Contemplating Costello’s cancellation
Filed under: A New Reality, Blogging, coexistence, General, Israeliness, Music, Pop Culture
Elvis Costello’s cancellation of his two shows in Israel in June and July due to Israel’s treatment of Palestinians has caused unbridled emotion to surface in blogs, talkbacks and columns.
The dumbest comments claim that Costello is a has been, an anti-semite and a talentless hack – or all three. Obviously we are hurt, dismayed, betrayed, confused and angered at Costello’s decision to renege on his two shows scheduled for June 30 and July 1 at the Caesearea Amphitheater.
It’s especially disheartening because it wasn’t a rash decision and Costello isn’t a vapid pop star – he’s thoughtful, well-read and intelligent. He told me when I talked to him last night on the phone that his dilemma over whether to appear in Israel had been part of a 30-year conundrum from him, and that the issue had come up many times.
What I take away from the affair is not the desire to burn Elvis’s CDs as so many talkbackers threatened to do just like Christians burned Beatles records in 1966, but the desire to try to understand how Israel’s enemies have managed to present such a convincing argument consisting of half-truths, distortions and lies, that a wordly – albeit liberal – artist like Costello could be convinced to boycott us.
That Costello is letting himself be used by those that would want to see Israel harmed is alarming, indeed. But, that Israel has not successfully been able to sway world opinion that her cause is just is no less alarming.
Third place for Shiri
The buzz over Shiri Maimon’s live performance Thursday at the 2008 MTV European Awards was formidable indeed, and the attractive singer didn’t disappoint her Israeli fan base. She might have taken fourth place at the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest, but when all of the votes were tallied, she beat that mark by earning third place at the MTV awards in the “Europe’s Favorite Act” category (Turkey’s Emre Aydin took home the statuette).
At this rate, Maimon should win second place in the 2011 Soul Train Awards, paving the way for a 2014 Grammy.
The entire studio version of “Now That You’re Gone,” Maimon’s latest hit single in English, and the song she performed on MTV Europe, can be heard here.
Perhaps the 2008 MTV European Awards weren’t quite ready for Maimon, as the scale of the proceedings seems to have been more global than local, according to YNet’s coverage:
Former Beatle Paul McCartney stole the show at the ceremony, as he was named Ultimate Legend. The other big winner was Britney Spears, who won Act of 2008 and Album of the Year. She did not attend the event.
McCartney was one of several stars on the night to pay tribute to Barack Obama following his victory in the US presidential election this week.
In fact, being a down-home local girl thrust into the glitzy world of international power is exactly what was on Maimon’s mind leading up to the performance. In an interview with Ma’ariv La’noar, the singer defended herself against accusations that she had turned into a spoiled superstar, claiming that the Israeli market is simply too small to be able to support the whims of a real diva. To back up her claims, Maimon cited rumors that Mariah Carey demands 6000 flowers decorate her every dressing room.
Some day, you too shall merit such treatment, Shiri.
Where Bob and Obama meet
Can we fix it? Even my two and a half year old knows the answer to this one. “Yes we can!” Is he a political genius who has been following the Barack Obama election campaign closely. No of course not. He’s a fan of Bob the Builder.
Everyone is talking about Obama’s new slogan “Yes we can”, the new “Just do it”, of our era. Teamsters Union President James P. Hoffa even had thousands of Israelis chanting it at the memorial to Rabin on Saturday night, which was a piece of political engineering if ever there was one.
But I’d just like to point out that the much loved animated character, Bob, the head of a construction team of assorted tractors and diggers, was already saying “Yes we can”, when Obama was probably still thinking about a career in law.
The British-made show emphasizes conflict resolution, co-operation, socialization and various learning skills – and (translated into Hebrew) helped teach my kids the value of working together to solve a problem. Can we fix it? Yes we can.
In the UK the theme song – Can we fix it? Yes we can, became a million-selling number one hit, which, coming from the birthplace of the Beatles seems a little sad.
