Always late on Night Eight. It's practically a tradition. But there is a massive Hanukkah post ahead. As we go along, tonight, we'll revisit some of our earlier Hanukkah offerings from years past. And, this year, I forgot to have Hanukkah cats help us along, so we'll bring them back tonight, too. Like the image on the right, here.
If you ask me, the single hardest thing to find in holiday music (not including Kwanzaa, Ramadan, or other holidays for which there is little to no music at all) is Bluegrass Hanukkah. I suppose it's surprising that there's any at all. But there is some. That's why I enjoyed these recordings from Nefesh Mountain. Neither "Hanukkah Dance" or "Hanukkah's Flame" are available for purchase or download, which is too bad, but at least we got videos. These are both Woody Guthrie numbers, btw, if you want to track down the originals.
If you ask me, the single hardest thing to find in holiday music (not including Kwanzaa, Ramadan, or other holidays for which there is little to no music at all) is Bluegrass Hanukkah. I suppose it's surprising that there's any at all. But there is some. That's why I enjoyed these recordings from Nefesh Mountain. Neither "Hanukkah Dance" or "Hanukkah's Flame" are available for purchase or download, which is too bad, but at least we got videos. These are both Woody Guthrie numbers, btw, if you want to track down the originals.
Fair to say "Hanukkah's Flame" is more Folk than Bluegrass. I get that. Woody Guthrie, btw, had more Hanukkah arrows in his quiver, having also written "Happy Joyous Hanukkah", covered by the Indigo Girls a few years back.
And, before we move on from the particular corner of Hanukkah music, here's one from our first year of Hanukkah from then JDub recording artists, Girls In Trouble.
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Second Night: Kyra Goldman - Nes Gadol Haya Sham Aimee Mann, Susanna Hoffs, Ted Leo - Nes Gadol Haya Sham Hanukkah - Beckah Shae We missed this one, last year, so we owe a debt to the Xmas Song Blog people who posted it to their Twitter feed this year. It's from Rogue Wave. Though it shares a title with the Darlene Love track we featured earlier, this "Christmas For The Jews" is a whole different song. And, importantly, it's a free download via Soundcloud. |
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And, from our second year of Hanukkah in 2011, here's David Rael's "Your Stocking's Filled With Candy, But A Pencil Sharpener's Handy".
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Third Night: Cloe Couture - Hanukkah Darlene Love - Christmas For The Jews Adam B. Shapiro - I Sort of Envy Christmas Listen Up! A Cappella - White Christmas Here's a group who has a few Hanukkah songs streaming on their web site, none of which you can buy or download. You also can't buy or download "California Hanukkah", but that's the tune Aliyah chose to turn into a video. |
From our third year of Hanukkah, this poppin' frash Hanukkah song, "It's Chanukah!" from Jeffrey Paul Bobrick that you can still download free, if you join the mailing list.
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Fourth Night: The Maccabeats - Hasmonean
Six13 - A Hamilton Hanukkah Hanukat - Hanukat Usually, when Amazon sends me an email, it's about something new or recent. But, for some reason, they sent me an email about this 2013 single, today. Maybe they checked their records and discovered it's the only Hanukkah song I hadn't already purchased. We'll never know for sure, but I didn't recall coming across it before, so here it is. Lenny Solomon & Etan G.'s "It's Chanukah Night!". Available from Amazon (duh). |
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Lenny Solomon and Etan G. are two members of the group Schlock Rock. Many years ago, I bought a CD that I thought was credited to Lenny & The Schlockers. And several of the tunes from that CD--though not, strictly speaking, Hanukkah songs--have found their way into my Hanukkah mixes over the years, from "Rockin' Rabbi" to "Am Y'isroel Chai". I had no idea that the band was Schlock Rock and "Lenny and The Schlockers" was the CD title. Now I've got a lot of back catalog to go over. Here are a couple of Schlock Rock favorites.
We were barely here in our fourth year of Hanukkah, but we did manage to post Six13's "Thanksgivukkah Anthem".
We've spoken about using tunes recorded by Israeli artists in your Hanukkah mixtapes, from time to time, whether they're directly Hanukkah songs or not. I think it adds an air of authenticity and respect. It'll certainly set you apart from the folks who attempt a Hanukkah mixtape that is little more than covers of Adam Sandler's "The Hanukkah Song". I've got nothing against including Sarah Silverman's "Give The Jew Girl Toys" in your mix, but an entire mix like that seems, to me, disrespectful. I feel the same about a Christmas mix that's all Bob Rivers and Weird Al. Here are a couple of tracks from Israel for consideration.
Micha Gamerman's "Bazman Haze" was a popular Hanukkah track in Israeli music circles a couple of years back, and was briefly available as a free download. You can grab the track a la carte from Gamerman's "Micha II" album at Amazon. Good energy with legitimate Hebrew flare. This one does relate to Hanukkah, on some level, as the lyrics speak of miracles, heroism, and salvation--then and now.
