The old joke says that only two things will survive a nuclear holocaust: cockroaches and Twinkies. But the internet has proved that we should add Toto’s “Africa” to that list, too—this song will never die. And to ensure that, an artist has set up a sound installation in the Namib desert that will play the song on a loop forever.The piece, known as “Toto Forever” (which we came across at CNN), is the work of Namibian-German artist Max Siedentopf, who says he wanted to pay “tribute to probably the most popular song of the last four decades.” Using white block stands, solar batteries, and “six speakers which are attached to an MP3 player that only has one song on it,” he placed his musical work of art somewhere in the 1,200-mile-long desert—the world’s oldest, which runs along South Africa’s western coast.
As much as this sounds like a silly little set-up at first, the video of the song playing in the desert while the sands serenely blow around it is quite striking. In an effort to pay homage to the song, Siedentopf has actually highlighted how shallow our understanding of the entire continent is by contrasting a pop song with the natural beauty of the place it’s about.But the nicest thing is that Weezer and Pitbull are nowhere to be found. This way assured it will be Toto’s version that outlasts us. Should make for some nice dinner music when the cockroaches eat their Twinkies.Featured Image: Max Siedentopf
