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The Maccabeats – Pan Fry

Maccabeats — Tue, 17 Dec 2019 21:09:21 +0000

For our tenth (!) Hanukkah video, we return to our roots. Parodying two of the most critically and commercially successful songs of 2019, we sing about the holiday’s rituals, traditions and ideas in colored boxes.

But there’s more. Though 2019 is still one of the best times in history to be Jewish, we’re beginning to feel tremors of uncertainty. Pittsburgh, Poway, and now Jersey City all remind us that there are forces of hate who would prefer a world without us. And to them we say: “we’re not going anywhere.”

This year’s lyrics focus on Hanukkah’s unambiguously public celebration of our faith and tradition. From the menorahs in the windows of private homes, to the menorah lightings in public squares, we “light our flames for all to see.”

Happy Hanukkah!

P.S. Make sure to stick around after the main song for some “outtakes”

Maccabeats on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2plllpJj0sU7FsdZrn8EHq
Maccabeats on Apple Music: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/maccabeats/367163195

Stay in touch:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Maccabeats
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Maccabeats
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Email: info@maccabeats.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MaccabeatsVideos

MaccaBeatles Medley

Maccabeats — Sun, 07 Jul 2019 18:02:52 +0000

Iconic. Most influential band of all time. Cultural phenomenon. Musical legends.

These are just some phrases we hope will one day be used to describe the Maccabeats. But for now, we pay tribute to one of the greatest acts in Western Music with our signature Maccabeats twist. Ladies and gentlemen…the MaccaBeatles!

Many Beatles songs have enjoyed second lives in other languages, and the Maccabeats are the latest in a long line of artists to draw inspiration from the Fab Four.

The Beatles themselves recorded their classic “I Want to Hold Your Hand” in German as “Komm gib mir deine Hand,” which we then adapted into the similar Yiddish. Similarly, noted Israeli singer-songwriters Arik Einstein and Ran Eliran recorded a Hebrew version of “Yesterday,” performed as “Rak Etmol.” Finally, Naomi Shemer originally fashioned her classic Lu Yehi to the tune of “Let It Be” before later composing an original melody.

Maccabeats on Apple Music: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/maccabeats/367163195

Stay in touch:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Maccabeats
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Maccabeats
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/Maccabeats
Email: info@maccabeats.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MaccabeatsVideos

The Maccabeats Minute

Maccabeats — Fri, 31 May 2019 17:57:42 +0000

Exciting new!
We’ve launched a new series of one-minute performances called “Maccabeats Minutes” which will allow us to share more of our music than ever before.

We’ve already released two of these videos:
1. I Wouldn’t Be, in honor of Mother’s Day
2. Mi Bon Siach – a Jewish wedding song we set to the tune of “You Are the Reason” by Calum Scott – released on Lag BaOmer to mark the beginning of the traditional Jewish wedding season.

Maccabeats Minutes will be featured on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, so make sure to follow us there to be the first to see these and other Maccabeats updates.

You can also listen to Maccabeats Minutes on our Spotify page.

One more thing: We want to hear from you what you’d like to hear, so please do let us know what we should sing next.

Dreidel – Hanukkah 2018

Maccabeats — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 22:53:16 +0000

There are certain seasonal songs that become so powerfully connected to a holiday that it seems as though they’ve been around as long as the holiday itself.

“I Have a Little Dreidel,” originally composed by Samuel Goldfarb some 100 years ago, does not date back to the period of the Maccabees, but – for reasons no one will ever know – has become perhaps the best-known English song of the Hanukkah canon. For this year’s Hanukkah video, we’ve transformed this simple melody into a multi-genre adventure testing the limits of a cappella music and challenging us all to find new ways to bring excitement to our traditions.

The dreidel, a Jewish variant on the teetotum, traditionally memorializes a time when religious practice had to be concealed from an oppressive government; it thus celebrates religious freedom. Its four letters also remind us of the great miracles of Hanukkah. We hope our renewal of this classic continues to spread those messages and helps everyone celebrate a Happy Hanukkah.

Enjoy our “I Have a Little Dreidel” video and make sure to grab the track on CDBaby or iTunes!

Grab Our Music
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/maccabeats/id367163195
CDBaby: https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/Maccabeats

This is the New Year

The Maccabeats — Sun, 17 Sep 2017 20:47:30 +0000

There’s a lot of great music out there, but every so often we’ll hear a song for the first time and just know that this is a song we need to sing.

A Great Big World’s “This Is the New Year,” was one of those songs. Its catchy melody, captivating meter (try counting along, we dare you!), and driving rhythm are only exceeded by it’s powerful and timely messages.

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is replete with contradictory ideas: a time set aside for introspection is celebrated as a community; “the day of judgement” is also a festival; and “the day of remembrance” is a day we spend looking forward to the coming year. This year’s song doesn’t shy away from these complicated ideas, telling us to “embrace the past” and “live for now;” asking us “pray for the life we’ve wanted” for ourselves but also to “tear the wall down that divides us;” and reminding us that though the world was created for each of us, “there’s so much to be done.”

Wishing all of our friends and family a happy, healthy, sweet, and musical new year!

Grab Our Music
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/maccabeats/id367163195
CDBaby: https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/Maccabeats

Despacito – דספסיטו

The Maccabeats — Tue, 29 Aug 2017 20:42:46 +0000

Have you ever had the feeling that the more you do, the faster time seems to go? Or that you’re a spectator – not a participant – in your own life?

