August 30th, 2010 by Brandon Edmonds
We like our chips. Almost R2 billion of the almost R5 billion South African snack industry falls to those salty little heart-stoppers. This is certainly beer, convenience and absent health-literacy related. Quick and cheap is the real ubuntu. The commonest common denominator. But that kind of out-sized market share is a throbbing red dot on the multi-national scanner. So it’s no surprise that Pepsico, the colossus bested by Coke in the great cola wars of the 80s, bought half of Simba (for a laughable $55million) in the late 90s, through its Frito-lay subsidiary. read more…
August 30th, 2010 by Max Barashenkov, images by Deborah Rossouw
Rum and coke #1: Speedway, what a great venue – huge hall, two bars, one sweaty punk-as-hell stage area and an owner deeply rooted in the old school South African music scene. Good vibes all around… read more…
August 29th, 2010 by Pierre De Villiers
Last Sunday, Athlone, 11h56. read more…
August 28th, 2010 by Robin Scher
Pablo Escobar – the name incites images of secret jungle hideouts, lavish lifestyles, and overweight Spanish men doing lines of cocaine off large breasted, topless women. If that’s what you imagine when thinking of the notorious Colombian drug lord, then Sins of My Father is probably not going to satisfy you. read more…
August 27th, 2010 by Brandon Edmonds
You know those strip malls that began appearing when we swan dived back into the ‘international community’ around the mid-90’s: chain outlets, nail places, shoes paralleling bigger (more branded) brands, bulk buys, generic hardware and software vendors, and a lone coffee spot nursing dreams of morphing into global ubiquity? You do. read more…
August 27th, 2010 by Comrade Sean O’Toole, images by Weegee.
It is sometime in 1943, autumn or winter judging by the man’s jacket. His dark coat looks new and, in the black and white photograph, matches the colour of his neatly combed hair. The man in the photo holds a camera. It is tilted sideways and focused on a wall. In the black and white photograph, the camera’s antique flash has already, or is just about to make that Hollywood sound. Pooof! read more…
August 27th, 2010 by Sarah Claire Picton
Up until now, my experience of the intimate downstairs area of Mercury has been dedicated to getting loose to the thrashes of d’n'b… getting sweaty to beats that assault the crowd with dirty audio pleasure. This all changed the night of the 18th. That cold Wednesday night, I experienced what I can only describe as feelings of nostalgia – nostalgia for a time that I was not even a part of, and for memories that didn’t belong to me. Amongst a small gathering, Amsterdam’s underground folk singer-songwriter Lucky Fonz III would be performing, and despite my ignorance to the melodic realm of folk music, I felt a distinct familiarity to the music and to the crowd. read more…
