Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

We are now thoroughly into exams, and I find myself sitting the day before my first Varsity accounting paper, on the web. Listening to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's resplendent "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik". And it struck me. The famous composer hit it right on the nose all those years ago. We've made music so commercial it's sickening. We've polluted it with formulae and samples, so much so that nothing's original any more. Whenever you turn on the radio you think "Oh, that sounds like..." and precede to name at least one other artist already doing the same thing. But the same cannot be said for Mozart. When you listen to his music, it's pure emotion. Pure, raw emotion. Happy, sad, discontented, it matters not. It will be there. What emotion do you hear when you turn on your mainstream radio station? Unless there's an emotion called skanky, I doubt you will find any other emotion but desperation. Desperation. It seems that desperation is the root of the death of creativity. People are so desperate that they will do anything for their 3 minutes of fame. To hear their own voice playing over the airwaves thanks to some dirty lyrics and a torturous and repetitive "beat". And people say it's better than classical music. The ignorance. Personally I am an Indie/Alternative/Blues/Folk kinda guy, which is already leagues ahead of the utter crap polluting our ears from day to day. But even I can't deny that Mozart, in all his glory, captures human emotion better than any other of any other time. Even the 60's hero Bob Dylan with "The Times They Are A-Changing" or John Lennon's "Imagine" can't compare with the musical prowess. Of course I am committing contemporary musical blasphemy. Lennon and Dylan were beyond any of the last 100 years in the way that they affected and continue to affect generations of people, inspired by their works as musicians and activists. But when the Great Composers are brought into the equation, there are none that can compare. These masters of music were revolutionary for their time, but their music was popular because it was of high quality. Not because it can sell a certain number of records, or because it could've made them rich. It was because it was their lives. And their whole lives. And if we want to return to a place where people are respected because of the quality of their work, and not the profit it can make the record label fat cats, we need to take a good hard look at ourselves and really consider what we've done to our society. Or maybe, just maybe, all we really need, is A Little Night Music?

Friends. And Other Disappearing Acts.

Many will say that such is life. That when you reach Varsity some friends, who were so important to you, fade into the abyss. And, I guess, that's true. Many friends of mine have seemingly evaporated from my life faster than a glass of water on warm Sudanese day. But this begs the question; Are WE to blame? Perhaps the societal expectations of leaving school and going to university demands that we let go of, or try desperately to hold on to, once perfect friendships? I can easily name 10+ "friends" who have vacated their once prized spots since school ended and university began. But were they true "friends" to begin with? Or were they forced acquaintances that occurred due to circumstance? These are questions all first year students process. Often we're told that the friends we make while studying are friends forever and that you make most of your friends at university, in class and the like. This is when I begin to worry, for several reasons. First, I made no friends in any of my first semester classes. Only acquaintances that I was led to believe I would enjoy working with. I was wrong. But I find all these myths about university are there to force people into a specific social group I call the Wrongs. They are the ones who are forced into a friend group they probably have very little interest in due to necessity. Shame. I find it's a lot more productive to find one person, who you have a true friendly interest in, to be friends with. Cause she more than likely has other friends, who are equally as awesome as she is. True story. But even this has it's downside. This route will more than likely led you to comparing everyone you meet to said awesome person. Like your room mate. Who doesn't understand how to stop the slightly unfixed toilet from running. Or makes way too many attempts at poor conversation. Or insists on looking over your shoulder while you're navigating the hallowed pages of the web. You can see why this is an issue. But none the less, said awesome friend will end up letting you break her car. And allow you to subject her to endless hours of conversation about several other interests. Some of which are her friends. And allow you to become more awesome because of her awesomeness. For which, I am eternally grateful. So kids, the moral of the ever-so-enticing story? Lose friends. Cause you make better ones.

The Plastics - Polluting the brain.

