The Maccabeats have released their newest video, with the theme of Rosh Hashana, "Book of Good Life." (Lyrics posted at the end)
Although I really enjoyed One Day (their first video, made before they became famous), and Candlelight (the video that made them famous), I was a little more critical of their Purim video (see my post here).
My thoughts on the Rosh Hashana video: It is awesome! Mostly, I agree with what Shades of Grey wrote in his post. My only critique of the video is that the tune is not so catchy. I had this problem with the Purim video as well- I would love to hear something we can sing along to. It was so easy over Chanukah to find myself going, "I flip my latkes in the air sometimes" whereas with Purim I would start going, "So raise your glass...- wait, what are the rest of the lyrics?" It just wasn't quite as easy to sing along with. It's quite possible that after I watch the Rosh Hashana video a few more times I will change my mind about this, so the jury is still out, but in any event the song choice not being amazing is my really my only critique.
That being said, there are so many things I like about the Rosh Hashana video:
1.The sound quality of the video was incredible and it was so pleasant and wonderful to listen to. The harmonies and arrangement is beautiful, as is the case with all of the Maccabeats' other songs.
2. The video itself was incredibly well done. The story line in the video about doing good things was inspirational and uplifting, while at the same time the bits and pieces of humor that were included put a smile on my face. It was fun to watch in addition to being fun to listen to. I liked the continuation of a food mishap- this time the honey dripping replacing the jelly falling from the donut in Candlelight. I also really liked the "every day" type of feel that this video has.
What I would personally love to see next from the Maccabeats is a video that does not revolve around a Holiday. The One Day video was wonderful and I feel like since Candlelight made them famous, the Maccabeats feel like they have to do videos about Jewish Holidays since then. No need to wait for Chanukah for the next video- I say break out of the box, and pick something besides Jewish Holidays, there is so much else out there.
To sum up: Well done, Maccabeats, excellent video. Looking forward to the next one.
What were your thoughts on the video? Like/dislike?
Lyrics (taken from their YouTube page):
Woke up and realized yesterday
Think it's a bummer end of the summer
Kinda nervous that we're almost there
At the days of awe
Prayers in a language that I don't know
Standing for hours and hours more
I wish that someone would please tell me-e-e-e
What it is we're praying for
Oh put me in the book of good life
I just wanna live the good life
This could really be a good life, good life
Say oh, we've got feelings that we should fight
Make sure that we're choosing right
Gotta earn my own place in
The book of good life
Time for reflection on the past year
Time to figure out what we're doing here
Replace the guilt with inspiration
And everything is clear
Life in the present, the here and now
Easier than regret and planning out
Living in the moment, lasts for a moment
Got my future to think about
When you're sitting there in shul
Wishing it was over
You gotta take a beat
And let it all sink in
Oh put me in the book of good life
I just wanna live the good life
This could really be a good life, good life
Say oh, we've got feelings that we should fight
Make sure that we're choosing right
Gotta earn my own place in
The book of good life
Hopefully
This year will bring us happiness and peace
Hopefully
Sensitivity to others will increase
Hopefully
We'll open our eyes and think more consciously
Cuz Hopefully
We'll go from where we are to where we want to be
Oh put me in the book of good life
I just wanna live the good life
This could really be a good life, good life
Say oh, we've got feelings that we should fight
Make sure that we're choosing right
Gotta earn my own place in
The book of good life
Oh yeah
Book of Good life
Ooh
Listen
Time for reflection on the past year
Time to figure out what we're doing here
Replace the guilt with inspiration
And everything is clear
Life in the present seems more fun
Easier than regret, what's done is done
Living in the moment, lasts for a moment
Shana Tova to everyone
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Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Beautiful Song
Some songs have a great tune. I may not like the singer's voice or the words, but the tune is nice. Other songs have great words, but a terrible tune. And there are some singers who could be singing a song with terrible words and a terrible tune and still come out sounding amazing.
The song below is a song that has all three factors: Great words, a beautiful tune, and the kid who sings it has an incredible voice. It's one of those songs I could listen to over and over.
