Blue Light Brigands

Yesterday, as I was driving in slow moving traffic, a car started to furiously honk about ten lengths behind me. Glancing in my rear view mirror I saw the familiar blue flashes of the scourge of the N1, the Blue Light Brigade.

These huge SUV's and sedans in their uniform black paint jobs and flashing blue lights on the roofs have bullied countless other road users while transporting the so-called VIPs. Very ignorant palookas if you ask me.

I doubt that they make use of these convoys to protect themselves against any attacks(although, with our government officials' tendency to surround themselves with dangerous people in their social circles, that might be the case).

I believe that it is more a play to feel important and relevant since their actions and activities relating to their positions do not warrant it.

Furthermore, these so-called VIPs are so anonymous, it is highly unlikely that they will be recognised between all the other tenderpreneurs in their BMWs.

I don't think anyone will drive next to one of our ministers and think:'Look! There goes Sicelo Shiceka, minister of Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs.' It probably would be more a case of:'Look how that idiot drives, he must have got his licence in a lucky packet!'

So whenever you see these Blue Light Buffoons, do not get angry and give them the attention they so desperately crave, rather give way and give them the time-honoured one fingered salute they deserve! (Late edit: Due to the sensitive nature of our country's politicians' egos, please refrain from flipping them the bird, you might be doing it to Winnie and end up as dead as Stompie!)

Hold on to this boy a little longer!

It was a love affair that began in my parent's living room in 1991. As an eight year old boy I was introduced to the folk-rock greatness that was R.E.M.

I was regular viewer of TV3's Technics Heart of the Beat and taped many shows on VHS to watch it the following morning. One of those shows was MTV's R.E.M. Unplugged. It was love at first organ note as they performed A perfect circle as a tribute to another young fan who was struggling with illness. Mike Mills made the organ sound more personal and moving unlike anything I ever heard before and when Michael Stipe started singing in that haunting way that only he can I was in musical heaven.

With the rise in popularity of cd's, my parents eventually bought our first home stereo with a cd player in 1996. Quite fittingly it was a Technics sound system and when my mother took us to buy our first cd's my choice was the newly released 'New Adventures in Hi-Fi'.

Through the years I collected all their albums and made sure I got hold of every single, which are quite scarce in South Africa, that I could.

For 20 years R.E.M. has been my go-to band. I could always find a song to suit my mood in their vast repertoire and for that I am eternally grateful.

From the poppy Radio Free Europe to the instantly recognisable mandolin on Out of Time, the bittersweet melodies of Automatic for the People to the harsh rock chords on Monster, R.E.M. continually reinvented themselves.

With the departure of Bill Berry I thought all was lost. He was after all responsible for their greatest hit,'Everybody Hurts'. That was until the release of Up. In my opinion a fitting tribute to the legacy of Berry and the start of a new era for R.E.M. who now experimented with electronic drum loops and moved into a more reflective lyrical style with songs like 'Sad Professor' and 'The Apologist'. It might not have been the same R.E.M. we have grown accustomed to but it was certainly a brilliant album.

This reinvention continued on later albums 'Reveal' and 'Around the Sun' before returning to their roots with 'Accelerate' and more recently 'Collapse into Now'.

In 2005 I was fortuanate enough to see my idols live in South Africa on their Around the Sun World Tour. It was fittingly the day before my birthday, the 10th of March, that I went to my old high school to fetch my sister. I signed her out at 10:00 in the morning claiming she had an appointment with the dentist and we set off in my 1976 Volkswagen Beetle tot the Dome in Northrand. The night was spent right in front of the stage with Mike Mills working his magic on the bass right in front of us and Michael Stipe strutting his stuff all over the place in his trademark style. Peter Buck played his part to a T and they  were brilliantly supported by the likes of Bill Rieflin on drums, Ken Stringfellow on keyboard and guitar as well as Scott McCaughey on guitar. I would have died quite happily that evening.

Now, after 31 years, the band has called it a day. Sad as it is, they could not have chosen a better time. Staying relevant for such a long period is an achievement in itself but the timing is perfect. They won't fade into obscurity but will rather be remembered as the pioneers that they were.

R.E.M. is not dead, long live R.E.M.