For me, there’s not much that Michael Stipe touches that doesn’t turn to gold.
So perhaps it comes as no surprise that I think that this – doing the rounds on social media today – is utterly beautiful.
Truth be told, I was never a fan of David Bowie*, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate a decent song every now and again. And, for me, this cover beats even the Nirvana unplugged version [alienates even more readers].
Just enjoy it. And feel for the apparently unknown and unsung (no pun intended) piano player who gets absolutely no recognition, despite being instrumental (no pun intended) in the performance.
It was on or about this time last year that the Huge Cape Town Fire Of Twenty Fifteen was finally extinguished. And that seems as tenuous good a reason as any to share this acoustic version of Bridlington duo Seafret’s single Wildfire:
For the original, with its psychologically-challenging video, you’ll need to read this post from last year.
It’s with sadness in our hearts that we announce the end of Zebra & Giraffe. Kirstenbosch Gardens (20th March 2016) will be our last show for the foreseeable future. We’d like to thank each and every one of our fans over the years – your support and love for our music has made this amazing journey possible. Over the past 8 years we’ve achieved so many things that we’re proud of; we’ve poured our hearts and souls into every recording and every show, but the time has come for each of us to move onto different things.
And yet the Parlotones are still a thing. There is no God.
Of course, I used to appreciate the Parlotones, but then they took (for me) a disappointing direction musically and commercially, and I went off them, quickly. Apparently though, according to The Tall Accountant, I should be checking them out again though. We were even going to go and see them next month. I’m nothing if not a glutton for punishment open-minded.
But I digress…
Zebra & Giraffe were different. They didn’t release enough, but what they did release was properly good stuff – just the right mix of pop, electronica and rock. I saw them numerous times from the My Cokefest at Lourensford performance in 2009 when they joined the rest of the audience after their set, supporting the Killers at Val de Vie, and – probably most memorably – with the Dirty Skirts at Wynberg School at a concert that only 12 people turned up to watch. Greg called it “intimate”.
Happy days. But it would be wrong not to finish off with some music here. I’ve already shared a lot of Z&G stuffon here, including my favourite In My Eyes, but here’s a fresh one, albeit from the beginning, right back in 2008 – this is Arm Yourself. [dj mode off]
As a goodbye gift from the boys, you can download their last single, Redefine, free of charge on Soundcloud here. Ridiculously rocky. A fitting farewell.
I’m properly sad. Good luck, Greg et al. Thanks for the memories.
It’s been an exhausting weekend featuring several (or more) tasks, including (but not limited to) shed building, bowl painting, pool mending and failing to buy paint.
Long story.
It’s the 6th though, and that means that a-ha are playing in Russia this evening, and if you thought that my flat-pack plastic shed was an ordeal (it wasn’t actually that bad, although the correct instruction booklet would have helped a lot), then you should be a roadie on the Cast In Steel tour.
“Can you pass me the 15″ spanner please, Bob?”
“Sure – where is it?”
“It’s in the black box.”
“Er… which one?”
“The one with wheels and a lid – you can’t miss it.”
And once all of that is out and set up, and the Ekaterinburg show is done tonight, it’s got to be all taken back down again, transported 944km to Kazan and all set up again for Tuesday evening’s performance there.