The words are from a Tefillah that is said when putting on a Tallis (since I obviously do not wear a Tallis, I had to look up the source of the words, so correct me if I am wrong.) I do not know the origin of the song, who originally composed the tune, so if anyone knows, please let me know.
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The song below is a song that has all three factors: Great words, a beautiful tune, and the kid who sings it has an incredible voice. It's one of those songs I could listen to over and over.
The words are from a Tefillah that is said when putting on a Tallis (since I obviously do not wear a Tallis, I had to look up the source of the words, so correct me if I am wrong.) I do not know the origin of the song, who originally composed the tune, so if anyone knows, please let me know.
_
Friday, March 25, 2011
12 year old girl speaks out
For those of you who haven't yet seen this video of Tamar Fogel, the 12 year old girl whose family was murdered in Israel recently, it is very worth watching.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
On the Maccabeats
There was so much hype about the Maccabeats' Candlelight video that I did not feel the need to write about the Maccabeats around Chanukah. But the truth is that a post about the Maccabeats is long overdue.
I am not obsessed with the Maccabeats, but I am obsessed with their fame. Although from a musical perspective their songs are excellent and a pleasure to listen to, other a capella groups are more talented musically- groups such as Six13, for instance. They are excellent, but not the most amazing group I have ever heard. What interests me more is that a small group of YU students went from being nearly unknown to being close to 5 million views famous. While the Maccabeats are clearly talented, their fame is really due to two factors: Uri Westrich and the amazing video he directed, and secondly like with everything that is successful, they (unintentionally) filled in a missing hole in society. The world, or at least
Candlelight was fun to sing and catchy. When I watched the video for the first time, my first reaction was one that I know was shared by many of you out there. I stared at the screen, whispered “wow,” and then watched it again. Like potato chips, I had to keep watching it again and again. I watched as the video reached the milestone of one million views, as news station after news station interviewed the Maccabeats, and I saw them perform Candlelight live at the annual YU Chanukah concert. As a graduate of
Today the Maccabeats released their new video, about Purim. Some of us devoted fans (and Facebook stalkers) have been awaiting this video, especially since the Maccabeats' status last week which hinted that it was coming. Before I discuss the video, here it is:
The difficult part about making a video after a hit is that there are tons of expectations, and a lot to live up to. Overall the Purim video was quite good and well done, but as could be expected, it was not quite as good as Candlelight. Let me start out with my critique and end on a positive note.
The main reason why the new video is lacking is that it is a poor song choice for a number of reasons. Firstly, because the song on which it was based is an inappropriate song. Due to the limited amount of time I spend listening to non- Jewish music, I had never heard the song "Raise Your Glass," by Pink before, and the first thing I did was search on YouTube for the original. (I will also point out that I had never heard of "Dynamite" before, and I immediately went to the original in that case as well). The first video that came up was the official music video of Pink for the song, which I am horrified to say that I watched, and strongly do not recommend. The lyrics of the song were mildly upsetting, but the video itself was extremely offensive. Putting the lyrics and video aside, "Raise your Glass" was a poor selection for the Maccabeats because it is not so catchy and difficult to sing. Candlelight can be difficult to sing, but the Purim Song is even more so. If people have difficulties singing it, then they won't. It goes nowhere. “I flip my latkes in the air sometimes” is much more catchy than “Raise your glass.” Additionally, the words “raise your glass” are part of the original lyric of the song, whereas “I flip my latkes in the air sometimes” is a line written by the Maccabeats.
My second critique of the video, after their song choice, boils down to the fact I would rename this video to "Candlelight: The sequel." Candlelight was not the Maccabeats' first video. Their "One Day" video was the first video, and it was drastically different from Candlelight both musically and stylistically. The Purim Song video is more of a synthesis of their two videos, without really adding its' own unique aspect. The Purim song takes themes from both previous videos. It shows the Maccabeats singing outside in their coats in the snow, which is very much reminiscent of the scenes in the park in the One Day video. One of the elements taken from Candlelight is that it features a reenactment of the story of the holiday on which it is based, in this case, Purim. Another similar element is what I will call the "holiday feast" scene, where the members of the group are casually seated around a table and shown chatting and eating. The only new element of the video is the introduction of children into the video. I don't know who those kids are, but they sure are lucky to make it into the video! Their parents must be proud.
