Introduction to Israeli Popular Music: The Rough Guide – The 1980s!

In my first post of the "introduction to…" series I promised I will revisit different periods and genres of Israeli pop music. So, this time I bring you what many people regard as the worst decade ever – the 1980s! And I hope it will prove not as bad… I will use the same genre classification I introduced in the first post: the olden Songs of the Land of Israel (SLI), the globally-influenced Israeli Rock, and the middle eastern Mizrahit genre. But as far as Israeli pop music goes, the most important development of the 1980s belongs to the latter: the 1980s saw the rise of MIZRAHIT as a huge popular phenomenon, first and foremost through the meteoric rise to fame of the singer who came to be known in Israel until this very day as "The King" – Zohar Argov.

Brought up in a poor working-class family of Yemenite descent, Argov began his career as the driver for his senior colleagues' band TZLILEI HA'UD. The band had been playing gigs in small venues and private celebrations, and he would sometimes be invited onstage to sing. His big breakthrough came at 1982, when he won 1st place at the Israeli "Oriental Song Festival" contest with one of the eternal diamonds of Israeli pop cannon, HAPERACH BEGANI (he: the flower in my garden, lyrics by Avihu Medina and music by Medina and Moshe Ben-Mosh).

It would be two decades before the excluded MIZRAHIT would be accepted as legitimate Israeli mainstream pop, and until then Israeli Rock served as the dominant genre – while the SLI genre was declining into the realms of nostalgia. If it was still relevant somehow, it was through the work of Arik Einstein, one of the prominent rockers in the field who since the mid-1970s was mostly preoccupied with recording new rock versions of old SLI songs. The song TOZERET HA'ARETZ (he: made in Israel) from 1985 is an old poem by Nathan Alterman set to new music by Shem Tov Levi, celebrating the marvels of local produce with British mandate slang, tongue-in-cheek dialogs, and Broadway-like groove, harmonies and brass arrangement – coalescing into a light and cheerful nostalgic tone.

In contrast, the new generation of Israeli Rock artists was seeking an up-to-date sound and aesthetics. Mashina, one of Israel's all-time prominent bands is arguably the biggest rock act of the 1980s. Taking inspiration from post punk and new wave sensibilities – and sometimes a bit more than that, "borrowing" complete tunes from English bands such as The Cure and Madness – Mashina had dozens of unforgettable hits, thematically loaded with more than a hint of irony and mischief towards mainstream Israeli society and its consensual norms and values. This instrumental track, called RIKUD HAMEHONA (he: dance of the machine, music by Shlomi Braha, 1989) is one of their most enduring pieces.

As SLI's popularity faded away, newly emerged artists had room now to voice collective concerns and attitudes, thus serving as a moral compass for the entire nation. One of the clearest and most articulated cultural visions in this respect was provided by singer-songwriter's Ehud Banai's debut album from 1987, Ehud Banai and the Refugees. Mixing the unapologetically political with the mystically personal, this album is the cornerstone of the hybrid genre of MIZRAHI Rock. The song ZMANHA AVAR (he: your time is due, lyrics and music by Banai) is a psychedelic, coming-of-age reminiscence that tells the tale of collective lost teenage memories and moments. Our time is also due, so until the next post – let me know in the comments below how you feel about the 1980s. Spread the word, share the love, play the music. 🐰❤🎵