The Lion’s Tunes

At the suggestion of a close friend, I decided to put my love of music to good use.

She pointed out to me that since I love music and listen to so much of it, I should share what songs I’m currently jamming to at the moment.

If you follow me on twitter then quite a few of these suggestions won’t come as much of a surprise as I usually tweet about what music has got me all caught up and catching feelings.

However if people like how this blog post goes then that might come a stop, and The Lion’s Tunes might be a regular blog feature.

I’m by no means a music expert and I won’t pretend to be. Most of what will be written here is information I’ve learned on the net and just my personal opinions on the songs. So have at it...

·        Song: OctaHate

Artist: Ryn Weaver

Album: Promises (EP)

This 21 year old is expected to make it big this year when her debut album drops and it’s understandable once listening to this particular song from Ryn Weaver’s EP. It can best be described in her own words, that of “Fairy Pop”; which she actually used when tagging her music on SoundCloud. After hearing the song, it makes perfect sense. I really like her sound- in some ways she reminds me of a mix between Taylor Swift and Tove Lo.

“OctaHate” is so catchy and after the first few seconds that I heard this song, I knew I was going to like it. I found myself grooving and bopping my head along. I often think that a chorus can make or break a song. The first time I heard “OctaHate”, I was hoping that the chorus wouldn’t disappoint and I was greatly relieved when it delivered.

Additional Mention: Stay Low.

“Stay Low”, also from her Promises EP, especially shows just how fairy pop her sound is. Initially I didn’t think it was anything spectacular but as I was writing this post I thought I would give it another listen. I’m glad I did because it’s such a really great track. There is something about her voice and the song that works. You aren’t just hearing it but listening. I truly recommend purchasing her EP so you can be cool and say “I knew her before everyone else did”.

http://www.fuse.tv/videos/2014/11/ryn-weaver-interview

http://www.thefader.com/2014/08/08/ryn-weaver-on-life-literary-inspiration-and-how-tinder-got-her-a-record-deal-nothings-an-overnight-success-story

·         Song: The Whisperer

Artist: David Guetta feat. Sia

Album: Listen

I came across this song through the suggestion of someone on twitter, and when I saw that David Guetta had collaborated with Sia again, I will admit that I was a bit resistant to the song without having heard it. I thought “great, another dance music heavy song”, but my goodness, never have I been so happy to be wrong. “The Whisperer” is an oddity and there is something very special about it. It is completely opposite to their previous collaboration efforts of “She Wolf” and the anthemic “Titanium”.

 The melancholic introduction with the piano sets the tone for the rest of the song and naturally the song does build towards a crescendo moment but this piece of music is not something you dance along to. It is a song you reflect on and feel within your soul.  It makes you feel like you should be in the theatre watching the story of the song plays out before your very eyes. Goosebumps.

Additional Mention: Elastic Heart – Sia & The Weekend

Listen, I get that everyone has been obsessed with Sia’s Elastic Heart and I have been too for the last year.  How can that be since the song only really took off recently? Well I was obsessed with it when the song was a duet with The Weekend. He sings the second verse on it and my goodness did their duet just knock my socks off. He brings a very different male energy to the song and you should really give it a listen.

·         Song: I Can’t Even

Artist: The Neighbourhood ft French Montana

The Neighbourhood, who penned such tunes as “Sweater Weather” and “Afraid”, should be commended on their persistence to experiment with their sound. They found their niche with their visual black and white aesthetic, and you can tell that their particular style managed to translate into their music as well and instead of just delivering the expected the band is still willing to do something different.

Lead singer Jess wrote the song in reference to his girlfriend who cheated on him, and the song works so well for the band. The band released a mixtape last year as they try to find what they like and what they don’t. Mixtapes are great way to explore what they like and what they don’t before recoding their sophomore album.  When I heard that the song featured the talents of rapper French Montana I was a bit apprehensive and I won’t deny that it took me a few times of repeating the song to finally recognise that his verse works very well and actually makes the song better for it. I really enjoy the song and if you like their band’s other stuff this then you will enjoy them pushing themselves.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6106542/neighbourhood-mixtape-album-jesse-rutherford-interview

·         Song: Close Enough

Artist: KStewart

 Not to be confused with the actress (the K actually stands for Kate) but this performer is expected to make big waves in 2015. I refer to this particular song as mellow EDM... It reminds me of 90’s RnB infused with today’s modern electronic dance music, and while one would think that such an unlikely combination would never work, in fact it works amazingly well together. KStewart’s has that 90’s Mariah Carey feel to it but with her own unique sound.

