Sometimes a little is all you need.

A lot of the internet has become rather repetitive and I want to avoid that here.  I know I'm the worst blogger in the world,  but hopefully I can grab your attention once more. 

I'm not promising massive investigative posts, or constant bombardment of what you should be listening to. Instead, I'll try do what bloggers used to, I'll kick it old school and use this as an internet based account of what I am and believe.

Hopefully you like reading it. 

Rick
Out

When the world surprises you…

I will be the first to admit, I’m a bit of a hater. I don’t like the idea of agreeing with something, “just because.” I like thinking for myself, I like calling things I don’t like “shit” and so on, and so forth. However, this post is not about anything I don’t like, in fact, it’s a happy post. A post about six things which have surprised me in 2012, now remember, I choose to focus on the simple things.

We take too many things for granted, so here (without any promise of a little hating in there somewhere) are my six biggest surprises of 2012.

My first Cape Town autumn. Bizarrely during the five years I’ve lived in Cape Town, I’ve experienced two seasons. Scorching summers, and cold, wet, stormy winters, but this year is different. There’s sunshine to keep the cold away just long enough for me to appreciate the gentle autumn chill in the air.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah played for us, in Wynberg. As if one of my favourite indie acts touring SA isn’t enough, we went to watch them in Wynberg. We were followed by bergies, strolled through the Southern Suburbs and got to see a world class live show. Epic night, epic show, and considering how short the notice was, it was a very pleasant surprise.

VETO. Now I am sure if you follow me on Twitter you would’ve read something about these guys during the past few months. They’ve released a few albums and an EP, and every single song is awesome. I’m not kidding, it’s been a long time since a band had me hooked so quickly. Thanks Alex, I owe you one.

WebAfrica – Once again I have Alex (and Dale) to thank for this one. I was with another service provider and thinking all is well, until I heard of WebAfrica. Not only is my internet connection faster now, but I can also monitor my usage and in so doing avoid be shaped on my uncapped line. Oh, and did I mention that it’s a R100 cheaper than the exact same package I had with my original ISP? They’re a local company, and if you’re looking for an ISP to get you connected quickly, easily and cheaply, I can’t speak highly enough of these guys. Thanks fellas.

How much I’ve learnt about fashion. This is quite a strange surprise, but considering my designer girlfriend and much of my professional work being about fashion, I’ve picked things up. I know the differences between fabrics, I know why melange is all weird looking and what a high-low dress is. Not particularly useful on boys nights, but as I said, SURPRISE!

Finally, our flat. If you've been to our place, you will know that it's old, and cold and awesome. We love our home and that's quite surprising for us, because we've been moving every year since moving to Cape Town. I'm surprised we won't be moving again this year, and the thought of another winter with a fireplace makes me very, very happy. 

So those are my six biggest surprises so far of 2012. I hope the following eight months will be equally surprising and rewarding. I’m definitely not used to such positive posting, but I think I like. I hope you like reading it, and if you did, I may even be able to add a number seven to the list. Not bad at all, considering I don’t like surprises. 

The solution to everything

Now, I realise that it's a massive statement to make, but considering the size and irrelevance of this here blog, I find the scale of my sweeping statements severely declined, almost palatable. The solution to the world's problems is hate. Now hear me out, not just general disregard and hatred for everything, but I believe that loathing for the right things will help.

If everyone starts disliking crap films, television shows, and movies, the overall standard of entertainment will surely increase. It's science, I don't make the rules. Humanity is extremely stupid and mediocrity is celebrated far too often for my liking. Now I am not saying I'm above all of this, some of my guilty pleasures include some of the worst television shows and films, possibly ever made. I perpetuate the problem, to an extent.

I look around me and I think I am correct when I say that the most celebrated thing on the planet is, in fact, mediocrity. It makes me sad, it fills me with rage, at the same time. I am not claiming for a single second that I am the authority on what is mediocre and what isn't, I am merely pointing out that it should not be celebrated.

When did it become okay to just "get by"? When did we all decide that supporting the bullshit is worth our time and effort? Don't conform simply because it's "there." Grow a spine, take a stand, hate what you can.  It's what the world needs.

We're not only filling the planet with our waste, and babies, but we're losing sight of the good stuff at the same time. Supply is directly related to demand and if the world demands more stupid, it's what we'll get. So even if you only avoid one piece of stupid today, you'll have done a good thing. Then tomorrow, avoid another bit of idiocy, and hopefully it will snowball into a massive ball of hate, for the right things.

That ball of hate will spread across the globe and we can all dislike stupidity and mediocrity in unison, and I am positive that it would result in everyone being really happy, and everything being good. Who says hate is bad? Fools, that's who.

Rick.
Out.

