Blind Melon! K's Choice! Bananarama! Coolio! Just some of the artists I've found I want to listen to, but definitely don't, and won't ever, own their album. I don't download them either. I blip them.
If you haven't used Blip.fm before, it can be a little confusing at first, but it's really quite simple - it's a database of just about every song in the world (even SA's own Zebra & Giraffe) at your fingertips to listen to at your whim. Great for those days at work when you suddenly think "how did that Female of the Species song go again?".
Blip.fm allows you to be your own "DJ", and for you to gather "listeners" as you build your playlist of weird and wonderful tunes and one-hit-wonders. If you've used Twitter before, it's like tweeting each song you listen to, and gathering "followers". Twitter with music. And it's fun. The only other time I'm likely to stumble across America's "Horse with No Name" is at a rugby braai at my parent's. Here though, the list of what you're listening to - if you're not actively searching yourself - it determined by what those DJs that you're following choose - and it could be *anything*.
While searching for Placebo this morning, I find myself listening to TV on the Radio thanks to AlyG, closely followed by Heisai Yasokawa's Empty Orchestra thanks to Matriax - something I'm never likely to have heard otherwise.
Blip.fm is great for finding those one-hit-wonders you remember jiving to at your school disco, as well as discovering new music from people with similar tastes to yourself, with very little effort.
Come find me on Blip!
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
music for a friday morning
If you haven't seen it yet, this is the music video, Sunset Ribbon, created by Levi's for AIDS awareness starring a host of SA's hottest talent - it's a sweet sentimental video, but mostly it's really cool to see all these people in one place. Artists include: Karen Zoid, Arno Carstens, Loyiso, Chris Chameleon, Louise Carver and at least two bands I don't recognise. If you know who they are, please let me know :)
[edit: Nadja tells me two of the other bands featured are Flat Stanley and Fokofpolisiekar - thanks Nadja! *colour me embarrassed for not knowing em*]
[edit 2: Nadja has asked around, and band three is Malaika. See what you can do with a little pooling of resources :) ]
enjoy!
[edit: Nadja tells me two of the other bands featured are Flat Stanley and Fokofpolisiekar - thanks Nadja! *colour me embarrassed for not knowing em*]
[edit 2: Nadja has asked around, and band three is Malaika. See what you can do with a little pooling of resources :) ]
enjoy!
if you ever needed motivation to follow your dream
Unassuming Susan Boyle is making waves around the world with her performance on Britain's Got Talent. 47 years old, never been kissed, from a small collection of villages in the UK, Susan shows what it takes to follow your dream in the face of those who don't believe - and how to shock a nation! The clip has already had over 17million views, I've watched it three times and it's still bringing tears to my eyes.
coronation
Last night we went to go see Nataniёl's new production, Coronation. If you're living in South Africa, and you've not been to see Nataniёl yet, you're missing out on a large piece of our culture and colour. He's brilliant, fabulous, fantastic, amazing. I've waxed lyrical about him before, when we went to go see Men Who Fly, but he really is that good.Last night's story - he creates all his songs, stories, anecdotes around a central theme for each production - was about finding your place in the world, and how many people confuse this with the pursuit of power. Filled with stories of people in cities, people in small towns, people with small minds, people with big hearts, he paints a wonderful picture of South Africa-and in fact history - with all its good and bad, but mostly, all the humour there is to be seen and experienced if you'll only look at things slightly differently. The word that best fits him is "poignant".
He carries himself like a prince from a long-forgotten royal court. Hand gestures are precise and considered, there's no excess in gesture, but plenty in costume.
As a performer in South Africa, Nataniёl is singular in his craft.
"A king too shy to appear in public, a dictator eating his subjects, a pregnant beauty queen, a commander in love with the enemy, through the ages history has provided us with countless examples of the unbelievable and the royally insane.
Coronation takes a look at the madness and absurdity of power and those whose lives are ruled by it, those who will die in pursuit of it, those who will die being oppressed by it, those who will die defying it and those not realizing they are in possession of it." - mambaonline.com
augusten burroughs
The first Burroughs I read was Running with Scissors after seeing it on noodle's blog. I've been hooked ever since. While the movie of the same name didn't do the book justice, his stories are fabulous! There's a dark, crazy humour to them that you can't help but laugh at.
This is a clip of him talking about his latest novel A Wolf at the Table. It's a memoir of his relationship with his father and is quite a dark departure from his previous books. It can be disturbing, but really is worth a read. His mention of his next book has me excited!
Burroughs is also the author of: Sellevision, Running with Scissors, Dry, Magical Thinking and Possible Side Effects.
This is a clip of him talking about his latest novel A Wolf at the Table. It's a memoir of his relationship with his father and is quite a dark departure from his previous books. It can be disturbing, but really is worth a read. His mention of his next book has me excited!
