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Moti Giladi: Relegated to Analog?

Moti Giladi

The background:

We bought an iPod for our wedding. The restaurant where we held our reception even let us plug it into their sound system and piped it not only to our room but also to the entire restaurant (which, mind you, was full of unsuspecting diners). It took them a while to realize they were blasting their patrons with an odd mix of Israeli showtunes, Erasure remixes and Celtic reels that was fairly different from their usual musical selections. (They shut the main dining room’s speakers once they figured this out.)

Part of the music compilation effort involved iTunes, but some of the most personally meaningful and inspiring music came from… my mother’s record (as in vinyl) collection, which I spent countless hours (and dollars) digitizing. In the process, I realized that I loved this music not only because it was nostalgic; these were just great songs, too.

Some of the albums were:

  • Ilanit: Songs for Children
  • El Al: Great Songs of Israel
  • Moti Giladi Sings the Best of the 70s
  • Yoel Sharabi in Concert

Fast-forward two months. As after-the-fact wedding favors, we wanted to burn CDs (see Mixonic) with some of this special music and give it to the friends and family who helped make that day so great.

The songs we’re considering:

  1. Phish: Yerushalayim Shel Zahav I
  2. Ceilizemer: Hatikvah
  3. DJ Emanuel Ferritis: Intro from kwame nkruma radio show, November 10, 2004
  4. Fiddler on the Roof Sountrack: Wedding Celebration (edit)
  5. Yoel Sharabi: Asher Bara
  6. Yoel Sharabi: Hora
  7. Moti Giladi: Ma Nishtana
  8. Kal Ho Naa Ho Soundtrack: Kuch To Hua Hai
  9. Billy Joel: You’re My Home
  10. Randy Travis: If I Didn’t Have You
  11. Woody Guthrie & Arlo Guthrie: Mail Myself to You
  12. Aris San: Kama Tov
  13. The Chieftains With The Corrs: I Know My Love
  14. Great Big Sea: Berry Picking Time
  15. Erasure: Every Day
  16. Great Big Sea: I’m a Rover (Live)
  17. Bombay Dreams Soundtrack: Shakalaka Baby
  18. Mera (Featuring Gypsy Bandidos): Gole Sangam
  19. Sam Glaser: Hatikvah (edit)
  20. Jimmy Soul: If You Wanna Be Happy
  21. Great Big Sea: Scolding Wife
  22. Phish: Yerushalayim Shel Zahav II
  23. Sunny Jain Collective: Aap Jaisa Koi

The issue:

My digital recordings of the old, worn albums were less than perfect, and on our test wedding CDs, it showed. In an effort to get better recordings of the same material, I searched the web for CDs—or even vinyl in better condition—but found none.

And this brings me to the issue at hand. The fate of this great music now rests in my hands. My crappy recordings may be all that survive, once the last record player is junked (or is donated to a museum). I’m certainly not the first who has mourned good music that failed to span technological boundaries, but I’ve never really felt it personally until now.

5 Responses to “Moti Giladi: Relegated to Analog?” [Leave yours »]

  1. Cover Me With Kisses…

    I’ve been listening to a few good cover songs lately, so I thought I’d post a list and ask for suggestions from you (yes, this means YOU) for some others which you think I might like.
    (Wow, in doing research for this, I came across this exc…

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  2. Jenny tracked back:

    Hello, I saw the list of favorite cover songs that you posted on your site, and I saw that you included songs sung by Moti Giladi. I remember that album- I had it as a kid, and my mother has been searching everywhere for it. She tried all the websites that sell Israeli music, but no one carries it. Do you have any idea where I can find it?
    Thanks,
    Jenny
    10/12/2006

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  3. Jenny tracked back:

    Ron-
    Thank you so much for getting back to me about the Moti Giladi album. My mom was thrilled when I told her that I had found her a copy! She’s looking forward to hearing it and dancing around the living room like she used to. It’s too bad that so many great old songs are being forgotten because the recordings haven’t been updated to CD.
    Jenny
    Nov. 3, 2006

    3
  4. tehillah tracked back:

    i am not sure how to follow this chain, but did you find Jenny the album or were you able to get the songs from that Moti Giladi album on disk? i am confused but would be interested in getting my hands on that old 70’s music as well – – – thanks!

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  5. Ron [author of post] tracked back:

    hi tehillah,

    are you familiar with this album?

    unfortunately, as far as i know, it’s not available on CD. i have an old, scratched record of it, and i paid a service to digitize it, clean up the recording, and burn it for me onto a CD. as far as i know, that’s the only way to get it–transfer it from vinyl.

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