Aid or Invade

Rodney Anonymous vs. The World

by Rodney Anonymous

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Artist: Jamie Saft

Album: Black Shabbis

Country of Origin: The Unholy Land

In the late '50s, Broadway musical songwriters Lee Adams and Charles Strouse were tasked with writing the rock 'n' roll tunes for Bye Bye Birdie. Since neither of them had previously heard any rock 'n' roll music, let alone written a rock 'n' roll song, they gathered up all the rock 'n' roll records they could and spent weeks diligently working away. The rock 'n' roll songs they ended up with sadly sounded pretty much like big Broadway musical numbers. It would've been tragic if Ann-Margret hadn't looked so damn good in the movie.

Roughly 174 years later, jazz pianist Jamie Saft set out to create a new genre: Jewish Death Metal. The result is Black Shabbis (Tzadik), a death metal CD that sounds pretty much like a jazz CD.

And that ain't good.

While multi-instrumentalist/monotheist Saft is clearly talented and there are some very interesting musical motifs on Black Shabbis (one can't help but think that if Saft had teamed up with an actual metal band, the final product would've most likely been extraordinary), the CD, taken in total, is just this side of unlistenable. Shit Luther, "Der Judenstein (The Jewry Stone)" and "The Ballad of Leo Frank" are each 9 painful minutes long. If the Messiah ever does appear, he'll be screaming, "Stop it!"

Jamie, here's a little advice: Find some death metal veterans; form a band; call yourselves Morbid Menorah or Rapine Rabbi or Moses' Marauders — whatever — just leave most of the writing to the other guys.

(r_anonymous@citypaper.net)

Hear new tracks by Salem's Latke at rodneyanonymous.com.