So, when Jewcy was briefly offline this morning I was wiling away the downtime on YouTube (uh, not that the site needs to be down for me to get trapped in a YouTube vortex) and stumbled across Postmodern Jukebox‘s awesome klezmer cover of Jason Derulo’s “Talk Dirty to Me.”

Now, I know I’m a bit late to the game on this one (it came out in March) but it’s so clever and fun I thought I’d post it here, just in case y’all had missed it too. Singer Robyn Adele Anderson actually translated 2 Chainz’s rap into Yiddish. Bitchin’.

Amazingly—because Jews, internet—there’s another Yiddish cover of “Talk Dirty to Me,” aptly titled “Talk Yiddish to Me.” This one was recorded by Hasidic comedian Mendy Pellin, the force behind Jewish humor site Jewbellish, back in April. The delightfully silly Yiddish and English lyrics satirize Orthodox Jewish life and reference the two major food groups, fish sticks and cholent.

But you can’t really assess the merits of these covers without comparing them to Derulo’s hit single, which has accrued a mind-boggling 215 million views since it was uploaded in August 2013 (still, that’s peanuts compared to Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” which just hit the 2 billion mark). And you can’t really appreciate Derulo’s hit single without listening to Balkan Beat Box‘s “Hermetico,” the Hebrew language Klezmer/Gypsy track sampled throughout (they’re the ones behind that catchy, sexy horn riff).

See what I mean? YouTube vortex.

(Image: Jewbellish / YouTube)

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Last Sunday I went to the most Jewish concert of my life (besides for my Hebrew School’s annual Hannukah performance). I went to see Balkan Beat Box and Soulico in Seattle. [Note: both bands are on Jewcy’s parent organization, JDub]

I had figured that a concert with these two bands would attract a rowdy crowd with a medley of local characters, even if I knew little about the Seattle music scene. And I was right. There were hipsters in their 30s. There were college kids. Ravers. Bros. Old Jews. Mid-twenty Jews. Bald Jews. Non-Jews. It was by far the weirdest, most diverse crowd I had ever been to a show with. It was neat.

While I knew very little about Soulico, I know Balkan Beat Box fairly well. Nothing biblical though. Both groups hail from Tel Aviv, the city of Israeli hipsters. The mecca of Jewish hipsters living outside Austin and the NYC metro area. It’s number 3 on the list of hipster-Jew pilgrimages.

Even though Soulico started late (probably waiting for more people would show up), the dancefloor was sparse. It has become a habit for people to show up late and ignore the opening act. But any good music fan knows that it is the easiest way to ‘discover’ a new band.

And I was glad to hear what the DJs of Soulico had to offer. They gave me hope in my non-existent music career. If 3 short Jewish men could become so big, recording with legends such as Ghostface Killah, then maybe I too could succeed.

Needless to say, it was a slpendid night full of dancing. Not dancing in a duuuurty, American wind n’ grind type way. Rather in a sensible, semi-conservative Israeli way. The crowd ate it up. Every time Balkan Beat Box gave a shout out to Seattle, every time they told the crowd to throw their hands up in the air, we all complied. Our bodies were no longer in our control. Although their requests were a bit cliched (and I have no affinity for Seattle), I was happy that they didn’t ask us to donate to our local Jewish Federation.

The night ended like all concerts do these days, with a ritualistic dance between the audience and the band. After their ‘last song’, Balkan Beat Box left the stage. The audience dutifully chanted for an encore, a symbol that has as much meaning as a standing ovation or a slow-clap. And to finish this dance, to give the audience some input and a feeling of control, Balkan Beat Box returned to rock the house for a few more songs, including from their new album Blue Eyed Black Boy.

A wonderful way to end the most Jewish concert of my life.

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You may recognize Soulico as the DJ crew behind Exotic on the Speaker, which brought together an astonishing array of talent, featuring Ghostface Killah, Del Tha Funkee Homosapian, Lyrics Born and Rye Rye.

In the words of The Washington Post, Soulico rocks “dizzying sets that command you to dance.” On stage and off, Soulico’s main goal is to create a musical experience. Balkan Beat Box (BBB), founded by Israeli-born ex-pats Ori Kaplan (ex-Gogol Bordello) and Tamir Muskat (ex-Firewater), feel the same way, having built their reputation on explosive live shows with Tomer Yosef as frontman –his wild onstage energy galvanizing live audiences the world over.

Soulico and Balkan Beat Box are teaming up for their first US tour in over a year, and Jewcy wants YOU to be at their first show!

Our favorite part of Soulico’s live shows is the crazy energy they bring to the stage, especially our man DJ Eyal Rob, who is always trying to hype the crowd. You can see one of his signature moves in the video below, which mixes energizer bunny enthusiasm and an invisible trampoline.

We decided that Rob needs a name for this signature move, so we’ve made up a contest!

Two winners will receive a pair of tickets each to see Soulico and Balkan’s live show at The Conga Room in LA on Wednesday, February 23rd. Here’s how to participate:

Make up a name that you think best describes DJ Rob’s signature move.

Post it in the comments section below this post.

Jewcy will announce the winner here at noon on Tuesday. If your entry is selected we will email you notification with specific instructions on how to get your tickets. Now start the party preparations!

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$20, 21+

Listen to BBB and Soulico

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Listen to BBB and Soulico

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Listen to BBB and Soulico

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