Answers” post claiming that “you’re the nazi/terrorist” is slang for “you’re the s***.”

What’s the proper course of action here? Should we let this one slide, or should we be letter-writing right now?

Major Lazer Hold the Line - DJ SABBO Remix

Hot off the presses, check out the remix to the new Major Lazer (Diplo & Switch) track Hold The Line by Soulico’s own DJ Sabbo. Also if you’re in NYC you can catch DJ Sabbo tomorrow night (Friday, June 26) at NUBLU in the East Village with the other DJ Sabo for a Sabbo Vs. Sabo showdown. Not to be missed. Battle begins at 10:30PM.

Dump - Rasberry Beret

Admittedly, one of my favorite bands is Yo La Tengo Cover divx

, the Hanukkah celebrating trio from New Jersey. Their music is soft and sad and the band is unusually long-lived for indie rock. They released their first record the year I was born!

Well, I have recently rekindled my love affair with old cassettes and vinyl converted to mp3 format. Wrong, I know, but wholly irresistible. On Friday I stumbled upon That Skinny Motherfucker with the High Voice by Dump, the strange pseudonym of Yo La Tengo bassist (and lone gentile) James McNew. Released on cassette in 1998 and reissued on CD in 2001, I can’t believe i missed this collection of softened and synthy Prince covers. I can say for sure that I have never heard The Grand Purple One quite like this. Above is “Raspberry Beret”, one of the only popular singles included on the record besides “Pop Life” and “1999.”

I entered college at the same time Napster took off. That is to say I spent much of my first semester illegally downloading music. In those months I expanded my collection of bands I already knew and gave a chance to bands I only knew slightly. I also downloaded artists I had never heard of and probably never would have listened to if their mp3s were not free and a few minutes away. I still consider several of those artists my favorites.

In the long run I threw away more than a thousand songs and purchased the ones I liked best. This is probably not unusual. A new study from the BI Norwegian School of Management has found that people who illegally download music are much more likely to buy music than those who don’t pirate music.

I can’t verify its accuracy, but the findings are believable. Sure, there are people who download music every day and never pay for anything. Then there are people who don’t illegally download music but also don’t buy or listen to much music at all. Then there are people like me (and I’d assume a large portion of my generation) who have used pirate sites and P2P file sharing, but also have large CD collections, go to shows and frequent record stores.

One more irony if this study is accurate: the music industry has spent the past 10 years vilifying its best customers.

Dishdogz download

Bill Callahan - Faith/Void

• The Doom Generation film

Bill Callahan, who is probably one of the greatest songwriters of all time, has a new record out called Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle, and it has been totally destroying me for the past week. Callahan, who until recently performed under the name Smog, is at the top of his game here, and no more so than on the album’s final track, “Faith/Void.” The song is, essentially, one long and beautifully written argument for atheism (as Callahan repeats over and over, “It’s time to put God away”). Regardless of my own views on the subject, I think this song is brilliant and extremely thought-provoking. And the fact that Callahan named the song after the seminal 1982 split release on Dischord Records by two Washington, DC-based hardcore bands called Faith and Void only makes me love it more.

In other news - WW has an awesome show coming up this Saturday at Public Assembly

• Apocalypse Now dvd

in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We’ll be playing alongside three other phenomenal acts - The Childballads, Tiger Saw (with whom I will also be playing), and Emilyn Brodsky. It’s an early show - we’re on at 7pm, and the whole thing is over by 10:15! It’d be great to see y’all there!

Sabbo - Purim Special

It’s this time of the year again, Purim !!!

So get your freaky costumes on, get drunk, get crazy, get mad !!!

I’ve made a Purim Special Remix for you to enjoy.

Yadav Emuna-Siach Sarfei Kodesh

**2009-2010: FREE year of non-denominational text study at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, ages 21-30. Ride out the recession while wrestling with history. Details here.

3:11AM, Jerusalem–D’OH. Well, greetings from the holy city. Purim is on its way, and I’m looking forward to getting my relig’ on in J-lem. Aside from the pop mitzvah of getting crunked & costumed, there are many other commandments associated with this holiday: reading megillat Esther, giving gifts to the poor, sharing food with friends. So far, so good. But there’s one commandment that the post-modern Jew may have hangups about. And it’s loosely related to the song, performed by my elementary school choir, & the picture above. Read More »