Surreal juxtaposition.
I've wanted to put those two words together for a long time. Thanks for the opportunity.

• Posted at 6:05 AM | By  Justin

my friend dj tony (the puerto rican who thinks he's irish) turned me on to this artist. i am not a fan of this type of music in any way shape or form by any person, but i do appreciate the talent of matisyahu (and some others)

• Posted at 8:07 AM | By  Unknown

Exactly Rose. Something different. Doesnt always have to be your thing but appreciation goes along way. I myself like such a wide variety of music, I scarcely have the time to listen to much. From Mozart and Scott Joplin, to System of a Down and Weezer.

• Posted at 9:26 AM | By  Yukkione

That is Great!! I love it. I find it particularly interesting because there is a large Hasidim community near where I live (ever hear of Crown Heights?) and know that many of the Hasids are more than just the stereotypical guys in funny hats and curls.

A little (actually, a LOT) less radical, but it reminds me of my friend Adam's group: The Shul Band.

http://www.theshulofnewyork.org/music.php

• Posted at 12:11 PM | By  Anonymous

ah, thanks for the link Anita. I love checking out new stuff. your right about stereotypes, the closer you look the fewer stereotypical people there are. The biggest exception though would have to be Bush Supporters. lol

• Posted at 12:24 PM | By  Yukkione

LOC,
You troublemaker! :) Kidding.

• Posted at 7:58 PM | By  Anonymous

I know i stired it up a bit um "somewhere else" lol

• Posted at 9:57 PM | By  Yukkione

Hey, you make me think. And you are correct that beneath some of the warm and fuzzy dogma, there's far more. You remind me of Lew in some ways, he tells it as he sees it. I don't always agree with him 100% but I love that he speaks his mind. There are many issues that I have not resolved yet, or come to personal conclusions about. Religion is one. I never had anything forced on me, so I have gone through studying and reading about many different things. I think that I have a problem with rules that govern behavior that have nothing to do with love or empathy or connection. I think that the desire to control others and impose values or perspectives has led to far too much violence.

Anita is a wonderful resource, although I don't get into NYC very often nowadays. I miss the music.

• Posted at 10:34 PM | By  Anonymous

you guys should check out these links: one's an interview where matisyahu talks about his inspiration; the other is the inspiration itself.

http://www.meaningfullife.com/audio/youth_matisyahu_2-16-06.mp3

http://meaningfullife.com/personal/lifecycles/02TeenagersCOLON_The_Rebellion_of_Youth.php

they both come from Meaningfullife.com

• Posted at 2:00 PM | By  Anonymous

I found it quite interesting, I never really thought that I would see a Jewish person in the traditional looking attire singing reggae music. It reminds me of the first time I seen Shania Twain on TV singing. It was just very hard to register her as singing country music, while looking at her, looking all sexy and dressed up in tight leather. It was like an optical illusion. I wonder if one wanted to sing reggae, how one picks up a Jamaican accent if one is not largely immersed into the Jamaican culture? Something tells me that no one out there would ever make the mistake of thinking that he is Rastafarian. Reggae has always sounded pleasant to my ears it has a lot of passion to it. Matisyahu seems to me to be very, very talented at his work, you can hear it and then see it in the way he works the crowd...

• Posted at 2:59 PM | By  Anonymous

The music was just ok, not my thing really, and the band was marginal. I was more impressed with the quality of the flash video.

• Posted at 6:08 PM | By  expatbrian

Damn! I'm excited about reggae again. Just discovered him recently and looking forward to the new album, to be released shortly. Another group to check out is Fat Freddy's Drop--they're from New Zealand, but have a great jazzy/ragga vibe (mixed with a bit of hip hop)

• Posted at 1:49 PM | By  Agen