SA Rocks

HHP is up for a BET award this year in the international category. Let’s help him make his mark and VOTE!

Head over to the BET website now and vote vote vote!

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So far I have been blown away by the 2010 stadiums that I have visited and I’ve seen a couple of attempts by various companies and groups to integrate the 360 degree view of stadiums online. John Gore at 360 South Africa is doing an incredible job and below is the first of about 5 stadiums and blog posts I’ll be doing with his content.

Load the video and check out the stadium from various views within the stadium, not just from the pitch. I’m impressed. Great work.

This Virtual Tour of Cape Town Stadium was created by John Gore of 360 South Africa.

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Last night was the first time I’ve been inside Soccer City. It was my first time driving in a crowd of 75000 people to a stadium to watch 11 men kick a ball around on a grass pitch. I can’t express sufficiently how unbelievably ecstatic I am that I forced myself to mission through the nearly 2 hours of traffic to get there. Johannesburg is ready for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, South Africans are ready and let me tell you so is Soccer City.

The drive to Soccer City in Soweto may have been epic in proportion but there was not a single minute that I didn’t have a smile on my face. People all around me where hooting in beat with other cars, blowing vuvuzelas, whistles and singing. This is in the street, on the highway, I’m not in the stadium yet.

I’m going to try and be as frank as I can about my experiences and preconceived perceptions going in to the game. I was incredibly nervous going in to the experience that I was over-hyping everything. That I would be looked at funny and frowned upon because I didn’t know enough about the team and players, because I was wearing the wrong thing, saying the wrong thing or because I was white. I was wrong, on all accounts.

We parked (that’s an entirely different story that includes my car being parked in by over 20 other cars!) and walked from the Nasrec Expo Center. We then joined masses of people in the walk down Nasrec Road. We were in the middle of the Shosholoza crew it seemed. They sang and sang and sang until we arrived at the stadium itself.

The Vuvuzelas are epic, unrelenting and extreme energy creators. The crowd too was relentless and exuberant. The didn’t stop for a single second, whether we were down, up or on a par with Columbia there was a song going, a Mexican wave flowing or tune blowing from a Vuvuzela.

With that said though, I must admit that I found the crowd to be extremely disinterested in the actual game being played. They watched and waited for the big moments, the free-kicks, the goals and penalties but not for the moments of flair and brilliance that one needs to pay attention to notice. There weren’t many occasions when good play was applauded, with thanks to the Vuvuzelas whether their were applause or not, you wouldn’t have heard them. So that’s my only criticism I think; I wish the crowd would have paid more attention to the game.

But all in all I was incredibly proud to be a part of that crowd, to be a part of this nation and to call myself South African. If ever there was doubt about whether we were ready for the World Cup, let me put many concerns to bed. After what I saw last night, we are ready and waiting. Bring it on and welcome to Africa.

Oh – yes, Bafana Bafana won in a relatively controversial game of 3 penalties (4 if you include the first one being taken twice). What a great way to open Soccer City to international Football, a victory much needed!

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Images of Cape Town Stadium and Cape Town – produced by African Renaissance Productions and Silver Bullet Productions – to get copies of the images – go to – www.africanrenaissance.co.za

Hat tip to Blacknotes for more great content!

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If this week’s Africa Day celebrations, a fast approaching FIFA World Cup, and a Bulls-Stormers Super 14 final aren’t enough to have you feeling proudly South African, this campaign just might do the trick!

Dontbeapassenger aims to inspire South Africans to take pride in our natural land and our national identity, by celebrating our past achievements and recognising our future potential. The central idea is that individual small positive actions can make a real difference and influence change. The campaign encourages a positive and conscious way of thinking, with an emphasis on environmental sustainability.

The site also serves as the social media platform for Optimal Energy, the South African company currently working to produce Joule, an eco friendly electric car. The company’s vision is to pioneer an electric vehicle industry in South Africa, to drastically reduce carbon emissions and fight climate change.

The campaign video above is well worth watch – it features some inspiring and unique moments in our history, and is sure to have even the most cynical pessimists reaching for their SA flags! To get involved and join the conversation you can visit dontbeapassenger.com or follow the campaign on Twitter and Facebook.

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I receive a fair amount of cool content every day but last week one in particular caught me eye; a South African remix had landed on the LA Times website and was making waves around the world, not only in SA.

So I did some digging and then, as fate would have it, was told by a friend over Skype that I know the guy who had produced the incredibly funny and catchy remix of JuJu’s (Julius Malema) massive mishaps. So I got in touch with the master of disaster remixes and wangled an interview pulling on the strings of historical association.

Being the fantastically smart viral marketer (or something like that) that he is, David Law did not say no to me and obliged by answering some questions that I posed. But before I get in to the interview have a listen to his rocking remix or the “Bastard, Agent” tune as I like to call it:

And now for the interview:

David, you are the man behind the “Revolutionary House” or “Bastard, Agent” (as I like to call it) remix, as it were. How did it come about, what gave you the idea?

