Seth Rogovoy is a contributing editor at the Forward. He is the author of Bob Dylan: Prophet Mystic Poet (Scribner, 2009) and the forthcoming Within You Without You: Listening to George Harrison (Oxford University Press).
Seth Rogovoy
By Seth Rogovoy
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Culture How ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ changed Mariah Carey’s life
Mariah Carey’s new memoir is called “The Meaning of Mariah Carey” (Andy Cohen Books/Henry Holt). Whether or not a reader comes away with a deeper understanding of what Mariah Carey “means” probably depends upon the reader and his or her definition of “meaning.” Any reader, on the other hand, cannot help but grab onto some…
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Culture Lenny Kravitz pays loving tribute to his Jewish grandparents — and their kasha varnishkes
Who said, “I was just a happy-go-lucky kid hanging out in my grandma’s kitchen eating kasha varnishkes”? Uncle Solly? Your mother? Me? (Well, yes, but never mind that.) Would you believe: self-professed hippie-stoner rock star Lenny Kravitz? Because that’s just one of many of the heymish memories the multiple Grammy Award-winning rock artist and producer…
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Culture In her greatest hit, Stevie Nicks spun a Kabbalistic tale
With the news that Stevie Nicks has inked a deal with a studio to make a TV miniseries based on her song “Rhiannon,” the only question left is whether or not the show will explore the Kabbalistic depths of the 1976 hit that propelled Fleetwood Mac into the mainstream. A rolling stone gathers no moss…
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Culture On his 80th birthday, remembering the time John Lennon sang ‘Hava Nagilah’
Had he not been gunned down in December 1980 by a deranged “fan” lying in wait for him outside of his Upper West Side residence in Manhattan, John Lennon may well have been observing his 80th birthday on Friday, October 9. The ostensible founder and leader of the Beatles, the most beloved critically and commercially…
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Culture That time the Bee Gees sang a love song to Israel
News that HBO has acquired the rights to air “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” — the first authorized documentary about the famed singing group —made us wonder if it might offer any insight into or reveal the untold story behind the group’s 1971 ballad, “Israel.” The British-by-way-of-Australia group’s 1971 album,…
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Culture Remembering Eddie Van Halen and his Jewish mentor
Eddie Van Halen, the iconoclastic rock guitarist best known for his instrumental contributions to his namesake band, has died after a year-long bout with throat cancer. Van Halen, who in 1972 founded the group Van Halen with his brother, Alex Van Halen, was 65. Eddie’s flashy guitar-playing, along with frontman David Lee Roth’s outrageous, wild-man…
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Culture Has Donald Trump been listening to Blue Oyster Cult?
Has President Donald Trump been listening to Blue Oyster Cult during his four-day stay at Walter Reed Medical Center, where he has been under medical care since Friday as the world’s most famous coronavirus patient? How else to explain yet another of his inscrutable tweets? This afternoon, the Tweeter-in-Chief told the world “Don’t be afraid…
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Culture Just how Jewish are the top 500 albums of all time?
Rolling Stone magazine recently updated its list of the Top 500 albums of the rock era for the first time since 2003. This time around, the list includes 50 albums by Jewish artists and groups — depending on how you define “Jewish artists and groups,” of course. For example, were the Band — whose main…
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