Crate Diggin'

Hello there reader, after yesterdays's rant about all things serious, I thought today I'd share something good. Something really good. Music.
Well, this is not to say I have nothing on my mind. What with the tsunami having hit the coast of Japan a few hours ago... CNN it, you'll see what I'm talking about. I mean it makes me think about what is happening in the world and if this is our fault. That maybe God is punishing us for something we've done, or maybe it's just the world coming to an end. Could the whole 2012 theory be true? SFX: Eerie sounds.

 
 Anyway, as I said, I'd much rather share music. Who knows, maybe by the end of the day i'll write about the tsunami. Maybe I'll write about why I haven't shared this blog with anyone else other than G and J. Maybe. But that's a maybe.

This is what I wanted to share with you: Martin Luther.This is some crazy sh*t. Am I allowed to write the word shit on my shit? I hope so.

Anyway, the reason why I'm sharing this is 'coz I think Martin is an awesome musician. Secondly, it's the fact that I sincerely feel for people with no ear for good music. People who are content with the bile spewed on commercial radio. Here's one dude I cannot pigeon-hole, hosting a concert with the first lady of bass, Meshell N'degeocello, where Meshell will be channeling Prince!

Oh, to be me in South Africa. Why can't we have Prince performing at Katzy's or something?

The Artist Currently Known As Genius!

Did I tell  you that Prince is in my top 3 musicians of all time. Yup, ALL time!  That if my house were to be burnt to a crisp, the only thing I'd care about would be my Ipod, 'coz it has all of Prince's music that is not readily available in music shops in this here country? I didn't tell you that.  My bad.
Anyway, enjoy the music. I'll dig in the crates almost every week, to share with you  the music that makes me :-)

As my nephews would say...peace out!
S.

Colour Coded

It's been an intense 2 weeks in South Africa. Nothing gets us riled up like race. Yup, Black vs White, White vs Black. But the past two weeks have been about a people South Africa calls 'Coloured'. And it all started with the forthcoming government elections.

Had it not been for the ANC, DA, IFP, COPE et cetera, electioneering, we would not be discussing this issue. Anyway, dear reader, the drama started with the president of the Black Management Forum and now goverment spokesperson, Jimmy Manyi, saying something about Coloured people being concentrated in the Western Cape, instead of being spread out to the rest of the country. Now, this was last year. At the time, no one said anything. No one saw this as racist. Politicians being politicians, had to wait almost one whole year to raise this issue. They had to wait until it was 2011, the year of the South African Local Govt Elections. Bastards!
Now, you have all of them screaming 'RACISM, RACISM' trying to appease the Coloured voters. Bull shit! If they (and I mean ALL of them), if they cared, they would have addressed the issue when it reared its ugly head back then.  Now you have the DA and all other Anti-ANC parties calling for the resignation of Jimmy Manyi. We even have a respected ANC goverment minister, Trevor Manuel, writing an open letter in some of the major newspapers, calling Jimmy Manyi a racist, to his face. Jimbo refuses to defend himself.


Now, my tiny brain tells me this is a ploy by the ANC to not only save face, but to get the very same Coloured voters that it believes its lost via this Jimmy Manyi debacle. It's really sad. Sad, sad, sad. That both the big parties; the DA and the ANC only care for the Coloured vote when election are around the corner. Any other time, they don't give a fiddler's fart.

 This is why I strongly believe the 'rainbow nation' of the happy clappy Bishop Tutu is such a facade. South Africans have never discussed the uncomfortable issues of race. We just want to pretend that we all love Bafana Bafana, the Proteas, braais, Freshlyground and all other 'pro-South Africa' 'things'.  Truth is, no one has ever cared about Coloured people. They are treated as second cousin to  'Black' and 'White' people. I don't remember seeing anyone discussing the issues of identity and what Coloured people even feel about the term 'Coloured'. We assume that it is embraced by all. We refuse to ask.

Now I'm not anti-forward movement. What I hate is when these issues are swept under the carpet. And they sit there, festering, ready for the right person/event to pull the trigger. And all that progressive South Africans have done to move us forward as a nation, will have been in vain.
So, right now, Coloured people have been reduced to nothing but numbers. Votes. Their contributions to the emancipation of this country, forgotten. Here's to celebrating our democracy! See  you at the polls.

Six Packs & Tracks

Gulp!

Just listened to some random tracks on my Itunes. Man, almost all the songs have been accompanied by some cold beverage at some point in my life. From Jazz to thundering House Music tracks, there's been a Jamesons on the rocks, a Jose Cuervo, a Heineken, a... you get the point.

My question is WHY?

Last week I had a chat with a very good friend of mine about what could be the 'triggers', how one thing can lead to another and you end up trashed in a club at 1am, the morning you're supposed to go to work... There was a point where just the majestic, picturesque, golden, yummy sun going down would mean hurrying to our MDs balcony (Yup, our Managing Director) for a quick glass of Chardonnay. Just hearing 'Sunny' by Sis n' Jones got me so excited, I'd make a call to said friend and within the hour we'd be downing a few shots.

You are an alcoholic! I hear you say.

Well, ummm...to that I'd umm, say... you're probably right. I hope you're wrong, but you could be right.
In my defence, I'd say the music made me do it. A good DJ can 'make' me drink copious amounts of alcohol. He (what's up DJ Kent!) just needs to know the right buttons to push.

You see, when some people look forward to a Friday as their excuse to down a few, in my industry... (see how I'm introducing another thing with which to defend myself. I would have made a great lawyer. Pity I also have ADD). But I digress. As I was saying, in my industry (Note: for later!), drinking during office hours is no issue. As long as you deliver the goods! And I've been able to, for the past 14 years. No problem.

Oh, I forgot to tell you, dear reader, I haven't had a single drink in  4 weeks. At first I said I was 'detoxing', but then sat down with myself. Gave me and good talking to. The truth came out. This was not about some bullshit detox. This was me finding the 'trigger'. This was me worrying that I had lost control. In 4 weeks I isolated the few triggers that I've mentioned. But wait, there's more:

• Stressfull Work Environment
• My easy-going industry
• The company of good friends

So, in the 4 weeks, I've been able to, from a distance, see myself as a non-drinker. And I realise that I still enjoy my own company, as well as that of my friends. Even though I missed not having an ice-cold beer when I felt like it. I also realised that I don't need alcohol to face my demons. And that work is also just 9-5, I shouldn't take it too seriously. And now for the music. Will I survive the music. Some tracks are just not the same without a glass of a drank in my hand. Monday the 7th is the day I allow myself to drink again. I'll be a lot more adult about it this time around. Cheers!

Allow me to re-introduce myself...

Hello reader! Just so you know what's what here. My name is Sandman. Of course this is not my real name. It's what some people call me. Anyway, more about names and things later. The idea behind this blog is for me to download (I know it's uploading, silly) some of the things that irk me about people, things and life in general.

Now, there's a good chance I'll be writing a lot more about music than anything else. But that's 'coz I love music. It keeps me sane.

So there  you have it, reader, I'll write and I hope you'll write back, about whatever makes you happy or whatever makes you unhappy. I don't care. Well, I do, but you know what I mean...

Later,
S.