Yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of the Ramones’ self-titled debut album. The album was a landmark in the development of punk rock, and the group has been widely cited as the first punk rock band. As discussed in Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk, two of the quartet’s founding members, Joey and Tommy, were Jewish, and their Jewishness played a significant role in the band. To honor this milestone, the Queens Museum opened an exhibit titled “Hey! Ho! Let’s Go:…
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Michael Croland
In Time for Passover, Jewish Punk Versions of “Dayenu”
Posted on April 16, 2016When I was in high school, I didn’t know that Jewish punk existed. I often joked with my friend Dan Horowitz that he should start a “Heebcore” band called Hamotze Lechem MeinHorowitz, which was a pun on his last name and the blessing over bread. I suggested a metalcore cover of “Dayenu,” which would be screamed “Die! Die! Anu” (along the lines of the “Die! Die!” chant in Metallica’s “Creeping Death”). Hamotze Lechem MeinHorowitz never came to be, but Jewish punk…
NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories
Posted on April 14, 2016No prominent punk rock band has put its members’ Jewishness on display as overtly, frequently, and humorously as NOFX has. The quartet includes singer/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin, who are both Jewish. NOFX’s “The Brews” is the number-one Jewish punk anthem. Fat Mike’s and Melvin’s Jewishness comes up sporadically in NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories, which was published on Tuesday. Considering that two members’ Jewishness is not a defining characteristic of NOFX, it doesn’t come up as…
Punk Rock and Jewish Music as Part of a Larger Stew
Posted on March 29, 2016In Chapter 4 of Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk, I talked about punk approaches to klezmer and other types of Jewish music. I focused on klezmer (particularly the Klezmatics), Radical Jewish Culture, Golem, Daniel Kahn & The Painted Bird, and Electric Simcha. For numerous other bands, klezmer (and other types of Jewish music) and punk rock interact as part of a larger stew. The growing popularity of world music and fusion of musical styles from across the globe…
Purim: Homotaschen!
Posted on March 22, 2016Happy Purim! I want to share a hilarious punk rock song about Purim: “Homotaschen.” Click here to listen to the song, and click here (scroll down) to read the lyrics. The transgender Jewish punk band Schmekel made songs about most Jewish holidays, and the band’s 2013 Purim song, “Homotaschen,” was a masterpiece. The title is a pun on “homo-” (as in “homosexual”) and hamantaschen (triangular cookies eaten on Purim). “Homotaschen” did more than just tell a fun story about a wild…
Jews and Riot Grrrl
Posted on March 19, 2016I considered including a section about riot grrrl in Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk, but it didn’t work out. Riot grrrl was a feminist punk movement that sprung out of Washington State in the early 1990s. I certainly featured female punks (some very prominently) in every chapter of my book. I mentioned the riot grrrl background of Shondes singer Louisa Solomon, included a quote about riot grrrl regarding Never Mind the Goldbergs, and discussed a Shiragirl song released by Play-a-Grrrl. I did…
I Sang and Wrote the Lyrics for Anti-Trump Song
Posted on March 15, 2016I sang and wrote the lyrics for a punk rock song called “Donald Trump Über Alles,” performed by the ad hoc band Anti-Trump. Click here to listen to the song on YouTube, which was just released tonight. The song is a parody of the 1970s Dead Kennedys song “California Über Alles,” which warned of dystopian dangers if California Gov. Jerry Brown became president. “Donald Trump Über Alles” is a work of political satire. The creators do not purport that the lyrics are actual representations…
The Celtic Punk Parallel
Posted on March 13, 2016Yesterday I attended Shamrockfest (a huge St. Patrick’s Day music festival in Washington, DC) for the fourth time. Although I’ve seen the Celtic punk bands Flogging Molly and the Dropkick Murphys more than 20 times combined, it was my first time seeing them on the same bill! Celkilt, the Fighting Jamesons, the Gobshites, and Street Dogs were the other highlights yesterday. Through the years, I’ve also seen many other great Celtic punk/rock bands, including Barleyjuice, Black 47, Charm City Saints, Cutthroat…
The Debaucherauntes: Klezmer Fusion
Posted on March 7, 2016In Chapter 4 of Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk, I look at different ways that punk has had an impact on klezmer and other types of Jewish music. It’s too bad I didn’t know about The Debaucherauntes sooner. The below interview with Mai Li, the singer and violinist of The Debaucherauntes, sheds light on a core focus of Chapter 4: What’s it like when a musician who has played in a punk rock band brings punk musical elements,…
Golem’s “Vodka Is Poison”: New Video!
Posted on March 3, 2016Golem, a klezmer-rock band with a punk edge, released a new video today for “Vodka Is Poison” (from the band’s 2014 album, Tanz). Click here to watch the video on YouTube. In Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk, I discuss in depth how the label “punk” relates to Golem. In the chorus especially, “Vodka Is Poison” has a heaviness and fast tempo that give off a punk vibe. The focus on alcohol certainly doesn’t detract from that. I’ve seen Golem live an estimated 20…