Pardon me, Gal Gadot, but another young Israeli woman would like her turn in the spotlight: this weekend, Quentin Tarantino, the increasingly introspective poet of American violence, announced his engagement to the Israeli singer Daniela Pick.
This is a double delight to Israelis of a certain age, old enough to have grown up both on Tarantino’s films and on the music of Daniela Pick’s father, Tzvika. Little known outside the motherland, Pick’s pere’s career has been a long, strange trip: born in Poland in 1949, he showed great talent as a classical musician, and, having made Aliya to Israel with his family in 1957, continued his studies at a local conservatory and planned to join the Philharmonic. But then he heard Barry Gibb singing sweetly, and decided that Bach was boring and the Bee Gees were cool. He grew his hair long—the first Israeli musician to do so—and won the lead role in the local production of Hair, taking the stage in a wardrobe of his own design, rich in lace and velvet. He turned out to be a wildly talented composer—you may know the song he wrote for another Israeli trailblazer, Dana International, which won her the Eurovision song contest—and a performer who had the sort of verve Tarantino celebrates in his films.
So as the groom-to-be is known for always picking the perfect song to set his scenes, here are five top picks by Picks, father and daughter, to rock the chuppah:
Merry-Lou. Check out that galloping piano about a minute-and-ten-seconds in and tell me you can’t see Samuel L. Jackson breaking the glass and then shooting a few of the wedding’s guests.
Love at the End of the Summer. As idiotic as the title suggests it is, this song’s lyrics never transcend above lines like “he offered her ice cream / she asked for a latte.” But that disco womp-womp might work as the newlyweds get in their car and speed off to their seaside honeymoon.
Music. Here’s what you need to know about this song: a) Pick is accompanied by three Ethiopian women in long white robes who dance around happily; and b) his drummer is wearing a denim overall. A better wedding band has never been assembled.
Ne’esaf Tishrei. Inevitably, Pick went through his “no one takes me seriously as an artist” phase. Incredibly, this phase led him to turn some of Israel’s best poetry—like this gem by Natan Yonatan—into haunting and beautiful songs, perfect for that magical father-daughter dance.
Hello Hello. This one is by the Sisters Pick, the short-lived band Daniella formed with her sibling Sharona. This is how the bride makes her big entrance.
Alternatively, maybe we should just let Tarantino choose the music. Here’s a song he’s already made immortal, “Misirlou,” played by precisely the sort of rowdy Israelis who are likely to crash his wedding.
Liel Leibovitz is editor-at-large for Tablet Magazine and a host of its weekly culture podcast Unorthodox and daily Talmud podcast Take One. He is the editor of Zionism: The Tablet Guide.