Best Album: Taamu – Benny Friedman. Not even close. This album is great for a couple reasons, notably because Benny’s voice is extraordinary (have any one else singing most of these songs and they’re “nice”, but not brilliant) and the song selection is so good (have Benny sing any other songs and his star does not shine so brightly…). It’s this truly superb combination of Benny’s voice and the album’s composition that really blew me away, and that made this my album of the year. Heck, has there ever been another album that referenced Likkutei Sichos in the liner notes? Awesome!
Best Song: Yaavducha – Benny Friedman. Sure, this song is on Benny’s album, and it’s mainly sung by him, but its true genius lies in the collaborative effort that produced it. The Marcus Brothers have really nice voices, and hearing them together with Benny is a treat. Add to that this song, which is like a combo Carlebach on acid without the stress, and you’ve got a sure-fire winner. Seriously, I could listen to this song all day (I’ve done it a couple time) and not get sick- it’s sweeter and cuter than the sweetest and cutest (insert one of several Shlomo lines here), with another tang to keep it fresh for a long time.
Best Debut Album: Bezras Hashem – Beri Weber. Does this even make sense? How can it be that the best album of the year, the first album that the artist ever made, is not the debut album of the year? My only possibly excuse is that I’ve been listening to Benny sing for so long (we did both grow up in Minnesota) and so feel that he’s really not so new at all. Besides, I listened to Beri’s album obsessively until Taamu came out, and it’s really excellent. Maybe not so incredibly polished, but the song selection is really nice, especially the slow ones.
Best arrangement: No Lyrics (Benny Friedman) – Ian Freitor. Can there be any question? The instant kumzitz classic for the next decade.
Best Yiddish Song: Yiddish Medley – Avraham Fried. Yes, I loved Benny’s Emes, and the combo of Rabbi Manis Friedman and Lipa Schmeltzer is like a dream come true, but there’s something about a Chabad Niggun that really affects a person, really makes them think about what’s going on, where they’re coming from and where they’re headed to. The opener was of course redone several years ago by 8th Day, and that was nice, but the original Lubavitch melody really takes you places.
Best Concert DVD: Avraham Fried – Live in Israel. If Avraham Fried were to never make another album (not that I’m Ch”V suggesting something like that), I think this concert would be a fine retrospective of his long and distinguished career. Working through all the classics, with much higher sound quality than the originals, this album also showcases several new (for Avremel) songs, notably Rak Tefila, Unesane Tokef, and the truly beautiful and moving Mishehu Holech Tamid Iti. There’s also the classic Ribbono Shel Olam in a duet with Dudu Fisher, which shows much the same thing as Avremel’s duets with Yitzchok Meir Helfgot showed at Hasc a couple years back- he may not be a chazzan, but he’s still got one of the best voices in Jewish music.
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185 comments:
a bit heavy on the benny praise and general friedman family fandom, no?
Don't tell anyone, but I'm trying to score tickets to his next concert...
*In the interest of full disclosure, TRS has strong ties to Minnesota and the Friedman clan.*
Something like that.
trs: My lips are sealed.
Many thanks
What’re your ties to Friedman clan? Avraham Fried is my NO rabbi’s brother-in-law. In fact, the only engagement party I’ve ever been to was upstairs in his house.
I'm (very) close to about seven of Manis's kids...
Why is it that if you know someone you can't say their music is good? If someone asks Avremels brother if he likes Avraham Fried is he gonna be called biased by saying he is one of the top singers in Jewish music? OH, you are his brother? If Joe Montana's brother would say Joe was one of the best QB's in nfl history they will say "oh you are only saying that because you are his brother"
Get real, good is good!!
Someone can say that he likes something, but if he is biased, his opinion is of less use to everyone else.
I also wonder how much use is the opinion of someone who thinks that taste is relative.
Hmm... hmm...
Anon: Yup.