My wish...for an iPhone

Yes, it's true, I have a wish for an iPhone, however, it's not to own one, it's to school the owners of them that they don't make you cooler. They're like drop-top Ferraris. You can drive that shit with the roof up all day long and no one will think any differently of you, but you put the top down, and you look a doos (this joke is courtesy of Mr Jeremy Clarkson, I'm not that good). This is a fact. No one wants to sit in their i10 at the traffic lights and to the left see a 30-something in their brand new convertible Ferrari. You know what the irony is? Most people who drive Ferraris, especially the drop tops, drive them alone.

I've found a lot of iPhone users to be kind of "hey, look at what my phone can do!" So I will indulge you, blow my mind, and they show me apps. Really, you think your phone's capabilities are determined and best illustrated by the apps you download from your closed source, source? 

I may only have a humble HTC Desire, which is rooted, running the very latest version of Android, underclocked and other geeky things that aren't important right now, but the point I'm trying to make is that it's about personalisation, no matter how big or small. 

After all, isn't that what a phone is all about, they do tend to act as extensions of our personalities, so luddites, they're mostly Blackberry fans, geeks are Android fanboys and the trendies, well, we all know you want something that looks fabulous, darling. 

And the iPhone does, it looks exactly the way Steve Jobs wanted it to look, but I want my phone to look like mine, not like everyone else's. I want it to make my life easier, not bend my usage habits to play by its rules, and if the urge grabs me, I would like to be able to see how its guts work, this is called open source. 

If you don't know what open source means, here's a breakdown, in simple English, it's free software that you can do with whatever you want to. Modify it, share it with your friends, read it, it doesn't matter, because it's free and that's the way information should be, free for you to do with as YOU choose, not as you're told.

Android runs on a number of devices (many better than the iPhone, any iPhone), so you have choice, you can decide what works for you, instead of being spoon-fed what Apple deems acceptable. So when you're upgrading next time, don't listen to your friend behind his Instagram camera about how "cool" it is, test some other devices, HTC, Samsung, Motorola all have fantastic handsets, see what fits your needs, and remember, you can find an open source version for Android of pretty much any Apple app imaginable. Fact. (Quick Android tip. Vignette is one of the best camera apps available, for any platform. check it out in the Market.)

The choice is yours, do you want to be part of the iPhone or the future? Decide wisely.

rick.

out.

The Modern Geek

Gone are the days when Rick Moranis was the shiny embodiment of the word "geek", or "nerd", because as insulting as those titles were while growing up, today, we're all nerd and communicating online is our revenge. These include our lashings out at society's occasional stupidity, the world's issues and of course, personal preference.

I can see you shaking your head right now, "I'm not a nerd" I can hear you think, but I hate to break this to you, you are. Well, that's not strictly true I guess. If you found this post via Facebook, chances are that you're safe, however, if you stumbled upon this post via Twitter, then I'm afraid you may have to face the facts and embrace your inner Urkel.

We're all constantly online, browsing, surfing, chatting, learning, smutting, whatever floats your boat, and growing up, that kind of thing was reserved for the uber-geeks and superhackers. Those guys that hit puberty and moved into their parents' basement to hack the planet. However, technology has moved on, and has given every single person in the world the opportunity to share his or her views on the world, all the time, and to me, that signifies what I am going to start referring to as the "Dawn of the Modern Geek."

You're still not convinced? How many pirated films have you watched? How many albums have you listened to that were downloaded? How many people that you've never met do you talk to on a daily basis? All of these things have contributed to our technology driven society, whether here in Africa or in the "First World."

The stereotypical "nerd" or "geek" wears thick glasses, can barely see and has the high score on "Frogger" or "Pac-Man" at the local arcade, but no more. Now, to be a true nerd, you need to be a luddite, a technophobe, someone who does not dabble online, the tables have turned and the reluctant will be left behind if they do not embrace the tools at their disposal. In a nutshell, you need to be an ignorant fool.

I am very proud of being a geek, I embrace it, now the question is, can you shatter that bubble around you and embrace your fate? It's evolution, our natural progression, we need to adapt to the times and utilise the tools and gadgets at our disposal to the best of our abilities or risk being left behind, alone in a dark corner somewhere on MySpace.

Here's the kicker, if you told me in high school (which ended 11 years ago) that the geeks and nerds would be taking over in South Africa, I would've laughed my ass off, however I think it's true.

It's 2011, and every day we're online, every time we share some of ourselves with the great online information superhighway, we contribute to the revenge of the nerds, we're contributing to the toppling of the "old way" of doing things. We're ushering in a new era, we're spearheading it in fact, and I, for one, think that there has never been a better time to be a geek, nerd or which ever term you prefer, because this is our time, and if you're reading this, welcome to your evolution.

Rick.
Out.

I tweet because I'm unhappy and I'm unhappy because I tweet.

It's very strange how my blog has become a barren wasteland in recent times, but as usual after a slight spurt of posts, none about music mind you, we're back baby! This brings me to the topic of today's discussion, do we tweet because we're unhappy and unfulfilled in our real lives? User patterns lead me to believe so.

It's weird, when I worked in an office full time, I thought about different things I guess. Now that I work from home, for myself, the whole social media-sphere isn't irrelevant, but real life just takes priority and I find it much easier to take a backseat.

What I've noticed is that Twitter's peak times are office hours, when everyone is working. This I have no problem with, my ex-employers were very good about letting us use social media during office hours and I am sure most companies have adopted the same attitude, it's a part of society now, how could they not, right?

It just fascinates me to see people posting around 6 - 10 posts per hour during the week (they are quickly unfollowed btw) during work hours. Now I realise that it takes seconds to post a tweet, but one every ten minutes, that leaves VERY little space for productivity and opens a wide door of annoyance to me, inconvenient. Not that I've become anti-Twitter, completely the opposite, but I've just noticed the patterns and thought the proper thing to do was to share it with you.

What I don't like is how real life somehow plays second fiddle to our online personas, as a good friend always introduces me, "This is RickBosch from the internet." And the fact that people respond to that tells me that social media is the perfect tool for expanding and developing our personal networks, but what about people who broadcast their comings and goings as if they're a news provider?

I am pretty bad when it comes to playing on my phone, however, telling me that you're at the Old BIscuit Mill five times in an hour is just stupid. You're not adding value to anyone's life, not even your own, even though you may think you are. Put down your phone and enjoy a coffee with your friends you anti-social bastard.

I wish I could make huge generalisations regarding this matter, oh wait, it's my blog and I can do whatever the  hell I want. I think that people who tweet EXCESSIVELY from work are either stuck in jobs they hate or in professions that are as stimulating as finding parking in Long Street or Hell.

Secondly, if you post EXCESSIVELY during your own time, maybe you should do more exciting things with your time, things that will entertain you long enough to forget about the "e-verse" that is our social networking landscape. It's just a suggestion.

No one really cares that you've just eaten a pie, unless it was off the back of a migrating wildebeest.

Rick
Over.

What your tools say about you…

As a writer by trade, and passion (fortunately), I find myself thinking about the strangest things at the most bizarre hours. Like last night, I was all tucked up in bed and it struck me like the fright I get every single day when the Noon Gun goes off. (I am not new to the Noon Gun; I’ve just moved a LOT closer to it, gets me every. single. day.) So I was thinking last night, what do the tools you use for your technological fix say about you?

Actually, that’s not exactly what I thought, I thought this. (patience please)

There are two kinds of writers. Those with laptops and those who prefer desktop machines. This is where my dilemma struck, because I have both, and I use both. I thought to myself, “pick one, pick a favourite, get off the fence.” Alas, I could not.

Off the top of my head I can think of a few laptop kind of writers that I’ve seen on the telly. That girl who looks like a horse uses a laptop to do her writing on Sex and the City and I believe the bastard responsible for “XOXO” becoming a socially acceptable phrase also uses one. I can’t think of any others right now, but as you can see, we’re not off to a good start.

Now for the desktop, the old school I believe. Ugh, not much better here to be honest, the one glimmering light is Jerry’s first generation personal computer, which I don’t recall seeing any of the characters use in any of the series, wait, maybe once, vaguely. Ray from Everybody Loves Raymond (kakkest title for a show EVER, for obvious reasons) uses one too, and in an instant all of Jerry's progressive thinking is erased. 

Bummer.

So it seems I only have a horse-face, an uppity schmuck, Ray “I have the weirdest voice ever” Romano or Jerry Seinfeld to relate to television characters, pretty damn wild, but help me out can you think of any others?

Speaking of strange, no idea where this post came from, but it seemed important.

Rick

Over.

Has the whole world gone crazy?

AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO GIVES A SHIT ABOUT THE RULES ANYMORE? Sorry about the screaming, but I'm afraid the world has done it again. Not that annoying me is difficult, or even complicated, but I am on the verge of dishing out backhands faster than that guy on Kloof Street cycles down the road, backwards.

(Non Cape Town residents, apologies, let me explain. There's this guy and for kicks, he does headstands on his bicycle's seat and rides down Kloof Street. Sometimes backwards, sometimes the right way round, but always at high speed.)

Anyway, since I last blogged, Osama Bin Laden was killed, again, we've been told that Coldplay is coming to SA and I have changed my mind about seeing the Kings of Leon (because I want to support ANY album that has a song as fantastic as Pyro on it, even if it means cringing through the Only By The Night kak). However, none of these things have inspired this post, none of them can hold a candle to how much Twitter is fucking annoying me at the moment.

I love Twitter, I love the Internet and I love networking - socially or electronically. Twitter has gone from being an informative resource to just flat out face-palming in record time. I interact with a small group of people regularly, some whom I've shared beers and good times with, and some who have become e-quaintances, and who I will still share beers and real time with in the future. However, I am convinced that at least 75% of Twitter users are bona fide idiots.