Additional Mention: Speechless

Another song that contributes to the “90s RnB infused with modern EDM beats”; KStewart has to be commended because her sound is not something you hear often (if ever) and I really enjoyed the style of her music. “Speechless” is the song you’d have in the background as you study, entertaining guests or visiting a jazz lounge or even play on a relaxed Sunday evening. It has that feeling to it but still with enough of beat to it that you can groove along to it if you want.

·         Song: King

Artist: Years & Years

Album: Real (EP)

If you loved their smash hit “Desire” then you will definitely like there great follow up single. Their album is about to drop soon and when it does it will only be a matter of time till this group will be the only thing everyone will be speaking of. When “King” starts off it is like the band’s giving a nod to their song “Desire” because of the similarities; but as soon as the beat for “King” drops you know it’s a different track. It has to be said that their follow up single is really great managing to show another side to their music while still building on their previous success. The group’s music has in many instances been referred to as synthpop in reference to the beats within the music. Lead singer Olly Alexander’s voice reminded me of a young Michael Jackson when I heard the song “King”, but the comparison quickly disappeared as I let the song into my life and kept playing it on repeat.

Additional Mention: Breathe

This British group did a cover of Blu Cantrell’s 2003 hit and boy do these boys amaze. It is such a great cover but so different and they reinterpret the song in their own way. I love it. Give it a listen. Also their other song “Real” (which I have yet to hear) also has the internet a flutter so give it a look.

http://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/years-and-years-real-ep/

http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/music/hot-kids-on-the-block-years--years-interview-10013172.html

Extra: Songs on the radio that I’m currently obsessed with –

Calvin Harris ft Haim- Pray To God.

David Guetta ft Emeli Sandé – What I Did For Love.

Jimmy Nevis – 7764

All tracks are available on iTunes. I think.

Theo. Over and Out.

Why the dramatic events of SONA were necessary...

Photo Credit: David Harrison, Mail & Guardian.

By now everyone is well aware of what happened in the National Assembly on the 12^th of February 2015 when President Jacob Zuma delivered the 15th State of The Nation Address (SONA).

If you’re unaware of the events that took place, here is a summary:

The night was off to a rocky start once news broke of South African Police Services arresting five Democratic Alliance (DA) members outside parliament. Things continued to grow increasingly tense when parliamentary officials and journalists chanted “Bring Back the Signal” - in reference to the jamming device that been activated within the National Assembly thereby interrupting cellular signal. This act was seen as a gross attempt to suppress the views of those present and a violation of the media’s freedom of expression.

The issue was raised and Speaker of the House Baleka Mbete gave, in my opinion, a very inadequate answer by stating, “We’ll look into it.” Not a “we’ll rectify it immediately” but rather “we’ll look into it”. I may be overanalysing her response, but to me, it came off as if she did not realise the implications of the signal being blocked.

If there was ever an attempt to mute the voices of journalists and parliamentary members then this was definitely it.

The DA has to be commended for bringing up the problem in a respectful manner, because it did need to be addressed immediately.

Once the issue was rectified, President Zuma started his state of the nation speech but was rudely interrupted by an Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) member Godrich Gardee. EFF member after EFF member then continued to bring up the matter of Nkandla asking when Zuma intended to pay back the estimated R246 million of taxpayers’ money that was used to upgrade his private rural home.

EFF party leader, Julius Malema, memorably stated: “You are making a mistake because you are reading my mind” in reply to Mbete’s comment that Malema was not raising a new point of order.

This was disappointing behaviour from the EFF, as it was previously stated within the National Assembly that the president would answer oral questions in parliament on the 11^th of March 2015. 

No one is denying that the matter of Nkandla certainly needs to be addressed, but the manner in which it was raised was inappropriate. The National Assembly was informed in advance that the president would answer their questions on a specified date, but yet the EFF still chose to hijack the president’s speech.

Once the party persisted with the subject and made it clear that they were not going to leave it, all chaos broke loose once Mbete called in security personnel to remove the EFF. This was an unprecedented action because never before have unmarked armed men rushed in to remove parliamentary members.

Not only were many EFF members forcefully removed, but they also removed violently. There are numerous pictures showing how battered some EFF members were and how torn their clothes were.

There was nothing respectful in how parliamentary members were removed; it was brutal and degrading.

DA parliamentary leader, Mmusi Maimane, subsequently enquired if the men who rushed in to remove the EFF were in fact police, and stated that the DA would leave if the question was not answered.  The reason for this was because the action is a violation of National Assembly regulations. National Council of Provinces chairwoman, Thandi Modise, who was seated to the right of Mbete, explained that parliamentary protection services were used but that she was unable to distinguish which were police officers and who were not.

