Blog
By Michael Croland
Jewish Highlights of Bad Religion’s New Book, Plus Some Disappointments
I spoke extensively about Bad Religion in my 2016 book Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk. I worked hard to give a complete picture considering that Brett Gurewitz—their guitarist, cofounder, and cosongwriter—had “not spoken of his Jewish background frequently” and “declined to be interviewed for this book through a publicist.” I looked forward to […]
Air Guitar Limericks
In Air to the Throne: A Poetry Chapbook about Air Guitar, I included poems I’ve written about air guitar since 2014. I considered including my limericks but didn’t. Here for the first time are seven limericks about air guitar—plus one about air accordion! There’s even a brand-new limerick about Smiley Rod, who won the US Air Guitar Online […]
Guest Post from Oi McVey: 5 Most Bad*ss Jewish Characters in Movies
This is a guest post from Andrew “Oi McVey” Schulman, singer of the “angry Jew punk” band Damn Dirty Commies. Oi McVey identifies the five most bada*ss Jewish characters in movies, plus three honorable mention candidates. I explored “tough Jews” as an attribute of Jewish punks in Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk, so it’s fascinating […]
Jump for Joy: Newly Rediscovered Electric Simcha
Electric Simcha put out four releases, ranging from one to three songs, in 2010. That short-lived catalog was enough for me to declare in Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! Jews and Punk that in their “sound and overall approach, Electric Simcha might have been the best effort to seamlessly pull off a musically skilled, decidedly punk take […]
The Gangsta Rabbi: 10 Years Leukemia, 5 Years Terminal, Still Here
Steve “Gangsta Rabbi” Lieberman’s days might have seemed numbered. In 2016, he talked about his battle with cancer in an interview featured on this blog. In 2018, he started hospice care. In 2019, he ominously posed next to his grave following his wife’s passing. But in 2020, that photo is an album cover, because the King of Jewish Punk […]
Chabad Religion: An Odd New Heavyweight for Jewish Punk
My initial impression was that Chabad Religion was as big as it gets and would “bring a new spotlight to Jewish punk like never before.” The band features Yotam Ben Horin of Useless ID, the most successful punk rock band ever to come out of Israel, and Fat Mike of NOFX, which has put band members’ Jewishness on […]
Outstanding Passover Content All in One Place
I’ve written about Passover a lot over the past decade and a half. From Jewish punk to vegan food, here are some highlights all in one place! Last year I blogged about the Shondes’ Passover-themed video for “True North.” I wrote “Passover Punk Playlist” and “A Punk Playlist for Passover” for Jewcy in 2017 and 2018, respectively. The […]
Air to the Throne: A Guide for Fans of My Jewish Punk Books
Air to the Throne: A Poetry Chapbook about Air Guitar ventures into new territory, but if you’re a fan of my Jewish punk books, you’ll like what you find. Like Oy Oy Oy Gevalt! and Punk Rock Hora, Air to the Throne shines a light on niche music that’s outside the mainstream. It examines the subject matter with a tour […]
Talking about Jewish Punk and My New Book on Alaskan Radio
Yesterday Johnny Negotiable interviewed folk musician Dan Rauchwerk and me on his Episodes in the History of Noise on KRNN Juneau (Alaska). We discussed Jewish punk as well as Air to the Throne: A Poetry Chapbook about Air Guitar, which I’m self-publishing next week. As he did on his ethnic punk radio special in February, Johnny praised my Jewish punk […]
New Found Glory Still “Kill It Live”
On Friday I saw New Found Glory in concert for the fifth time—but the first since 2004. They still “kill it live,” to quote the title of their live album. Jordan Pundik’s nasal tenor vocals over heavy-but-melodic guitars is pop-punk perfection that takes me back to the early 2000s. NFG played a terrific mix of beloved old songs and […]
