Black Eyed Peas…They stuck to their word
So just about everyone knows that the Black Eyed Peas were here this weekend playing for their South African fans… At their debut South African concert in 2004 (Nov we seem to remember) they promised that they would be back in South Africa ‘to play in the ghetto’. Apparently they were shocked at the number of white fans at their concert … which was supposedly explained to …them as ‘a ticket issue – Black People can’t afford concert tickets.’ We think there are a number of explanations and that it’s not as simple as that. Fans will always find a way. Firstly, in our minds (and we tend to be very aware of make-up) the first concert was fairly mixed – white and black peeps were partying together as we do at most concerts or events in Jozi. BEP has a much more cosmopolitan following and with radio stations like 5FM plugging the music, there is a large ‘white’ following for what many would label as a traditionally ‘HipHop” band. Secondly, while there are many poor people in South Africa that can’t afford concert tickets or the transport to get there, we think that the apparent lack of Black people at their concert may have been about the choice in venue – that DREADFUL Dome in Northgate. Funny enough at the Snoop concert recently at least 80% of the crowd was Black …. but it was held at the Joburg Stadium – in a central area with easy access. Still not that close to the ‘ghetto’ except of course that scary Hillbrow. Or maybe the Black Eyed Peas got Durban and Cape Town all mixed up with Jozi – we’re sure those concerts may have had a whiter side of pale. No offence dudes but your reputations proceed you. We shoot from the hip. Anyway, we weren’t included in the media that went to Soweto with them – we’re sorry about not being able to fill you in on it but it’s a long story…. We tried our best. We did however get included at the main concert on Sunday night at Joburg Stadium. We had a great time and really enjoyed ourselves. We did think though that the stadium could have had a lot more people in it. It wasn’t even as full as the Non-Snoop concert – they should have filled it to the brim if it was free. The stage was awesome, the performance was slick and dynamic… the sound was ok… the crowd went crazy… it was a good one. We love concerts at the Joburg Stadium and encourage all promoters to use it more...
CRAZY – the song everyone’s loving
Have you heard “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley yet? Best you hurry….Sadly we think this song may be killed off very rapidly in South Africa as radio stations get hold of it and turn it into roadkill through repetitive airplay… you know who we mean. But the whole world is loving it and the first few times you listen to it we hope you fall… in love with it too. It’s a great hit. If you haven’t heard it yet listen to Pabi and the boys on YFM in the mornings – they were the pioneers on SA radio of the song and they are playing it regularly at the moment. Nice one guys – we love your show. Watch the video – CLICK HERE! Thanks to Stoffel for this link on YouTube of Gnarls singing the song live on Top of the Pops. It’s well worth a download – remember when downloading off YouTube to stop the video so it can load in your browser quicker – play it a couple of times till it runs smoothly. ENJOY – and tell us what you...
VITRIOLIC REVENGE – the broken laptop i sold on ebay
Thanks to Linnie for sending us the link on “AMIR”, the guy who has been hung, drawn, quartered and fried on the internet for selling a broken laptop to someone who’s clearly very angry. The story (apparently) goes like this. Amir sells his laptop to a guy in the Uk on EBAY for about R4500. The guy that bought the laptop had … to wait for two months before it arrived despite paying for it when he was supposed to. When he finally got it, it wasn’t what he had been promised – in fact it was a broken laptop – and he was highly annoyed. He then took the hard-drive out and must have got it to work on another machine as that was when he discovered the PORN and other bizarre content belonging to AMIR, the original owner, who hadn’t erased it. He then started a BLOG called “the broken laptop i sold on ebay ” which publishes all the pictures, a photo of AMIR, pics of his friends etc. Now while we appreciate why he may have been angry, do you think that ruining someone’s life by exposing their dirty laundry on the net as well as all their personal details is justified? We feel a little sorry for Amir. Often when we’re p-ed off we do things out of emotion and then bear huge guilt afterwards for venting our feelings… The author clearly has no guilty feelings about his vitriolic revenge. CLICK HERE TO GO THERE>…. what do you think? A laugh or a little too...