I can't handle the constant brand humping to try and get something free from someone, or the constant self-love/pity parties that my timeline seems to host. I hear what you are saying "Why not just unfollow said annoyances?" and I have, many of them, however, occasionally these idiots will say something that makes me chuckle, encouraging my bad habits of following them for the sake of mocking them. Twitter really brings out my dark passenger.

Which brings me to what annoys me the most about Twitter, which I believe to be the biggest South African cultural phenomenon since Fokofpolisiekar. The guidelines say that you can follow and unfollow whomever you want, to tailor your experience, but how can I unfollow people who's survival in modern society amazes me on a daily basis? How do I look away? How can such narrow-minded, self-centred schmucks not realise how they are the complete opposite of what they claim to be? When did it all go so wrong? So here are my rules for Twitter. Feel free to add some of your own in the comments.

Here they are:

• You shall not constantly toot your own horn and claim to be humble. 
• You shall not badger your followers with you terrible taste in delicacies.
• You shall not pretend that being a Playboy Playmate is prestigious, it's still just smut.
• You shall not steal other people's tweets (or Facebook statuses) and claim them as your own. 
• You shall not add your location to your tweets and then complain about privacy.
• You shall not post to Twitter from FourSquare, Gowalla or any other location based services while I follow you.

I am no authority, but I felt like I needed a little vent.

My mom always said, if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. So I wrote it down instead.

Rick.
Over.

It's certainly been a while...

Damn, I've been terribly slack at posting recently, but it's been a strange time in my life. But good strange, as you may have guessed, like a Coen brothers movie without the wicked twist.

Here's the low down...

I've become self-employed and am loving it. Definitely the way forward, although I sometimes miss the office banter, but then I simply go outside and do whatever the hell I want and the moment passes.

I've watched a Super15 rugby match in a bar in Kleinmond, it was special. Thanks for making my dreams cone true lads, really, it was emotional and smelt like cheap deo and some broken dreams.

I had another birthday and to celebrate the Alkaline Trio decided to come and play for me at Ramfest. It was awesome.

I am not supposed to have it yet, but the new TV on the Radio, Nine Types of Light and it's a more subdued kind of aural assault. It's fantastic.

I have more time now and have finally arranged my life into some sort of order. Look out for a redesign of my blog and more regular posts.

Hello there Mr Internet, fuck, I've missed you.

Rick
Over.

Don't you just love technology?

So as you may or may not know, I've finally become part of the smartphone revolution. And no, I didn't get a Blackberry or an iPhone, which are inexplicably the brands of choice when I look around me, I opted for Android and let me tell you, it's even better than I expected.

I'm an unashamed lover of technology and I've never been afraid to admit it. However, my new HTC Desire has already brought out the ubër nerd in me.

I can feel myself becoming one of those people who sit in conversations tapping away at their miniature keypads, because "EVERYTHING MUST BE DONE THIS INSTANT!" I will try my best to avoid this grim, lonely, socially connected, humanly impersonal, technologically inspired brain drain.

I fear I may already have failed though, considering that I'm writing this post from my Desire. I've seen and known about the technology, but being able to experience it first-hand is something that excites me, a lot.
I highly recommend Android and the Desire, so much in fact that I'm actually paying for mine - a labour if love, if you will.

Rick
Over



Posted from my HTC Desire.

Heartbreak, violence and controlled aggression...

These, in my opinion, are the three most important traits of Mr Nick Cave. I've long been a fan of his work with the Bad Seeds and in more recent years, Grinderman. During my journey through the musical repertoire of Uncle Nick I also found his work pre-Bad Seeds with The Birthday Party.

I've only read his first book, And the Ass Saw the Angel, and as a writer he's as accomplished as any household name out there, if not as well known. He really is a wizard with words, an evil Gandalf if you will. Before you all comment telling about his second book, I know all about it, I just haven't gotten round to reading Cave's second mindfuck, but I will. Bunny Munroe seems like a dude I would like to get to know.

Cave's musical outputs are however what I want to talk about. The Birthday Party was a noisy, disjointed, post punk ensemble and delivered their music with a ferocity and energy that I've not really encoutered since. Keep in mind that this is from 1982 and from Australia. This is pretty crazy stuff, even I can admit that.

Here you go, Junkyard...



I must admit, I don't listen to the Birthday Party as much, but the Bad Seeds and Grinderman are two entirely different monsters.

From the first time I heard Murder Ballads (his seminal album in my humblest of opinions), I was intrigued by Cave. We share a fascination of the bizarre, the ultra violent and of course, love. Nick Cave writes a lot of love songs, but real love songs. They're twisted, warped and dark, but they're also brutally honest. Just the way I like it. Here's an example...



He's most known for his collboration with Kylie, if I would hazard a guess, but I think Grinderman may have the potential to overshadow his already supreme influence on the creative world. his albums with the Bad Seeds are crammed full of passive aggressive anger and more dark undertones than a Burzum record. However, Grinderman is his release from all of that. It's noisy, messy and crammed full of bad attitude. I can't get enough of it.

Proof for you...



