Die Antwoord pic from Mhambi.com
J. Kit Clayton told me Die Antwoord is a hoax, and that they are an art collective that used to do Powerpoint presentations on how to rap. But for some reason I kind of don’t care. It’s strange because Leif watched the videos and said they reminded him of Borat, and I got really mad because for once I just wanted to BELIEVE in something, and root for someone and let them make me happy instead of just letting cynicism take over. And apparently this is the one time I should have been more cynical. (I mean, look at that website, right?) But as I said, I’m kind of with this guy on this one in that I don’t care. I mean, I think James Frey is a total sleazefuck, but most hiphop videos are all about fantasy anyway, and the debate about legitimacy has always been there. I mean, how’s it that different from selling suburbanites a fantasy version of “ghetto” Compton? South Africa just seems like the logical next level of exoticism.
VIOLENT WORLD
And here’s me cashing in on the exoticism of my hometown of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It’s an excerpt of the piece I did at the Queens Muscle show a couple weeks ago. The set wove in and out between narrative and music, and this section cuts to the end of a longer story and focuses mostly on the loop/ARP/MAX version of Danzig’s “ARCHANGEL”. (Gawd he’s just so big, dumb and sexy) The whole thing is really a love letter to all the rough and tumble boys in my hometown who taught me how to throw TVs off of balconies. But in the excerpt it comes off as a little harsh; my apologies to J.H. Diamond, who bears the brunt._
I know that’s not really a “video” so much as a static shot, but video seems like the only searchable medium these days (skip to 7:30 if you get bored). So if you want more of a real video, I’ve got one for ya. It’s Psychic Handbook doing a cover of “White Like Heaven” on the day after Christmas at Rhinoceropolis in Denver. It’s a little dark and at first you can’t see the singer, so I thought in the beginning that maybe it was a record. She starts to fucking wail at about 2 minutes in and it sounds so good. I always wished I could wail like that.
I think they do a really beautiful job and it gives me the craziest feeling to watch. Kind of makes me cry actually, but also makes me wonder if now other people are more easily able to access that person who wrote the song than I do. That person: me.
One of the members was DJing at Cansifus’ comedy night at the Ivy, and he ordered a drink next to me at the bar, but I couldn’t talk to him. What did he give me by playing that song? I will never be able to put it into the right words.
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Goddamn. That’s awesome. Thanks.