CA: Sure, if you want to know to know your opinion, listen yourself. If you want to know my opinion, read it. I don't claim to be right, only to know my own mind.
Knowing one's mind is indeed a rare and useful skill. But I thought you knew the mind of G-d?
You're saying, I should have written not my picks but G-d's picks?
That was not the original intent of my remark, but now that you mention it, it would probably be very useful indeed.
What was your original intent?
To express amazement at your having mastered not just one difficult skill but two.
Anyway, I think reviewer's having specific tastes is actually useful for the reader. That way there is a way to associate with the reviewer, who is more of a personality rather than a blank slate.
Which are these two skills that I've mastered?
Can there be a reviewer without personal opinion? Otherwise it's just a game recap, a boxscore, not commentary.
Knowing both one's mind and that of G-d. All jokes aside, the first is quite rare.
Well, some reviewers tend to present themselves as rather dispassionate and objective. While others have very obvious likes and dislikes sticking out immediately.
And the second impossible.
I suppose that's the difference between fact and commentary. One of the problems that has plagued humanity throughout its many troubled years is its confusion of the two.
About some things not so. I am about to learn my daily Rambam...
Isn't a fact merely a personal interpretation of reality? Do we not know the reality only through our minds?
Isn't interpretation a statement of the objective fact about one's state of mind?
Fact is often a personal interpretation representation of reality, but not always. For example, it is a fact that the New York Giants did not make the playoffs this year, and the Green Bay Packers did. No matter how a person interprets this, it must be true.
Sometimes.
But this "fact", as you call it, is only a product of your mind (and mine, and that of many other people) interpreting reality, i.e., the signals that it receives through the cranial nerves. In other word, when I say "Giants never won a single game", I am saying: "My brain tells me that Giants never won a single game." I am reporting some information about the internal state of my brain, a product of its neurons' analysis of the incoming information.
When I say "I like Avram Fried more than Matisyahu", I am doing something not much different.
But if everyone (and I mean everyone) says it is a fact, then is it not a fact? If G-d says it is a fact, then is it not a fact?
The difference lies in the percentage of people who hold one way or the other.
Nope, truth is not a subject to vox populi. Ad numerum is a fallacy.
G-d says? But it is merely your mind telling you that G-d says so, is it not?
How indeed do we draw the distinction between information derived from the work of one set of neurons (that we call emotion) and that derived from that of another (that we call logic)?
True.
Not if G-d tells me that what he tells me is correct.
Nu?
But it is indeed only your brain telling you that G-d tells you. Is it not?
I am still thinking over it... I think just like there are sensory modalities, there may be informational modalities.
But I've met people who apparently do not think at all. They feel. An idea is right or wrong to them if it feels right or feels wrong. Some of these people, for instance, like Chassidus. But they like it for its emotional beauty; they are not interested intellectually in its ideas like one is interested in Gemara.
And so ad infinitum.
You could write your doctoral thesis on this.
I'm glad you've finally discovered the female of the human species.
Perhaps not.
I could. If I was pursuing Ph.D. in Psychology or Philosophy or some similar poppycock.
Not all females use feelings instead of logic. And not all males have the access to analytical and logical thinking. I have found in my experience that it is a matter of education. Most females whom I work with display similar thinking processes and methods to those of males. (In fact, all three members of my dissertation committee are women.) Even though in interpersonal relationships they are still feminine.
No?
Ahh.
Hmm.
(how's that for a scintillating comment?)
Thanks. I try.
Benny Friedman is a god!
But he's not TRG!
who's trg?
also, is this album (taamu, not the b.w. one. saw one of his music videos and my brain almost melted) on my friend's ipod?
Who is TRG? You pray to him sometimes.
I doubt it.
Perhaps he is the creator of a certain mode in Windows 7.
Our theology teaches that he is the creator of all modes in Windows, and much else besides.
Even Windows before NT? Surely Vilna Gaon would disagree.
