There's No 'I' in Cherem is the debut album by American Jewish pop punk band The Groggers, released through CD Baby on August 29, 2011. Originating as a series of demos recorded by lead singer L.E. Doug Staiman in his bedroom, he formed the Groggers in early 2010 after the video for "Get" became a minor viral hit. The album was engineered by Aryeh Kunstler and features vocals from Bram Presser of the Australian Jewish punk band Yidcore.
| There's No 'I' in Cherem | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | August 29, 2011 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 30:37 |
| Label | CD Baby |
| Singles from There's No 'I' in Cherem | |
| |
Background
editOriginating as a series of demos recorded by lead singer L.E. Doug Staiman in his bedroom, he formed The Groggers in early 2010 after the video for "Get", originally made as a joke, became a minor viral hit. The album was engineered by Aryeh Kunstler (whose touring band Staiman had previously been a member of) and mixed by Jake Antelis, and features Bram Presser of the Australian Jewish punk band Yidcore on the track "Farbrengiton".
The album title is a combination of the expression "There's no 'I' in 'team'" and cherem, a Jewish communal practice of shunning those considered heretical. Speaking on the title's meaning, guitarist Ari Friedman said in 2012:
“The album title is just funny. And Doug [Staiman] had no idea why it was so deep and profound. It means you’re not alone. It’s not always about the individual, whether it’s a person or a whole sect. There’s a whole team to think about. There’s a lot of in-group-out-group sort of thing between Jews, and it’s terrible…It’s not your good deeds, it’s our good deeds. It’s not your bad deeds. It’s our bad deeds.”[1]
Reception
editBinyomin Ginzberg of The Forward praised the album for its "good-natured yet sarcastic take on contemporary Judaism".[2] Blogger Heshy Fried, writing for Heeb magazine, called it "pop-punk, feel-good music that makes you bob your head in the car and forget about the stop and go traffic on your morning commute."[3]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by L.E. Doug Staiman
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Yetzer Hara" | 2:18 |
| 2. | "Farbrengiton" (feat. Bram Presser of Yidcore) | 2:55 |
| 3. | "Malka Jihad" | 2:50 |
| 4. | "One Last Shatnez" | 3:17 |
| 5. | "Friday Night Lights" | 2:52 |
| 6. | "The Shidduch Hits the Fan" | 2:32 |
| 7. | "Upper West Side Story" | 2:35 |
| 8. | "Eishes Chayil" | 3:22 |
| 9. | "Get" | 2:24 |
| 10. | "There's No 'I' in Cherem" | 3:47 |
| 11. | "Don't Play Ball on Shabbos" | 1:43 |
| Total length: | 30:37 | |
Personnel
edit- The Groggers
- L.E. Doug Staiman – lead vocals, guitar, songwriting
- Ari Friedman – lead guitar, vocals
- C.J. Glass – bass guitar
- Chemy Soibelman – drums
- Other
- Jake Antelis – mixing
- Aryeh Kunstler – engineering
- Bram Presser – guest vocals ("Farbrengiton")
References
edit- ^ "Meet The Groggers". The Commentator. Yeshiva University. March 21, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
- ^ Ginzberg, Binyomin (Sep 19, 2011). "Monday Music: Making a Loving Mockery of Modern Orthodoxy". The Forward. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ Fried, Heshy (September 6, 2011). "Music Review: The Groggers". Heeb. Retrieved 25 August 2015.