Now on to what I liked about the video: Let’s start out with the amazing vocals, as always, the Maccabeats sound great! The video it self was quite amazing quality and extremely professional, living up to the high standard of the other two. The Seuda scene was perfect for film with tons of colors. It was just so colorful! The costumes were amazing, as a Harry Potter fan, I liked that costume, and every detail of that scene was perfect. I was also impressed with the
Despite the poor song choice that is just not catchy enough for me to sing along to, and the slight lack of originality, the Maccabeats’ video is fun to watch, a pleasure to listen to and overall I just have to say Yashar Koach to the Maccabeats and all of those who helped put the video together. May this video make a Kiddush Hashem just like the previous video, and may it be the channel through which the message of Purim is spread.
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Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Men's Brains Vs. Women's Brains
Men and women think differently, and we are always trying to understand what the other gender is thinking and how they reached the conclusions they did. The following video sheds some light on this subject. I know it's 10 minutes, but the key points are in the first 3 minutes, and it is definitely worth a watch:
Men’s brains vs. Women’s brains
To sum up:
Men’s brains are like boxes, with each topic divided up in their mind. When they are thinking about something, they are just thinking about that one thing and nothing else. They also have a “nothing” box which allows them to think about nothing.
Women’s brains are like a million interconnected wires, which are constantly busy. When they are thinking about something, they are also thinking about one hundred other things which are connected to it in their mind. They are always thinking and never thinking about nothing.
While this is not true for all men and all women, I think it is true as a general rule. I will say that I think it is true for me personally, though I would never claim to understand men’s brains. When I first watched this video my reaction was the following: Guys don’t really have a “nothing” box! How can anyone be thinking about nothing? You’re always thinking about something! That is completely not true. Men just want women to think they have a “nothing” box, but really when they say they are thinking about nothing, they are thinking about something inappropriate so they do not want to share it. This is fine, and understandable that they are thinking inappropriate thoughts, but they can’t possibly be thinking about nothing! Clearly, I just don't understand guys.
The key is that neither of these ways of thinking is *better* than the other, they are both good, just different. They each have their pros and cons, and in some situations it is better to think like a man, while other situations benefit from the way a woman thinks. That is what makes the world work. While there are times when I wish I could turn my brain off and think about nothing, I like the fact that everything is all connected in my brain.
A recent blogging situation demonstrates how true this is. I recently wrote a post about reasons why I want to get married, where I listed 101 reasons. Harry-er than them followed up with his post (which actually fits in nicely with this post, since he mentions that women are difficult to figure out), about why he wants to get married which comes down to, as he puts it “because I feel its best for me.” This is just typical male vs. female. For the male, Harry-er in this case, marriage is about marriage, simple as that, without connecting it to 100 things. It all stays in the “marriage” box. Short, simple, and sweet, and that is the end of it. No need to go crazy. Marriage is about marriage, the end.
For the female, however, me in this case, marriage is not just about marriage. It’s about 100 other things- how will this affect my life? How will this decision affect my family? What about my friends? How does marriage have a spiritual impact? An emotional impact? My brain races furiously thinking of what marriage means for every single aspect of my life, down to the tiniest detail.
The great and beautiful thing is that both of these approaches work for each of us. Different approaches in life are what make the world go round. It would be so boring if we all thought the same way and life would be too easy if we just automatically understood each other. Resolving conflict, learning to understand each other, questioning, growing, and trying to figure out how to be together, is part of what life is all about.
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Thursday, February 24, 2011
Disney Princesses
I grew up watching Disney movies. When I was little, I watched the older classics, like Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella. I even remember when Aladdin came out, and watching Pocahontas in a movie theater. My childhood was all about rooting for the good guys, waiting for the evil villains to meet their end, being scared at the scary parts, crying at the sad parts, and laughing at the funny parts. Singing along with all of those songs was a favorite pastime of mine as well.