Micha Gamerman's "Bazman Haze" was a popular Hanukkah track in Israeli music circles a couple of years back, and was briefly available as a free download. You can grab the track a la carte from Gamerman's "Micha II" album at Amazon. Good energy with legitimate Hebrew flare. This one does relate to Hanukkah, on some level, as the lyrics speak of miracles, heroism, and salvation--then and now.
If you go to Amazon and search "Hanukkah" in the digital section, then sort by "Release Date", the first listing you'll get is "Light Songs Collection For Hanukkah". These are Pop Hanukkah hits from Israel (and, by Pop, I mean the equivalent of Justin Beiber and Mariah Carey, pretty much), or at least it seems that way to me. Haven't explored the whole thing, yet, but I dig Amit & Joni's "Mashup Hanukkah" because it's got a bit (just a bit) of that Radio Disney feel I'm partial to--just the Israeli version of that feel.
During our fifth year of Hanukkah celebration, this was probably my favorite song and video, Naomi Less with "8 Nights".
We hear Hanukkah songs about Judah Maccabee all the time (as we would, of course), but Judy Tellerman has recorded a song about one of the unsung heroes of Hanukkah--"Judith (Yehudit)". I swear I saw this for sale somewhere, but I can't locate it, now. Might have imagined it. Judy does have other Hanukkah tunes available, though, including "Happy Hanukkah" and "We Keep The Flame". I'll let Judy Tellerman tell the tale.
As this is only the seventh year of Stubbys and, as 2014 was such a good year for our Hanukkah shares, we're sticking in our fifth year for a moment. The song in question was actually from years earlier--2000 to be precise. It's probably the best Indie Alt Rock Hanukkah tune I've ever heard (okay, the Slackers have to be up there, too). Sub Pop recording artists Damon & Naomi's song, "Judah And The Maccabees". Word to the wise. Damon & Naomi's back catalog has been rolled out on Bandcamp over the years. If you want to buy just the one track, it'll cost you a buck. BUT, if you will download the whole album, it's name-your-price" (or free, if you want to look at it that way). "Judah And The Maccabees" appears on both the original album and the duo's collection "The Sub Pop Years". This year, Damon & Naomi released a collection of B-sides and other rarities, "Spirit of Love", and, on that one, you'll find their take on "White Christmas". Same pricing instructions apply.
Seventh Night: Shir Soul - Hanukkah, Oh, Hanukkah (Pentatonix style Mashup)
Y-Studs - Don't Let Me Down
Julie Geller - Rekindle The Light
Well, crap, it's 11:00 PM already. So let's speed things along with a trio of fun videos. Two of the songs we've already shared this year--Lenny Beige's "I Wanna Do Chanukah Wit' Jew" and The Macaroons "10 Days of Hanukkah". But, first, here's one we haven't shared, though we spoke about the album a few years ago. These are The Jimmies, ostensibly a Kids music group, from their album "Mama Said Nog You Out". It's been said there's no reason why this song should exist...but it does. "I Want A Hippopotamus For Hanukkah". Oh yeah, they also do a Kwanzaa version.
Y-Studs - Don't Let Me Down
Julie Geller - Rekindle The Light
Well, crap, it's 11:00 PM already. So let's speed things along with a trio of fun videos. Two of the songs we've already shared this year--Lenny Beige's "I Wanna Do Chanukah Wit' Jew" and The Macaroons "10 Days of Hanukkah". But, first, here's one we haven't shared, though we spoke about the album a few years ago. These are The Jimmies, ostensibly a Kids music group, from their album "Mama Said Nog You Out". It's been said there's no reason why this song should exist...but it does. "I Want A Hippopotamus For Hanukkah". Oh yeah, they also do a Kwanzaa version.
From last year, our sixth year of Hanukkah, lots of good choices, but I, personally, love this one from Rachael Sage, "Hanukkah In The Village".
As this is our final Hanukkah celebration at Stubbys, I want to go back to the beginning. This was the very first Hanukkah song I can ever remember wanting to own. "Chanukah Chase" by The Short Sisters (neither sisters nor especially short). It was a 1986 track on a "Fast Folk Season's Greetings" LP. Fast Folk was a magazine that, at the time, came with a record...or vice versa. They eventually moved to CDs, but the CDs weren't nearly as popular and Fast Folk has been a remnant of the past for quite some time, now. Too bad. Like any magazine, you could only get the LP as a subscriber. I wasn't. I heard the song on the radio (Vin Scelsa played some great holiday stuff). It took me decades to track down a copy. The Short Sisters are still singing. Their 1991 CD (which, believe me, you couldn't find in 1991), "A Planet Dancing Slow", is considered their "holiday" album (though at least one Christmas song appears on another). And "Chanukah Chase" is on it, except it's now titled "My Candles". You can get that album from CD Baby, but you can't buy tracks a la carte. It's always something.
And last, but not least, here's another song that spurred my enjoyment of Hanukkah music (though, by the time this was released, I was already fairly deep into it--deep enough to be ordering albums from specialty Jewish Music mail order companies). This was Eric Schwartz, the notorious Smooth-E, with "Hanukkah Hey Ya". I know the record is still available on Google Play, but I'm not sure where else. Hope your Hanukkah was magical. Shalom.
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