Okay. So this is the last post of our Israeli hipster delegates at SXSW this year. I swear at this point we probably have more readers in Israel than we do in the U.S. But for all of you Americans who assume I am madly in love in Israel (which as a liberal I’m obviously not) the rest of this week (through the weekend) and next week will exclusively for American hipster Jews struttin’ their stuff.
For those of you who have been involved in Judaism for quite some time, Hadag Nachash (translation: snake fish) needs no introduction. But for most of you, the goys and the American hipsters out there, you may need to be schooled a bit. So pour some whiskey on the rocks and take a seat. Class is now in session.
Hadag Nachash, from Jerusalem, is everything I assumed Israeli music was about. A weird blend of different genres. In this case hip/hop and funk. Horn instruments abound. Middle Eastern vibes. Highly political lyrics. All with a touch of nice Jewish European musical influence.
But they are more than that. They also were featured in the Adam Sandler movie Don’t Mess with the Zohan. A movie I’m pretty sure was watched mainly by Jews who haven’t abandoned him yet and stoned high schoolers. That doesn’t stop them from being the most famous musicians outside of Israel.
I was fortunate enough to see these dudes at UVM last year. They were in a room with 300 Jews and friends of Jews. The room could fit at least 800+ people. And since it was UVM, where they like shitty music like Phish, you would have expected a few more people to show up. But then again, college is a place where people are musically lazy and enjoy working past their Freshman 15. Add in an excessive pot smoking crowd, and I was surprised that many people showed up at all.
That’s my story. Here they are. Tomorrow is America bitches.
