Title: Haggadahpalooza: The Unofficial Weirdly Perfect Passover Pop Parody Panoply.
By: Martin Bodek
Lulu.com
Many people look forward to Pesach. Actually, scratch that; many people look forward to Pesach itself, but hate every stressful thing leading up to it. But let’s face it: the Seder can start to feel pretty stale. Things from each year blend together: using the same Haggadah with that grape juice stain on page 47 because you leaned a little too far left for the second cup in 2014. That nephew that says he can say the Mah Nishtana in Yiddish, and you need to feign being impressed, even though it added an insufferable extra 10 minutes when all you’ve eaten is a salty potato and celery stick. Even that dvar Torah your dad says every year but forgets he said it last year loses its luster. So, this Pesach, why not change things up? Enter Martin Bodek’s Haggadahpalooza: The Unofficial Weirdly Perfect Passover Pop Parody Panoply.
Now, aside from this being Bodek’s 7th Haggadah published in 7 years, which is not only impressive but also makes you wonder what else Bodek has going on in his life, the Haggadahpalooza is bound to keep awake those sleepy and crotchety relatives who just want to skip to the meal of Shulchan Orech. Filled with 56 parodies of famous songs tied into the Pesach themes (and yes Bodek really reached out to all 56 artists for permission, some of whom wanted more money than a pallet of shmurah matzah), this Haggadah is best passed around with everyone trying to belt out a different attempt at a song parody karaoke-style.
Music aficionados will surely appreciate the variety of singers Bodek chose to parody here. The parodies span the generations, providing a little something for every age, from the classic rock bands of the 60s (which may surprise teens today that they had music back then) like The Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, and The Beatles, to modern pop artists such as Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Sara Bareilles.
Bodek’s talent for parodying music really shines in being able to channel his inner Weird Al Yankovic by making all 50+ songs relevantly connect to an appropriate theme for the Seder. Some personal favorites include “Maroar” (to the tune of Katy Perry’s “Roar”), “We’re Callin” (to the tune of “Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty), and “Unleaven” (to the tune of Bryan Adams’ “Heaven”). Weird Al would certainly shep nachas at this obvious nod to his lifelong work, though he still maintains that he’s not Jewish…somehow.
I think every Seder attendee of a certain age (dependent on their appreciation for the history of music) will enjoy it, but the biggest challenge readers will find is not being able to have a full-on karaoke session without YouTube or Apple Music readily available during the Seder to assist with some of the middle verses of “Piano Man.”