Mostly these movies have great lessons. Beauty and the Beast teaches us not to judge a book by its cover, Cinderella teaches us never to give up hope because magic can happen even to the girl who becomes a maid and is ordered around be all. Even she can find true love and be swept away by a prince. Aladdin has a similar message in the reverse- a poor boy can have his wishes granted and marry a princess, as long as he learns not to lie along the way. The little mermaid teaches us that we can marry someone who is different than we are (though all of my teachers used to say how this movie was bad because it encourages intermarriage.)
Although I enjoyed Disney movies, I never wanted to be a Disney princess. None of them are very intelligent, at least not in the earlier movies, and they do not have much personality. They are weak, passive characters who cry every time something doesn’t go their way instead of facing situations with determination, courage and strength. The only character like this was Mulan, which was made later on, and who I must point out pretended to be a man for half the movie. Not exactly the best female role models.
Despite the good lessons, these fairy tale movies also give us unrealistic views on how life works, such as that everything always ends up happily ever after. They also teach us completely wrong ideas about love and romance, as portrayed by this video I found that is hilarious, yet so scarily true about the messages that Disney sends. Enjoy!
How to Make A Guy Like You- Disney Princess Style
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Mostly these movies have great lessons. Beauty and the Beast teaches us not to judge a book by its cover, Cinderella teaches us never to give up hope because magic can happen even to the girl who becomes a maid and is ordered around be all. Even she can find true love and be swept away by a prince. Aladdin has a similar message in the reverse- a poor boy can have his wishes granted and marry a princess, as long as he learns not to lie along the way. The little mermaid teaches us that we can marry someone who is different than we are (though all of my teachers used to say how this movie was bad because it encourages intermarriage.)
Although I enjoyed Disney movies, I never wanted to be a Disney princess. None of them are very intelligent, at least not in the earlier movies, and they do not have much personality. They are weak, passive characters who cry every time something doesn’t go their way instead of facing situations with determination, courage and strength. The only character like this was Mulan, which was made later on, and who I must point out pretended to be a man for half the movie. Not exactly the best female role models.
Despite the good lessons, these fairy tale movies also give us unrealistic views on how life works, such as that everything always ends up happily ever after. They also teach us completely wrong ideas about love and romance, as portrayed by this video I found that is hilarious, yet so scarily true about the messages that Disney sends. Enjoy!
How to Make A Guy Like You- Disney Princess Style
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Thursday, January 20, 2011
Video: Why we have too few women leaders
I recently saw this video, which was originally posted on TED:
To sum up the key points of the video:
• We women are lucky; we don’t live in the world of grandmothers where career choices were limited.
• We have a problem: Women are not making it to the top of a profession anywhere in the world.
• Women face a choice: Professional Success vs. Personal Fulfillment (in the home)
• How do we change the numbers at the top how do we make this different? Here are some messages to tell women who choose to work:
1. Sit at the table
Women underestimate their own abilities.
Women do not negotiate for themselves in the workplace.
Men attribute success to themselves, and women to the external factors. The attitude of “I’m awesome” vs. “ Well, someone helped me.”
No one gets to the corner office by sitting on the side.
2. Make your partner a real partner
If a woman and a man both work outside the home and have a child, the woman does twice the amount of house work and three times the amount of child raising.
We put more pressure on men to succeed than women.
We have to make it important job to stay home.
Couples who have equal responsibility in work and home have a lower divorce rate.
3. Don’t leave before you leave.
Don’t plan extra time for yourself that you think you’re going to need for a family before you’re at that stage yet.
I thought this video made some very good points. The funniest part is that the story she told about the man who didn’t know where the women’s bathroom was, actually happened to me a few days after I watched the video! I was in my office and a man from a different office in the building- who had moved in less than a year ago, but more than 6 months ago- came knocking on our door and asked where the women’s bathroom was. I had just seen this video, so of course the first thing that came into my head was, “Are you telling me that you have never had a woman in your office before?”
One point that I had never thought about before but I think is very upsettingly true: “Success and likability are positively correlated for men and negatively correlated for women.” In my previous post about feminism, I wrote about some of the problems that feminism caused. This is one of them. The character traits that a person needs to be successful in their career- confidence, aggression, outspoken- are not necessarily qualities that people like in women. Women should not have to choose between being liked and being successful in their career.
