Articles Written By: guuzbourg

Vic Godard vs Francoise Hardy

  • Posted on 17/04/2011
  • /Under Musique

Martin wrote a guestpost about a remarkable cover of a Françoise Hardy song by former Subway Sect-member Vic Godard:

Vic Godard is one of the great lost talents of the post punk. In 1976, he formed Subway Sect at the suggestion of Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren. After a few album and single releases in the mid-1980s, Godard retired from music and became a postman. In 1990, Godard wrote the song “Johnny Thunders”, a tribute inspired by reading an obituary of the New York Dolls guitarist. The song was included on the album ‘The End of the Surrey People’, produced by Edwyn Collins (A Girl Like You) and featuring the Sex Pistols’ Paul Cook on drums. In October 2010 Vic released his newest album ‘We Came As Aliens’. Most songs from the album have been evolving since the mid 1990s, with the exception of Françoise Hardy’s Et même, which Vic wanted to record since ’77. The sound of Et même is raw and the vocals are always sung with respect to the original version.

Charlotte Gainsbourg

  • Posted on 17/04/2011
  • /Under Musique

Charlotte Gainsbourg released a limited (500 copies) vinyl-single on Record Store Day, yesterday. It’s a split single with the wonderful Conor O’Brien of Villagers (who wrote the CG-song too). The actual single was unavailable in the Netherlands, and now you have to pay triple the price on eBay. The track, which was co-produced by O’Brien and Renaud Letang in Paris, will be released on Gainsbourg’s next full-length album, Live and Unreleased , due sometime this year (it was announced last year, but we’ll see it when it drops) (hopefully outside of the US and France too). See a fantastic live-performance of Villagers in Rotterdam here.

Charlotte Gainsbourg – Memoir

Axelle, Colette and the Blues

  • Posted on 15/04/2011
  • /Under Musique

Guestpost! Sylvester on Axelle Red and Colette Magny:

Like anybody, the Francophone have the blues from time to time. They used to call it existentialism and nowadays the bestselling novels of Michel Houellebecq exhale it abundantly. But they don’t sing the blues. Just try the latest CD of Axelle Red, apparently one of the few bluesy singers in the French-speaking world. Her voice is quite harsh, which could very well go with singing the blues. But it doesn’t really. Perhaps it’s her diction which is to blame, her perfectionism, or just the fact that she was born in Hasselt, Belgium.
To be honest, I don’t particularly like the voice of Axelle Red, but I do like her good taste. On her new album Un coeur comme le mien are some very nice songs, well written and arranged. Among them is Melcoton, in 1963 the only hit-chanson of Colette Magny (1926-1997). Now, thát was a French blues singer! At least that is what often has been said about her. Magny herself preferred to be compared with Léo Ferré, chansonnier par excéllence. For both of them singing often was a way to (rather militantly) spread a message. Magny was certainly influenced by Bessie Smith and other blues singers, but in the first place she will be remembered for her engagement: the way she sang about the Vietnam war, injustice, repression and environmental catastrophes. Sometimes she sounded quite bluesy, but her lyrics overshadowed rhythm and emotions.
In my next radio show at the Concertzender I will give you some examples.

Axelle Red – Melocoton
Colette Magny – Melocoton

L

  • Posted on 13/04/2011
  • /Under Musique

Raphaëlle Lannadère (for she is L) was ‘biberonée’ with Barbara and Billie Holiday. I’m struggling to find a similar English expression: spoonfed might be accurate. A biberon is a pacifier. Imagine that, sucking on a device to get two of the most melancholic singers into your system. Why isn’t something like that available?! We can put people on the moon, for crying out loud! Anyhoo, the first full album by L (not the greatest nom de plume in history, if you ask me. What’s wrong with Raphaëlle ?) is out now. She was featured on the former FS-blog (here), on this album are a few reworks of her first EP. Like the excellent Jalouse. There’s still a great deal of saudade in her music, that brilliant Portuguese word that cannot be translated, you have to feel it. In her bio, names like Genet, Arnaud and Bataille are mentioned: not the happiest of poets. She writes her lyrics first, than searches for the right music on her piano. She writes about nostalgia, estrangement and heavier things. Not really music to enjoy in the sun. Maybe they should’ve released this in fall.