The DA then decided to leave parliament.

South Africa has been facing a lot of questions surrounding police brutality and if the security personnel were in fact policemen, which looks to be the case, then this was a prime example of how that issue sorely needs to be addressed. The EFF were wrong to bring up Nkandla but the manner in which they were removed was deplorable and reminiscent of a militia state.

What is the purpose of having police officers if they are as responsible for the violence against South Africans as assault criminals?

This entire course of events happened for an hour, causing a delay of the president’s speech. Throughout the entire time, President Zuma sat quietly watching on but never doing anything to help resolve the issue. Once he got up to speak, he chuckled in response to what happened before starting his speech.

The fact that President Zuma laughed at the events of politicians being aggressively forced out and others conducting a walk out showed a lack of understanding the seriousness of the situation. He came across as detached from the events, and as a president you are meant to be informed of what is happening within National Assembly. Whatever happens in the National Assembly should be of important concern to him but he appeared as if he could not have cared less.

In a snippet from an upcoming TV interview that was broadcast on SABC news, Zuma said that what happened on the 12^th of February should have never happened; the rules and regulations of parliament are there for reason and that they should be enforced.

It appeared to me that the president stated this as a way to save face for not being critical or appearing affected by the actions that occurred before his eyes.  

Former President Thabo Mbeki, who was embarrassingly recalled from his position in 2008, slammed President Zuma over the brawl in parliament. He stated that Zuma was wrong to avoid answering questions in parliament. Mbeki believes that Zuma should have directly answered the questions as it would have been the easiest way to deal with the issue and in retrospect I think most would agree with his point.

Maybe there would have been no need for walkouts and violent forceful removals of politicians if President Zuma took a few minutes to answer questions before continuing with his speech?

No one is denying that watching SONA looked comical from a viewer’s perspective but it was very revealing in how the president just sat back as if none of it concerned him.

Now to get to my purpose point of this article-

While the events were completely disheartening and appalling, it needed to happen. The EFF chose the wrong time to bring up Nkandla but it showed how fed up they were, like many South Africans, regarding the situation. Zuma had been playing coy and strategically avoiding answering questions regarding Nkandla for months prior.

Oftentimes as South Africans we are accused of being too complacent and easy to accept the appalling behaviour of our politicians without doing anything. We basically do the Zuma laugh like he did at the start of his speech; continuing on as if nothing is wrong.

There was story last year when the Free State provincial government spent R40 million on a website that cost $40. Now I’m not IT expert but even I know it does not take R40 million to create a website. Once the news broke, South Africans were appalled at how so much money could be wasted instead of being used for other important matters, but it did not take long for the subject  to fade from memory.

R40 million is a huge sum of money and the fact that South Africans were not physically protesting in the streets about the misuse of the money was appalling. I wonder if perhaps it showed our politicians that if they misuse taxpayers’ money then we as South Africans will temporarily moan but it will simmer down with no true action having been taken.

Maybe it is such complacency on our part as citizens that encourage the politicians to behave corruptly because they face little repercussions for it.

The EFF standing up and actively showing their is disapproval regarding the gross misuse of taxpayers’ money and asking if the president intended on repaying that money, was vital; it showed how fed up people were with dubious behaviour from those in power.

South Africans are fed up of bad service delivery, corruption, abuse of power by our politicians, and the manner in which our beautiful country is being run into the ground by politicians who continue to waste money instead of moving this country forward.

We are far from seeing the end of this issue because the ramifications of what happened on the 12^th of February 2015 will be dealt with for quite some time to come. Best that we prepare the popcorn, settle in, and watch as the story continues to unfold.

Theo. Over and Out.

What to do when crushing on someone taken?

My friend and I had a great debate about this topic as we were watching an episode of a TV show. We got onto arguing, “What do you do when you have feelings for someone taken?”

We weren’t talking about being vindictive and going after someone already in a committed relationship with the sole intent of breaking them up because that is really disgusting behaviour. We were specifically referring to that situation where you find yourself unintentionally having feelings for someone, and now have to figure out what to do.

He argued that you should tell them:

“Because why not tell them? Why should you hide your feelings? Essentially, it’s still their choice what to do with the information. If you tell them you're into them, they still get to decide whether they want to stay with their partner or not. You're not forcing them to leave their partner for you; you're just providing them a choice. And if they love their partner, then their choice is simple. Isn't denying them the right to choose more selfish? Haven't you, by not telling them, made their decision for them? I think that's what's selfish.”

His point above is pretty self-explanatory but it all comes down to the fact that - you should give them the decision of what to do. If they are happy in their relationship, then they would be flattered by your feelings for them but politely reject you. You should be honest and not keep how you feel a secret; once you know how they feel and then you go from there.

I argued that it was selfish to tell someone as your main motive for telling them would be to make yourself feel better. You are putting another person in a precarious and awkward situation because you could not keep your feelings to yourself. This is someone who is already taken and is off the market, but you just had to tell them how you feel??? For what? Sure you didn’t intend on developing feelings for this person, but telling them accomplishes nothing.

I maintain that telling someone who is already taken about your feelings is not a good idea. It could also be seen as making a move on someone else’s relationship, and then when the significant other finds out, it will likely cause immense emotional harm.

Telling them only does more harm than good.

I decided to write about this because I felt it was a pertinent topic of discussion given that it is that time of year where people feel brave enough to confess their feelings and focus on all the Valentine’s Day stuff.

I posed this question to a few of my friends and these were some of their responses:

Lara: “It’s okay to tell someone who you have known for a long time. You shouldn’t do it if you barely know them, but if you’ve known someone for a really long time then you should tell them how you feel.”

Sam: “If you can see that they are happy together then don’t do it. You don’t want to be the reason their happiness is destroyed. You will feel terrible if you do.”

Alastair: “I say you should tell them if you know that the secret [of not telling them] will cause you both to have more problems than what the truth might bring.”

Chelsea: “Tell them if they’ve been in your life for a while and you know they will still respect you if you tell them. Don’t tell them if you can see they’re happy with their partner and the news will just destroy something really good that they have. It’s a difficult situation to be in though and you can’t avoid choosing between selflessness and selfishness but I would say that those are good guidelines for deciding what to do. Always assess the potential damage before you admit something like that.”

Something struck me about what Chelsea said because you are essentially trying to decide between being selfless and selfish. No one wants to come across as selfish, but you also want to be true to yourself. You should definitely assess the potential damage because it does not only impact you, but has a ripple effect.

Either way, it’s definitely a sticky situation where there is no right way to handle it. More a case of “to each their own” - you have to decide for yourself what to do.

For me, I’d zip my mouth, lock it tight, put a padlock on and throw away the key.

Theo. Over and Out.

Love? Uh, No Thanks...

I don’t have the personality to fall in love...

That may seem like a stupid thing to say because everyone has the capacity to fall in love. As a hopeless romantic, it is even something I strongly believe in that everyone will find the person who makes their heart skip a beat and cause all the warm fuzzy feelings.

I know that eventually I will find someone and all of this will be null and void but I’m focusing on the present because who’s to say that “eventually” will happen? I could die in a day...

Unlikely, sure, but it could happen.

Anyway, the reason why I said that is because I noticed in my habits of crushing on someone, and the only relationship I’ve ever been in, that there are some personality traits of mine that are just not conducive to falling for someone.

Neuroticism

®     Obsessive behaviour – Naturally, when you start connecting with someone, you want to spend more time with them and talk to them. There is an expected level of excitement and anticipation when you’re talking and messaging someone but then there is also the obsessive level. With this, I obsess over what was said, the meaning behind a smiley and the implication of ellipses...  Obsessing over what gets said or doesn’t get said just further complicates whatever I may be feeling. It just fosters doubt.

®     Doubt – Doubting my feelings and doubting whether what I feel is reciprocated, is another trait that hinders my feelings for someone from developing. I know when I like someone but I will still doubt if I like someone enough and then also doubt how the other person feels about me. It just becomes counter-productive.

Rationality – 

One of the things I do when I know that I like someone is try to reason it. I try to find the logic in what I’m feeling and make sense of it. I once asked a friend of mine if it was possible to be rational when you’re dating someone and she said no, “You can’t be rational because this is someone you throw rationality out the window for. You care about them and want to make them happy. That doesn’t mean you become blind to who they are and their flaws; you just allow your feelings to lead.”  Doing this is pretty impossible for me. Not because I don’t want to make some happy, just that letting that rational side go is the issue. 

 Inability to fully let my guard down – 

For reasons too full of angst and personal experiences I’ve developed this apprehension to fully letting someone behind my guarded walls. Sure we all have walls that we put up but it differs in the sense that naturally I’m a very open person. There is this dichotomy of personality where I am sometimes even too forthcoming and open, but letting someone one step further into my emotions is a no-go. Everything else is available for consumption but just stay away from my feelings and my inner dark side that has experienced pain. I tried to explain this to my ex and they understood it, but I think that the reason our relationship broke down was because I was reluctant to fully let someone into my world and see my inner flaws. I take onus for the relationship not going the distance because it was on me for not opening up.

