{"id":4716,"date":"2014-12-16T22:21:17","date_gmt":"2014-12-17T03:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/millheiser.com\/hokeyblog\/?p=4716"},"modified":"2014-12-16T22:21:17","modified_gmt":"2014-12-17T03:21:17","slug":"buttkickin-holiday-songs-miracle-matisyahu-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/millheiser.com\/hokeyblog\/2014\/12\/16\/buttkickin-holiday-songs-miracle-matisyahu-2010\/","title":{"rendered":"Buttkickin’ Holiday Songs: “Miracle” — Matisyahu (2010)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"blgmiracle\"Eight is the number of infinity
\nOne more than what you know how to be
\nAnd this is the light of festivity
\nWhen your broken heart yearns to be free <\/em><\/p>\n

Here’s a Hokeyboy Fun Fact: my Hebrew name is also Matisyahu. Hah!<\/p>\n

And let’s also be really real for a moment: the pool of “buttkickin'” Chanukkah is exceedingly <\/em>shallow. That’s probably the Understatement of the Year. There are, sure, some fun songs, some sing-along songs, some cutesy happy funtime songs, even a few hilarious songs, but absolutely no really kickass Hanukah songs to speak of. Could it any less <\/em>telling that some of the best Jewish songwriters of all time wrote some of the best Christmas songs of all time? <\/p>\n

It’s a little off-putting, to say the least. And honestly: I’ve been a Jew for nearly 44 years now, and I haven’t seen a SINGLE. DREIDLE. MADE OUT OF CLAY. EVER.<\/p>\n

The song lies.<\/p>\n

OK leave it to rap\/reggae\/whatever-you-call-it artist Matisyahu<\/em> to knock it straight out of the park with the 2010 track Miracle<\/strong>, one of the catchiest, soulful, and heartfelt holiday songs to come down the pike in a good while. The song has a strong spiritual slant, a yearning for inner peace and understanding, about finding those sweet, simple miracles trapped in the cold concrete well of everyday existential woe. Or something. It just has a great feel, a killer beat, an infection groove, and makes your Festival of Lights just a bit brighter.<\/p>\n