L – Romance et serie noire

ZAZ

  • Posted on 05/04/2011
  • /Under Musique

A limited special edition of ZAZ’s debut album was released, with four extra live-tracks. Two acoustic versions of her own songs, and two covers. One by Gainsbourg (a better version then this one) and one by Carlos Almaran. This Panamian songwriter is the father of Historia de un Amor,a song that was covered many, many times. I love what ZAZ did with both tunes. See a video of Z singing Ces Petits Riens here, and her singing Historia…. here.

Zaz – Ces petits riens
Zaz – Un historia de un amor

Jerome van den Hole featuring Camille

  • Posted on 05/04/2011
  • /Under Musique

YES! Camille is back, AND she sings in French! She duets with Jerome van den Hole on his upcoming debut-album. VDH first single was kinda nice (video) but this track with Camille is of the same quality as that brilliant track with Raul Paz (this one). Van den Hole, he says his  name is the same of a Dutch sprinter, recorded his album with Philippe Zdar (of Cassius-fame, he also produced Phoenix). He states he likes NTM as much as Kings of Leon, and apparently loves heavy, heavy piano on his songs. Have not heard his album yet, but this could be something special.

Jerome van den Hole + Camille – Debout

Bourgeois vs Bashung

  • Posted on 04/04/2011
  • /Under Musique

French filles singing songs about girls, to empower women. That’s what Paroles de Femmes is all about, the album featuring Claire Keim, Natasha St Pier, Shy’m and Amel Bent was released on March 8. International Women’s Day, of course. The songs are covers by Brel, Obispo, Becaud and Christophe. Hate to say this, especially with championed girls like Claire Keim and Nolwenn Leroy on board, but most covers are a bit dull. One that stands out in a good way is Amandine Bourgeois’ version of Bashungs slide-fest Osez Jospehine. Amandine (pictured) chose to  leave the slide-guitar out, very brave. To compare, a live version by the grand master himself (RIP), who adds a little Dylan.

Amandine Bourgeois – Osez Josephine
Bashung – Osez Josephine (live)

Otarie

  • Posted on 04/04/2011
  • /Under Musique

Guestpost! Natasha on Canadian duo Otarie: ‘They are like leather pants: sensual, supple, smelly and sexy.’

Although they’ve played big festivals like Francofolies and keep gigging in all kinds of local places in their native Montréal, Québec duo Otarie (a reference to a baby seal, or ‘bébé phoque’ in French) has been around since 2006. They are still considered part of the alternative scene not for their simplistic sound, but because of their lyrics, which are explicitly fun with a hint of gay bitchiness, especially when they slam local has-beens, all in quality Québécois slang.

Canine Sutto, the guy (Janine Sutto was an actress, think gay stage name) and Gaétane Montana, the lovely red head, say they’re just friends and share the same taste in dirty lyrics. They mix all kinds of styles (and different positions) and use words you’ll have to Google like ‘plotte’ (‘muff’), ‘poche’ (‘scrotum’), ‘graine’ (‘dick’) and ‘foune’ (‘ass’).

The puns fly very low in songs like ‘Kuni Kuni’ and ‘Au Camp Trois Pinis’, titles that don’t need translation and ‘Spourrer’, a loving song about ‘spooning and screwing’. Students love Otarie’s in your face-ness and just like jerking off, other people either like it too or just lie about it.

If you like it fast:  Otarie – Horny
If you like it slow: Otarie – Dans mon lit

Lisa Portelli video

  • Posted on 31/03/2011
  • /Under Video

Her second album drops in May. This is a scary, yet compelling video.

← Newer Posts
Older Posts →