So there you have it. If you like your music / reading matter dark and twisted, without it losing any of it's edge, Nick Cave is your man. He also wrote a film, The Proposition. So I can honestly say that I consider him a Jack of all trades, and he rips every single one to shreds, just like Stagger Lee fucked up that stupid barman. As you can find out below.



Rick.
Over.

Which album are you?

It's because of music that I started this blog. Somewhere deep inside, it's what I'm made of, little guitar solos and the bashing of drum kits. Sometimes just a smooth voice will do, on cold days one that's been matured in gin works better. In the summer it needs a splash of rock and roll, regardless of the time of year / day / night, music is a constant presence in my life.

Music helps us all get through the doldrums of our day to day strutting to and from work as well as the racing home on a Friday night to greet the weekend. Now, it may not move you to the same extent as a lighting storm does, but it can help you switch off for a split second in the midst of this entire "life" debacle. And in that brief moment, pictures can jump into focus, instantly.

There are only good reasons for music to exist, even though music often becomes associated with dark days of times past.

"It helps you get away from it all"

Love Won't Save You - Rain Machine

To me, music knows no bounds. We can't stop the juggernaught we've created. My musical education began with Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep, Sabbath, Chris Rea, Joe Cocker, Joe Jackson, etcetera etcetera. Back then, the cars looked as weird as some of the music sounded. They were clunky and heavy, but fuck it, some of them were beautiful, you just have to be selective and follow your instincts.

It reminds me of conversations with my old man about tunes and him unleashing tirades about "your generation this" and "you young kids that." And it's been a few months now, but this year, for the first time, I've noticed me thinking those same things. I'm getting old enough to see the generation gap between myself and the "next" generation and it's a little unnerving, but also gives me this sense of "I know so much crap you still have to learn."

And for someone, me, that really enjoys breathing in the crisp Cape Town air (although any old air will do) that freaked me out a little. Death has never and will never be one of my favoured topics of conversation, countless Seinfeld, Mighty Boosh, Black Books and Family Guy quotes require a lot attention to detail. Get you more laughs too.

Even though death sucks, it's been responsible for some of the most important and significant songs and albums ever recorded. Whether it's the subject matter of a single track, or the inspiration behind an entire album, misery loves company and sadness is the great writing companion.

That's how I see life, it's all one big dress rehearsal before your opening night. When a life ends, an album is born. Which album have you written? I'd like to think mine would be awesome and happy, but I'm pretty confident it would be noisy, hard to digest and appreciated by very few, but that's the whole point of the melodrama.

Write your own album, don't be part of what the world wants you to record.

Rick
Over.

Playlists – My Guide

Making a great playlist is an art, it really is. Now I may not have perfected it, but I would like to get your thoughts on the matter. While sharing mine, of course, whenever lists, playlists or the organisation of music is involved, my mind turns directly to one of my favourite films ever, High Fidelity.

Dick is confused. So is Rob.

There is a wonderful scene in the film adaptation of Nick Hornby’s novel where Dick interrupts John Cusack’s character, Rob, while he’s reorganising his record collection. His aprartment’s floor is completely covered in records and Rob couldn’t look more dejected if he tried. The chaos on the floor confuses Dick’s simple mind and he asks Rob how he is sorting his albums, Rob explains the process in the scene, explaining that it’s autobiographical. Have a look, I think it rocks. Basically, the fact that it’s autobiographical makes no difference to me, but I liked the idea of doing it your own way. 

This is kind of my approach to making a playlist. I don’t always group similar kinds of music, I like grouping music by philosophy. So bands that are more focussed on the soundscapes they create as opposed to the lyrics that they write. Some are musicians more interested in being musicians instead of writers, that sort of thing.

Creating a playlist that consists of a single genre is reasonably easy, for example, taking all of Jack White or Josh Homme’s projects and slamming them in a playlist, they’ll naturally work, because of the bands’ main creative forces.

Combining genres is a lot more difficult, but it’s definitely not impossible, but the playlists that I find work the best are influence related. Find your favourite bands’ influences, drop them all in a playlist together and I can almost guarantee you musical magic.

So how do you make your playlists, do you group albums or songs? Do you mix genres or play it safe? Let me know, as a music geek, I need to know these things people.

Rick.
Over

The Blues - I've got 'em bad

You've heard this countless times before, but the blues are the roots of the wonderful tree that is rock and roll. All of the bands that we listen to were influenced by someone from a previous decade. Radiohead were influenced by Jeff Buckley. Buckley in turn was influenced by Jimi Hendrix and Hendrix was influenced by B.B King, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Albert King and Elmore James. Blues men.

Every decade someone does something special and this progression started way back when under a tree planted in America's deep south. The blues comes from a place so untouched and unreachable that it delivers, in my opinion, the clearest and most honest music. Topics covered include everything from pain, to longing, to heartbreak and even optimism but the original songwriters weren't writing about fictional events. Their pain was real, they used their voices tremendously and only needed acoustic guitars (occasionally a piano) to blow minds. None of these fancy gadgets and gizmos modern musicians build empires with.

