Shop Menu

"Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass."

~ Anton Chekhov

"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple."

~ Dr. Suess

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

~ Douglas Adams

Archive | Reviews

Kylie Minogue – Aphrodite

The golden goddess Aphrodite, whose rituals were all acts of love and pleasure, lends her name to Kylie’s latest offering – and how fitting! Kylie collaborated with some pretty big names in the pop-dance scene, including Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters, Calvin Harris, and Tim Rice-Oxley, to bless her fans with a seamless album […]

Read More

Simphiwe Dana’s Kulture Noir

Simphiwe Dana’s Kulture Noir is one of the handful of albums I just couldn’t wait to be released this year. Simphiwe’s debut album Zandisile was hailed an instant classic, and the follow up One Love Movement on Bantu Biko Street garnered further accolades. She is a four-times SAMA winner and a nominee in the Metro FM awards and the BBC Radio […]

Read More

Diane Birch’s Bible Belt

This wonderfully talented young woman is the daughter of missionaries, and has lived in several places around the world, including southern Africa. Now that you know at least this much about Diane, and, looking the title of her debut album Bible Belt, one wouldn’t be blamed for thinking that this might be on album of hymns […]

Read More

Amadou and Mariam

Amadou and Mariam recently shared the stage with some of the hottest acts in pop music at the opening concert of the soccer World Cup, exposing the millions of viewers to their catchy, well-crafted music. Welcome to Mali is not a new album, having first been released in 2008. It flew below my radar, which is […]

Read More

Planet 51

Planet 51, while not earth-shattering in concept, is a fun film filled with humour that will keep kids of all ages entertained. The story revolves around a small planet in a different galaxy where little green humanoids live in a setting that strongly reminds you of 1950s America. The white picket fence town with its […]

Read More

Tori Amos’ Midwinter Graces

Midwinter Graces is the first seasonal album of classic carols and original songs from Tori Amos. For thousands of years, human beings have celebrated the return of the sun at this time at the solstice. Admittedly, the largest numbers of these celebrations occurred in the northern hemisphere, and have continued in the form of Christmas and […]

Read More

Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Friends

Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Friends is a two disc compilation of Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s collaborations with artists both local and international, and should be a part of the collection of anyone who takes music seriously. I had no idea just how many times the brilliant LBM has sung with so many musical luminaries, and what delights […]

Read More

Twilight: Eclipse Original Sound Track

I feel that, before I continue with this review, I need to state for the record that I am no fan of the Twilight books or films. No thank you. I prefer my vampires photosensitive and iconophobic, not twinkly tree-huggers. Now that I’ve got that out of the way, I will confess (and proudly!) that I am […]

Read More

Shapa Bafana Shapa

The official Bafana Bafana album, Shapa Bafana Shapa, gave me so much more listening pleasure than I initially thought it would. A two disc collection of great South African music old and new, it really does feature something for everyone – and I’m not just saying that for fun. The first disc features 20 tracks that’ll […]

Read More

Marina and the Diamonds

I first heard of Marina Diamandis from a friend who waxed lyrical about this young Welsh woman who looks like a young Catherine Zeta Jones. A passing reference to Tori Amos was made, and I do remember raising an eyebrow ever so slightly on hearing that.  I’m afraid I’m one of Those Fans – someone […]

Read More