Shirat Hasticker

Shirat Hasticker (Hebrew: שירת הסטיקר), known as "The Sticker Song" in English, is a song recorded by Israeli hip-hop group Hadag Nahash.

In 2003, the popular Israeli hip-hop group Hadag Nahash released the CD 'Chomer Mekomi' (Local Stuff), which was an instant hit among the Israeli public. However, the most famous song by far was "Shirat Hasticker," written by Israeli novelist David Grossman. This unusual collaboration of a mainstream author with a popular hip-hop group is part of the song's intrigue, as both Hadag Nachash and Grossman have gained respect among Israeli society. Samuel Friedman wrote in the New York Times, "imagine the dazzling unlikeliness of Russell Banks having collaborated with Mos Def or Chuck D on a chart topper. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F02EFD9123FF935A2575BC0A9629C8B63 Honk if You Love to Sing Bumper Stickers; Israeli Author Turns Slogans Into Rap Hit - New York Times ] ]

Puns and cultural references

The lines in the song are all direct quotes or plays on slogans that actually appeared at some time on bumper stickers in Israel, but the unique collage of opposing political slogans juxtaposed against apolitical slogans, parodies and so forth creates an angry irony. As such, the song is used to demonstrate a cross section of Israeli society, with almost all voices and political stripes being heard from. The music video takes advantage of this fact and features the members of the band dressed as the different sectors of society (for example: Haredim (ultra-orthodox), Arabs, secular Jews, settlers, etc.) each singing a line from the song, often contradicting the character singing it, for example, the Haredi man sings, "Mandatory conscription for everyone" and the suicide bomber sings "No Arabs, no terror."

The song contains many puns and references to aspects of Israeli society. For example, the chorus contains a line: קוראים לי נחמן ואני מגמ-מגמגם "My name is Nachman, I stutt-stutter." This is a reference to the rabbi Nachman of Breslov. His repeated mantra: Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman is today considered a good luck charm and is seen written on walls all over Israel. Another pun used is the phrase "Religious state? The state is gone.", which actually means "Religious state? The state is ruined". This is the direct translation from the Hebrew: מדינת הלכה - הלכה המדינה: Medinat Halacha, Halcha ha-Medina, where Halacha is Jewish religious law, and Halcha is the past feminine singular conjugation of the verb 'to go'.

References

External links

* [http://www.israelcentersf.org/culture/2004-2005/hadag-nahash.html Curriculum based on "The Sticker Song"]
* [http://www.israelcentersf.org/music/hadag-nahash-sticker.mp3 listen to "The Sticker Song"]
* [http://www.israelcentersf.org/culture/2004-2005/stickercurric.pdf Israel from Bumper to Bumper- Stickers Rapped by Hadag Nahash by Gabe Salgado]
* [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/6589361? Rolling Stone article]
* [http://www.hadag.co.il/ Hadag Nahash website]