Hello Again

It's been a while since I've written - I've either been really busy or really busy doing nothing. When you have nothing to do, it's really easy to do nothing (seems obvious enough). But these last few weeks have been very chilled, highlighted by hikes up Table Mountain, and visits to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and Old Biscuit Mill. Nothing too exciting, so I'll keep it short.

I decided to take after my good friend Clayton and start keeping a playlist for each month. If I find myself coming back to the same song again and again, I'll add it to the list. It gives you a way to chronicle what you've been listening to, and I bet it'll be pretty cool to come back in a few years and look at how my tastes have changed and evolved. That said, here's my September 2010 playlist:

Cowgirl In The Sand - Neil Young, Live at Massey Hall
In The Midnight Hour - Wilson Pickett, In The Midnight Hour
Santo Domingo - Rodrigo Y Gabriela, 11:11
For You Blue - The Beatles, Let It Be...Naked
Dissident - Pearl Jam, vs.
Doo Wop (That Thing) - Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) - Marvin Gaye, The Very Best
Sweet Virginia - The Rolling Stones, Exile on Main Street
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart - Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Two notes on the above songs. First, that version of Cowgirl In The Sand might be the defining Neil Young song for me. If you haven't heard it (or, for that matter, the entire Live at Massey Hall Album) do yourself a favor and pick it up. Apparently Neil Young secretly lives in Cape Town and is married to a Capetonian - I haven't seen him around but definitely have my eyes peeled. Second, the lead acoustic guitar on Sweet Virginia - I can't even describe it, it's just perfect. Makes me get goosebumps when I listen to it. After seeing Phish play the entirety of Exile on Main Street on Halloween last fall I started to get really into the album, but nothing like I've gotten into it here. I've never heard anything like this album. The Stones manage to find a way to all play on different beats (I'll call it "playing around the beat", if you will) but still have a definite structure to their songs. It gives a really airy and down-homey feel to the album. Pick this one up, too. You will not regret it.



I gotta say, my two new favorite bands that I've started listening to since I got to South Africa have got to be Wilco (I really hope you're reading this Elan) and Radiohead. I really dig Wilco's lyrics and pentatonic jams - though a lot of their songs use the same chords they find ways to use them differently. And I don't know why it took so long for me to discover Radiohead, but damn they're talented musicians. And their producer - that guy has got an incredible ear.

A few random musings before I gotta run..

1. The best way to avoid beggars is to put on a pair of headphones and sunglasses. It totally removes your connection from the outside world.
2. Peri-peri is the best spice in the entire world. Think a spicier, more flavorful cayenne pepper. I'm definitely bringing a few bottles of it back with me. I can't remember the last time I made a dinner that didn't incorporate peri-peri in some form.
3. You know you're an old man when you wake up from napping with your arms behind your head and then can't raise either one straight up. Man my shoulders are fucked up.
4. You know your beard is in full force when a random dude on Table Mountain approaches you and tells you that you look like "Moses. You know, Mr. Moses. From the Bible." Definitely not shaving til I get home.
5. Wireless internet works in the dorm roughly 10% of the time.
6. Why eat regular beef when you can have ostrich instead? Ostrich burgers, ostrich bolognese, ostrich steaks. You name it, I promise you it's better with ostrich.
7. Not being able to watch football (because the stream requires too much bandwidth and because they don't have CBS or FOX or NBC in this country and ESPN decided they would rather show random tennis matches at 2:30 am on Monday nights than Monday Night Football) has got to be one of the must crushing parts of being here. I'm fiending hardcore. When I get back to the US, don't try and contact me on Sundays.

That's all for now - I can't believe I only have 50 days left in this country. Got a lot of cool stuff planned: music festival, trips to Namibia and Mozambique, and, two days before I leave (and the day of my last final) Bafana Bafana vs. USA at Greenpoint Stadium. It WILL be shown on ESPN, and I WILL get on TV. Somehow. Hopefully I'll be allowed back into the US after I'm through.