Farren

I've just been watching late night TV, trying to get my mind to settle down. 4 channels: 2 blathering on about Iraq, one ancient hollywood western and one all night music show where the "local" music section of the evening just started.

We used to get Rock, Jazz, Indie, Soul and a whole lot else, now we get hours and hours and hours of Kwaito. This is the most popular form of music among South African youth.

Kwaito's rhythm and pace is taken from the House music that Chicago gave us, which has dubious merit if you're not into dancing. It usually consists of the same thing looped over and over again with occasional cheesy riffs. The lyrics I understand (since, I shamefacedly admit to having lived here my whole life and not speaking an indigenous language) are indescribably trivial and unoriginal - "bebby, you kent do thet to meee, no maay bebby...".

The performers tend to bounce up and down flapping their hands in from of them and snarling in a way so obviously lifted straight out of American R&B and Hip-Hop videos and so poorly mimicked it makes me cringe with embarrasment at being Sefrican.

I know if I watch for an hour or more I might catch at least one decent South African performer like Dorothy Masuka or Edith Sephuma but sitting through all this bad imitation of American music forms that themselves produce so much dubious crap is intolerable.

Rant over. I'm going to read the one book in the house I haven't read: Joe Haldemans The Parafaith War. My dad told me this is a strong argument against religion, so far it just looks like some guy who really doesn't like muslims thinly disguising his views as sci-fi.

Yellum Notnef

I`m sorry.

Farren

thanks for caring

Yellum Notnef

You`re welcome.
And I really wasn`t saying that just to be sympathetic either. My dumb ass country really does need to apologize for the huge amount of bullshit we are constantly pumping out.

NialScorva

Do we need to apologize to a world that consists of consumers of our bullshit?

Gregg

Huh? Nobody's forcing anyone to copy our shit. Or copy it badly, for that matter. The Brits got our rock'n'roll down pretty damn good!

Anyway, we invented Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So there. Thbbbb.

Gregg

Vienna

Good point.

Yellum Notnef

True. But if the US has such an influence on the world,the least we could do is show some class.

Monkeybot

Class, schmass, as long as I get my daily fix of Blind Date

(Farren - I'm sorry, truth be told, I can't stand a lot of American bullshit either)

Farren

I have to agree. The asshole who buys the shit is just as much of an asshole. But if he or she's a previously disadvantaged individual from a developing nation who has less time to learn fine art appreciation and sees everything with (to appropriate a hip-hop phrase) a lot of "bling-bling" in it as groovy there's more of an excuse.