The Vilna Gaon would have a problem with any item which came out of the outhouse that is Redmond.
I can definitely see Vilna Gaon as an Apple user. No doubt about it.
That's right, anyone with even the smallest amount of brains would use it, al achas kama v'kama...
I don’t know. Rebbe Rashab hated socialism.
So does Uncle Steve.
I am reminded of this picture.
Sorry, wrong picture (same FB wall). this picture.
The first wasn't just as apropos?
Are you saying the second one was not apropos?
At least it wasn’t one of the hogs killed by my friend in a Louisiana forest.
Shall we call it a tie?
Right, because that would be very bad indeed.
Ah, I found a good link to the topic. Apple Gestapo.
Speaking of socialism, both Apple and Obama can learn a lot regarding commercials and propaganda from the Soviet Union. One thing the Soviets excelled at was propaganda imagery driving the point home. Just watch this vide.
Uncle Steve is benevolent to his grateful subjects.
Which part was I supposed to watch there, the four horsemen of the apocalypse (wait, I thought the Soviets didn't believe in religion?) riding out of the mushroom cloud, or the guy getting dragged out of his airplane, or the angst-ridden teenagers, or the four horsemen of the apocalypse riding back into the nuclear sun?
The first one. The imagery clearly tells you: this movie is about socialism.
Soviets didn’t believe in religion? Who told you that? They simply replaced Yoshkaism with its provincial miracle-making in front of some drunken fishermen to Marxism-Leninism with miracle-making on the level of one sixth of the world’s surface.
Ahh. What do the four horsemen of the apocalypse represent in Soviet theology?
“There is no revolution without terror.”
The scene with the airplane, by the way, is one of the most famous scenes in the Soviet cinematography. At least that song is. It was adapted to a bunch of American clips; e.g.
No wonder Obama is doing so poorly.
is it just me, or is it ridiculous to think that a guy could run nearly as fast as a motorcycle?
Well, the guy is a robot sent from the future to kill his own grandfather (or something like that), but, yes, I would agree.
Robots have grandfathers?
I haven’t seen the movie in a while. In general, I was never such a big fan of the whole series.
Forgive my ignorance please, but which movie is this?
Imagine if this was an Obama ad?
Imagine if I understood Russian...
Terminator. Since the governor of California is the good guy, I’d say II or III. I don’t even think I watched III (along with Titanic).
They should have Goyim Studies in yeshivos. Like in Hogwarts.
Russian doesn’t really matter.
By the way, Romans were also big on imagery. That and lack of articles in their language. Now wonder Russians consider Moscow the Third Rome.
−w
Ahh. Now I know.
The difference is that when wizards and witches study muggles, they do so without lusting to be muggles.
I could understand wanting to be Rome if you got to live on the Mediterranean...
What about Ron’s father? Anyway, yes, it’s a problem.
I wonder if there is a Jewish version of a squib...
Are you saying there is no reason to want to be Rome if you live in the cold steppes of Eastern Europe?
He wants to incorporate what they have into the wizarding world, not become one himself. He's sort of like Shmuelie Boteach in that sense- they're both bumbling, have lots of kids...
Good question.
Do you want to wear a toga all day on the cold steppes of Western Asia?
Well, modernishe bochurim who wear jeans also don’t want to become complete goyim. They just want to wear jeans.
In summer, why not? Otherwise, they could wear it under other clothes, or over them, like we wear tzitzis or tallis in winter.
There is no such thing as Western Asia. It’s Eastern Europe all the way to Far East. The moment where your alphabet stops having 33 letters and starts having 40,000 characters, you’ve made a quantum leap.
They start with wanting to wear jeans and...
Good point. On the other hand, is their any good native-grown Russian wine?
That's just nationalism speaking.
...they end up listening to DeScribe?
There is some excellent home-grown Russian wheat wine.
If my nationalism was speaking, I would say my country’s borders are from Alexandria to Baghdad to Aleppo.
