Customer Reviews

Hanukkah Rocks

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Believe it or not it is a Hanukkah album and not one accordian can be heard on this CD. Finally, my Hanukkah music, not my great grandparents music from the old Country. The LeeVees are two guys who were recently touring with their bands and kept talking about the lack of Hanukkah music they could relate to and the the feelings of disinfrancisment during the holiday season.

They came up with this great record. Music about being Jewish, happy, and celebratory all to some great pop/rock hooks. I put this in the car and my two boys (10 & 8) had the heads bobbing and air guitar going.

All I can say is way to go LeeVee's and keep making records.

I bought this for my Christmas-carol-weary daughters (ages 10 and 12) and they LOVE it. They downloaded it into their i-pods and listen to all the tunes even long after the holiday. The lyrics are funny for anyone,the attitude and tunes are sophisticated, and it really gives a sense of belonging to Jewish kids for whom the Christmas season can be alienating. I highly recommend this album to Jewish kids and parents.

Catchy hooks, incredible arrangements, tasteful production and hilariously clever lyrics will keep this disc in your CD player all holiday season. Whether you be Jew, Gentile, or a tasty mix of both, you will enjoy many a good listen to this excellent project. A perfect grab-bag gift/stocking stuffer.

Tight, solid riffs. Subversive and hilarious lyrics on par (no, better!) than the best of Barenaked Ladies or They Might Be Giants. And, of course, terrific tongue-in-cheek Jewish humor, just in time for most bittersweet time of the year for the Diasporized.

Please, don't buy this album if you are content to sing "I Have a Little Dreidel" all December. It'll be wasted on you--buy it for your hip nephew instead.

Finally, the Hanukkah - or is it Channukah? - album the festival of light truly deserves. The songs are instant classics and immensely catchy and will appeal to all ages. I've been listening to this album for a few weeks already and Hanukkah is still over a month away. Some of the songs, like "Kugel," stand on their own and don't require a calendar that says December for maximum enjoyment. No more "I Had a Little Dreidel" for me; from now on it's all about the LeeVees!

Wow, this is so good! The songs are really well written and the production is fantastic... both way more so than you might expect for a "holiday" album. Makes a great gift and I promise you will love many (if not all) of these songs!

I would say these guys sound like the Jewish version of They Might Be Giants, but I think those guys are Jewish too. Maybe they're like the Jewish Barenaked Ladies. But, wait, aren't they Jewish too? Anyway, the Leevees are a great band in their own right. Their lyrics are clever and funny, but probably only to Jewish people because when I played it for my non-Jewish friends they didn't know what kugel was so how could they laugh at a song about kugel? They did love the song about spelling Hanukkah though, because that is a problem that has befuddled Jews and non-Jews alike for centuries. Anyway, I too am so relieved to find a hip, cool band that sings about Jewish stuff in a way that isn't sad or klezmery or cantor-like. I hope they write a song some day about haroset. Which can also be spelled charoset.

Just how do you spell Hanukkah? And is it apple sauce or sour cream for your latkes? These are the question posed by The LeeVees in their holiday album: Hanukkah Rocks. Adam Gardner and Dave Schneider combine for this fun, contemporary, and entertaining album of new Hanukkah songs. Released in October 2005, Hanukkah Rocks seeks to fill a gap in Hanukkah music. Outside of the ubiquitous "Driedel Song", there aren't too many songs out there for Hanukkah. Gardner and Schneider, both established musicians with their respective bands (Guster and The Zambonis), successfully fill this void with sure to be classics like "Latke Clan": "We'll put the oil into the pan/So come and join our Latke Clan/'Cause we are latke fans" and the hilarious "How Do You Spell Channukkahh?": "I remember when I was/In Elementary School/A Spanish kid told me/that it starts with a silent J/But Julio was wrong". These songs capture the secular sense of Hanukkah that connects most Jews to the holiday, but they are also good enough to listen to year round. Other songs are about the love for kugel, the adventure of the Jewish Matzoh Ball, and the unofficial Jewish tradition of going for Chinese food on Christmas day. The album is often amusing and always fun; and furthermore, full of the joy of being Jewish.

The LeeVees opened for barenaked ladies and were great! Very reminiscent of the ladies' wackiness and cleverness. Just alot of fun, and you don't even need to be Jewish to enjoy.

What a gem! The songs are funny and catchy, and they do a great job reflecting modern Jewish life in America. It's only November, and already I find myself singing "Goyim Friends" (my favorite track) and "Latke Clan." Both the kids and adults in my family love it, and we play it over and over. It's my favorite Hanukkah gift (except for families with young children -- I give them the fabulous Golden Dreydl: Klezmer Nutcracker for Chanukah). There are plenty of good klezmer Hanukkah albums, and some that are jazzy or swing, but this is the only one that truly rocks.