Aussie Band Wants Its Moniker On Sandler Hit About Chanukah
By NACHA CATTAN
FORWARD STAFF
If Adam Sandler isn't careful he may wind up spending eight crazy years in court.
At least that's the threat coming from Jewish punk rock sensation YIDcore. The band accuses the producer, writer and voice of the animated motion picture "Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights" of stealing YIDcore's lyrics for the newest version of his cult hit "The Chanukah Song." The Australia-based YIDcore may even sue Sandler if he doesn't publicly credit it for some of the lyrics of "The Chanukah Song Part 3." As it happens, YIDcore's lead singer, Bram Presser, is a lawyer.
"We're thinking of going to one of [Sandler's] openings and pelting him with matzo balls," Bram, as he prefers to be known, told the Forward.
Sandler's managers said the charges are "too ludicrous to comment" on.
While saying he plans to discuss his legal options with American lawyers while his band tours the United States this month, Bram took pains to point out that he hates the idea of a lawsuit and would only consider it as "an absolutely last resort."
Bram claims Sandler stole his band's lyrics after YIDcore mailed the "Saturday Night Live" alumnus a punk rock version of the "Chanukah Song" last year.
A rhyming tribute to Jewish celebrities first released in 1996, the song was updated for last month's release of "Eight Crazy Nights."
Bram had written Sandler last year to request permission to perform the song's popular tune with YIDcore's own lyrics. But the band was turned down. Bram said he has the rejection letter and threat of a lawsuit from Sandler's lawyers to prove it. Bram could not locate the letter at this time, he said. Fuming at the snub, YIDcore composed and began performing a song titled "Why Won't Adam Sandler Let Us Sing His Song?"
But this year's festival of lights went dark for YIDcore members when they heard Sandler's newest Chanukah song. "It was surreal," Bram said. Bram claims Sandler cribbed YIDcore's idea to hail punk rock Jews Lou Reed, Joey Ramone and Perry Farrell. But most offensive was Sandler's alleged theft of rhyming Chanukah with Natalie Portmanika — Bram's own celebrity obsession. "That was a slap in the face," he said.
Sandler's song, written in collaboration with six others, goes: "There's Lou Reed, Perry Farrell, Beck and Paula Abdul/ Joey Ramone invented punk rock music, but first came Hebrew school/ Hey, Natalie Portmanika/ It's time to celebrate Chanukah."
Bram said YIDcore's lyrics and concept at some points closely matched Sandler's: "Natalie Portmanika is what I want for Chanukah... Joey Ramone ate matza at the seder/ Just like Richard Hell and most of the Dictators/ Lou Reed danced the hora at his bar mitzvah bash/ With little Johnny Richman and Mick Jones from the Clash.... Guess who likes to keep a kosher kitchen/ Jimmy Pop from Blood Hound Gang and Perry Farrell from Jane's Addiction."
But according to a Washington-based copyright lawyer, Joshua Kaufman, said YIDcore would not have much of a case were it to come down to legal jargonikah.
Kaufman, who has handled hundreds of copyright lawsuits and won a 1989 Supreme Court case that allowed employees to retain copyrights on their creations, said "the idea of using these peoples' names is not copyright protected." Kaufman said it is the "expression of an idea" and not the idea itself that is protected under copyright law. For example, he said, if Sandler really stole "Natalie Portmanika," that may be an infringement, but it may be too small a theft to hold up in court.
"Every time someone comes up with a hit show or movie, there are a dozen claims that they copied it," Kaufman said. "Sometimes they could be absurd."
Mostly known in Jewish circles, the part bad-boy, part Borscht Belt YIDcore reportedly whips up fans with hyper-speed covers of Jewish classics like "Hava Nagila" and stage shtick such as spraying audiences with humus blown out of a shofar. The 20-something foursome from Melbourne has been enjoying some broader play recently. YIDcore nabbed a glowing mention in TimeOut New York and was booked to perform this week at the punk rock mecca CBGB's in Manhattan.
Downplaying his threats with humor, Bram said about a possible lawsuit: "It's just not me. Punk rock is anti-copyright and bigwig ownership. It's about fun. Lawsuits aren't fun... The other thing is [Sandler's] got more money for better lawyers. We are a shitty little punk band. He's a big superstar and he's the one being a petty, petulant little child. But hopefully, we'll all sit together and make cholent instead," Bram said. A press release crediting YIDcore's lyrics will heal all wounds, he said.
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