Teapacks retires…

November 16, 2008 - 9:02 PM by Harry · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General

Referencing the once flourishing music scene they once called Sderot the “Seattle” of Israel due to the influential bands coming out of the area. The most popular of these bands was Teapacks who went on to be one of the top selling bands in the country and even represented Israel at the Eurovision song competition. Now before I moved to Israel back in 1997 my taste in Israeli music… was…uh…misguided. I’ll save myself the embarrassment and hold off on the listening habits of a previous life. I have my army buddies to thank for getting me in line.

When I was enrolled in Ulpan (intensive Hebrew course) I listened to Teapack’s earlier albums endlessly. They were an amalgamation of ethnic music and rock with somewhat witty lyrics. I learned a tremendous amount of Hebrew transcribing their lyrics. Their live show was always better than their records and I had the opportunity to see them probably about ten times.

As is the case with bands that have integrity, their sound evolved. My music tastes evolved as well and I no longer connected to their more disco pop oriented sound (though their lyrics remained filled with humor and wit). They are widely known for their song “Push the Button” which they performed at Eurovision in 2007 which was all about the threat of Nuclear destruction. I didn’t get it and certainly couldn’t connect with lyrics such as “I wanna see the flowers bloom/Don’t wanna go kaput kaboom.”

After over 18 years as a band, ten albums and numerous hits Teapacks is calling it quits. And not a moment too soon.

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Tags: eurovision, kobi oz, mizrahi, oz, pop, push the button, Sderot, seattle, Teapacks, Ulpan

Maimon on MTV Europe

October 22, 2008 - 5:20 PM by Harry · 2 Comments
Filed under: General, Music, Pop Culture

Shiri Maimon MTV might be the ultimate trendsetter when it comes to the Eighties niche cable programming revolution in the US, but until recently, many countries were able to establish their own local music video channels that competed for ratings against MTV Europe and MTV Asia, to name two examples of regional versions of the channel.

Over the past few years, however, MTV has aggressively gone local-global, offering its brand name to licensees in countries around the world. MTV Israel might not be much more than a glorified, Viacom-approved YouTube so far, but plans to go on TV are in the works.

Now the trend is coming full circle, with the 2008 MTV European Awards on November 6 offering a “Europe’s Favorite Act” category, its 23 nominees made up of regional winners. If nothing else, it’s a clever way to get esoteric markets to tune in to the mega-broadcast. Representing Israel at Liverpool’s Echo Arena will be Shiri Maimon, no stranger to international pop competition, currently starring in a recurring role on Bad Girls, a soap opera on the local MTV-competing Music 24 channel.

So a few weeks after Liverpool pop finally came to Israel, Israeli pop is finally going to Liverpool.

Following a second-place win on the American Idol-emulating local TV show Kochav Nolad, Maimon took fourth place at the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest. She also has released three hit albums on Helicon Records. Regardless, becoming the first-ever Israeli performer at the MTV European Awards feels special to her, as she told YNet:

“For me, it is amazing to represent Israel in Europe again,” said Maimon.

“This may be a cliché, but it is really a dream come true to appear on an MTV stage. I will try doing the best I can, just like I love,” she said.

The general public is invited to vote for a Shiri victory in Dublin by clicking here.

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