December 11, 2008

No Great Hannukah Songs?

Jeffrey Goldberg asks why there aren't any. And while the usual canon, I agree, sucks ("Dreidel Dreidel Dreidel"? Really?), I can think of three great ones off the top of my head: Peter Yarrow's "Light One Candle," the song "Judah Maccabee" by my old compadre Rabbi Joseph Black, and (my favorite of all) Barenaked Ladies' "Hanukkah Blessings," without a doubt the best pop song ever to have the words "Baruch Atta Adonai" in the chorus.

And no, Adam Sandler's doesn't belong anywhere near this discussion.

I ask again- when will Hollywood produce a "300"-like historical epic about the Maccabees? It has heroes, villains, action, and every Jew in the world will see it. Perfect for the holidays!

Posted by Stephen Silver at December 11, 2008 03:02 PM
Comments

and speaking of Hitler, Valkyrie wasn't very funny. But you know what WOULD be funny?

Posted by: LilB at December 11, 2008 04:46 PM

I think we have plenty of great holiday songs collected from over the centuries. Of course, they're all in Hebrew (or Aramaic, or Yiddish, or Ladino), and not exactly suited for the radio.

(Now, if you asked me, the vast majority of Christmas songs aren't suited for the radio, and yet we're forced to listen to them for a month and a half.)

Posted by: jabbett at December 14, 2008 10:01 PM
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