Recruiting Animal

Jersey Girl

This is the part of The Recruiting Animal Show when we sing.

PLAY - Jeff Chaponick - Jersey Girl

Spiritual Music

From: Hava Nagila (documentary)

Danny Maseng:
The niggun is a song without words because, ultimately speaking, to reach God no words will suffice. And it's done through the universal language which, in Hasidic Judaism, is music. There are ten levels of prayer and above them is music. But there ain't no happy in it that is not connected with a little, bitter after-taste. Life is beautiful. Isn't it sweet, isn't it awesome; I'm going to die tomorrow.

It's this wonderful tension between aspiration and reality.  In my dreams you don't even know how high I can go.  The reality is that I'm going to be heartbroken thoroughly and completely right here on this earth. And a beautiful niggun manages to trace that distance.

Lawrence Kushner:
One of the main principles that governs Hasidism was not only can you serve God with joy but if you're bummed out you can't serve God.  So Hasidism is resolute, monomaniacal, about saying that you have to find a way to access the joy that you have. Joy brings you close to God.

Excuses

 I was having a chat the other day with some people about Leviticus, Chapter 21, verse 9.

Mary's Place

I was reading Jeff Meshel's blog in which he traces the travels of one element of a song recorded by Major Lance in 1963.

It's called "Monkey Time" and it was written by Curtis Mayfield.

Jeff didn't mention Bruce Springsteen's "Mary's Place" which is in large part a cover of Major Lance's "Monkey Time".

Here's Major Lance on YouTube. And here's Bruce: http://bit.ly/16Sqiqv

I saw him do it Toronto in 2003 and it was great.

It starts out with him shouting "Are you ready?". That comes from Monkey Time and it was copied at the start of Barbara Mason's "Yes, I'm Ready" in 1965. It's on YouTube here.

"Yes, I'm ready" can also be heard in the intro to Laura Nyro's Luckie in 1968. It's on YouTube here.

Laura covered Monkey Time in 1971. On YouTube here. Her reedy voice doesn't compares to the Major's.

And the refrain of "Mary's Place" comes from the title of a Sam Cooke song, "Meet Me At Mary's Place" which is on YouTube here.

Hidden Treasure

From: Did the American songbook kill jazz? (edited)

There may be no more darkly romantic song in jazz than “You Don’t Know What Love Is.”

It was written for a minor Laurel and Hardy film called, “Keep ‘Em Flying” but ended up on the cutting room floor.

A decade or two later, it was picked up by Chet Baker, Eric Dolphy, Coltrane and other musicians who recast it as a chilling, lonely ballad.

Kate Pierson - Shiny Happy People

REM - Shiny Happy People
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