Nostalgia Sunday – Musikat kassetot

July 24, 2011 - 11:09 PM by Rachel Neiman

Last week I wrote about the Jerusalem-based Black Panther movement of the 1970s and 1980s. This week, let’s take a look at what was happening in Tel Aviv at around the same time, where the social and cultural revolution was no less profound but expressed itself, true to the city’s reputation, in nightlife, theater and music.

The 1971 musical Al Tikra Li Shachor (Don’t Call Me Black) was a whimsical expression of the spirit of the times. Written by Dan Almagor with music composed by Benny Nagari, the show – an ensemble of seven actors and singers – was influenced by controversial Hippie musical Hair, the US Civil Rights Movement and Soul music with a smattering of Bible stories. Here’s one of the show’s hit songs, Yom Yavo (A Day Will Come).

Yom Yavo – Al Tikra Li Shahor

The more important indication of change was the rise of Mizrahi music, or Middle Eastern music, also known at the time as musikat kassetot (cassette music).

According to the study, Trends in Israeli Society, Vol. 2, “The 80s were… one of the cultural expressions most strongly identified with the Mizrahi Israeliness. The term musikat kassetot (cassette music) is preferred because it best defines the musical culture within its social context.”

“During the 1970s, various forms of Israeli musicians – all of Middle Eastern origin, mostly Yemenite – in collaboration with musicians and arrangers of Ashkenazi (Eastern European) origin – created a musical style that incorporated a number of influences. These included Arabic music… psalms of the Jews of Yemen, Morocco and other countries; the sentimental pop ballads of Italy and France, Greek music, English and American pop. The mix stemmed from the socio-cultural positioning of these musical styles. In their homes and the neighborhoods where they were growing up, they were exposed to prayers and psalms and also to Arabic music but its presence was never legitimized by the Israeli public. Fans of Arabic music listened to records or radio stations almost in secret…

“…In addition, popular music in the 1970s was dominated by an appeal to the rock aesthetic. In this situation, Israeli Mizrahi music was perceived as an outsider, low-level in terms of its artistic qualities, and unoriginal. Its creators were pushed to the sidelines by the record companies and the few records that were recorded went almost unplayed by the [Israel Broadcast Authority] radio. As in other countries with ‘outsider’ musical styles, this music went in the direction of cassette recordings via a new, alternative distribution system.”

“Towards the end of the 1970s, companies were established that produced and distributed Israeli Mizrahi music cassettes. Production tended to be simple, fast and cheap, all of which could be seen in the [poor] technical and sound quality of the cassettes and their rough packaging. A distribution system of stands in the open markets and central bus stations followed, that garnered [the genre] the additional nickname, ‘Central Bus Station Music’.”

“Performances were also not according to the accepted standard of concerts or sing-a-longs. Instead, the musicians appeared at private engagements, such as weddings and the like, or night clubs. They insisted on a conservative dress: jackets, ties, etc., and there were practically no female singers. Prominent musicians included Shimi Tavori, Nissim Saroussi, who focused on sentimental ballads, [and] Avner Gedassi, who emphasized rock and soul influences.”

Nifradnu Kach (So we parted) – Avner Gedassi

“Around 1980, the creative artists, most notably Avihu Medina and entrepreneurs such as Asher Reuveni, began a public campaign against what they saw as prejudice and discrimination against Mizrahi music, as it was called then… These claims centered around the musical creativity of two singers: Zohar Argov and Haim Moshe. Each had achieved a career that disproved the image of ‘cassette music…’”

Zohar Argov — also known as Ha-Melech (The King) — deserves a column devoted to him only, so we’ll deal with him and his songwriter Avihu Medina another time. Meanwhile, here is Nissim Seroussi belting out his hit Ashlayot (Illusions), a harsh examination of day to day reality as compared to what life could be.

Ashlayot – Nissim Seroussi

One of Seroussi’s contemporaries is Gabi Shoshan who in 1974 had what may be termed one of Israeli pop’s first crossover hits, Shesh Esrei Mal-u La-Naaar (The Young Man Turned 16). It’s a song of unrequited first love for the golden girl of the class by the boy who desires her. In 1968, by the way, Shoshan starred in the first Israeli production of Hair, forerunner of Al Tikra Li Shachor.

Shesh Esrei Mal-u La-Naaar – Gabi Shoshan