I posted two months ago about Mordechai Ben-David "borrowing" music from Dschingis Khan for his song "Yidden."
Well, a fellow named Rob put together a video (click on the link below) by combining elements from the Dscingis Khan song and an MBD public service announcement. The production quality is quite low and he used a trial version of editing software (and hence the words across the front). However, the message is quite sharp.
Enjoy!
The Wolf
P.S. The original MBD PSA can be viewed here.
5 comments:
So back to the question of the quality of Jewish music... I was listening to a "Neginah 4" CD on a long drive, and trying to decide what it is that I don't like about this music. I mean, some of the arrangements were nice, and musicianship is good, some of the tunes are solid. So what's the problem? Of course it's full of cliches, from the kvetching MBD-esque singers to the incessant trumpets punctuating every turnaround, but still, why am I bothered? I mean, ordinarily, I listen to an internet Alternative station, and that genre also has its cliches, and 50% of the stuff is crap to begin with. So what is it about Neginah that makes me feel creepy and yucky?
I think one of my big problems is with the lyrics, or lack of them. When you are listening to this yeshivish music, you are never hearing a creative lyrical effort. The lyrics for every song are grabbed from some Tehillim or Talmudic passage (usually from one of the same 6 or 7 heavily overmined passages). It's as though the songwriter is declaring publicly and proudly "I have nothing at all to say. I have no ideas. I have nothing to express. I have no thoughts." This really bothers me. Even though most goyish music is quite limited in respect of lyrics, at least someone tries. Even if 75% of lyrics are basically "My girl left me for another man," at least there is some pretense of a creative effort. Someone thinks they found a novel way to say something, maybe poignant, maybe funny, or maybe jarring. But at least they tried to make an EXPRESSION. When you listen to Jewish music, despite all the triumphant trumpets, you hear an emptiness of soul. The songwriter either has nothing to express, or is perhaps terrified that if they wrote something about God or Judaism in their own words it would sound (1) silly or sappy or (2) worse, it would be judged traif. So they stick with the safety of Tehillim and trumpets, and keep their thoughts to themselves.
You don't see any irony in a guy making a video about stealing and using unregistered software?
Well, it is a trial version and during a trial version you are entitled to use the software without paying for it. While I don't have the EULA handy, I'd be highly surprised if it contained language that said that you had to destroy videos made with the trial version if you don't purchase the full product.
The Wolf
Well said, Some Guy. Unfortunately, there seems to be, as you mentioned, an atmosphere of "playing it safe" lest the record be banned (or "discouraged").
The Wolf
I'm not saying it's wrong per se, but if you're going to get all high and mighty about not using someone else's work without permission, you'd make a stronger point by actually using software that you PAID for.
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