Grade: A

The LeeVees 2005 release “Hanukkah Rocks” made my half-Jewish heart swell up with joy.

After all, it’s not every day that I get to hear rock songs with witty lyrics about my beloved holiday.

But Adam Gardner of Guster and Dave Schneider, aka Adam and Dave LeeVee, made it possible.

The best way to describe The LeeVees is to imagine the Barenaked Ladies all moving to America and converting to Judaism.

Then add Adam Sandler as another member of the band, leaving out the raunchiness.

Now you have a wholesome Jewish band from New York with musical talent on guitars, bass, drums and keyboard.

It took The LeeVees eight days (of Hanukkah) to write nine hilarious tracks ranging in important topics from how to correctly spell Channukkahh to picking up girls at the Matzoh Ball.

Of course, they didn’t leave out any songs about potato pancakes – “Latke Clan” and “Applesauce vs. Sour Cream” stand out as the funniest tracks on “Hanukkah Rocks”.

It isn’t just the Hanukkah parody songs that make the album worthwhile.

For anyone who is open-minded and values political-correctedness, I strongly recommend listening to The LeeVees in order to better understand the Jewish culture.

And even though it’s past the holiday season, “Hanukkah Rocks” is an important album to consider for next year’s celebration to help include your fully-Jewish and half-Jewish friends.

– Emily Rippe