Ezra Koenig

Ezra Michael Koenig (born April 8, 1984) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and guitarist of the indie rock band Vampire Weekend.

Early life

Koenig was born in New York City, and was the son of Bobby Bass, a psychotherapist, and Robin Koenig, a set dresser on film and TV productions. His parents lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan before moving to Glen Ridge, New Jersey. His family is Jewish, and came to the U.S. from Europe (including Romania and Hungary). He grew up in Northern New Jersey and attended Glen Ridge High School. Ezra has a younger sister, Emma Koenig, who is the author of the blog and book "FUCK! i'm in my twenties" and a writer on the ABC-TV comedy, Manhattan Love Story. Ezra began writing music around the age of ten, and his first song ever was titled "Bad Birthday Party." Koenig attended Columbia University, where he majored in English literature.

After graduating he taught English through Teach for America at Junior High School 258 in Brooklyn, New York. Students recalled Koenig bringing his guitar with him to class despite him trying to hide it and his music career. He was described as a "laid-back" teacher who successfully made bonds with his students. In the fall of 2007, a deal with XL Recordings cut short Koenig's teaching career.

So Insane

"So Insane" is the second promo single from Smash Mouth's 2006 album, Summer Girl. The promo single contains a radio edit of the song (for US radio) and the album version. Without a music video, or promotion, the single never charted on Billboard's Top 100; however, it did reach position No. 25 on the US Adult Top 40 chart. It was featured in the film Zoom.

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Ezra

Ezra (/ˈɛzrə/; Hebrew: עזרא‎, Ezra; fl. 480–440 BC), also called Ezra the Scribe (עזרא הסופר, Ezra ha-Sofer) and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra, was a Jewish scribe and a priest. According to the Hebrew Bible he returned from the Babylonian exile and reintroduced the Torah in Jerusalem (Ezra 7–10 and Neh 8). According to 1 Esdras, a Greek translation of the Book of Ezra still in use in Eastern Orthodoxy, he was also a high priest.

Several traditions have developed over his place of burial. One tradition says that he is buried in al-Uzayr near Basra (Iraq), while another tradition alleges that he is buried in Tadif near Aleppo, in northern Syria.

His name may be an abbreviation of עזריהו Azaryahu, "God-helps". In the Greek Septuagint the name is rendered Ésdrās (Ἔσδρας), from which the Latin name Esdras comes.

The Book of Ezra describes how he led a group of Judean exiles living in Babylon to their home city of Jerusalem (Ezra 8.2-14) where he is said to have enforced observance of the Torah. He was described as exhorting the Israeli people to be sure to follow the Torah Law so as not to intermarry with people of particular different religions (and ethnicities), a set of commandments described in the Pentateuch.

Uzair

Uzayr - most often identified with the Judeo-Christian Ezra (عزير, 'Uzair) - is a figure mentioned in the Qur'an, in the verse 9:30, which states that he was revered by the Jews as "the son of God". Jews do not agree on that statement. Historically, Muslim scholars have interpreted this verse as referring to a small group of Jews making such a reverence.

Ezra lived between the times of King Solomon and the time of Zachariah, father of John the Baptist. Although not explicitly mentioned in the Quran among the prophets, Ezra is considered as one by some Muslim scholars, based on Islamic traditions. On the other hand, Muslim scholars such as Mutahhar al-Maqdisi and Djuwayni and notably Ibn Hazm and al-Samaw'al accused Ezra (or one of his disciples) of falsification of the Torah. Several sources state that the Qur'an refers to Jews who began to call Ezra a "son of God" due to his religious achievements.

Gordon Darnell Newby states it may due to misunderstanding of Ezra's position in the Jewish faith as a Bene Elohim. Other Western scholars, relying on exegetical material from Ibn Abbas and Ibn Qutaybah, consider Uzair not to be Ezra but Azariah, mentioned in the Book of Daniel as Abednego.

Ezra (disambiguation)

Ezra is a male biblical name derived from Hebrew (עזרא) and must not be confused with the Turkish female name Esra. In a biblical context, Ezra refers to:

Ezra may also refer to:

People

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