Music for the Jewish Heretic
"The history of Jewish assimilation in America produced a wide variety of musical hybrids across ethnic and racial lines, bridging the religious and the secular."
This article talks about a recording studio that basically caters to the assimilated Jew, the self-proclaimed heretic. "It is heretics who most interest the founders of Reboot Stereophonic. That and interlopers, cultural brokers."
I mean, I guess that's what sells, so why shouldn't they try to cultivate those tastes? Except there is something deeply disturbing about a music company that is actually seeking the music of those who have given up their religion or those who are questioning it.
Hey, I'm certainly not the hugest fan of Jewish music (which I think I once referred to as sweaty-guy-Mashich-music or something like that) and I certainly understand why a regular recording studio wouldn't want to sell that, but why as a society do Americans feel the need to celebrate the anti-religious?
Why are Americans as a group so much more interested in the heretic than the pious?
posted by Eli7 @ 6:50 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Elisheva,
Are you sure that Americans are more interested in the heretic than the pious or is it just the NYT's portrayal of the matter? Maybe I'm just repeating partisan political garbage (I'm a registered Republican) but aren't most Americans believers in one religion or another?
Either way (and thinking from a journalistic perspective though I'm sure you have more experience considering your internship), perhaps the heretical, the aberrant and more extreme, is more interesting of a story than plain, boring, pious person?
Hmmm, interesting. I did think about the Republican/Religious Right thing when I put up the post, but I think especially among 20-somethings, it's much cooler to not believe in God.
And anyway waht does "belief in some higher being" really mean?
Though I think mostly I was really annoyed at the fact that this company was banking on Jewish assimilation.
For 20-somethings I think it's cool to be apathetic, not engaged in the world, not really tied to a cause (religious or secular) aside from being anti-everything.
But, definitely, as if we needed any more assimilation. Sadly, we're still in galus and this is yet another reminder of the things that threaten our people.
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