Listen to the song "The Iron Beast" performed by Nir Shlomo as part of the project in memory of Meir Ariel • The film about him, "Song of Pain", deals with the singer's last days

At the beginning of the week, the "Israel Today" project was uploaded to the "Today" website, and here it remains "in memory of Meir Ariel, who will turn 21 this coming Saturday. In collaboration with BPM College and the Anana company, new performances of Ariel's songs are performed daily. Today, the song "The Iron Beast" is performed, performed by Nir Shlomo with Ofir Binyaminov (Binja) and Gadi Peter.

Nir Shlomo - "The Iron Beast"

Nir Shlomo is one of the most respected indie artists of the period, and he holds two acclaimed solo albums. He met the drummer Gadi Peter at the Rimon Music School, and they were both members of the band "Spirit Dogs" with the soloist Hila Ruach. Ophir Binyaminov (Binge) has made an international name for himself as part of the successful fusion-jazz trio "Tatran".

Together they took one of Meir Ariel's most charged and prophetic songs, and using drums, bass and vocals only, gave him a deep and emotional performance.

"The Iron Beast" was released in 1995 as part of the album "Charcoal Drawings", and it contrasts Daniel's vision from the Bible with the technological future. This song reflects Meir Ariel's unique language that combines high and low, biblical lyrics, poetry and contemporary slang.

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Not like everyone

Ariel died unexpectedly at the age of 57 on July 18, 1999 after suffering from Clarification Fever, which is caused by a tick bite. The documentary "Meir Ariel: A Song of Pain", which will be broadcast tonight at 21:00 on the yes docu channel, begins and ends in the hospital's internal medicine department, in Ariel's last days. Director Eliav Lilty has created a documentary about the life, work and personality of Ariel.

The choice of the name "Song of Pain" as the title of the film almost stems from itself. It is very difficult to describe the story of Meir Ariel's life and work without combining pain from various pains. The greatest and most painful of all is of course the untimely death pain of someone who will become part of the canon only after his death.

Through archival footage and new interviews, the story of one of the most intriguing musicians and composers in the history of Israeli music is told too concisely. The voices of his family, of Dori Ben Zeev, Shalom Hanoch and Yoav Kutner, accompany the images that run on the screen, but do not become a series of talking heads. In fact, they are almost invisible.

The most prominent place in the film is given by the words written by Ariel. They are read and quoted over and over again, also get a noticeable visual representation, and stay there to resonate.

In them lay the immense power of Ariel, and they made him the artist he was. He juggled them, disconnected and reconnected them according to his needs, kneading them so that they replaced buildings and weights, weaving through them times, beliefs, stories, attitudes and insights of an entire life. The choice to give the words the center of the stage is a brave and not entirely self-evident choice. First, because we have become accustomed to seeing stars speak in praise of the dead. This is how this matter of musical documentary works. But as in Ariel's creative way - the fact that everyone is doing something is just a great reason to do otherwise. Everyone released short and catchy songs to the radio and tried to entertain the audience - but Ariel refused to stand in that box.

Opportunity for forgiveness

For veteran Meir Ariel fans, the film will innovate very little, but for those who encounter it for the first time it could be a door to his wondrous creative world. In retrospect, and after his death, it is easier to deal with the sincerity and stubbornness of the man, who in real time exhausted and alienated people.

Meir Ariel was ahead of his time. This is the inevitable conclusion from the film. He refused to put on any label and the audience could not catalog it, he paved for himself a unique, and horribly Sisyphean track, with performances in which the audience consisted only of isolated. He completely failed to understand the PR game against the media, he failed his tongue and won attacks, but never changed. Or perhaps more accurately, failed to change.

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For the audience, who really embraced him only after his death, it is an opportunity to get to know him a little more personally, and also an opportunity for forgiveness.

This film, and the never-ending interest in Ariel's work, are excellent evidence of his continued influence on Israeli culture and his work that transcends time and remains relevant even after decades.