Lipa's Hang Up the Phone Video

I will be the first one to admit I was late getting to Lipa's boat, but every year that passes it becomes clear how big of an impact he's having in Jewish Music and how that has propelled him to become the #1 singer today.

While his music is too pop for my taste and, for the most part, not really singable, he's undeniably extremely original and not afraid of breaking new ground in music. This video is a great example, with a clear Lady Gaga feel to it but still original, somewhat heismish, and stylistically cool.

That's very rare in JM; actually, almost non existent. MBD, A. Fried and Shwekey always stayed away from this commercialism which is so present in Lipa's career, but people seem to appreciate it and follow Lipa's every next move. While Shwekey has become boring, Lipa has managed to bring a fresh air of creativity and coolness to our ears (and eyes). Litvish boringness vs. Chassidic heimishkeit. Granted, both Shwekey and Lipa have a very strong following but Lipa is clearly more original and more musical, often times composing very unique songs and also performing the way he did in this video. It's the first time I've seen this kind of dancing in JM and it comes in a good time - kudos.

I never did a review of Meimka DeLipa, but that's an album that I'm listening a lot lately. While I still think his Yiddish songs are too niche-focused and take away from his appeal, I fully appreciate his boldness and musical talent, which is evident in this album. He's not afraid of using unusual, dissonant, scales and he is very into building a story for every song. Almost every song has a beginning, middle and end - remarkable. My favorite is the rock song Mizmor Letoda, a true masterpiece he composed by himself.