Oh, didn't I mention?

We are living Shabbos Kodesh.
Right here, right now.

Bum-bidi-bum-bidi-bum-bidi-bum • Holyland's Greatest Hits

Think of yourself and three friends, all musically talented and all overtired, launching into a frenetic medley of camp play opening music, chassan/kallah welcomes and HASC overtures. You raise your eyebrows to effect a tune change and effect the change two beats before the last one ends. Now that was fun!

Bring in the professional musicians, the arranged notes and hit record for this:

Tuesday Try-before-you-buy Tune :: Ah Mechayah! • Avraham Fried

This is not really a review and is not, strictly speaking, a TTT. As I only yesterday received this recording, it is unfair to comment too definitively, so I'll share my evolving experience with Ah Mechayeh!, and nominate a candidate for TTT:

Day one, Monday
10:00am: "Oh, this 'Arois' thing was on the preview. Cute."
10:06am: "Poop."
10:07am: "But kinda fun topic and song."
10:10am: "Poop and confusing."
10:13am: "Just poop."
...
...
10:37am: "How did Don Sami Rohr make it into these lyrics?"
...
...
10:48am: "Wow, that kid is REALLLLLY creepy!"
...
12:17pm: "Why are there nearly a dozen exclamation points in the song titles? This CD is a punctuation-happy music-lover's nightmare."
...
2:00pm: "Well, it's not all poop."
...
...
11:55pm: "Bentsh, bentsh noch a yid, noch a yid un noch a yid, bentsh bentsh aleh, mentshen... vet Hakadosh Boruch Hu, Boruch Hu, Boruch Hu, dir, dir, dir dir bentshen!"
_______________________________________

Day two, Tuesday
6:50am: "Bentsh, bentsh noch a yid, noch a yid un noch a yid, bentsh bentsh aleh, mentshen..." For sure a Lipa song, down to the warbling 80 year old in the background. (I have the recording from Amazon; no liner notes.)

So, there you have it. It's growing on me. I do think it is a little lyrically predictable, a little over animated (cross-talking, fourth-wall breaking), a little same-same from melody to melody, but a little enjoyable too.

Zei a Gute Yid
Probably TTT for the creepy kid saying "Yoh Tatte..." at the end:


Bentsh, Bentsh
Lotsa fun, catchy and uplifting, Hello Don Sami Rohr ע"ה at 3:30:

Monday Matchup :: Bisiyata Dishmaya/Boruch Hashem • MBC/MBD

In one way, we approach each day and every decision with the conviction that Hashem will assist us in doing well. In the second, we reflect on all that we've done, seen and felt and thank G-d it was the way it is. Now which song do you prefer?

Miami Boys Choir


Mordechai Ben David

ShirShelShabbos is
ON AIR NOW

Yivoda Bagoyim • MBD (Memories)

Since this morning's Tehillim, I've had a crack team of investigative audiophiles investigating audio files. We knew it was "on an early-career MBD" but could not place it exactly. We sang every part of the song to identify likely title names, but did not think of Yevoda. We found it, though, because we tried. And trying for real, really works.

Enjoy, friends!

12-year Old Reveals Pre-Life Identity Crisis, Anxiety Disorder
Bar Mitzvah boy rejects notion of "becoming a man"
_____________________________
But for serious, a sweet, reflective song for Chodesh Elul. May we try as best we can!

The Bar Mitzvah Song • Marvelous Middos Machine 4

TTT :: Oif Simches • Oif Simches

Because they don't let me upload a whole band...

MONDAY MATCHUP :: Achas Sho'alti • MBD/AF

Also requested in the comments, comparing Achas Sho'altis is a definite "Elul Extra" good deed. But Tzlil v'Zemer has more than once given us more than one Achas (irony noted), taking away the fun of all those. Here instead are the MBD version from 1979 (V'chol Maaminim) and the AF version from 1991 (Aderaba) for your opinion on melody and performance and how they hold up to time.

Fried


MBD

Shir. Shel. Shabbos. is. now. LIVE!

Jerusalem Is Calling • Avraham Rosenblum & Diaspora

For the hallowed build-up from 2:57 through 3:30 ("Im Eshkocheich...yerushala-i-i-m...") and onward.

Habeit Na • Avraham Fried

From Goodbye Golus, 1985. Cute concept for album art, but why is the "l" in "lamm" lowercase?

TTT :: Olam Haba • Rabbi Baruch Chait

For a while this has been creeping into the shuffle, and I've somewhat enjoyed it despite its goofy melody, lyrics and performance. I mean, it's Rabbi Baruch Chait, and it's soft and sweet and all. But then I did the whole "Open File Location" to see where it's from. It's Moshe Yess, on The Yess Legacy.

Now, composed by Moshe Yess, how does this song come into being? On the other hand, composed by Moshe Yess, how does one consider this song for the trash heap?

Then it came to me that [so far as I know], this song was never popularized by Moshe and may not have been his proudest work. The collectors and arrangers of The Yess Legacy were the ones who fished it out of the Recycle Bin to begin with. In other words, its TTTness belongs to the Legacy, not the Legend.

Move you mouse over this sentence and click the left mouse key to view this picture on the facebooks page of the worldwide web.

Monday Matchup :: Kavei El Hashem • Journeys/MBD

Chazak!

Journeys III featuring The Piamentas:



MBD, Maaminim:

Celebration of Shabbat • Sydenham Choir (Jo'burg)

Ahhhhh, Uncle Oshy and his Mikvah Men. Good Shabbos, Good Shabbos!



And here's a bit of this in action:



LIVE NOW!
Listen to the ShirShelYom Erev Shabbos stream. Suggest songs.

That Special Melody • Shlomo Simcha

When it doubt, Shlomo Simcha.

Bashana Haba'ah • BYU Men's Chorus

Wow and wow, amen and amen! Dear friends of all minds and hearts: Make today a productive day. It will help the week be full and improve the month and complete the year. And boys oh boys, oh tir'eh bashana haba'ah...

It's so good they wouldn't let me embed it!

Click here to watch

About the BYU Mens Chorus

UPDATE: I actually had this following rendition in mind for its snap-happy rhythm; Googled to find it again and came up with the top one. Boy am I snap-happy for that!

The choir is Shir Soul, directed by David Ross. I danced to their music at a friend's wedding in the Five Towns last year... pure energy and love of the craft!

Rosh Chodesh :: Areshet Sifateinu • Jerusalem Great Synagogue Choir

Gut chodesh, Ksiva Vechasima Tova!

Monday Matchup :: Mi Ho'ish • Pirchei/MBD

Pirchei. Such a standard that the music notes are printed in certain Tehillims. (Untrue.)



MBD. Off of Maaminim bnei Maaminim. Mellow ben Mellow.

Reb Shlomo's Havdalah • Yehuda Green

We're also LIVE right here: http://grooveshark.com/#!/shirshelyom/broadcast

Habeit • Yaakov Shwekey

In preparing this post, I wanted to confirm that Shwekey's Shomati was in fact released in 2001 as I remembered. (I heard Shomati for the first time at the wedding of my brother E and my sister-in-law G in 2001. My how we Monseyed to that song!) So I heeded the advice of the Unknown Commenter to Friday's post and Googled it.

Not at all surprisingly, I was able to confirm that it was released—that Shwekey the Brand was born—in 2001. Totally surprising is that this song, per Mostly Music, is a categorical non-hit.

See here:

From the elongated Tachanun for Mondays and Thrusdays.