Is it possible that South Africa has finally found a unique Indie band? Perhaps. Last week's headliner at !AE suggests that. For those of you not in the know, The Plastics are a Cape Town-based band, complete with hipster vibes unheard of in P-Town. They consist of brothers Sasha and Pascal Righini, on drums and guitar and lead vocals respectively, Karl Rohloff on bass and Arjuna Kohlstock on lead guitar. They play some eclectic indie (such as Jukebox and Caroline) with some rock n' roll influences (Dirty Dancing and Monkey Simulation come to mind) and have a super tight live act. Pascal has a voice that just sits in the music perfectly. Although I imagine they might not have been too impressed with the !AE regulars (excluding me of course), who tend to be overly large, drunk and rowdy, they seemed to enjoy themselves on stage. One thing that never ceases to surprise me is the overwhelming support bands get from the limited numbers that seem to frequent !AE. Encores are demanded. Every. Single. Time. And the same happened here. But this time I desperately wanted them to play an encore. Desperately. Maybe purely for the reason that they might decide to play my favourite Plastics' song ever, Caroline. But alas it was not to be. Despite my utter disappointment at not having heard the sultry riffs of the "ballad", the gig was pretty awesome. Although The Plastics are an immense band, oozing the indie vibes SA desperately needs, please don't go and find out more about them. We don't want another commercial "Indie" band here.

Gig rating; 8.43/10.5
Venue rating: It's !AE. Don't be silly.
Specials: Thursdays mean buy one get one free cocktails and pizza. The pizza's surprisingly good. For the only beer that matters, a Zamalec will cost you R10, a double brandy and coke (this is P-Town) will burn you R18 and it's R10 tequila. (Stay away. Trust.) These specials die at 8pm, so start the party early.

Lewe.

So life. It's quite an epic thing. It's kinda everything we do, everything we have done, everything we're going to do. So it's vaguely important. But then. Like. Why do people sell out? It's something that irks me. Why do people who know what they love, what they're passionate for, why do those same people with the huge dreams, sell out and become corporate drones? I would never say I'm an anarchist. But for real. I think a lot more people could use some serious hippie vibes when they decide to kill any creativity they may have left. Money is not everything. In fact it's not anything. For the love of money is the root of all evil. Greed, envy, lust. They can all come back to money. A false prophet of happiness and longevity. Like anti-wrinkle cream or gyms. Sometimes I really feel the world would be better off if everyone just lived healthy, self-sustained lives; giving back as much as we take, living in peace with everything. There'd be no more wars. There'd be no more poverty. Cause what are these things but states of mind that the human race has themselves created? You don't find an economy in the natural world. There's no financial crisis, or crime. All the things we are constantly complaining about would cease to exist. There would be no racism, discrimination, anger, poverty, corruption or sadness. We have everything we need right at our fingertips. Tell me, would there be pollution if making a profit wasn't the determining factor of our lives? Would there be widespread disease if we cared a little less about having perfect looking food and a little more about how healthy it keeps us? I don't think so.
It leaves us thinking, can't we all just get along?

Rough Draft #465738273 and 1

I'm sitting, watching people pass me by,

Like ants roaming round under the sky.

All hurrying up to get to what they know,

All dressed up with no place to go.

Walking in a crowd of 40 000,

Wishing there was one like me.

There are those, big and small,

Who try to be those we all see.

There are the girls with the big beehives,

Trying their best just to hide,

The fact that they aren't perfect.

Don't worry so are we.

Then comes the big afros,

Hello Oom, dis Tannie vir jou.

The true sense of original,

You find it in these individuals.

Those ones who roam,

By the corner we all wish to go.

There by the grass, against the flow,

Spend a few minutes, then you'll know.

A little ways down the road,

Are those who's load we do not know.

Hours and hours in despair,

Just be glad that you're not there.

So let me start by thanking some people...

I should probably explain. I tend to write things. Things that are sometimes ludicrous, controversial or straight-out different. Other times they're deep and meaningful. This is the exception. They can come into life in the form of songs, poems, stories, badly strung together thoughts or annoying catch phrases. So don't expect anything. Cause you will be disappointed. But read along anyway.  Cause life's no fun without some Chilled Vibes.