July 7th is a very important day for fans of Israeli music and the Israeli rock and punk scenes in particular. On this day, 72 years ago, Rami Fortis, known as “The Madman” for his on-stage enthusiasm, was born. Three years later, to the day, so was Berry Sakharof, the “Prince of Israeli Rock.” Fortis was born in Israel, while Sakharof immigrated from Turkey at the age of three. Both began their musical careers at a young age, and by the 80s, they were both members of Minimal Compact, one of the first Israeli acts to achieve global success, particularly in the European post-punk scene. 

Following the disbandment of Minimal Compact in the late 80s due to visa issues with a planned U.S. tour, Fortis and Sakharof collaborated extensively in the 1990s, under the combined name “Fortisakharof,” beginning with the pioneering post-punk masterpiece that is the album 1900? While all of the songs on the album are excellent, including stand-outs like Never Ending Childhood, Sparks, and Blue Dream, today, the day of their shared birthday, three days after July 4th, American Independence Day, one song is of particular importance.

America, the first track of the album 1900? offers a biting, poignant, and ironic criticism of how Israeli society was infected with American style consumer culture in the early 1990s. Israel got its first McDonald’s in 1993, its first Pizza Hut in 1990, and its first Burger King in 1993 as well. Since the album was recorded in 1989 and released in 1990, one could even say that Fortis and Sakharof predicted these developments. However, as the song illustrates, this cultural change wasn’t just a matter of fast food. 

Below are the song’s lyrics, with English translation:

הדוד סאם כוכב עליון, מוכר לי נשק ורובים

ויאטנם זה לא אצלם וגם אנחנו רחוקים

מיאמי נייס ודי נעים ולא זורקים שם אבנים

דיסנילנד וכוכבים. את הירח גם מוכרים

Uncle Sam, superstar, sells me weapons and guns

Vietnam is not in their backyard, and we too are far away

Miami is nice and quite pleasant and they don’t throw rocks there

They would even sell the moon

יש גבול, אין גבול,........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)