music cope

Hows that view for musical inspiration?

           Music consistently pulses through my body. At home, I will neglect the natural sounds of reality and opt for the fabricated sounds of illusion. I thirst for more. The joyous ecstasy that a sentimental lyric or chord can cause for my mind is worth the hunt. I have not had the luxury to constantly absorb myself into newfound tunes by scavenging the internet, so I have had to abandon those means and adapt to new style of discotheque discovery.

In the states, I am spoiled and perhaps paralyzed by the constant display of music. Internet is very expensive here (bandwidth is to be conserved), and as I have lost a good portion of my budget due to my unhealthy habit of Internet indulgence. I have deprived myself of my energy in the forms of YouTube, Pandora, Hypem and Lastfm. Music listening and discovering for me is a solitary enjoyment. I have had to purge this modern way of discovery and prey for something more social and more primitive. I have locked these unique songs to places and people. As a local friend raced us to Hout Bay just in time to see the sunset within a secret cave, a foreign style of music played in the background. I was introduced to a new style of music during a spontaneous adventure, and I had no choice but to enjoy it socially. It was awesome.

The music that is individually South Africa’s, the sounds and lyrics (or lack of lyrics) say something about the roots of the individual, which are intertwined with this country.  I recently read an article found in the Mail & Order by Maya Fisher-French called the Economics of Art that stated; “I saw how the arts are creating a new identity for this not-so-new South Africa, moving past struggle art towards an identity that acknowledges that the past is woven into the fabric of that identity without being trapped by it.” I could not even begin to paraphrase this sentence.

The music and the arts are a coping mechanism not for just an individual but for also a country. I have never heard anything like the music I heard buzzing through the sound system on that trip to Hout Bay. It was unique. The coolest thing of all is that no one else in the world could have created it. The experiences, sights and people of Cape Town, helped mold that sound.While many of the young people I have met listen to a lot of American bands like Kings of Leon and Lamb of God, I can't help but be completely drawn in by the original sounds that are different than my own.

It is interesting to witness the generational gaps when it comes to music in Cape Town. While the young free spirits indulge in trance and American rock bands, the older generation stays close to classics. My dear friends at The Armchair, Mike and Mark, are both self-proclaimed music theorists. I have had intensive conversations with them about the music they listened to during their freedom fighting days of the Apartheid. It interests me to know what kind of music they listened to as young activists. Mark usually grabs my right fist, treats it as a microphone and begins singing The Doors’ “Riders on the Storm,” when I talk to him about music. The more humble and soft-spoken Mike puts Bob Dylan on the same level of Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. Mike told me that listening to Dylan gave him confidence to stand up against the government. Cool little fact...Dylan contributed to the charity album, Sun City: of Artists United Against Apartheid.    

I am a firm believer that you are what you listen to. I despise that I am limited to the music I am exposed to due to my geographic location, which limits my creative engine and mindset. I think that exposing yourself to the art and music of a town you visit can reveal more than any souvenir or material item. It is just as important to open your ears when you travel as it is to open your eyes.