Britt Jacobson is a senior at the University of Southern California studying Global Studies and Music Industry. She is also a huge fan of the glory days of Israeli rock music.

It’s not every day that a college student from California encourages you to sample Israeli rock of yesteryear. But that’s exactly the thesis Britt penned in a recent article, “A Beginner’s Guide to Israeli Rock”. Kaveret, Arik Einstein, The Churchills, Tammuz, etc. are all in heavy rotation on her excellent Spotify playlist.

How did Britt develop a love for classic Israeli rock?

My parents are Israeli and my first language was Hebrew; as a kid, I would fall asleep every night listening to Israeli lullabies by Arik Einstein on my red boombox. Yeladudes (Kiddos) by Einstein was my favorite CD to listen to at bedtime — it’s like listening to a crazy uncle sing absurdist bedtime stories about the land of the dwarves (“Be’Medinat HaGamadim”) and a guy that goes around bending bananas at night (“Mekofef Habananot”).

As listening technology evolved past CDs and boomboxes, my favorite music bounced from iPods to iPhones, and I soon left the Hebrew albums of my childhood behind. As a teen, when my hipster wannabe self first became aware of the revival of vinyl records, it was because I had been gifted a trendy black and red Crosley record player. Like most teenagers playing with this retro tech, I looked to my parents for help, and the Hebrew rock records that immigrated to LA with my parents became the basis for my burgeoning record collection.

Britt Jacobson, “A Beginner’s Guide to Israeli Rock”

But why listen to Israeli music if you can’t understand the lyrics?

But why should the average American college student listen to music in a language they can’t begin to understand? Britt found the best explanation ever.

In my quest for more Israeli rock, I came across the blog, “The Diversity of Classic Rock,” run by music historian Angie Weisgal who blogs under the name Angie Moon and runs the Instagram account, @thediversityofclassicrock. Weisgal explains that “if it makes me feel like I’m living in a time that I didn’t really live in,” she knows it’s a track worth recommending.

For her and many fans of “foreign” classic rock, the language doesn’t matter. “It just definitely helps you understand other people’s cultures better. Why limit yourself? If you don’t know the lyrics, I think you can make your own meanings. It’s art, you know, I don’t think there’s any wrong way to interpret art.”

We couldn’t have said it better.

To read more, including a sampling of Britt’s favorite classic Israeli rock bands, be sure to check out the full article at the link below. And definitely connect with our new hero on Instagram here.

Read More: A Beginner’s Guide To Israeli Rock >>