Nostalgia Sunday – Duets

July 25, 2010 - 9:02 PM by · 3 Comments
Filed under: A New Reality, General, History and Culture, Holidays, Israeliness, Music, Nostalgia Sunday, Pop Culture, tv 

Tonight is Erev Tu b’Av, the eve of a minor holiday that’s gained a great deal of popularity in recent years. To celebrate this so-called “Jewish Valentine’s Day” we present a few duets that are oldies but goodies. None of these male-female duos have stayed together (it’s a hard musical group structure to sustain) but the songs have withstood the test of time.

Perhaps it stemmed from Palmachnik prudishness but early Israeli romantic ballads were generally solo songs of longing sung by a lovesick youth, while boy-girl duets tended to be a bit hokey-jokey. Nonetheless, songs like Rina were hits — and the fashions can’t be beat.

Ani Holem al Naomi (I dream of Naomi) is a fun duet, performed by where-are-they-now duo Hedva and David. In its time, Naomi proved popular in other countries as well, with versions recorded in Korean and Japanese. More recently, a drag version was released.

Tni Li Yad (Give me your hand) is a very pretty song. Music is by the great Yoni Rechter with lyrics by Eli Moher, who performed the duet with his somewhat abashed daughter Sharon.

Pay no attention to the silly opener the precedes Shir Ahava Bedoui (Bedouin Love Song), one of the loveliest duets to come out of late 70s Israel. Try to ignore the costumes, too. Best to just shut your eyes, lean back and remember those summer nights on kibbutz…

Shuv (Once Again) is perhaps the most romantic of all Israeli duets. Performed by then husband and wife Josie Katz and Shmulik Krauss, the song describes the emotions of a couple reuniting after a long separation. This being Israel, the implication is that he has returned from reserve duty or perhaps a war. “Give me a moment… Let me catch my breath… Give me a chance to get used to you once again.”

And a happy belated birthday to Josie Katz!

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Karpal and Lobel snag a Nevada Lulu

November 17, 2008 - 2:40 PM by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Israeliness, Movies, Music, Pop Culture 

Emily KarpalPart Canadian, part Tel Avivian, pop singer-songwriter Emilly Karpal released her debut studio full-length album this past August. A collaboration with Tomer Adam Lenzinger, whom she met while working together on an Air remix, Nemashim (Freckles) has served Karpal’s career well, earning her considerable local airplay. One of the album’s key singles, the title track reached number 14 on the Reshet Gimmel radio station’s charts for Israeli music.

Now the cheeky, 80s-style bubblegum-electro retro-fest video clip for that single, below, has earned the performer some accolades from an unlikely source. Held in the low-key Nevada town of Pahrump, probably best known for being home to the Sheri’s Ranch brothel, the third annual High Desert Shorts International Film Festival has awarded $100 in cash prize money to Ofir Lobel for his work on the “Nemashim” video. The music video category’s competition was as stiff as can be expected from a community film festival, but Lobel’s slick work deserves kudos no matter what the scale of the context.

In addition to his music video work, Lobel, who has also spent lots of time in North America over the years, has served as a web-based news reporter and as a TV actor. He also has his own budding career as a musician.

In comments to the Israeli music video TV channel 24, Lobel has indicated that he hopes this award, nicknamed the Lulu, will open up career opportunities for him overseas. Karpal, on the other hand, said, “It’s fun that we’ve reached all the way to Nevada, since I’ve never even been there.”

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