IF YOU remember South Africa during the 1980s, then you probably were never there. Check out this review of Carsten Rasch’s semi-autobiographical work ‘Between Rock and a hard place’, written up by Michael Hardaker on Litnet. “This is a vital, tumbling, scrambling, breathless, profane, sweat-stained, music-infused, whisky-soaked, acid-tinged, dagga-scented, sometimes poignant, often side-splitting, speed-freak roller coaster ride through early 1980s South Africa,” says Hardaker.
At least that’s what he claims, and who really knows if Rasch just made up a character named Lew? Or contrived a literary work of imagination? The Latin word fictus means “to form” rather than to inform. All I can confirm is that like many of my generation, I was at the Harbour Cafe when James Philips played pool.
It’s the raw and honest beat culture that Media24 and Multichoice have been desperately trying to suppress, alongside the history of cannabis and jazz music. The case involving what jazz legend, Robbie said or didn’t say, is now in its 12th year, as I bring a review application exposing the corruption by the apartheid dirty tricks brigade.
While you’re busy smashing your DSTV decoder just like Steve Hofmeyr. (See Steve Hofmeyr Syndrome) you can catch some banned alternative South African counter-culture online. Getting Afrikanerdom to implode by itself is what we were contemplating, all along.
Bask in the glory of James Philips, Radio Rats and the local punk scene.