A strange sound briefly lit up the blogs as a clip of *Philip Roth bellowing over a dance beat made the rounds. The track (“Jewish Shouting Mix 3”) is the work of James Marcus, book critic, translator, and editor of the Columbia Journalism Review’s Page Views. Marcus captured the audio in a 2008 interview with Roth for the LA Times. Roth was explaining his disdain for the movie version of Portnoy’s Complaint, which he described as “a bunch of Jewish shouting.” To Marcus’ surprise, Roth then proceeded to demonstrate exactly what he meant, with an outburst Marcus calls a “historic bit of ululation.” Now set to a pulsing, faintly tribal techno beat, the outburst leaves us bewildered and bemused. Flavorpill caught with the man behind the meme for the skinny on Jewish vs gentile shouting and the rumored 15-minute club mix. Read More »