Our newest video, a cover of Amram Adar and Itzik Shamli’s timely adaption of the summer mega-hit Despacito, asks us to pause and live deliberately. Family, faith, and meaning should never take a backseat to the rat race of work and blind ambition. As we sing in the chorus (translated from Hebrew) “Slowly – take things slowly, everything will come in it’s time my dear. And all delays will turn out fine as long as we keep faith.”

We’d really appreciated if you could take the time share this video with your own friends and family!

Finally, our love goes out to our friends in Houston, hometown of one of the Maccabeats. Please consider donating to the Jewish Federation’s relief fund (link here) or the cause of your choice, they need our help.

Grab Our Music
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/maccabeats/id367163195
CDBaby: https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/Maccabeats

Sound of Silence with Jew in the City

Maccabeats — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 21:48:09 +0000

Fifty years ago, one of our favorite artists wrote a powerful, enduring, and almost prophetic song about, in the words of Art Garfunkel, “the inability of people to communicate with each other.” Simon and Garfunkel’s classic “Sound of Silence” is more relevant than ever in the age of social media, the 24-hour news cycle, and ubiquitous devices.

We would argue that perhaps our friends at Jew in the City used our cover to portray a more positive angle: despite our seeming addicion, we all have the ability to turn off our phones and connect with our friends and family, or maybe even just spend some quality time with ourselves. Indeed, Shabbat is a particularly auspicious time for this and we feel fortunate to have this “time-out” built into the rhythm of our lives.

DWe think Jew in the City did a great job on the visuals and story for this video and if you enjoyed the music don’t forget to grab the single:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/the-sound-of-silence-single/id1187098421
CDBaby: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/maccabeats20

New Pesach Video – Mah Nishtanah!

Maccabeats — Mon, 10 Apr 2017 03:32:51 +0000

Music is all around us, and the Passover Seder table is no exception! The Seder introduces many small variations from our typical meal-time routines; These differences are the subject of the famous “Four Questions” or “Mah Nishtanah,” usually translated as “Why is This Night Different?”

In that spirit, this year’s Pesach video is a little different. Using only our voices, mouths, and the objects traditionally found on the Seder table, we replaced our usual vocal percussion with “Pesach-cussion” and added a four-cups glass harp to fill out our arrangement. Needless to say, we had a blast filming this and we hope you enjoy – have a Chag Kasher V’Sameach and a Great Passover!

Don’t forget to share this with your family and friends, and don’t try this at home!
Check out our previous Pesach videos:
Les Misérables: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmthKpnTHYQ
Dayenu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZgDNPGZ9Sg
Let My People Go, Story, Why Do We Lean: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1jRAf0u9Kc

Download this track for FREE here: https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/maccabeats21
Our music: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/maccabeats/id367163195

Hasmonean – A Hamilton Hanukkah

Maccabeats — Fri, 16 Dec 2016 04:41:40 +0000

An empire bent on ruling a sovereign territory without fair representation. A scrappy country rising up against the odds and their much greater opponent. A young leader with history’s eyes on him, leading his people to a miraculous victory. This, of course, is the plot of the Hanukkah story, the subject of our newest video.

We’re huge fans of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s revolutionary musical Hamilton, and we were especially impressed at how he used modern musical styles to direct the hearts and minds of millions towards the characters and lessons of history.

We borrow the tunes (and a few costumes) from Hamilton to trace the characters and lessons of the Hanukkah story, following Judah Maccabee as he leads the fight against the Assyrian Greeks and retakes the Temple. Don’t throw away your shot to share this video with your friends, and have a great Hanukkah!

Our EP, A Maccabeats Hanukkah, makes the perfect holiday gift:
Make this Hanukkah “A Maccabeats Hanukkah!”
iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/olwd8ov
CDBaby: http://tinyurl.com/no44vdm
Amazon (CD): http://tinyurl.com/qzldcxv
Jewish Jukebox (CD): http://tinyurl.com/przh65n

Stay in touch:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Maccabeats
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/maccabeats
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maccabeats/
Email: info@maccabeats.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MaccabeatsVideos

Our music:
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/maccabeats/id367163195

What I Am with Camp HASC

Maccabeats — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 16:45:33 +0000

Tensions are high. And while we realize that a music video probably can’t solve all, or even most, of the world’s problems, we hope to use our little corner of the internet to slightly brighten up our seemingly dark world.

This past summer we had the extraordinary opportunity to film a video with the special staff and campers at Camp HASC, the Jewish community’s premier summer program for children and adults with special needs. The ties between the Maccabeats and Camp HASC are strong, as we count no fewer than three of our members as former staff members there.

To best capture the themes of Camp HASC and why we find it so inspiring, we chose to sing will.i.am‘s “What I Am,” an anthem of empowerment, personal growth, and positivity. The song is an affirmation that each individual is special in his or her own way, and that we can draw strength from this uniqueness: “What I am is special: there’s nothing I can’t achieve because in myself I believe..”

Thanks as well to our new friends from the Chai Riders and the Hartford’s Proud Drill, Drum, and Dance Corp, all of whom brought their own special enthusiasm to this project.

Please share our video with your friends and don’t forget to grab the track on iTunes or CDBaby.

Our music:
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/maccabeats/id367163195