How a Hasidic Jew became a punk band frontman.

I was listening to This American Life on a recent cross country trip and discovered the story of Curly Oxide, a Hasidic Jew that had a brief but intense Rock n' Roll career. It's one of the best segments I've ever heard on this show. They are also making a movie out of this story, starring Sascha Cohen (natch).

Listen here:

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/268/my-experimental-phase?act=1

Act One. That's Funny, You Don't Look Jewish.
Chaim and Billy both lived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, just blocks away from each other, in worlds that almost never collided. Chaim was a Hasidic Jew—he'd never heard pop music or watched MTV. Billy Campion, known as the rocker Vic Thrill, was the star of an underground band. Billy put Chaim, who took on the name Curly Oxide, into the band, and in just one year, he leapt from the 19th century into the 21st. David Segal, rock critic for the Washington Post, reports. (39 minutes)

Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill IMDB listing:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424920/

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