It’s a tough world out there for Jewish a cappella groups — having to churn out a new song for every major Jewish holiday (there are a lot of them!) can be pretty overwhelming.
And then there’s Hanukkah, which is by far the hottest season for Jewish a cappella music, and the pressure to put out a fresh hit can be intense. But as this new video by Shir Soul demonstrates — in a very meta, modern way — sometimes the lack of inspiration becomes inspiration itself.
The song is a ridiculously fun version of Toto’s “Africa” (for those of you who didn’t know, Weezer recorded a cover for the song earlier this year), in which the singing group contemplates just how hard it is to find that perfect song.
Among a myriad of elements, the video features magic tricks, the band’s cute families, a human dreidel in a trash can (yes), lots of self-referential jokes, plus and a lot of galavanting and contemplating through New York City.
It’s long but it’s worth the watch — and stick around until the end for some pretty hilarious outtakes!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu8DleqoVYc