Son House - Grinning in your face

Skip James - The devil stole his woman

The list of blues musicians is endless, however, two of my favourites are Son House and Skip James. (For more info about the blues, how it's played, song structures, etc head over here.) I am much more concerned about when and where modern music became so dull, uninspired and predictable. That, however, is another rant for another day. For now I would like to do my best to get all of you to listen to some of the blues.

I think everyone should listen to the blues at least once. I am not talking about putting it on in the background while having a nap, I mean you should get some headphones, find this album, grab a few beers, push play and turn the volume right up. Son House captures more emotion in his voice than *insert crappy pop band name here* could in an entire career. A career likely to span three albums; the critically adored debut, the difficult second album and of course, the third and final offering, *aforementioned crappy pop band's* Greatest Hits. Pfft.

I want longevity, I want something that I love now and I still will in 10 years, one of modern society's biggest downfalls has to be our demand for instant gratification. Everything has to happen now, we have to be in touch all the time and if we can't text whilst sat waiting at the red traffic lights, well then that's just an absolute disaster. And that is part of what gives me the blues. Our desire to live in an alternate reality more than in our actual lives isn't necessarily growing, but it is worrying.

My post about being inspired was a short prequel to this, because beautiful, memorable moments happen in real life. I cannot explain how annoyed I get when I look around at restaurants and EVERYONE is on their smart phone of choice, regardless of their actual, human companions, missing out on real moments. In case you haven't noticed, weeks are flying by even faster than before, and THAT is what gives me the blues, we're losing touch with reality.

Luckily, I have the blues to listen to and you know what, it never disappoints. The pioneers of the blues did more than make music, and give birth to what would later become rock and roll, they provided an outlet, a medium for us. A medium that allows us to "unplug", sit back, enjoy an icy beverage and appreciate the magic of America's deep southern roots. Best of all, it's good for sharing. In real life.

Rick
Over

Rock and roll, a summer sport

The city is heating up nicely and with that comes a shift in my listening habits. For now the indie bands I love so dearly will take a backseat while the sun is out. Besides, they prefer it indoors anyway, my rock and roll doesn’t. It prefers the sunshine, beers outside and slapping meat on a fire. That shift, and an increase in an already significant braai schedule, has propelled me back towards the root of the problem, the cause of it all, my kings of rock and roll.

Rock and roll in its all its glory is the medium that facilitates the communication of individuals’ grievances, heart breaks and anger in a musical form. It’s offered us comfort in knowing that others out there may have gone through the same dark days as we once did.

So, in true Don’t Sink, Swim fashion, here are four musicians whose projects provide the cornerstones to my perfect summer soundtrack, because every house needs four walls.

Jay Reatard

I have mentioned his death before, but this is when Reatard’s departure will be missed more than ever. There is no new Reatards album to add to the already epic collection of his catalogue. A garage punk in its truest form, thank goodness he made as many awesome albums as he did. Bands you can find him in are Reatards, as Jay Reatard, Terror Vision, Bad Times, Angry Angles and Lost Sounds. Catchy as fire and frantic as the scramble to try and extinguish it, this is essential listening.

Jack White

Yes, I recently watched “It Might Get Loud” and it started this whole damn change in listening habits, but no, The White Stripes aren’t a new band to me. Since the first time I heard “De Stijl” in my native PE of all places in 2001 (first year), I’ve been a fan. Through sound changes, Jack growing as a songwriter and his mad screams, The White Stripes have always enjoyed air play in the summer. There’s no new work coming out any time soon from what I can tell, but with an impressive back catalogue, Detroit’s finest have more than enough variety to keep me entertained. Check out the Dead Weather and Raconteurs too, they’re not as good as The White Stripes, but should still feature on summer playlists, mostly because both have “JACK WHITE WAS HERE” watermarks.

Spencer Moody

Not as prolific or a one man operation as the other three, Moody has two projects that I really enjoy and I couldn’t survive without them. The Murder City Devils were my “American” rock and roll band while I was in England. They were my escape from the swarms of UK indie bands. Not that I don’t like those indie bands, but when the sun is shining man, The Murder City Devils make everything taste better. Moody’s vocals are husky, alcohol soaked groans and very few vocalists are as much fun to listen to.

Josh Homme

Anything “Ginger Elvis” touches turns to fiery goodness. Responsible for some of the best riffs I have ever heard, with Queens of the Stone Age, Homme is quite possibly my favourite guitarist…ever. Playing an electric guitar the way we all want to, damnit, he should’ve replaced The Edge in that documentary! Homme is a very prolific songwriter and recording artist, check out his Dessert Sessions, Eagles of Death Metal (yes, I know he plays the drums for them occasionally, but I think they’re fantastic), Kyuss and of course, Them Crooked Vultures.

