Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Neighbour Riffs

I am loving snail mail at the moment. I have BFFs in Canada [Fulton], Turkey [Nash Pash], Taiwan [Pengyou] and somewhere in Europe [The Model]. And while Facebook, blogging and Twitter are all very convenient, I have recently re-discovered the joys of brown envelopes and hand-written letters. It started with 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Books', but more on that later. This blog is about indieBerries and magical musical mixtapes.
A while ago I was informed that one Ché Kershaw was following me on Twitter. Ché and I went to school together, we were in the same boarding house [she is a few years older than I] and the relationship was something like this:
[Except for the dress. I failed every single dress check from grade 8 until matric. Also, note, I kept the same dresses from grade 8 until matric.]
So I kind of always adored Ché [in a non-creepy way], which made me click on her profile. This, in turn, led to my discovering her blog. The above cartoon was stolen from her blog, and I suggest you head over there right now. Also, please vote for her in the SA Blog Awards. She deserves it, and she won't shut up about it.
A while ago Ché asked on her Facebook status who wanted her last magical musical mixtape. I happened to be on Facebook at the time and eagerly nominated myself. And today, it arrived. I've been off sick for half of the day [something between glandular fever, mumps and cancer of the head, I am not sure] and this made my day!
Let's have a look at the contents of this package:
1. This note:
I support this wish.
2. A letter:
For those who are unable to read it, it says:
Dear Lize,
This was the closest thing I could find in my house that resembles a *UNICORN*.
-> Don't worry, I gave him a magical pink horn- good for three wishes =)
Enjoy the magical musical mixtape.
Peace, love and happiness.
I mean, isn't that amazing?! Mind: blown.
But it does not end there.
3. The actual CD.
First, one must mention the CD cover. Hand-made by Che [if you want to know how to make these, click here.
She totally gets me.
The track listing is also pretty amazing:
  1. Florence & The Machine- Dog Days Are Over
  2. The Arcade Fire- Rebellion
  3. Phoenix- Girlfriend
  4. Cold War Kids- Mexican Dogs
  5. Matisyahu- Time of Your Song
  6. Dan Black feat. Kid Cudi- Symphonies
  7. The Format- I Am Ready
  8. Shiny Toy Guns- Chemistry of a Car Crash
  9. Owl City- Cave In
  10. The Magic Numbers- Morning's Eleven
  11. The National- Slow Show
  12. Shiny Toy Guns- Don't Cry Out
  13. Kid Cudi- Day 'n Night
  14. The Shins- New Slang
  15. Eminem feat. Rihanna- Love the Way You Lie
  16. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros- Come in Please
  17. The Temper Trap- Sweet Disposition
I mean, come on! How much of wow? So much of wow!
And let us not forget the bonus tracks:
  1. Winterplay- Cha Cha [a jazzy Korean band]
  2. Shakira feat. Freshlyground- Wakka Wakka [because she is so proudly South African, even two months after Philip left us.]
I love this kind of thing. I love surprises, thoughtfulness and people who make life a little brighter. So MY '1 thing to do today' is to write a letter to a friend. Even if that person lives down the road from you. And if you can make it a surprise by slipping it under their door or delivering it at their workplace, so much the better. Because we have to realise that each of us have the power to make someone's day.
Thanks, Ché. May your blog win and your your life be filled with strawberries and ongoing loveliness.

No comments: