Monthly Archives:

February 2016

They Went Away from Punk

  Jewish musicians have figured prominently in some extremely successful, mainstream acts that had punk rock roots but went in a different direction musically. We will focus on the Beastie Boys, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane’s Addiction, and P!nk.   Beastie Boys The Beastie Boys was a landmark group that helped bring hip-hop to the mainstream in the 1980s. All three members—MCA (Adam Yauch), Mike D. (Mike Diamond), and AdRock (Adam Horovitz)—were Jews who grew up in New York.…

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Punking Up the Friday Night Service

I sometimes lead Friday night services for an independent minyan. I’ve never made a conscious effort to “punk up” services, but I have done so in a few different regards. “Adon Olam” is a prayer that is sung to a wide variety of melodies, including traditional melodies and pretty much anything else. Back in 2003, as part of a basement show I organized called the Lacking Musician-ship Gig, I sang “Adon Olam” with Green Day’s “Minority” playing in the background.…

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Farewell, Shmarya Rosenberg of Failed Messiah

Shmarya Rosenberg announced on Tuesday that, after nearly 12 years, he is leaving his blog, Failed Messiah. Failed Messiah was a one-man powerhouse covering (and uncovering) injustice, hypocrisy, and a variety of issues in the Orthodox world. Failed Messiah was a big reason I got interested in running a Jewish blog in the first place. In 2004, when PETA did an investigation of a kosher slaughterhouse, Failed Messiah was at the forefront of covering the ensuing scandal and furthering discussion in the Jewish blogosphere.…

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