These four guys really capture everything I believe rock and roll to be. Honest, angry, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, never dull. So how about you give me some bands to look out for. I’d love to know what you guys are listening to this summer.

For now, I will leave you with some summery thoughts…

“Rejoice, we made the right choice, if there’s something wrong with it, they’ll find it, I say, let ‘em have it. I’ve got a preacher’s mouth and a rock and roll heart.” – Dear Hearts, The Murder City Devils.

Rick.
Over.

Volume III

So indie is in the mainstream now. Which results in the next part of my underground theory. Does becoming more famous affect the music negatively? And, quite possibly the most famous of all musical clichés, "I think the earlier stuff is better."

This is completely explainable by the way. Most of the time, when a band releases a debut album, it is on their own steam. This album when then become really popular, or maybe the second one will be. Then the band will be discovered by some record label trying to make a quick buck from it and kids, this will upset you. Because I have two examples. And I am pretty sure you're not going to like them.

Kings of Leon. Youth and Young Manhood was released and delivered 46 minutes worth of whiskey soaked southern drawl, set on fire with an energy hotter than a tight pair of leather trousers. I remained a fan, up until the release of "Only By Night". Where's the fire? Besides into all the sex that the band have been having with the hoards of groupies they gathered from the album? The spark disappeared and it hurt my feelings, it made for pretty dreary listening as well.

Muse is another great example of what I refer to as "The Decline." Showbiz and Origin of Symmetry were musically extraordinary, then came Absolution and Black Holes & Revelations which weren't too bad if I am honest, but then The Resistance happened. And all my respect for the band nearly vanished. I still have not managed to listen to the entire album.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is how an indie band becomes a mainstream band under normal circumstances, they change their style to be more "acceptable", but luckily, that is changing. Indie bands are being recognised for their musical prowess, or perhaps the world has grown tired of all the bollocks. Either way, I like the fact that it's all a lot more transparent now, it does make my life as a self confessed elitist a little harder, but what kind of prick would I be if I didn't enjoy a challenge?

Over
Rick

Part Deux...

I'm stoked that my earlier post garnered as much attention as it did, simply because this is exactly the kind of thing that I let occupy my thoughts for days on end. In the first post of this series, which it has become, I said that I think the underground is dead. Now, without getting to existential on all of you lovely people, I don't really know if that is true.

I mean, the bigger the tectonic plate, the bigger the cavern beneath it, right? I think the underground in it's traditional sense is for all intents and purposes, dead. It has instead transformed, like some hideous moth, to a fat worm with more heads than Medusa's do.

There are more genres than ever before, many of them complete crap in my opinion, which if you remember cannot be wrong. But I think once one delves into the "World of a Thousand Genres" there is some gold to be found. However, the underground isn't a single room full of music. The underground is a host of small caves scattered along the way, each room offering listeners something new, something exciting and sometimes it may even be terrifying.

This is where it gets a little more tricky. Exploring these caves has also become easier than wondering Cape Town's streets on Street View. So all of a sudden, is the "mainstream" in the minority? It could be possible, especially when I look at something like The Arcade Fire's splendid, Rococo sporting, album The Suburbs. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard Albums Chart in the USA. Vampire Weekend's album, Contra was the first independently released album to top the charts upon release and that in itself is quite a fucking feat.

Think about it, no other indie bands have been able to do that. I love the Arcade Fire, I unfortunately - for them - dislike Vampire Weekend a lot. But the fact that these two could beat out Radiohead in the first week of album sales, tells me that the tide is turning. The time for thoughtless, mass produced music will continue, but fear not, we're winning. The good stuff is making it into the bigger picture.

The underground as one entity frightened me, but it's much easier to deal with in these little caverns. Maybe you'll find some gems, quite often you won't, either way, half the fun is the search anyway. But more on that next time. Feel free to use the below forum (comments section) to tell me what you think...

Over
Rick

Long live the underground.

Writing a blog post is a strange sensation. I still don't really know if what I am doing and writing is actually contributing positively to society, or actually contributing at all. I mean, we all have opinions, and because they're opinions, they cannot be wrong. They can be different, but never wrong.

It seems that every blogger, including me, covering the topic of music strives to be an individual, some succeed, some of them fail, but regardless of their success rate, each music writer is an elitist. Whether they like to admit it or not. Music fanatics are weird things, we're not built like everyone else. 

This brings me to what I wanted to rant about. I think the world's done a flip-flop, a topsy turvy, yes people, the world has officially gone tits up. I think the underground has gone mainstream. And I blame the Internet. Although, I also thank the Internet profusely. 

The World Wide Web has brought music from anywhere imaginable right to all of our doorsteps. I think that so many people subscribe to the ethos of "being an individual" that it's become the mainstream. It's become the norm, nobody wants to be like anyone else, except for those people who aim to be like some flavour of the week jackass in designer heels or a popped collar, but more importantly, it's true, the underground is dead. Long live the underground. 

