Music

Shaking the Habitual

Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 by Brandon Edmonds
Shaking the Habitual The Bowie-singing astronaut guy was one of the worthiest viral videos in a while. No cats in sight. It (sort of) put back all the humanity left out of Kubrick’s chilly space epic 2001. Stanley wasn’t big on people. But in the end, astronaut guy returns to earth. Gravity applies. Enchantment ends. To really shake the habitual, we need to keep going back to work out what we’ve just seen, where we stand in relation to it. That is a ...read more


Down in the Basement

Monday, May 20th, 2013 by Katie de Klee, images by Matt Ginsburg
Eliezer For a lover of language there is something erotic about a bookshop. It’s all the virgin editions with their uncreased spines and unhandled pages; all the books you can’t afford. And all the covers are prettier than the ones you have at home. ...read more


Backstage Snoop

Saturday, May 18th, 2013
Backstage Snoop We go backstage at the Snoop Lion and the MTV Africa All Stars including D’Banj, Camp Mulla, Zakes Bantwini, DJ Cleo, Professor, and Fally Ipupa. You wish you were there. All shot from the secret camera in DJ Dexterity’s pocket. ...read more


Bieber Fever

Friday, May 17th, 2013 by Erin Crous
Beiber Like the old Zen question: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? If you steal from Justin Bieber, is it really a crime? And it gives us great pleasure to think that while he was busy making Beliebers out of all those white Jozi tweens, a group of anti-pop Robin Hoods were breaking down the walls of the FNB stadium to get their hands on that Bieber ...read more


Peach and Cream

Thursday, May 16th, 2013 by Mahala High Five Brigade
decks Peach Van Pletzen has produced Van Coke Kartel, Kidofdoom, is one third of Bittereinder and, as Yesterday’s Pupil has the dubious honour of once being banned from MK for using the word cocaine in a song. We chat to him about going to an arty school, dealing with pressure and how much he’ll be improvising at the Puma Social Club tomorrow night. ...read more


History and Hotdogs

Thursday, May 16th, 2013 by Matt Vend
History and Hotdogs We rolled out of Durban Friday midday, with Andrew ‘Lappies’ Loubser, behind the wheel. Usually this kind of information would be insignificant enough to leave out but we hit the highway at about 180km per hour. It seemed rather significant as a meandering drive to Harrismith and 40km’s onto our final destination Verkykerskop could have easily ended in a bloody car wreck. Luckily Lappies is one of the best fast drivers I have ever come across, taking his self-appointed role ...read more


The Bard

Wednesday, May 15th, 2013 by Timothy Gabb, images by Karen Wieffering
The Bard Last Sunday I had a dream. In a place that reminded me of another place: a place off a road, that runs off a bigger road, in a Rosey suburb in a city at the bottom of Africa. It involved an ecstatic truth. It involved good food. And it involved one of my South African heroes, Gert Vlok Nel. ...read more


Freedom Jazz

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013 by Setumo-Thebe Mohlomi
Freedom Jazz The Cape Town City Hall, carries history in its bricks; probably the most well known recent event to take place at the City Hall is Nelson Mandela’s speech from the balcony in 1990 after he was released from prison. This is a once-off Freedom Day City Hall Session which marks the day when South Africa had its first truly democratic election. ...read more


Livin’ on a Prayer

Monday, May 13th, 2013 by Hugh Upsher
logo My mom drove for five hours to Cape Town to see Bon Jovi perform. When I asked her how old she was when Slippery When Wet came out she shrugged in a way that indicated she wasn’t sure she understood the question properly. Bon Jovi is one of those bands that have just always been around. Regardless of whether you were buying their albums, you’re guaranteed to know more than a few of their songs. ...read more


The Saint and the Cockateel

Friday, May 10th, 2013 by Don Pinnock
Swamiji | The Saint and the Cockateel The email was rather cryptic. I’d written an article about birdsong and an Indian saint wanted to meet me. Evidently he loved the article and was passing through Cape Town. We made an appointment through his interpreter who spoke perfect English and I met him in a fancy hotel. ...read more