a message from Stereo Sinai

Heya Thumpers!

It's (almost) here!!  The highly-anticipated debut album(s) from Stereo Sinai!  And Thumpers, we are so excited because: 

  1. We are releasing not one, but TWO full discs of music - "Biblegum Pop" and "The Revelation Will Not Be Televised" - 25 SONGS in all!
  2. Our awesome album art was expertly crafted by the very talented Elke Reva Sudin
  3. Both discs feature special appearances by unbelievable guest artists
  4. ...and all kinds of other surprises!
The albums will be available to the masses by Chanukah, but YOU, our dear Thumpers, are invited to book your copies NOW at a DISCOUNT, before anybody else!   

Click Here to Pre-Order Now
We're so excited about these tunes; we know you (and everyone on your holiday gift list) will love them.

(And Thumpers in New York and Chicago - keep your eyes open for tour dates, more info shortly...)

Also - and we can't believe it either - this week is the anniversary of the release of G-dcast - Lech Lecha!  

G-dcast continues to be a remarkable project, and we are so proud to have been a part of it.  So in honor of forging new paths, and remembering journeys past, here is our G-dcast piece once more:  

Check Out G-dcast - Lech Lecha

Special thanks and congratulations to Hannah - 2nd grader, artist, Thumper extraordinaire - winner of the Stereo Sinai Coloring Contest!  She will receive a free copy of "Biblegum Pop"; way to go, Hannah!  (Fan us on Facebook to view our favorite coloring contest entries, and keep up with other contests, give-aways and fan specials.)

That's it for now, but there is much more to come...stay tuned!

Peace,

Miriam and Alan 
Stereo Sinai

p.s. Got questions?  Looking to book Stereo Sinai in your community?  Just want to shmooze?  Talk to us!

EmailTwitterFacebook, or phone (262-6SINAI6).
 
Musician friends!  Care to join me in a last-minute undertaking to do some good?
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Remember Playing for Change, that awesome series of videos of people from all over the world playing the same song, spliced together in expertly-edited harmony?  It was amazing, right?  

So, Playing for Change is now a foundation that is "dedicated to connecting the world through music by providing resources to musicians and their communities around the world."  Yes.  Also amazing.  Sign me up.

The first Playing for Change Day is happening this year on Sept. 17th (now you get the whole last-minute part, right?).  It is "a global day of action where musicians of all varieties perform on stages, cafés, city squares, and street corners worldwide and raise money to bring music into the lives of young people."  The money raised from events on Playing for Change Day will go to building music schools, establishing music and arts programs, buying instruments, and connecting kids and their communities.

So, I clearly just found out about this, but I'm excited.  And I hope you are too.  It's late to put together a really effective on-land event, but, dear musician type folks, it is not too late to make something awesome happen online.

Care to join me in putting together an as-yet undefined worldwide music something on Sept. 17th?  Get in touch!  Email, Twitter, leave your thoughts in the comments, whatever.  Let's make this happen.

 
The world lost a striking, unique talent with the recent passing of singer/songwriter (and notorious substance abuser) Amy Winehouse.  Here are a few of the headlines that came out after her passing:
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Wake-up call?  Really?  If the death of Amy Winehouse is your wake-up call to the dangers of drugs, you are a mighty heavy sleeper.

Amy Winehouse was not the first young, beautiful, talented celebrity to be taken by drug abuse.  Hey everybody, remember Heath Ledger?  Or (arguably, I guess) Michael Jackson?  

And what if we go back a few more years, from the mid-nineties to today?  Bradley Nowell of Sublime.  Steve Clark of Def Leppard.  Kurt Cobain, Nirvana.  Dee Dee Ramone.  John Entwistle, The Who.  DJ AM.  And we could go even farther back to talk about Hendrix, Joplin, or Judy Garland.  

These are just a few select musicians.  The list just gets longer and more depressing as you venture into visual art, comedy, theatre, dance...  Here's a fun little list about just that from Wikipedia to perk up your day.

Winehouse's death was not a wake-up call; it was deja vu.

There was some dark irony to the drug-related death of the woman who wrote "Rehab" and "Back to Black," which may be why so many are so committed to turning this into a wake-up call.  But irony and tragedy are cousins, and can all too often be found traveling together.

I'm saddened by the loss of Amy Winehouse.  And I wonder how we can remember her without falling back asleep.  

(This is not what I would recommend.  In case you were curious.)

To end, I'll leave you with a couple of videos to compare.
 
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Last night no less than four - count them, four - utility (manhole) covers blew up on my new street in Crown Heights.  It caused quite the stir. The entire neighborhood came out and wandered around, chatting and laughing, basking in the glow of our respective mobile devices.  

It turned into a big party.  Alan and I finished off all the ice cream in the freezer, just in case.

While Alan and I were hunkered down outside the park that divides our street, I was busily checking Twitter and came across this tweet:
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"For financial reasons."  It was at least as big a shock as my street exploding.  But then again, manhole covers blow up all the time.  And Jewish organizations are prone to closing when there's no money anywhere in sight for creative, forward-thinking projects that don't have anything (directly) to do with advocating for Israel or ending the "plague" of intermarriage.

But manholes covers don't need to explode.  It's a problem of maintenance.  If we are more attentive to our streets and the magical grids below them that make our freezers keep ice cream cold and delicious, they won't cause the sparks that ignite the gases that make the manhole covers shoot into the sky.  We need to invest in regular maintenance, not just emergency measures.

The same is true of the Jewish world.  JDub, and other innovative projects, needed maintenance (there's a great article on eJewish Philanthropy that illustrates this much better than I ever could - minus the flimsy manhole comparison).  Jewish arts and culture are the magical wiring beneath the surface.  They keep us whole, inspired.  They simultaneously reflect and create our society, and they deserve our investment.  

I'm sure I will write on this again.  In the wake of this boom, it will be interesting to see who from the neighborhood steps up, and how the landscape - the road - changes.