My Zimriyah Rankings, Part 3

5. Kerem 10 –

2^nd in Leviim (2), 3^rd  in Maalot (1), 2^nd in Kerem (2), Best Shir Chasidi (3), Top five Shir Aydah (1) Points: 9

Best Zimriyah Song: Modeh Ani (Leviim, Chasidi)

Worst Zimriyah Song: Brick in the Wall (Arayot, Aydah)

Yes, I acknowledge that I am ranking Kerem 10 higher than three aydot who have won Zimriyah before. But I think there is justification for it. For one, they were more consistent than Kerems 04-06. They placed in the top 3 for three years in a row. Secondly, they had some really epic songs. Maybe I value the worth of these songs too high, but I think the way that Modeh Ani defined the summer of 2008, it was like they had won Zimriyah. As stated before, I think the model that Kerem 2010 used for their shir Yisraeli and Aydah will be a model future aydot will use, and because of this influence, their legacy will live on. Finally, their competition was very tough. It is really hard to go up against the aydah (Kerem 12) who will be the best aydah at Zimriyah of all time next summer. It just makes it that much harder.

So now that I have gone off describing why Kerem 10 was so good, what prevented them from getting over the ‘hump’ and actually winning? Two factors contributed to their downfall. Two horrendous Shirei Aydah in Arayot and Leviim and their obsession with screaming, even though they were repeatedly told not to. Yes I know they did not have a lot of time in Arayot to work on Zimriyah, but the fact they chose Brick in the Wall somewhat invalidates that argument because they could never possibly win with a choice like that. Similarly in Leviim, their Shir Aydah was crazy, in a weird way, and the whole song was a bizarre choice. The next two years they had some great songs but the scream in them came out. They screamed in Maalot when they were the favorites and had three aydot place higher than them. And they screamed in Kerem and it cost them all three songs. Kerem 2010 was a very talented aydah, but I think they got unlucky and wanted it too much.

4. Kerem 08-

3^rd  in Leviim (1), 1^st in Maalot (3), 1^st in Kerem (3+1.5), Top five Shir Yisraeli (1). Points: 9.5

Best Zimirah Song: Beatles medley (Maalot, Aydah)

Worst Zimriyah Song: ?

Kerem 08 had slow beginning, but boy did they finish strong. Winning in Maalot and Kerem will definitely make an aydah known as great Zimriyah performers, and they certainly deserve that recognition. However there are two reasons why I think they are fourth on this list rather than third (behind Kerem 07 rather than ahead). First, they never had a totally dominant performance like Kerem 07 had in Maalot, Kerem 03 had in Maalot and Kerem 12 had in Leviim. You just knew that in all three of these instances that they just had it in the bag. Second, and I think more important, is the fact that they never really had a song that swept camp. Their best song, in my opinion, was their Beatles medley, and even though it was great, it wasn’t orginial nor particularly creative. You just didn’t hear kids singing their Zimriyah songs after the performance like you did with the songs from the aydot that are ranked above Kerem 08. Overall though, very solid performance and is extremely impressive that they pulled off the victory in Kerem.