Anyway, I’m clearly not the only one to see the connection. I came across this video on YouTube – excuse the swear word at the end.
Time for Mincha, Paul
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life, Music, Pop Culture, Religion
Paul McCartney’s played all around the world, with The Beatles, with Wings, and on his own. I’m sure he’s encountered some strange sights and situations (among them spending a few days in a Japanese jail for pot possession), but his historic performance Thursday night in Israel likely presented a first at a McCartney show – its very own Chabad mitzvah booth.
As the near 50,000 concertgoers of all ages rambled through the grassy Ganei Yehoshua on the way to the show, they passed the usual beer and hot dog vendors, and McCartney memorabilia like ‘Paul in Israel’ t-shirt and button hawkers. But, right in line with the path was a booth set up by Chabad, offering literature, the mitzvah of laying tefillin, and some good yiddishkeit.
I didn’t see many takers in the brief moments I was in view of the booth, as it seemed that most fans were eager to stake their claim on a piece of earth as close to the stage as possible. But the Chabad guys were in good cheer, singing songs (not Beatles) and joining in the revelry.
The audience at the concert was a typically mixed cross section of the usual concert-going teens and 20-somethings, a good representation of parents with young kids, and a lot of aging baby boomers like me. There were plenty kippas generously sprinkled throughout the audience, and all in all, it was a mellow crowd.
A friend who I ran into at the show commented that Israeli rock audiences are so different from American ones, where ‘getting wasted’ is almost part of the DNA for concert-goers. Here, it was a family atmosphere, with the occasional waft of marijuana smoke in the air being the exception and not the norm.
Much ado was made about the NIS 5,000 VIP seating, and the less expensive but still expensive reserved seating area. I didn’t sit in either one, but my impression is that the reserved seating folks, who forked over NIS 1,500 for their seats got the short end of the stick.Their ‘seats’ were the equivalent of the bleachers in a baseball games, pretty far back, and somewhat detached from the excitement of the show.
The VIP stands were a bit closer, but those people were probably in a stupor the whole show from the gourmet buffet and open bar they enjoyed in the huge food tent built just for them on the side. That might explain why it looked like they were sitting throughout the show, while the plebes on the grass were up and dancing and moving the whole time.
When I floated out of the show after over two hours of Beatles magic, the Chabad booth had been dismantled and the staff long gone. Maybe they thought Paul was singing about that other ‘Mary’ when he sang ‘Mother Mary’ in “Let it Be” and not his own mother. Or maybe they just couldn’t compete with the near religious experience that so many people seemed to have at the concert.
Jpost McCartney coverage is pretty McAwesome
So as I write this over 50,000 people have decent upon HaYarkon Park to hear Paul McCartney perform. I love the Beatles as much as the next guy, I really wish I was there, but alas, I could not justify the absurdly high ticket price. Am I regretting the decision? Yeah, a bit. The 490 NIS (roughly $150) won’t mean anything a year from now but there are still lighting fixtures that need to be installed in our apartment, a mini-fake kitchen I need to build for my daughter, a garden that needs to be tended, etc. You get the idea. There won’t ever be another band like the Beatles, and I won’t be able to tell my kids one day that I saw one of the Beatles perform. Though I did see Brian Wilson perform Pet Sounds in London a few years ago and that was pretty spectacular. So at least I got to see one music legend in my life.
Coverage of this show has been out of control. I think McCartney is getting more coverage than the Pope’s visit to Israel back in 2000.
The Jerusalem Post’s coverage has been enjoyable. It’s had a real giddy tone to it. Editor in chief David Horowitz interview with McCartney was obviously a personal career highlight for him and his uber-excited tone and enthusiasm jumps right off the page. A few of the recent headlines:
• Analyze This: How McCartney could rock Ahmadinejad’s world (actually an excellent opinion piece)
• McCartney’s concert kicks off in TA
My fellow Israelity blogger David even dared to bring up the old myth of Paul McCartney’s death and replacement with an impostor (Paul rebuffed this in yesterday’s press conference, which certainly made David’s day).
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