After reading a book about Jewish Sports Heroes (no it is not that slim), the Israeli born music exec and Madonna Maverick partner, Guy Oseary, got the idea to compile a book of 100 top Jewish rockers, or rockers with some Jewish parentage or heritage. The forward by Ben Stiller and the afterward by Perry (Peretz) Farrell (Bernstein) are interesting, and I wish the rest of the book followed their formats. Stiller talks of his Bar Mitzvah and how his band played at the after party. Stiller played on a drumset that he got for xmas (hmmm). They played "Hey Jude" (Jew'd). Farrell writes about the Biblical musicians, such as David. My complaint with this book is that it lists the artists, one per page, giving some bio info, such as birthdate, birthplace, and discography, but there are no interviews with the rockers. It left me hanging. I wondered, how is Warren Zevon Jewish? How did the Beastie Boys bnai Mitzvot affect their work? How did Saul Hudson go from Saul to Slash? I was hoping for something akin to the webzine PLOTZ, which actually interviewed Beck and other Jewish rockers about their Jewish heritages. But this book just lists some basic facts. I am sure it will make a good gift for other Jewish rockers and trivia specialists. It includes no brainers, like barry Manilow, Gene Simmons, Randy Newman, Mark Knopfler, Paul Simon, Lisa Loeb, Billy Joel, Dylan, Carole King, Kenny G (Gorelick), The Beastie Boys, and Phranc; but I wish it had given more data on Herb Alpert, Malcolm McLaren, and Zevon. The rockers out there will be excited to read about the Jewish members of The Doors, Foo Fighters, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Yo La Tengo, Matchbox 20, Elastica, Wang Chung, Blue Oyster Cult, Counting Crows, Janes Addiction, The Mamas and the Pappas, and Megadeth.