If only that was the worst of their sins.
(snort!)
I thought you were Ukrainian?
What’s their worst sin?
What are you saying? Ich bin nisht kein Fonke.
Unlawful fornication.
Me neither, but that doesn't change any facts.
Hostu gehalten a licht?
I’d say it changes everything. G-dly soul is not chopped liver. Nor is it vinaigrette.
English?
How about a nice borscht?
Were you holding a candle?
I like me some nice Jewish borsch. No Ukrainian can cook a borsch like they cook in my family.
Besides, if I were to chose a goyish nationality for myself, it’d be Russian, not Ukrainian.
You mean, did I view this alleged intercourse with mine own eyes?
You can serve it at your next simcha.
What's wrong with American?
Wow, the real TRS is back. Well at least he's back in the comments arena. Will we also be getting a post a day again?
(Oh, how nice! A false friend I didn’t know about.)
Yes, although apparently that expression in English means something else (hence the above parenthesis).
I would rather serve some fine Russian wheat wine. Or some kosher kvas, if I can find it. (Maybe I’ll brew it myself. From pas Yisroel black bread.)
What’s wrong with American? Where do I start?.. Well, regardless, for me it’s wrong because I am not an American. Not ethnically (I am already member of one tribe), not culturally, barely linguistically and for sure not ecumenically (does anyone even get that joke anymore?).
Plus, I only have a Green Card.
Dovid: The Real The Real Shliach? It has a nice ring to it. And no, the probability of a post a day is very low, unless someone starts paying me to do it of course.
CA: False Friend?
Ahh, now I get it. And no, I never saw this with my eyes. Like any decent man, I averted them.
As far as I can tell, "Wheat Wine" refers to a type of beer- is Russia renowned for this?
Well, as soon as you get citizenship we'll talk.
False friend is a word or an expression that sounds similiar or looks similar or is a similar expression but means different things. There are some examples here (there is an even better example in Russian, which trips up many plumbers who come from the Motherland to this fine country, but it’s not for a public forum).
Then how do you know? Do you rely on the word of gossip?
A beer is not a whine. It’s a brew. I am referring to vodka. Although I do like Russian beer (well, I only know Baltica), the only brew Russia is really renowned for is kvas.
Actually, I was rather hoping to become a citizen through marriage. (In fact, that is one of the main purposes.) But what will that change? I will still remain a Jew, or a Russian in a worst case scenario.
Also, beer is not made from wheat, is it?
Ahh.
I have my sources.
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/60
Nevertheless, my point remains. How can Russia possibly be the next Rome when there is no proper wine there?
Do people you're going out with know that your interest in them is restricted to their nationality?
Russia has excellent wheat. It was one of the things that attracted Hitler, y"sh.
Interesting. Anyway, who knew that jeans were sitting on top of such slippery slope.
I declare it loudly on my first date. Also, it’s not “exclusively”.
I mean, not “restricted”.
Interesting. Well, vodka was called “Genoese wheat wine” in the times of Ivan the Terrible. When the authors of Beeradvocate build the likes of Basil’s Cathedral, I’ll consider their opinion on beer.
But they have no grapes, which is why Mussolini never bothered invading.
I did.
Well, as long as everything's up front, I don't see that there can be any harm in it.
What does the one have to do with the other? That's like saying that because the Twin Towers were destroyed in my lifetime I'm an expert on terrorism.
LOL. But, actually, Mussolini did invade. His soldiers were on one of the flanks of Paulus’s army at Stalingrad (Romanians were on the other side). Russians plowed through the flanks, encircled the 6th army, prevented Mainstein from breaking through to rescue it and captured 300,000 Nazi soldiers at Stalingrad turning the tide of the war. That was the extent of Mussolini’s involvement in the Great Patriotic War.
