Chanukkah Coverfolk, Redux:
On Religious Folk and New Jewish Voices
December 23rd, 2008 — 09:38 pm
from Winterlights: A Season in Poems and Quilts by Anna Grossnickle Hines
While I generally attribute my love of folk music to my father’s good taste and influence, it was my mother who introduced me to both kidfolk and, later in life, filled the house on holidays with what can only be called the Jewish equivalent of Christian Music — that branch of music which, in trying to balance between the spiritual source and the popular ear, has a high tendency toward over-earnestness.
So when Mom was the first to respond to Sunday’s call for quality folk/acoustic Chanukkah covers, I was, to be honest, a bit wary of the result.
Now let’s be fair: Chanukkah isn’t a major Jewish holiday, and Jewish music doesn’t rank too highly on the pop culture horizon. As such, much of the Chanukkah music out there is religious first, and folk second; it is, in other words, music that truly belongs in the Synagogue rec hall, rather than a popular stage. As evidence, in our modern Jewnitarian household, we have a full shelf of Chanukkah music collected over the years which is, on the whole, a bit too precious to be considered just plain good music.
But it’s not just Chanukkah, and it’s not just me. Notably, in fact, both of the genres I inherited from my mother have a reputation for being more miss than hit.
I’ll probably get clobbered in the comments for saying so, but I think that as general categories, this is because Kidfolk and Religious folk suffer from the same root ailment: both are too often produced with a conservatively projected audience in mind, which limits the ability of most performers to find the music that truly exists inside themselves. The result is transparently constructed, subject to the worst of overannunciation and false cheer, and this might be enough to explain the lack of authentic emotion which many folk fans ascribe to the vast majority of the output from such categories.
But just as there is good kidfolk to be found in the hands of those who are able to transcend the limitations and temptations of talking down to their audience, there is nothing inherently cheesy in the curious mix of religion and popular music. Though wariness is a reasonable watchword when dealing with religious music, as in any genre, gems can be found, even if the average is less than worthy to the popular ear.
And as it is in general, so it is with Chanukkah songs.
As an example of music which is worth a second listen, here’s two recommendations from Mom: a bluegrass cover of Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah, and a live rooftop video performance of the Texas Swing version of The Dreydl Song from the aptly named and recently disbanded Mark Rubin and his Ridgetop Syncopaters. Neither is perfect, and until it arrives in the mail, I cannot yet speak to the overall success of A Chanukkah Feast, Vol. 2, the non-profit-generated album from whence they come. But each song is worth a chance — which is more than I can say for most of the music which trickles into so many Jewish households this time of year.
- Sinai Mountain Boys: Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah (trad.)
- VIDEO: Mark Rubin and his Ridgetop Syncopaters: The Dreydl Song (trad.)
Mom’s not the only source for Chanukkah music, of course. A chance encounter with Peter Yarrow’s Light One Candle in the Unitarian Universalist Hymnal at last night’s rescheduled Vespers service reminded me that there is, at least, one honestly folk Chanukkah song which seems overdue for coverage. A quick survey of the usual secret sources revealed a very new live recording from diminutive Brooklinite singer-songwriter Michelle Citrin, who has made a name for herself over the last few years for a series of surprisingly popular folk rock Jewish Holiday originals released via YouTube.
Citrin’s folkpop EP, foursongsforyou, is chock full of catchy hooks, and comes highly recommended. The recording in question appears on the soundtrack for a recent PBS special called Lights: Celebrate Hanukkah Live in Concert; I haven’t heard the whole thing, but the presence of both The Klezmatics (see below) and acoustic jazzfolk guitarist Laurence Juber in the cast suggest that some of it, at least, is deserving of further consideration.
- Michelle Citrin: Light One Candle (orig. Peter Paul & Mary)
And speaking of Klezmer, and other lesser-known forms of folk: reader Kevin reminds us that Texas-based group Brave Combo does a great version of Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah; it’s polka rock, but polka counts as folk at the Grammys, so who are we to say otherwise? For comparison’s sake, here’s an acoustic-with-accordion take on the same song from Barenaked Ladies.
Oh, and Klezmer counts as folk, too. One day, I expect, we’ll host an entire Subgenre Coverfolk feature on Klezmer music; in the meanwhile, here’s The Klezmatics, a band pushing the boundaries of the genre who has garnered national attention for two albums of interpretations of Woody Guthrie’s Jewish-themed songs and poems, with a surprisingly mellow folk cover of Guthrie’s Hanukah Dance, and a happy, joyous take on Hanukah Tree, both from Woody Guthrie’s Happy Joyous Hanukkah.
- The Klezmatics: Hanukah Dance (orig. Woody Guthrie)
- The Klezmatics: Hanukah Tree (ibid.)
Looking for something a little more Christmassy? Check out the great holiday songsharing, including a live Bruce Cockburn and Jackson Browne cover of Timbuk 3 classic All I Want for Christmas (Is World Peace), over at Star Maker Machine, where this week’s theme is Peace on Earth. And don’t forget our previous Holiday Coverfolk features here on Cover Lay Down…