Burroughs is also the author of: Sellevision, Running with Scissors, Dry, Magical Thinking and Possible Side Effects.
radio ga ga
In Johanssburg, we're luckier than most regional areas in terms of our radio selection. We have the national 5fm, regional Highveld, and a slew of other options most don't have: Yfm, UJfm, Jacaranda, 702Talk (who are the nicest bunch to mail and ask for 'that song that went la-la-la-li-la last night"). And yet I'm constantly surprised by the amount of people that choose to listen to Highveld sooner than 5fm. Other regional areas I've lived, 5 always seems to win out quite easily. But here... Jeremy Mansfield and Darren Simpson definitely seem to dominate the morning breakfast slot time and again.
This morning though, I got the perfect comparison between the two and finally made up my mind. Both Jeremy and Gareth Cliff have a sort of "old school track" moment (both for entirely different reasons, but still). This morning, they played at roughly the same time, and the respective selections were:
Ghostbusters Theme Song vs Pearl Jam's "Betterman"
No prizes for guessing which station played which.
If that doesn't finish the argument for any of you living in Jozi, nothing will :)
My radio buttons have officially been changed to 5 and Y. Or bust!
This morning though, I got the perfect comparison between the two and finally made up my mind. Both Jeremy and Gareth Cliff have a sort of "old school track" moment (both for entirely different reasons, but still). This morning, they played at roughly the same time, and the respective selections were:
Ghostbusters Theme Song vs Pearl Jam's "Betterman"
No prizes for guessing which station played which.
If that doesn't finish the argument for any of you living in Jozi, nothing will :)
My radio buttons have officially been changed to 5 and Y. Or bust!
musing on music
Aside from this being an awesome pic of David Byrne, this is a really interesting read on the music industry today, how it's changing, and his views on how to survive in it as an artist...
David Byrne's Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists — and Megastars
David Byrne's Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists — and Megastars
a little bit of za kultuur
If I can recommend that you see one South African production this year, it's this one. Forget all the local bands (yes, even freshlyground), the local soaps, the dodgy pantomimes and funny festivals in muddy valleys surrounded by beer and hot dog stands.If you want to see one South African at the height of his game, a consummate performer and artist, then go see Nataniel. Seriously.
We went to his production, "The Moses Machine". To say we were astounded is an understatement. The man is a genuis. From his music to his costumes (which are as outlandish as you can imagine) to his stories - the man knows how to sway and enthrall a crowd. So, despite what you may have decided about him based on his demeanor or appearance, please try see his new production, "Men Who Fly".
I have my tickets...
"Moving away from the structure of previous productions, this show is built around a theme rather than a single story-line. Energetic, textured and fantastical, MEN WHO FLY is a tribute to all who do not have their feet on the ground. Original soul, rock and pop songs alternate with comedy sketches and stories in both English and Afrikaans."
ipod therefore i am
I've been wanting to create a podcast for a while now. Not that I have anything particularloy revealing to say, but it looks like it'd be a lot of fun. Much like this blog - it doesn't always matter how many people are reading or not - it's about what I'm keeping here. But I have to admit, it's seemed a little daunting - podcasts on iTunes are so professional, and have such a huge viewership, how can I hope to create anything like that? It's just seemed like something other people in other countries do.Well, now there's an incentive, and a little guidance. As they said in the dot-com boom- "all I need now is a good idea".
jose gonzalez
We went to go see Jose Gonzalez performing live at Wits Unitversity last week (the guy who did the music they use for the sony bravia bouncing balls ad).
While I like his music, I admit I didn't know too much about him. Turns out his parents are Argentinian, but he's Swedish. He doesn't speak too much english. And he plays guitar like he was born with one in his hands. It's amazing to watch - I've never seen anyone re-tune their guitar between songs to change the key. Simply amazing.
It was a little disappointing that he didn't have more original music, but his covers are really cool too. Besides "Heartbeat", the track that made him famous, actually being from The Knife (who you HAVE to try get a hold of), he did a pretty cool version of Kylie's "Hand on your Heart".
All in all, I'm really pleased we went - add to the list of things done in 2007: "see live international acts " - TICK!
Did I mention we went to meet him and get our CDs signed?
karma chameleon
A new favourite live performer! I love this - being able to find new acts that you really enjoy and can see over and over. The latest one is Chris Chameleon. You may remember him as the guy who wore dresses and make-up in the band BOO!, but all that's changed. Not that it was a bad thing. I just think Chris may have found his own groove now. We went to see him perform a while back at a theatre in Pretoria. Loved it! He did the poems of Ingrid Jonke (yes, you HAVE heard of her - think back to school) and he gave them a life I never saw before while hanging over an old textbook. He breathes in to them. He introduces one song as "one of Ingrid Jonke's saddest poems of loss", and promptly launches in the liveliest vocal acrobatics ever!
And he really is an amazing vocalist! The things that man can do with his throat! At one point I really thought the sound effects had kicked in, but it was all him - just him, his mic and his guitar. "I know - talented tongue" he says smiling...
If you get a chance to see him, I recommend you do - you won't regret it, and you may find something beautiful you never knew was so close.
more thom-thom
The latest publicity hype around Thom Yorke's new album. I just got mail - mine has been despatched! 7 days to go!
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