Israel's Eurovision Song, Cultured Not Pop

From year to year, Israel seems to try to surprise the international Eurovision audience with gimmicks and an enormous variety of performers and genres. This year the "committee" finally went for for a very cultured performance, "Home," sung in English by by Kobi Marimi, the exact opposite style of last year's "Toy," which actually won.



If the Eurovision "directors" had been willing to accommodate Shabbat observance, then Israel would have been represented by The Shalva Band. Instead, that very unique and professional band, will be part of the local entertainment that host countries provide during the broadcast.

Last year's Israeli Eurovision song "Toy" sung by  Netta Barzelai.



None of the songs resemble the Israeli winning Eurovision songs from the 1970s. I miss that old Israeli music style.

"A-ba-ni-bi" sung by Izhar Cohen & Alpha Beta, 1978



Eurovision 1979,  "Hallelujah,"Sung by Milk and Honey



What do you think?

Singalong, Yair Rosenblum

One of the more recent Saturday night, Motza"Sh, meaning after Shabbat, activities here in Shiloh has been singalongs.

Way back when in the early decades in Israel, singalongs were very popular social/cultural activities. There would be slides, a slide projector and a big screen or cleared off wall, so the participants could read the words. Music would frequently be provided by someone playing an accordian. When there wasn't anyone to provide live music, there would be a tape recorder. Now everything's online and via the computer. Last year when I attended a singalong, the volume was turned down and a young neighbor ended up playing absolutely everything on the piano.

This time one of our "social coordinators" combined a television program about Yair Rosenblum with some "slides" of the lyrics.

I'm not an expert when it comes to who wrote Israeli songs. I know almost nothing, except about Naomi Shemer.  In a sense they were contemporaries, since they wrote some of their most famous songs during the same time period.

Yair Rosenblum:
Rosenblum was born in Tel Aviv.^[5] He was musical director of the Israel Defense Forces chorus in the 1960s and 1970s.^[6] He directed Israel's annual music festivals.^[5][6]He conducted and composed songs for the Israel Defense Forces army and navy ensembles.

Some songs I knew, others were familiar, and some I had never heard before. It was an enjoyable evening. I'd really like a singalong of Israeli songs we used to dance to. Then I'd feel young...