It’s not true that Russia has no wines. There are some excellent wines in Caucasus region. Most of the best ones belong to Georgia (which makes some excellent wine, especially, cognac), but some also belong to Russians. In fact, during the war in which the Shamil of the famous niggun was captures, those wines were captures along with him.
When Crimea was part of Russia, its wines also belonged to it (there is Crimean wine).
I don’t know if there are any wines in Ural mountains. It may be too cold there. I’ve heard there is some uranium though.
Well, Ivan the Terrible knew both his strong alcoholic drinks and his architecture. He is also know to have blinded the architect of Basil’s Cathedral so that no such other thing is ever produced. It is not clear whether he did anything to the Genoese sailors who introduced vodka to Russia.
Anyway, if being a heir of Roman Empire was measure in wine, then France would be it. In fact, however, its measured in two things: 1) military prowess/political greatness (which is why Germany called itself HRE, despite its preference to beer), 2) Christian culture (according to Eastern Orthodox church, Byzantine branch of Christianity is the true branch of Roman Christianity, since Rome at the time was not Roman but in fact barbarian; and, of course, the same culture and religion spread to Russia; it also spread to Bulgaria, but Bulgarians turned out to be somewhat losers and a general disappointment, what with that story with Basil and blinding of 99 out of 100 men).
Your grasp of history is excellent-I stand in humble obeisance.
mmmm, uranium wine. Nothing hits the spot like wine made from radioactive grapes!
I can arrange for some for you for a small fee.
Its obvious to me that Russia is the heir of the Roman Empire. Half the Russians I know are named Roman.
Only certain parts of history. I remain sadly ignorant in all those areas which are not interesting to me and even more sadly dilettante in those that are.
And the other half are named Mikhail and Alexander?
Dovid: And are they also heirs of Alexander the Great's empire?
CA: :)
Is nothing free? First I can't have daily posts without paying up and now you even deny me the most basic human necessity of radioactive wine until I pay a "small" fee.
Yup exactly, the other half is Alexander. Must be they have inherited Rome and Greece.
Whoever said anything in life was free?
Macedonia.
craigslist?
So how do you explain the dresser and bookcase we bought on there?
Easy- they never said everything would be free.
Touché
Actually, large part of Russian language is composed of Greek and Latin (and its alphabet is derived from Greek).
Some things on Craigslist are free. Like ads.
Also, what happened to Q/A Thursday sessions? Even the people of my acquaintance who hated every single post of this blog still liked those.
Anything that is won without labor, that is free of blood, sweat, toil, and tears, is hardly worthy of mention.
Are you saying that children born with the assistance of epidurals and C-sections are not even worthy of being mentioned?
A: you mean "ask TRS"?
B: who hates every single post of this here blog?
C: you think a c-section, or even an epidural, is easy?
A. Yes.
B. Nobody who is worthy of being mentioned (unless a point is being made).
C. Well, with considerably less blood, sweat and other bodily fluids. I think that's one of the main reasons people do it (despite the potential problems for the child).
OK I'll give you sweat in exchange for the radioactive wine. I might throw in some blood, toil, or tears but definitely not money.
CA: A: If you're lucky, I'll write one tonight. If you're even luckier, I won't.
B: anyone I know?
C: you talking about ceasarian sections or epidurals? Because there's a great difference between the two.
Dovid: what would I do with your sweat? (besides putting it in the voodoo doll I'm making in your likeness, of course)
A. You should definitely do it. I even thought of a question while drinking beer.
B. Nope. Not even someone your friends know.
C. Well, both. I know there is a difference (and difference in the toll on blood, sweat, etc.).
D. You could put it in your kerosene lamp.
Kerosene lamps can run on sweat? pretty neat TRS, eh? we got a deal? but you pay for shipping.
You need to tweak them a bit.
A: nu?
B: and yet I am honored that I am reviled by those who know not even my real name.
C: Quite.
D: you're assuming I have a kerosene lamp.
Dovid: i'm not paying to ship you across the country!