Needing space – 

I realised from my previous relationship that I need space. I don’t do well with people in my space for too long; that feeling of needing my own space and being left alone to my own devices sometimes becomes a necessity. It’s natural to want to have alone time, but it is different when you want to have alone time a large portion of the time. Checking in with someone and explaining where I’m going, who I’m with, where I was and etc. just seems tiring and easily feels claustrophobic to me.

Past experiences – 

I’m the type of person who learns from other people’s mistakes because I don’t want to make the same mistakes as others but all this ends up doing is stopping me from making any decision that could lead to a mistake. I end up not doing something because I think I’ll make a mistake so I just do nothing.  In this case, learning from other people’s mistakes becomes a hindrance because you aren’t living your live out fully; you become scared of failure. Instead of just letting things be, I analyse.

I understand that all of this sounds like a “woe is me” post but I don’t need or want your pity. I wrote this blog post because I know I’m not the only person out there who goes through this, and sometimes finding the words to verbalise how all of the above feels is impossible. For some people allowing themselves to develop feelings for someone and falling for that individual is like riding a bike; for others it’s like being sent into space without training. You could die from the heart attack of not knowing what to do.

It’s just a long neurotic, anxious and stressful process... Pity Elsa isn’t here to help us “Let It Go”.

I sometimes wonder if my obsession with being a hopeless romantic stems from my an subconscious belief that it’s just all made up; it’s okay to believe in it because it’s like believing in the Easter bunny- it hurts no one and everyone feels happier for it.

Then again, it could be that I just need time to grow out of my habits and let life runs its course....

Que Sera Sera...Whatever will be, will be.

Until then, table for one.

Theo. Over and Out.

Going Camping!!!

So I recently went camping at a place called Skurwekop, which is about a 2 hour drive outside of Cape Town. It’s wasn’t the first time I went camping on the wine farm, but I have to say that it was equally as much fun as it was the first; there is something refreshing about being away from the city and your daily routine.

The thing about camping at Skurwekop is that it’s a convenient form of camping as there was still electricity. Sure some purists would complain that that is not true camping but whatever... You get to relax in nature; there is electricity for your morning cup of coffee, a place to have a warm shower, a pool, a river to canoe in and just the loveliest place to not worry about what is happening elsewhere without being left clueless if the apocalypse was to happen.

 The perks of taking your friends with you is that you get to reconnect with them - which isn’t always easy to do as we all lead our own lives and the best you can do if often a short message that says “Thinking of you, hope you’re well.”  Camping just removes the stress of your life and brings back the silly fun and relaxation.

If you’re going with a group of people you don’t know then you get to meet new people.

If something goes wrong while you’re camping, which if you’re camping like we were – which was the poor man’s version, it will only add to the adventure of it.  A tent collapsed, wind sent our belongings blowing all over, the rain soaking everything, people getting heavily sunburnt, forgetting to bring a flashlight or a light source for at night time; it all just adds to making the camping experience more memorable.

In case you’re wondering how much this amazing camping adventure costs, it’s surprising light on the budget:

1.               You pay roughly R70 per person for each night that you camp. For the three nights we only paid R210. They do have a limit of how many people are allowed on one campsite but still R210 for three nights is worth your buck for what you’re getting.
2.              You pay towards petrol and groceries which estimates between R300-R400 in total. I highlighted in total because you’re paying for meals for those days and petrol to and from; which all things considered is cheap. That price may be just for our group of friends but it shouldn’t be expensive either really.
3.            Booze was person dependant. You spend as much as you like and want to. I’m not a heavy drinker so it was not something I forked out a lot for.
4.       The camp place also has one of those shops where they sell wood, ice and minor luxuries. Ice was R6 a pack and wood R20 a pack. Nothing too fancy but the necessities and that was so helpful to have.
5.       Also since the nearest town was only 10 minutes away, we drove into Robertson on a few occasions and one of those was to have a Wimpy/Spur breakfast.

It might sound a lot to pay at once if you’re a student or not particularly loaded but we planned our camping excursion over 6 months, and while 6 months might seem long it was mostly to give everyone time to get their schedules in orders and finances for the trip. Organising everyone’s schedules is a lot harder then what it might seem so we just set a date far in advanced that gave everyone time to decide if they wanted to come with and how to organise around the camp.

My one friend hates camping in general but she loved camping at Skurwekop for the fact that there was electricity. If you want to go and hang out with your friends out in nature with electricity then I highly recommend go camping at Skurwekop; I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a place to camp, but there are also other places which a google search can help with.

In closing, everyone should go camping, even if it’s just once in your adult life. It’s a great time spent outside alongside friends with no regrets.

Website: https://skurwekop.co.za

Theo, Over and Out.