Blog
By Michael Croland
Hilarious Jewish Punk Stories from The Hard Times
The Hard Times is a punk version of The Onion. The fake news stories are often hilarious and relatable. On Thursday, for the third time in the last year, The Hard Times featured a Jewish punk story. Considering that the timing aligned with Hanukkah this year, Rosh Hashanah this year, and Hanukkah last year, The Hard Times apparently […]
New Book about the Mid-’90s Punk Explosion
In the Introduction of Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk, I traced the rise of commercial punk rock in the mid-1990s because it is an important prelude to most Jewish punk bands using punk rock as a vehicle to explore their Jewish identity. If punk rock hadn’t gotten so big and reached so many people, fewer musicians would […]
Guest Speaker at Book Fair Shabbat
On Friday, I was the guest speaker for Book Fair Shabbat at Woodlands Community Temple in White Plains, New York. Rabbi Mara Young and the other speakers on the bimah did a commendable job of tying in counterculture and resistance with Jewish values. Cantor Jonathan Gordon used the Ramones‘ cover of “Surfin’ Bird” for the “Adon […]
Article about My Upcoming Presentation for Book Fair Shabbat
On November 16, I’ll be the guest speaker for Book Fair Shabbat at Woodlands Community Temple in White Plains, New York. In addition to giving an overview of Jewish punk, I’ll be sharing Shabbat songs and talking about my writing process. Here’s an excerpt from a great article on the front page of the shul’s […]
Bram Presser Discusses Yidcore While Promoting Book in the U.S.
Australian author Bram Presser just wrapped up a weeks-long U.S. book tour for The Book of Dirt. (Check out my 2017 post and Matthue Roth‘s review.) In addition to speaking about his award-winning book, Presser discussed his past as the singer of Yidcore, the quintessential Jewish punk band, at events and in interviews. I attended two of Presser’s […]
Shabbat of Comfort and Renewal
Today Sen. Susan Collins announced that she’ll vote for Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be on the Supreme Court, signaling that he has enough votes to get confirmed. For many of us who objected to Kavanaugh’s nomination, this was devastating. The news came on a Friday afternoon. In Facebook posts, two thought-provoking Jewish musicians referred to […]
“Angry Jew Punk” Band Confronts Nazis on “Oi Vey”
Damn Dirty Commies’ Oi Vey is a pithy album. If you don’t count the two comedic interludes and the one rap bonus track, there are just three songs, taking up less than five minutes combined. At a time when Kanye West can offer up seven songs as an album, let’s not debate whether it’s an album. The Philadelphia-based “Angry […]
On the Radio: “Mosh Hashana: A Punk Tribute to the Jewish New Year”
Have you ever listened online to a public radio show in Alaska and felt like the DJ was speaking directly to you? Today on Soundings on KRNN Juneau, Johnny Negotiable started off his show by saying: We have listeners from far-flung Queens, New York. Well, actually, that’s a little bit of a hyperbole. We have one listener in […]
Guest Post: Jewish Metal Music Politics on the Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud
The following guest post is by Jim Hale. Jim lives in Juneau, Alaska, with his wife, Michelle, and their two dogs, Murphy and Molly. Under the nom de guerre Johnny Negotiable, he hosts a music show he calls “episodes in the history of noise,” on Friday mornings from 10 to noon on 102.7 FM, KRNN Juneau and […]
Sports Illustrated & My Other Air Guitar Media Hits
This week Sports Illustrated TV included a 30-second interview clip with me in a show about air guitar! You can watch the full 10-minute episode here; a free 7-day trial is required. Click here to watch a 1-minute preview video that includes a brief quote from me. Here’s a transcript: Me: Are you really here from Sports […]