It was so easy to be a musical elitist back then, finding something good that no-one had ever heard of wasn't too difficult if you knew where to look. But now, everyone is always looking and people, like me, are recommending you bands that aren't mainstream, we're spreading the word and shedding a little light on something people may not have had any insight into 5 years ago.

Fuckery, it was us. We perpetuated this, we took the underground and sacrificed it for our own satisfaction. We told the world about bands that were never meant for mass consumption. I am a little sad about the underground being dead and all, although, as resources increase and the Web grows, the underground could just be buried a little deeper than I am currently aware of. 

However, if it's still out there, trust me, I'll find it. For now though, I will bid you adieu old friend. It was always a pleasure. Consider yourself saluted.

Over

Rick

Two thirds almost down, 2011 rapidly approaching. Flippit.

So the year is flying by faster than enclosed stink, and I realised this morning that I’ve not posted a half yearly “let’s examine Rick’s world over the past three months” post. I will instead endeavour to summarise the last five months, that is the last time I posted a “wrap up” of any sorts. It has been a strange year, bizarre occurrences constantly boggling my mind, new music occasionally dazzling me and all the while, Cape Town becoming a bigger part of my existence.

So as regular readers will know, we were robbed earlier this year, but luckily I've started getting back onto the technology wagon, although I did manage to wash my iPod amidst an epic hangover last Sunday. So if anyone feels like buying me one for Xmas or just because, that would be sweet. For now I am making do with a 1 Gig iShuffle, a purple one, it does the job, but finding the right song to start your day on, especially for a music nut like me, is pretty damn difficult.

So what bands have come to the fore during the last five months of the year? I don't really remember, because these past few months have been absolutely manic. Luckily I have Last.fm to help me remember, the charts don't lie.

Soooo, apparently I've been super duper indie the past six months, TV on the Radio, Sunset Rubdown, The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, Wolf Parade, My Morning Jacket, The Black Keys, The Cramps, The Decemberists, Iran and Elliott Smith.

Besides three of these bands, the others have been in my collection for years, Sunset Rubdown, Wolf Parade and Iran however, have not. So this post will now take a turn towards what you all know has been coming, music. More importantly, one of the most, in my humblest opinion, important songwriters in recent memory.

I've raved about Spencer Krug in a couple of posts, thinking that I've done a whole post on him and I haven't. Very strange considering he's been responsible for my score of 2010. His bands have been on constant rotation, although I have not been as one track minded as usual, his efforts have stuck. I think if I could be in a band, we'd sound like Sunset Rubdown and Wolf Parade's bastard children. A little indie, a little noisy, but always sincere.

Krug's lyrics are pretty obscure, his stories fantastical, and his voice, regardless of the tempo or mood of the music can deliver as much angst, pain and joy (often all at once) as you are ever likely to hear. I love the fact that while he delivers these wonderful stories, he still manages to experiment with a wide variety sounds and instruments. Too many bands focus on one or the other, lyrics or music. And depending on the band and their sound, that is okay, but mostly bands fail in one of the departments, that however doesn't make them bad bands, it just doesn't make them great. Something I think both Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown are. I hope Krug continues to release records while becoming the next Robert Pollard.

As the year carries on, we need an album of the year, my top ten for 2010 so far would be...in no particular order...

Wolf Parade - Expo 86
Menomena - Mines
Liars - Sisterworld
The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster - Blood & Fire
The Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Paralysis
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Les Savy Fav - Root For Ruin
Against Me! - White Crosses
Band of Horses - Infinite Arms
The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang

If you can get hold of any (or all) of these, do. It's been a great year for music. I don't have anything smart to sign off with, I also realise that their are no links in the post, but think about it, when you read your favourite book, did it have links in? No it didn't. Exactly.

Over.
Rick.

My journey home last night.

I drove home last night and it was fucking bucketing down. At the traffic lights I realised I needed petrol or would potentially have to make an awkward "Please come get me" phonecall and being a man, I thought, fuck that. So I went to the nearest Engen, drew some bucks and popped some gasoline in my car's tank.

Then the shit really hit the fan. To get home the normal way I had to make a right out of the petrol station, but because of the weather and everyone's forgetting how to drive I could not. Alas, I made a reluctant left, knowing that the simple act of going to the "other right" would cost me 15 minutes and plenty of hairy moments on my drive home. Why hairy I hear you screaming at the screen? Well, because I then have to drive past 3 additional intersections, big ones, in the pissing rain. It was like movie rain. And my lights only work on dim (setting lower than normal) and brights. I turned on the brights, I am sure people didn't like it.

I nearly got hit by a truck crossing over three lanes and during my evasive manoeuvre I nearly took out some poor idiot on a motorcycle. "Jesus", I thought, "why the fuck would you get on that two-wheeled coffin in this madness?" and the thought quickly slipped my mind, because biker got left behind and I continued home. After the additional intersections the drive went smoothly and got home in no time. Traffic out of town was horrific, I pointed and laughed at the swine caught in it! "Fucking swine!" I said.