REVIEWS & CRITIQUES
HOT CHALLA! MUSIC SCHPEAL
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Baby TeethHustle Beach
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Hustle Beach is the third album from Chicago’s Baby Teeth. Classic rock influences are apparent on the fresh, new dig—Queen, Steve Miller Band, Elvis Costello and Steely Dan. The yelads are no doubt the product of ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,’ Yoohoo and Reebok Pumps. Front man Abraham Levitan is on lead vocals and keyboards, Jim Cooper is on bass guitar and Peter Andreadis is on drums. You know, ‘The Hangover’—the summer box office smash starring Bradley Cooper. Songs fit the soundtrack and the band-mates represent eligible bachelorhood—a serious single summer vibe is going on. The album is inspired by their lives as is. Hustle Beach is about growing up, getting married, vacations, acquiring material possessions, losing them and growing old. Kenahora
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TelepatheDance Mother
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Dance Mother is the debut album from Telepathe. Melissa Livaudais and Betsy Gangnes are the powerhouse behind the synthetic, pop, trance and experimental extravaganza. The album, recorded with ‘TV on the Radio’s’ Dave Sitek, is comprised of guitar sketches, synthesizers, drumbeats, zany vocal harmonies and loops. Dance Mother is dreamy and dark—the new electro pop, progressive sound—it’s here.
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Mama DoniChanukah Fever
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“So I was thinking, I wonder what it’s like to be a dreidal.” If you want to become a little wacky around Chanukah, without having a glass of Manischewitz wine, listen to the tunes of Mama Doni—not to be confused with Madonna. She won the Simcha Award for “inspiring Joy Through Music,” in competition with more than 100 bands from 15 different countries at the International Jewish Music Festival in Amsterdam. Doni explains, “I wanted to sing funky Jewish songs with the kids but couldn’t find the kind I envisioned, so I thought I’d try to write them myself…and the next thing I knew, I was filling notebook after notebook with music!” Chanukah Fever is playful, with super-cool lyrics about Chanukah, mixed with various genres of music—from reggae to rap. Shalom, out.
iN THE BEGINNING
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The Jewish Princess
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‘Chanukah Cheaters Doughnuts’ is a recipe in The Jewish Princess Feasts & Festivals, and it makes approximately 34 servings. Freeze it for later or for the Seder. “Feta Fatter Potatoes is fabulous, and well worth getting fatter for!” say Georgie and Tracy. Well, I am not sure about the last bit. If you are a man in an apron, the book is absolutely fun for the Jewish Princess in you. Julia Child would agree—a great way to begin Jewish holidays is by cooking with The Jewish Princess Feasts & Festivals.
NOSH ON-SCREEn
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Bart Got A Room
Brian Hecker
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Danny Kaplan chooses an unknown Bar Mitzvah party over his prom. (The music is better.) A familiar teenage comedy—‘American Pie’ and ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ collide with Larry David. Sheryl Hines stars as high school senior Danny’s, (Steven Kaplan) mom in Bart Got A Room, and William H. Macy stars as the easy to peg father; be it, a couple of newly divorced parents. The film is the part-autobiographical experience of writer and director Brian Hecker and his senior prom mishigas. Filmed in Hollywood, Fla., Bart Got A Room captures the comic relief of Jewish retirees who flee there, and the woes of a teenage nerd juggling personal life and the end of senior year.
Jennifer Lefkowitz is a native of Memphis and graduate of Academy of Art University, Motion Pictures and Television in San Francisco, CA. Jennifer is a nationally published media writer and member of the Writers Guild of America, West. Jennifer enjoys running, Conceptual Art, and outstanding coffee. “And a good thing,” she says.