Review: Cape Town International Jazz Festival
Our new Cape Town writer Yumna gets familiar with Jazz at last weekend’s Cape Town Jazz Festival and finds that she’s entranced. She also got a little more info for us on Kwani Experience…. you know we love them! Thanks Yumna! In those shiny, Hollywood wedding movies there is usually the cake tasting scene, where the happy couple eats a bit of a fabulous looking and tasting… wedding cake and then swiftly moves along to the next one. That was the 2006 Cape Town International Jazz Festival. With over 40 jazz acts and five stages competing for attention, there was more then enough to bite off and for your taste buds to salivate. Although it would disappoint many having to pay an extra R25 to get into Rosies, especially being a struggling student with bank statements that read: TRANSACTION FAILED. The acts that took place on the other four stages were enough to keep me satisfied. Getting into the mood on Friday 31st, I swiftly moved through the largest venue, Klippies, into the outside stage, Basil “Manenberg” Coetzee, which was worth braving the early evening chill as Thandiswa Mazwai moved all our rears into action with her gospel, traditional, Afro pop beats, spreading smiles across the audience’s faces. After catching a quick breath of ‘fresh air’, I quickly slipped into Baseline, the stage which would become my home for the next few hours and the next day, and prepared myself for the act I had been waiting for, Relax, the Dutch hip hop/jazz/rock/funk/ I could go on forever group. As they strutted onto the stage, showered in blue light, in their matching black suits and white shirts with eerie piano music slipping through the crowds, I politely put away my pen and notepad and began to roar and jump up and down like the true closet groupie I am! I rested my poor feet before readying myself for the group that had so much hype around them I was almost sure that the balloon would deflate. But fear not, Kwani Experience were there to impress. With a few disappointed patrons, the thrashing dreadlocks and hypnotic back and forth movements of the audience rang the bell for the end of my night as I then decided to fatten myself up with the perks of having a press pass. [SEE REVIEW ON KWANI BELOW] The next day I felt as if I hadn’t even left the festival, arriving just in time to catch Chouchou Valdes. I looked up at the big screen with my mouth open watching the living legend mix jazz, Cuban and classical music at the same time as...
IDOLS 3 – Where are they now?
We’re having a little trip down memory lane as we ready the content on Represent for the about-to-be launched “Sleekline Version”… So we’ll be bringing up the past in the next few days… a lot. Do you remember the gripping of your armchair as you waited for the weekly announcement of who would be kicked ceremoniously out of the IDOLS 3 competition – that was just last year? But with a… rebellious year like 2006 leaving ’05 so far back in the dust, it’s easy to forget it even happened and you were all over it. Remember, we all had our favourites, I remember ours were Gift and Karin….towards the end anyway. But what we’re wondering is “WHERE ARE THEY NOW?” …Maybe we don’t get out enough or perhaps we hang out at the wrong jols. But if our dear readers could fill us in on where they are at… we’d love that. “cause we haven’t heard them on radio in a long time… or is that ever? Where are our awesome IDOLS? *************************************************** KARIN IS OUR WINNER! CONGRATS GIRL! Well done to both Gift and Karin – we were rooting more for Gift as we believed he had a better package as an “IDOL” , but Karin sure can sing..and she will be a fabulous addition to the Idols brand – at last. Rather embarassing were the performances by both the previous winners Anke and Heinz – so boring and flat – Anke looked like a contestant from Survivor that had stepped through the bushes and Heinz, while he gave a fantastic performance was weak on the singing. Let’s face it, both Gift and Karin put them both to shame. We wish you all the best – both of you – Gift – learn from ZAMAJOBE and make your shining mark despite not coming first. KARIN – we can’t wait for your first album – please don’t go cliched on us – keep your originality and Jazz touch. Well done to the organisers on a good show! ********************************************************** 21 November Don’t say we didn’t predict it last week, although some may say it was fairly predictable for anyone that knows a little about music… NOW For the true cruncher – POP IDOL style mixed with a good voice – GIFT or NOT Strictly POP IDOL profile but fantastic voice – KARIN? Both, in our minds are DESERVING WINNERS – congrats to both of them for getting this far and well done to MNET and the public for fufilling our peoples mandate and for being true to talent… Our bet is no matter which one wins, they will have...
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