The Israel Hour: April 2, 2006

Looking for new Israeli music? You've come to the right place! Hear the latest from Beit Habubot, Shlomi Shabbat and Subliminal! Plus, we remember the music of Ehud Manor, one year after his death.

Podcast:
http://israelhour.bostoncoop.net/shows06/040206.mp3

Reshet Gimmel's Top 5

The top 5 songs on Reshet Gimmel's countdown, released today:

5. V'at - Harel Ska'at
4. Sodotai - Din Din Aviv
3. Machar - Aviv Geffen
2. Shir B'iparon - Beit Habubot

And #1...

1. Bimkomi - Shai Gabso

In other news...
Eddie Butler's Eurovision-bound song "Zeh Haz'man" made its debut on the top 30 this week, coming in at #12.

Shlomo WHO?

Everyone knows who Shlomo Artzi is, right?

Wrong.

Despite ever-present publicity and new songs, today's Israeli kids have never heard of some of the "older" Israeli music icons like Artzi, Shalom Hanoch, Arik Einstein and David Broza.

A survey on the Israeli Children's Channel web site asked kids aged 6-12 if they recognized some of the most honored singers in Israeli music. 67% had never heard of any of them!

At least some kids had a clue. Shlomo Artzi was the most well known of the "old timers," followed by Arik Einstein. But only 3% of respondants had ever heard of Shalom Hanoch, and only 2% recognized David Broza's name!

Editorial comment from Reshet Gimmel:

"But as for Ninette, the two "Harels" and Sa'ado, all of [the kids] certainly know them. Sad."

The Israel Hour: March 19, 2006

Join us as we re-live some of the memories from last week's Pre-Eurovision Song Contest! You'll hear many of this year's competing songs as well as some of our favorite "Kdam" hits of all time. Who will represent Israel in Eurovision 2006? Find out!

Podcast:
http://israelhour.bostoncoop.net/shows06/031906.mp3

Eddie Butler!

Eddie Butler will represent Israel at this year's Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Zeh Hazman."

Listen:
http://eurovil.iba.org.il/index.asp?classTo=eurovisionInnerSong&entity_code=113243

Kdam '06 Songs Online!

The songs competing in the 2006 Kdam Eurovision contest are now available online!

http://eurovil.iba.org.il

Near the bottom of the page, click on Kdam 06, and then on each individual artist, then on the little "sound" icon to hear the song.

The contest will take place on March 15th.

Happy listening!

The Israel Hour: March 5, 2006

Mairov and Josh present an "abbreviated" 45-minute show that's chock full of brand new music! Hear the latest from Maya Buskila and Shlomi Shabbat, plus a new single from Ivri Lider - live in concert!

Podcast:
http://israelhour.bostoncoop.net/shows06/030506.mp3

Kdam 2006: The Songs

Reshet Gimmel reports that they will be playing ALL of the songs that will compete in the upcoming Kdam Erevision, scheduled for 3/15.

The broadcast begins this Sunday, March 5th at 10 am Israel time (3 am in New York).

If you're awake, tune in online at the link above!

Return of the Lamb

Rumor has it that Hakaeves Ha-16 is reuniting for some concerts in Israel. The makers of one of Israel's most successful children's albums - Gidi Gov, Yehudit Ravitz, David Broza, Yoni Richter, Yitzchak Klepter and Yehonatan Gefen - are planning to perform together this summer.

Probably only a metter of time before we see them in New York, Los Angeles and Miami...

2005 Most-Played Songs

ACUM has released the songs played most often on Israeli radio in 2005:

#3..."L'sham" by Miri Messika

#2..."Mima'amakim" by Idan Raichel

And #1...

"Hasheket She'nishar" by Shiri Maimon

High-Profile Splits

Just in time for Valentine's Day...

Think Israeli celebrities are immune from the very public romantic break-ups that are all-too-common in the US? Think again. Maya Buskila and Ninette Tayeb are the latest casualties.

It's a wonder Rami and Rita have lasted so long...

Jpost.com: Celebrity Grapevine

The Lady in Green

You're a superstar Israeli singer with hundreds of thousands of fans...and then the government hands you a uniform. What happens next? Just ask Roni.

