The Currency cool list: What got us through this week

Here’s what we’ve listened to, watched and read this week that’s made us happy.
3 mins read

Let’s face it – between the crazy ongoing Johannesburg Art Gallery revelations and the wretched updates on the illegal miners in Stilfontein, we are all constantly looking for good news and respite. We crave simple treats, moments of escapism and little luxuries to make life more pleasurable. This week, the team found joy in the following – and all from the comfort of our own houses:

We watched: ‘Bondi Rescue’

Australian reality TV series Bondi Rescue is a binge-worthy cracker. When the YouTube algorithmic overlords suggested it to us, we had never heard of it, but we watched one rescue, and then another. Two hours later, we had fallen so deep into the Bondi Rescue rabbit hole, we were basically Down Under. A couple of months – and a subscription to its YouTube page – later, and we are well and truly fans. Luckily, it’s in its 18th season, so there is a sizeable back catalogue.

Watching easy-going (and hilariously nicknamed) lifeguards Hoppo, Harries, Bacon and Mouse rescue hapless tourists from the rips, and deal with overdoses, lost kids and bag thefts, is unexplainedly gripping.

Before you judge, we aren’t the only addicts. One worried Reddit reader posted on the platform to question whether her obsessive viewing of the beach drama needed an intervention. And its cultural impact? We argue it’s far reaching – fans find themselves peppering their dialogue with Aussie slang like pork chop (idiot), hard yakka (work hard) and lappy (laptop). Our advice as the year winds down: crack a coldi, throw on your sunnies and head down to Bondi, mate.

We flipped through: ‘Esther Mahlangu: To Paint is in My Heart’, Thomas Girst, Azu Nwagbogu and Hans Ulrich Obrist (Jonathan Ball)

John Legend calls Esther Mahlangu: To Paint is in My Heart “a treasure trove” and Trevor Noah says it’s “an inspiration”. While we aren’t sure we needed pop crooner Legend’s thoughts on African art, these gents aren’t wrong. Mahlangu’s bold, large-scale paintings, decorated ceramics and murals that reference her Ndebele heritage are perennially popular.

She is one of South Africa’s most well-known artists and her work can be found in collections worldwide. She famously painted a BMW Art Car in 1991, and in 2018, a mural was dedicated to her and painted on the streets of Tribeca, New York.

The exciting new coffee-table book contains 97 beautiful illustrations of her vivid work, interspersed with quotes from the artist, including: “When I am painting, my heart is very wide. It reaches out to everything and everyone.” There is also a fascinating interview with the national treasure, a short essay by fashion designer Thebe Magugu, and a poem inspired by the octogenarian.

The nifty A5-sized gem is a great gift for any art enthusiast and its release is timed perfectly, with a retrospective of Mahlangu’s life that has just opened at Wits Art Museum in Joburg.

We listened to: ‘Teenage Dirtbag’, Cat Burns

Got two tickets to Iron Maiden, baby? Sadly, we don’t either – but that’s okay, because instead we’re loving this newly released cover of the 2000 Wheetus hit by 24-year-old British singer and song writer Cat Burns.

Truthfully, we’re not always keen on a song redo, but there’s obviously something about this tune that lends itself to a successful remix. Boy-band legends One Direction did a decent one, Walk off the Earth aced an acoustic version and, you’ll be shocked to hear that one of the best Teenage Dirtbag reinterpretations was performed by The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain for the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

If it sounds like one of us is secretly doing a PhD on the history of this alternative rock tune, don’t worry – rather we’re just 1990s and noughties youngsters who never grew up.  

We read: ‘The Glassmaker’, Tracy Chevalier (Jonathan Ball)

A clever time-travelling  narrative device, a sweep through the history and production of Murano glassware, a family saga and Venice as a frenetic, deeply sexy main character. Seriously, what’s not to like? Even if you’re not a fan of historical fiction, it’s easy to find Tracy Chevalier’s yarns compelling, and her new one, The Glassmaker, is just that. 

The Vermeer painting-inspired Girl with the Pearl Earring was the 1999 hit that put Chevalier on the map (it was made into the movie starring Scarlett Johansson). We also enjoyed A Single Thread, which centred around embroidery in Post World War 1 England.

If all this focus on history and craft (painting, glassmaking, needlework) isn’t your jam, just know that Chevalier uses them as devices to unfurl gripping tales about people we can identify with, irrespective of when the book is set. Throw in a bit of magical realism, exceptional settings and thorough research, and you’ve got a great holiday read.

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Sarah Buitendach

With a sharp eye for design, Sarah has an unparalleled sense of shifting cultural, artistic and lifestyle sensibilities. As the former editor of Wanted magazine, founding editor of the Sunday Times Home Weekly, and many years in magazines, she is the heartbeat of Currency’s pleasure arm.

Jo Buitendach

If it happened in Hollywood, design or pop culture, Jo Buitendach knows about it. Having had an award-winning career in tourism, Jo took the plunge and became a journalist. She now writes for a variety of leading publications on a broad range of subjects including pop culture, art, Joburg, jewellery, history, cultural issues and local design.

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