Another thing that jumped out at me was the point she made about women having low self-esteem/not being confident enough, while men develop big egos if they do something right. While this is obviously not true of all women and all men, I also think that there are pros and cons to everything. The attitude of "I'm awesome" has the potential to lead to arrogance or looking down on others. Confidence is a positive trait, but arrogance is a negative one. Having a low self-image is bad, but recognizing and appreciating others who helped you is great. Her point was that women need to change in order to be successful, but I’m not sure that I would draw the same conclusion.
Both these two points- that women have to choose between being liked and being successful, and that women lack confidence in the work place- come down to the fact that characteristics that are natural to women do not work well in the work place. Instead of trying to change women, perhaps we need to change the nature of the work place. Both of those seem equally difficult. Perhaps we need to tailor the workplace so that the women’s characteristics are used in a positive way. Men and women each have qualities that come naturally to them, and those have the potential to be used in a positive or a negative way. Instead of women trying to be men to be successful, women need to figure out how to be successful using the traits that they have.
Anyway those were some of my thoughts on the video- what did you think?
To sum up the key points of the video:
• We women are lucky; we don’t live in the world of grandmothers where career choices were limited.
• We have a problem: Women are not making it to the top of a profession anywhere in the world.
• Women face a choice: Professional Success vs. Personal Fulfillment (in the home)
• How do we change the numbers at the top how do we make this different? Here are some messages to tell women who choose to work:
1. Sit at the table
Women underestimate their own abilities.
Women do not negotiate for themselves in the workplace.
Men attribute success to themselves, and women to the external factors. The attitude of “I’m awesome” vs. “ Well, someone helped me.”
No one gets to the corner office by sitting on the side.
2. Make your partner a real partner
If a woman and a man both work outside the home and have a child, the woman does twice the amount of house work and three times the amount of child raising.
We put more pressure on men to succeed than women.
We have to make it important job to stay home.
Couples who have equal responsibility in work and home have a lower divorce rate.
3. Don’t leave before you leave.
Don’t plan extra time for yourself that you think you’re going to need for a family before you’re at that stage yet.
I thought this video made some very good points. The funniest part is that the story she told about the man who didn’t know where the women’s bathroom was, actually happened to me a few days after I watched the video! I was in my office and a man from a different office in the building- who had moved in less than a year ago, but more than 6 months ago- came knocking on our door and asked where the women’s bathroom was. I had just seen this video, so of course the first thing that came into my head was, “Are you telling me that you have never had a woman in your office before?”
One point that I had never thought about before but I think is very upsettingly true: “Success and likability are positively correlated for men and negatively correlated for women.” In my previous post about feminism, I wrote about some of the problems that feminism caused. This is one of them. The character traits that a person needs to be successful in their career- confidence, aggression, outspoken- are not necessarily qualities that people like in women. Women should not have to choose between being liked and being successful in their career.
Another thing that jumped out at me was the point she made about women having low self-esteem/not being confident enough, while men develop big egos if they do something right. While this is obviously not true of all women and all men, I also think that there are pros and cons to everything. The attitude of "I'm awesome" has the potential to lead to arrogance or looking down on others. Confidence is a positive trait, but arrogance is a negative one. Having a low self-image is bad, but recognizing and appreciating others who helped you is great. Her point was that women need to change in order to be successful, but I’m not sure that I would draw the same conclusion.
Both these two points- that women have to choose between being liked and being successful, and that women lack confidence in the work place- come down to the fact that characteristics that are natural to women do not work well in the work place. Instead of trying to change women, perhaps we need to change the nature of the work place. Both of those seem equally difficult. Perhaps we need to tailor the workplace so that the women’s characteristics are used in a positive way. Men and women each have qualities that come naturally to them, and those have the potential to be used in a positive or a negative way. Instead of women trying to be men to be successful, women need to figure out how to be successful using the traits that they have.
Anyway those were some of my thoughts on the video- what did you think?
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