Well let’s face it, Malema’s little f%$# out was ridiculously absurd, even for him. After having seen the original clip I was both embarrassed for SA and strangely excited to parody the situation. His reveling in recent media attention leading up to that fateful press conference was obvious to see and his megalomaniac cockiness was unrelenting. That is until the pressure and negative media exposure caught up with him and he inevitably snapped. So I jumped at the opportunity to parody a clown as it were – how much more entertainment could you ask for and the fact that he mentioned that Luthuli house was a “Revolutionary house” meant that I was going use a ”house” track as the basis of the piece as well as the title. I have a background in radio and this is not the first of these tracks that I’ve produced and judging by the astounding response to “Revolutionary house”, it will not be the last (insert naughty laugh here).

What was the intention when you did the remix? What are you hoping for?

Right off the bat, I was only intending to make light of a classic situation, have a laugh and share it with close friends and family. After realizing it’s commercial appeal and witnessing it’s potential to go viral, it took on a whole new meaning. Looking back now, the track has everything; political satire, a good catchy beat\melody and I used samples that would both stand out and be a direct link to the infamous press conference.

What exactly is it that you do for a living?

I’m a studio sound engineer by profession and work at an ad agency. I have a musical background and I produce jingles for radio and T.V. ads as well – basically any audio (music, sfx and voice) you might hear in an ad needs to be edited and cleaned up according to the clients requirements, so that’s what I do. I have been producing music for about 8 years now. I used a combination of reason 4 (a MIDI based software platform) and protools (a wave editing software package – by digidesign). My ears are my livelihood.

What sort of response have you received? I know I’ve heard it on the radio a few times.

The response has been phenomenal, which was completely unexpected even to the point that it fronted an international newspaper namely the LA Times, blows my mind. I have had numerous requests by magazines as well as bloggers such as yourself and journalists in all spheres of media, most of the main radio stations have also played the track. In my opinion, a viral phenomenon, considering that it’s mainly topical to an SA audience. I think the fact that Jonah of British descent (the journalist on the receiving end of the outburst) is the reason that “Revolutionary house” has made such an impact globally on a viral format. I’ve been pretty swamped answering emails and phone calls, which I’m not really used to doing, but it’s a fantastic feeling being part of something of this scale.

You’ve now been picked up by the LA Times online, have you had more global exposure?

Well, as you know the internet and it’s many outlets is a tool which can be utilized to no end and in this case it’s really served it’s purpose. Besides the bigger blogs which are visited by all kinds of people around the world daily and their many comment postings on the subject of “Revolutionary house”, the response on Facebook as well as Youtube and Twitter, when you combine all views and hits, radio station playlistings etc. run into the millions. I can’t say for certain whether there is a global demand for the track in it’s local context but it has created a stir worldwide according to friends emailing me from Europe and the US, which is awesome.

How did you practically launch the song? Purely online or a combination?

I decided with the help of a friend to get it to the appropriate radio stations. Gareth Cliff digged it and agreed to play it after having run it by his publisher, then Fresh, then I spammed the inboxes of numerous other radio personalities. The next step was making a video for it (something I like to call a glitch edit) and posted it on Youtube (bloody agent.mpg if you’re interested), there were numerous others already up on Youtube, social media networks, FB and twitter and any other outlet we had available to us. With that kind of exposure, it started gathering momentum and lank cats new about it. Remaining anonymous initially was also a strategic move, making it seem a little more underground and mysterious and also because I didn’t want to deal with any ANCYL repercussions. I enjoy breathing.

Do you have any final words for the SA Rocks readers?

I hope I’ve shed some light and let you in to the world of political satire and more specifically the parody song because as long as we have politicians like Malema in this country the material will keep flowing. SA Rocks so let’s keep it that way and do all we can to stop deluded “bastard agents” with “rubbish in their trouser” from ruining our heritage, If you don’t like this stance “then you can jump”. Peace, love and rock ‘n roll.

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This is probably one of the most random and seriously exciting things I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved in this year. Last week Saturday I was sitting having coffee in Parkhurst when these two guys sitting close by whip open a laptop and start playing this TV series. I think nothing of it and carry on sipping my espresso.

Yet there is only so much you can laugh under your breath at hilarious comedy an arms length away from you at a coffee shop. So I interject and ask if I have it right and what I am listening to is actually a South African version of ‘The Office’.

Fast forward about a week and notonTV is live.

This is a homage to the original The Office series by the guys at notonTV. NotonTV is a new youtube channel providing local comedy content that you largely won’t find on SA TV because it would be deemed ‘unPC’ or too ‘sensitive’ for SA TV viewers.

I spoke with the guys at notonTV and 100% back their concept of saying what people want to hear said and doing what people want to have done.

Here’s their homage to ‘The Office’, it is incredibly hilarious and has great production values. Gone are the days of slapstick comedy and badly lit film sets.

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Are. You. Kidding?

Steyn drop-kicks the ball 60m away from its destination. It clears the poles with possibly more than another 30m to spare. Easily a 90m drop-kick. WHAT?

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Ed’s note: This is a guest post by Di Russel over at http://dirussell.wordpress.com.

