|
Like the miracle of Hanukkah itself, the LeeVee’s ode to Christmas’s knock-kneed competition for holiday attention was written in eight days. That certainly explains the offhand fun and unselfconscious shtick of probably the only indie-rock Jewish holiday record out there. Adam Gardner of Guster and Dave Schneider of the Zambonis set out to fill the void of great (or any) Hanukkah pop songs, and given the less-than-stiff competition, they came up with nine avowedly secular ditties exploring the American Jewish experience at holiday time. There are potato latkes, melting chocolate coins, visiting grandparents in Florida (where the furniture is invariably plastic-coated). There’s no mention of Maccabees or the miracle of the oil -- when it comes to Jewish content, the LeeVees make The O.C.’s Seth Cohen look like the Gaon of Vilna. What’s left, though, is shiny and sugary as Hanukkah gelt -- from the “Happy Jack”-styled singles lament “Jewish Girls (at the Matzoh Ball)” to the ukulele-driven “At the Timeshare.” And leave it to the LeeVees to sum up American Jewish ambivalence with a song that bravely asks, “How Do You Spell Chanukkah?”
CONDITION: USED ACCEPTABLE. PROMOTIONAL IMPRINTED COVER. PUNCHED UPC SEALED.
TRACK LISTINGS
1. Latke Clan
2. Applesauce vs. Sour Cream
3. Goyim Friends
4. At the Timeshare
5. How Do You Spell Channukkahh?
6. Kugel
7. Jewish Girls (At the Matzoh Ball)
8. Gelt Melts
9. Nun Gimmel Heh Shin
10. [Untitled Track]
11. [Untitled Track]
|