Articles Written By: guuzbourg

Under the radar (10)

Serge Gainsbourg’s L’Homme à tête de chou is the underrated masterpiece in his catalogue, lesser known then ‘Melody Nelson’ but certainly not a lesser album. Just before he died, Alain Bashung worked on a ballet about the man with the cauliflower head. The videos for the ballet look interesting, the album was a bit of a letdown to be honest. Yet this is a great video for Bashung’s version of Variations sur Marilou. What I didn’t know, is that Serge-soundalike Rodolphe Burger recorded a live tribute of ‘Tête de chou’ in 2006. With help from Mick Harvey, Jacques Higelin and Fred Poulet. Last year, a registration popped up on Bandcamp, featuring extra tracks like a duet with Jane Birkin. I can’t believe it’s not Serge singing there.

Also on Bandcamp, an album by the British jazz band Les Effrontés. It says release-date February 4 2012, but you can stream and download it already. The band started out as a Jacques Brel coverband, with Paris-born Tiffany Schellenberg on vocals. They do two Gainsbourg-covers, the best is Black Trombone. The song, one of my favourite SG-tunes, gets a tango make-over that really works.

Rodolphe Burger & Jane Birkin – Dépression au Dessus du Jardin (See the original version by Cathérine Deneuve, and this version by Serge himself)

Les Effrontés – Black Trombone
(See Serge’s original here)

Carmen Maria Vega

  • Posted on 11/01/2012
  • /Under Musique

Gone are the long locks, away with the jolly atmosphere, Carmen Maria Vega now looks like an extra from the Rocky Horror show. Quite a change for the gipsyfied pop-star (call her the female Thomas Dutronc), who now adds beats to her music. Her sophomore album will be released later this year, last year a 4-track EP was up on iTunes for a few weeks. Then it was gone. You can’t (well, I can’t) listen on her site anymore. But at FS, we have our ways of getting the good stuff. On that EP are two modern sounding popsongs – Sans Rien strays into Yelle-territory. Plus a slow blues and a track Zaz could’ve sung. The curiousity for that second album just got bigger.

Carmen Maria Vega – Sans rien

Under the Radar 5: La Féline

  • Posted on 06/01/2012
  • /Under Musique

Le roi a fait battre tambour is a French song from the 17th Century (writer unknown), from the Saintonge region. The song is either about Louis XIV, the Sun King, and the death of one of his mistresses, or the poisoning of a mistress of king Henry IV. It was recorded by many, many artists: Edith Piaf, Yves Montand, Anne Sylvestre and Nana Mouskouri. And by trio La Féline, Agnes, Xavier and Stephane, who are named after the 1942 movie La Féline. The trio released two EP’s this year. La Féline was featured on this blog (see here), but somehow we’ve missed those releases. The Echo EP, featuring Le roi a fait battre tambour, contains more covers: Julee Cruise’s Into the Night and John Leyton’s Johnny Remember Me. Plus a reworked La Féline original. Songs about death, references to Twin Peaks, Joe Meek-productions; you’ll get the atmospherics, don’t you? Dim the lights, goth up your dress, sway with La Féline.

La Féline – Le roi a fait battre tambour

Under the Radar 4: Lucy Dixon & Le Professeur Inlassable

  • Posted on 05/01/2012
  • /Under Musique

Released in March last year, this smokey collab between English dancer and actress Lucy Dixon and dj/’sound sorcerer’ Le Professeur Inlassable’. One of the tracks on the album One Too is called ‘Nobody Smokes Anymore’, which is a hint to the existential jazzy atmosphere from the good od days that le professeur creates, and Lucy’s husky vocals, a clear reference to classy singers like Julie London. But a newer cut-n-paste band like Belle Ruche also springs to mind. There are two French tracks on the album, I heard 15 Centimes first on the matchless radio station FIP. I know she’s singing about money in her pocket, but a dirty mind like mine hears ‘centimeters’ instead of ‘centimes’. A joy forever, you said it.

Lucy Dixon & Le Professeur Inlassable – 15 centimes

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