With constantly swirling negativity about South African crime and instability, people become quite confused and even upset when I tell them that I would rather live in Cape Town than Vancouver, Canada. They look at me as if I’m crazy and often ask me if I read the local newspapers. Am I not aware of the problems here??

After explaining myself to no avail, I often give up. But now I am ready to share my reasons with South Africa and the blogging world, whether they are ready to comprehend or not.

1. Let’s start with the obvious. The scenery in Cape Town is simply unparalleled. Yes, Vancouver is beautiful with the ocean and mountains and greenscapes. However, it has none of the drama of Cape Town’s features.

Cape Town’s mountains are more rugged and awe-inspiring (think Table Mountain); its waters are more tumultuous and alive (Vancouver Island prevents the open sea from crashing wildly into Vancouver’s harbours and beaches); its flora is more varied and its fauna more intriguing (where else can you see penguins and baboons in the same day?) Cape Town is visually dramatic beyond belief. I feel alive and energized here.

2. The beaches in Cape Town are second to none. I could have included beaches in the above category, but they are simply too marvelous for words and deserve their own. Rated as some of the best beaches in the world, the long expanses of blindingly white, icing-sugar-like sand are heavenly. Vancouver’s beaches, on the other hand, are rocky, small, and dull, with no crashing waves upon which to surf.

3. Vancouverites are not renowned for being friendly in an overtly outgoing way. Yes, they are NICE (just like baby ducks, old woolly sweaters and cups of hot chocolate are nice) and will help when asked, but there is a palpable reserve, an almost overly polite stiffness, that is not felt when interacting with Capetonians.

People here readily talk to each other: in elevators, on buses, in line ups, on street corners. They offer help, opinions, jokes and smiles without waiting to be smiled at first. Whether it’s your server in a restaurant, a parking attendant, the produce guy or your next door neighbour, you will find yourself having more conversations and more laughs with strangers that you could ever imagine in Vancouver.

4. Wine is produced on hundreds of local wine farms, and it also sells for 1/5 of the price that it does in Vancouver. No, that’s not a typo. 1/5 the price. Enough said.

5. Vancouver’s weather is so wet and gloomy that thousands of its citizens use light therapy and anti-depressants too fight off Seasonal Affective Disorder every winter. Yes, Capetonians, a condition called S.A.D. does exist – it is caused by the lack of light in the winter months when it is grey and gets dark at 4pm every day. Cape Town has sunny weather year round, even in winter, which is very short and could easily be mistaken for a very sunny Vancouver autumn or spring.

6. If you want to know the truth about something, ask a Capetonian. If you want a watered-down, polite, passive-aggressive, politically correct, repressed version of the truth, ask a Vancouverite. Canada’s role as an international peace keeper is reflected in the personalities of its inhabitants.

No one in Vancouver likes to offend, shock, raise eyebrows, engage in heated debate, be rude, be an ‘ist’ (a sexist, racist, ageist, etc.), be controversial, politically incorrect or direct. Yes, Vancouverites are lovely people, but if you want the straight story, and the story requires them to tell you something uncomfortable, don’t bank on getting all the goods in one direct sentence.

7. Cape Town has biltong, Stoney Ginger Beer, Rock Shandies, and Monkeygland sauce. Vancouver does not.

8. The next point is connected to point number 3 and especially connected to point number 6; South Africa produces some fantastic men. Having finally sworn off Canadian men forever (like I said, points 3 & 6 pretty much say it all), I have found South African men to be a pleasing mixture of rugged, refined, risk-taking, and irreverent. They also have sexy accents that turn passionate debates into foreplay, but that’s for another article.

9. I simply LOVE the expats and immigrants I have met here in Cape Town as it seems this country attracts certain types of people: fearless, bold, adventure-seeking, and independent. Cape Town can be a tough place for a person who tends to live a fear-based life. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the crime reports and constant debates over the future of this country.

The expats I am meeting are progressive, forward-thinking, conscious, and committed to living with courage and positivity – truth be told, I think it is the expat community that can lead South Africans into a more positive framework for nation building. Immigrants to Vancouver, on the other hand, are rather the opposite – they have left or fled their countries in hopes of finding peace, stability, and less drama. They are not seeking a more challenging life in which more risk equals more reward.

10. South Africa’s history is long, dramatic and controversial. It is a history of pride, shame, destruction and reconstruction. It is a history that continues to effect the present to a shocking degree. It is a developing country still struggling to find its identity and jump into the first world. For me, a person who loves politics, human rights, conflict resolution and change facilitation, the dynamic nature of this place keeps my mind engaged and my heart open. Vancouver is very set in its identity as a clean, peaceful, outdoorsy city; it has struggles and issues, but none as deep or soul-searching as exist here. The spirit and tenacity of the people in this country astounds and inspires me.

Still don’t get it? Then follow my blog and read it till you do: http://dirussell.wordpress.com

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I’m not sure how real this video (as in, is it a setup), but it absolutely rocks!

Thanks to @GrantNash for the heads up! Brilliant.

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