A. Are you supposed to eat that piece of lime you put in a bottle of Corona?
D. Now I know what present to give you guys. Forget the hugely heavy marble table.
drats
A: nice.
B: a voodoo doll maker?
No, a kerosene lamp that your wife can use while spinning you scarfs at night.
Ahh.
lol, and I can get the voodoo doll making kit.
I can't wait for both your presents (and presence).
Hello! Wonderful idea, but will this really work?
With enough effort anything can work. But the question is: should it?
aurgh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY????????????????????????????????????????
CA: Probably.
e: As in, why did he respond to spam?
as is why did someone program a spambot just to leave that silly comment.
As it says in the holy HHGTTG, knowledge of the question logically precludes knowledge of the answer, and vice-versa.
does it really say that? I beg to differ. If those silly vogons would have waited ten more minutes...
It does really say that.
How can you differ with the holy HHGTTG?
Yes, things would be very different.
Ok. I'll take your word for it, although I remember that it was possible, albeit highly impractical.
You refer to mice reading the brain or Marvin reading the brainwaves?
the former. I actually forgot about the latter.
Right, and at some point after they fail with all these attempts they opine what I previously quoted.
to your superior knowledge of the guide I will submit.
Of course then, they do get the question, but it doesn't make much sense anyway...
they do? then? with martin?
No, Marvin goes into the sun around Kakrafoon in Hotblack Desiato's stuntship and somehow ends up on Squornshellous Beta.
(I can't believe I just remembered all that.)
Regardless, once Arthur and Ford end up on the prehistoric earth with the prehistoric slowly evolving earthmen, they figure out the question using Scrabble. You remember?
this i remember. what do you mean the question doesn't make sense? It makes sense in base thriteen!!
Please explain for those of us who aren't math majors.
we're used to base 10. Computers use base 2 (binary). One could also use base 13.
http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid183_gci211501,00.html
Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!
I think the most important fact is that a barrel holds 42 gallons. In vino veritas.
Wine? Snob.
“In wine there is truth, in beer there is strength, in water there are bacteria.”
What about borscht?
“In wine there is truth, in beer there is strength, in water there are bacteria, in borscht there are beets.”
Vodka?
OE"S.
Onions, endives, and salami?
Which one is the ikkar?
Onions.
Ha’adama.
What if it's raw?
Especially if it’s raw.
Meanwhile, what do you think of this:
63801927
?
Non primum est.
Non primum est.
Nothing more profound?
All good things have their limits.
Atzmus?
...is not Asiyah.
But it's not not asiyah either.
Yes it is. Why not?
Now you just contradicted yourself.
No. I said it’s not asiya. You said it’s not not asiya. I said: yes it is not asiya.
No, I said it's not not Asiya.
Point is, you can't say what it is or what it is not.
Sure I can. It’s Atzilus. It’s one with Hashem. It’s not concealing Hashem. It’s not Asiya. The whole point of the Light is that you can define it. (Well, not you, G-d. Well, you too.)
Who is talking about Atzilus? I'm talking about Atzmus.
Oh. So you are. Yes. No.
You can’t say Atzilus does not have limits.
Hey, I'm not responsible for Atzilus.
I meant Atzmus.
All right. You can't say that Atzmus has or doesn't have anything.
Ita vero.
CA- You can't say Atzmus has limits
CA: Exactly.
Dovid: I believe CA has acknowledged this.
CA: many moons ago, non-hebraicly inclined bloggers asked that the hebraicly inclined translate whenever they use a Hebrew phrase. I'm gonna ask you do to the same whenever you use latin--especially since google translate doesn't do latin.
Google translate doesn’t do latin, but Google does.
Or I could acquiesce to your request.
Or you could learn Latin. It’s very useful in Math. Let me think of a smart Latin phrase to use here.
Found it: draco dormiens nunquam titillandus.
Oh, excellent all round.
google can translate some latin.
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