(Can she make it as a soldier? I dunno, but she'll certainly do a nice job distracting the enemy...)

Jpost.com: From superstar to soldier

Shoshana Damari

I was sad to learn of the passing of Israeli music pioneer Shoshana Damari. As you'll read in today's Jerusalem Post article (link below), Damari recently reached a whole new generation of fans by collaborating with Idan Raichel. She left an incredible mark on Israeli music and will be missed.

Jpost.com: Cultural icon Shoshana Damari dies

Ninette Tayeb...and Kelly Clarkson???

It had been previously reported that Kelly Clarkson would be coming to Israel this summer to perform. Now, Reshet Gimmel reports that there's talk of the winner of "American Idol's" first season to record a duet with the winner of "Kochav Nolad's" first season!

Cool concept...but I wonder - is Kelly running around the world to perform with the winners of all the "Idol" knockoffs out there?

Stay tuned for more details as they develop.

Ready For My Close-Up

Yeah, I know I've been talking about it for months, but I think I'm finally just about ready to release the brand-new IsraelHour.com. For real this time.

The site links to this blog, so we may start to get a few eyeballs. Which, I guess, means I'll have to start posting here much more often.

And for those begging for podcasts of The Israel Hour...I think you'll be pleased...

Great Concerts Coming to NYC!

Mofaim.com tells us that there are some incredible concerts coming to New York and elsewhere over the next couple of months.

Ehud Banai is going to be in San Francisco, L.A., Miami, Minnesota, New York and Massachusetts.

Chava Alberstein will be in Toronto, L.A., Stanford and Chicago.

And this is cool...

Shlomo Artzi and Shalom Hanoch will be coming to New York, Miami and L.A. following their very successful series of shows this past summer in Cesaria.

Finally, New York will be hosting a "Super Show" featuring Margalit Tzanani, Kobi Peretz, Yair Amit, Yaron Ilan, the Prozak Trio - and Kochav Nolad stars Yehuda Sa'ado, Shir Biton and Hadar Ozeri.

Visit www.mofaim.com for full details.

Support Israeli music in the USA - and when you buy your tickets, make sure you tell 'em you heard about the concert on The Israel Hour!

An Impressive Track Record

Just heard on Reshet Gimmel:

For the first time since it was released more than a year ago, the latest album from the Idan Raichel Project - "Mima'amakim" - has dropped out of the list of the top ten best-selling albums in Israel.

The album has gone double platinum, selling more than 80,000 copies in Israel.

This week's #1? "Miss Music" by Sarit Hadad.

Kdam 2006

After a successful event last year, the Israeli Pre-Eurovision Song Contest is coming back on March 15th!

In my opinion, that's great news for Israeli music and its fans.

Here's the line up of performers:

- Maya Buskila
- Rama Masinger
- Stalos & Oren Chen
- Shlomo Gronich
- Michael Kirkilan
- Aviva & Maya Avidan
- The "GameBoys"
- Guy Harari
- Gabi Shushan, Sherry & Uzi Fux
- The "Diamonds"
- Tzippi Mash'hid
- Eddie Butler

(Is it just me, or are many of these performers relatively unknown?)

The performers will also perform a special tribute to Ehud Manor, z"l, for whom the Eurovision was always a very big deal. He wrote hits like Yizhar Cohen's "A-ba-ni-bi" (which won the Eurovision for Israel in 1978), Ofra Haza's "Chai" (1982) and Dafna Dekel's "Ze Rak Sport" (1992). Manor also wrote "Z'man" for Mira Awad, which competed in last year's Kdam.

Save the date!

Gidi Gov - Back on TV

I never had the opportunity to see "Laila Gov," Gidi Gov's weekly TV show in the 90s - but jusging from the CD compilations that were released, I always wished I was able to watch.

After an absence of several years, Gidi is coming back to Channel 2, hosting the morning show when "Keshet" is on the air (for those who don't know, Channel 2's programming is handled by three companies: Keshet, Reshet and Telad. Each company handles designated days each week.).

His co-host? Shiri Artzi...Shlomo's daughter. Should be interesting.

The Winner

Yehuda Sa'ado has won it all!