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Adan Ben Zaken and Nono have something important that sets them apart from everyone else: character
With original language, cheekiness and humor, the two singers illustrate in their new singles - "WTF" and "Shuz" - how important artistic identity is against the background of the deep crisis of Israeli pop.
When plastic pursues plastic in the production line, Ben Zaken and Nono represent the complete opposite of the boredom and banality of the industry
Nadav Menuhin
20/05/2022
Friday, 20 May 2022, 10:44 Updated: 11:07
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When viewed from above on paper, it's almost the same song: a contemporary pop star is investing in a particularly festive block for a dance party for her partner - and demanding that he notice it.
He does not really perceive.
The title is an English phrase that goes into slang.
The words are funny.
The hit for sure.
In one corner is "WTF" by Eden Ben Zaken, the greatest singer of oriental pop in Israel, who also co-wrote with Stav Beger and Ron Bitton.
This is the "lost" of 2022, by all parameters.
In the other corner is Nono's "Xu", the ironic act that broke the ticking point with "Living the Dream", and already much more than Curiosity.
One has to put the finger on something else in common, beyond the superficial resemblance presented above, to the two songs, and in fact to the two singers.
Something that sets their songs apart from the countless other pop songs that come out here every day: character.
Not something that impersonates a character, not an imitation of imitation, not a pursuit of the generic, trivial and mediocre common.
Ben Zaken has survived in such a senior position for almost a decade for exactly this reason - she always finds a way to sneak in some surprising wink, and tends to overtake the entire industry.
After all, Noa Kirl would not have imagined a line like "I do not need a hymn, just ring me a bell" without "There is no hymn, dance".
"WTF" may be less accurate than her previous hits, but with it she proves once again that she has something that no one else really has.
It's first and foremost a matter of musical identity: her new song is very reminiscent of "Moabat", and at the same time continues her long-standing alliance with the LGBT community (since "Queen of the Roses" onwards), which is reflected in the colorful clip, which comes out by chance or not Towards Pride Month, it starts almost quietly and gradually develops into a track club that is supposed to dance the expanses, and explodes with the funny and unusual punch line: "I made a mustache, eyebrows and nail polish - wat de pak."
This line, which makes the song what it is, is unusual because it puts into pop what is usually left out: the preparations that are not usually sung about (is this really the first female mustache in Israeli music since "Draw You a Mustache" by marginal youth?), And dirty language , Which Israeli pop is not really comfortable with - although it is also likely that this song will eventually be distributed in a "clean" and radio-friendly version.
This line is meant to embarrass the Puritan listener, even though there is actually nothing embarrassing about it.
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Nono, a YouTube phenomenon that has grown to unreasonable proportions, is perhaps in a more hipster area - if that concept still says anything at all - than an old man, but it also stings listeners over and over again, surprising them from all sorts of directions, with songs about love pains wrapped in a thousand layers Of irony and self-humor, as well as slick and clear, schacht and glacier.
All the magic lies in the gap between the slightly miserable reality and the stubborn statement "I'm Living the Dream".
Musically, Nono's pop / hip-hop is spectacular even though in large parts of her songs she does not actually sing but speaks loudly or makes a funny sound, and she is rarely swept away with the song.
And just as Eden Ben Zaken knew the word Moabat for many Israelis who had no idea what it was, Nono also has his own language.
Thus, in "Xuz", which is also done together with its already regular partners, Adam Gabay and Eli Ashdot, and also together with Boy Achi, there is an endless mix of offense and English ("Do you notice me in the party zone?") , Slang abbreviations like "Holmati" (the successor to "Yeshti without you, Yishti Baramot" from the previous hit, the sentence of the year in Israeli pop), deliberately stupid sentences that say the obvious ("Club with people is also called a club"), And quotes from popular culture ("quoting proverbs of wisdom: 'Stop before you pass'").
When she is already letting herself sing, for example in the line "If only you were trying to pay attention to sailing other than", the token falls on how great the talent is.
All this is especially noticeable against the background of the wilderness that is taking place here.
Israeli pop has undergone a revolution in the last decade, but in fact it is currently in crisis, standing still.
The stars that were at the forefront of the process today are shuffling with weak materials.
Between one random ballad and another, some squint without much success abroad, some sing on barbecues, most sing on nothing, mumble the expected and the worded. But not only are the songs far from brilliant, but there just seems to be nothing behind them. , And we have no choice but to
remain
indifferent.
Really funny (and not just dragged after a joke, or thriving on humorous humor. No matter names). Anything that makes pop fun. While the most successful hit of the year so far is "Go to Sleep," it's time to celebrate those who help the whole local industry wake up.
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