Hebrew music?
August 19, 2010 7:14 PM   Subscribe

I'm looking for Israeli music and/or music in Hebrew.

I'm learning Hebrew, and after reading this, I went from just wanting to pick up a few words to absolutely not being able to get enough. I'm annoying my family. Anyway, I was hoping you had some suggestions for what I could listen to. Here are some examples of what I really liked:

Sichot Diplomatot by Arik Einstein (It's impossible to find, but it's on grooveshark)
I also think this song is awesome.
Shalom Aleicheim by Avishai Cohen
Makir Oto by Yoni Bloch
Idan Raichel.
I really love this song. (Beyom Shabbat by Idan Raichel)
The Green Line by Ethnix (also on grooveshark)
Kavod by Aviv Geffen was OK.
Gam Ani Roze by Yehuda Poliker...though it's a little more "party mix" than I'm used to.

Outside of Hebrew, I also listen to Talking Heads, Pere Ubu, and The Fall, if that might give you an indication of what type of music I'm looking for.

Any suggestions of certain bands/albums/songs I should be listening to? The only rule is that I'd prefer to listen to songs that aren't about things I'd be embarrassed to listen to if I knew what they were saying (killing, mean things, etc.)
posted by lhude sing cuccu to Grab Bag (12 answers total) 8 users marked this as a favorite
 
Response by poster: OH and this!

מי יודע מדוע ולמה לובשת הזברה פיגמה : Mashina
posted by lhude sing cuccu at 7:18 PM on August 19, 2010


I like listening to Hadag Nahash, and from what I can tell, the lyrics are pretty political, but non-offensive.
posted by specialagentwebb at 7:21 PM on August 19, 2010


I don't know much Israeli music, but I love Ofra Haza's rendition of Jerusalem of Gold.
posted by wondermouse at 8:23 PM on August 19, 2010


You might like some of the songs from the CD "Shabbat Night Fever," a mix of Hebrew and English songs from a variety of artists. I think it might be a German-only CD, so it might be hard to get a hold of.

One of my favorite songs is Adir Adirim by Balkan Beat Box. Other artists on the CD are HaBanot Nechama and Metropolin. The latter is kind of trip-hop and lyric-heavy.

Unfortunately, I don't understand Hebrew, so I have no idea if the lyrics are offensive or not. :)
posted by ElectricBlue at 8:46 PM on August 19, 2010


יש לי חברה is a song I really enjoy. Putomayo Present Israel has a pretty good collection and it's fairly easy to find. מוכר הפרחים by Ofra Haza I find strangely addicting as well.
posted by shesdeadimalive at 9:44 PM on August 19, 2010


I don't know enough about music in Hebrew to match it to your specific tastes, but here are two recommendations that I grew up with that are great:

Hair, in Hebrew

Aquarius

No lie, I grew up listening to this, and the first time I heard the English version, it sounded very wrong.


And try to find Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in Hebrew.
posted by Gorgik at 9:51 PM on August 19, 2010


I like to listen to Hebrew Disney songs to help me learn.
posted by cmgonzalez at 4:48 AM on August 20, 2010


Best answer: I posted a very similar question here a few months ago and got some very helpful answers; you might want to take a look at it.

Some of my favorite artists:
- Gidi Gov
- Arik Einstein
- Aya Korem
- Miri Mesika
- David Broza
- Danny Sanderson
- Ivri Lider
- Eyal Golan
- as well as some of the others listed here.

There's a pretty wide variety there to get you going. You can find a pretty good selection of music from all these artists on iTunes as well as on YouTube.

One last thing that I know you didn't really ask for, but I bet it'll come in handy for you, is this site. It has lyrics for most Hebrew songs (in Hebrew, so depending on your skill level, it may be more or less useful). So it comes in handy when the words aren't that clear, and you're listening and thinking "wish I knew what that word was in Hebrew so I could look up what it means in English...."
posted by greenmagnet at 6:57 AM on August 20, 2010


Heh, I missed your link to my earlier question till just now. Sorry for the duplicate link, hope the other info comes in handy. :)
posted by greenmagnet at 6:59 AM on August 20, 2010


Black Ox Orkestar are Godspeed You Black Emperor and Thee Silver Mt. Zion members playing traditional Jewish folk music. The lyrics are in Hebrew.
posted by OrangeDrink at 7:43 AM on August 20, 2010


A Stranger Song is an album of Leonard Cohen's songs in Hebrew. Awesomeness!!
posted by kuppajava at 12:01 PM on August 20, 2010


Best answer: Fool's Gold, which is an American band, but the singer sings in Hebrew.
posted by palindromic at 10:24 AM on August 25, 2010


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