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Daniel Kahn & the Painted Bird is a German klezmer band founded by Jewish-American singer-songwriter and actor Daniel Kahn, originally from Detroit, Michigan. The band was formed in 2005 and is based in Berlin. They have released five albums through German world music label Oriente Musik. Daniel Kahn coined the word "Verfremdungsklezmer", meaning "alienation klezmer", to describe their music, in reference to Bertolt Brecht's theory of Verfremdungseffekt. The group describes their music as "a mixture of Klezmer, radical Yiddish song, political cabaret and folk punk", and it has been compared to the music of Tom Waits and Woody Guthrie.
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Reviews
A very politically themed album. And also edgy in a punk way. Very enjoyable
Interesting to hear something else than mediocre American bands.
Partisans & Parasites is a modern klezmer album by German band Daniel Kahn, Painted Bird. It is entertaining, but not really special. Comparing it to artists like Tom Waits and Woody Guthrie makes no sense at all. It contains decent klezmer sounds and some other folky/bluesy style songs. The performance and production are ok, but it does not excel anywhere tbh.
Always appreciate when the list reveals one of my cultural blind spots and fills me in a bit. I’ve heard some klezmer before, but didn’t know the label existed. This was a good listen once I settled in to the mix of protest lyricism against lavish string band instrumentation – some of the tracks run 1-2 choruses too long, but for the most part are equally entertaining and principled. Mixing Yiddish protest music of old with modern artistic sensibilities is a potent artistic platform, and it’s a niche I never would have discovered on my own.
Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Yosl ber, Dumai
Klezmer has never been a big factor in my musical diet, though I don't dislike it. This is solidly performed and clever. A little heavy on the quirk for my tastes. But I don't begrudge the time spent listening to it.
Not sure what to say about this
Certainly among the most Jew-y albums I've ever heard. It was interesting. I wanted to like it, especially because he's from my home town, but it came off as sort of kitschy, almost musical theater-like, which I'm not a fan of. I don't know, overall it was just okay for me. 3 stars.
It was fine