Noir Desir

  • Posted on 02/12/2010
  • /Under Musique

Noir Désir called it quits, due to “emotional, human and musical differences”. You could see this coming from a few miles, after leadsinger Bertrand Cantat was released from prison after his conviction for murder. Heated debates in France after Cantat and his compadres left off where they were forced to quit six years before. Which leaves us with a lot of very good albums, Des visages des figures being the most succesful outside of France. There are quite a few ND-covers (this one, f.i.), but I’m posting only the Le vent nous portera-versions here, mostly done by girls. Sophie Hunger is from Switzerland, Victoria Vox from the US, Regina Lund was born in Finland but lives in Sweden, Les Charbonniers de L’Enfer are Canadian. The remix of Le vent… was made by Rubber Room.

Noir Désir – Le vent nous portera
Noir Désir – Le vent nous portera (remix)
Sophie Hunger – Le vent nous portera
Les Charbonniers de l’enfer – Le vent nous portera
Regina Lund – Le vent nous portera
Victoria Vox – Le vent nous portera

C’est chic

  • Posted on 01/12/2010
  • /Under Musique

Looking for the Perfect Christmas Gift? C’est Chic!, a wonderful compilation on the reliable Ace/Kent reissue label. It features ’24 hand-picked gems form France, epicenter of the 1960s yé-yé-girl phenomenon’. A few hits, like Anna Karina’s Roller Girl and France Gall’s Laisse tomber les filles, but a lot of fairly obscure gems indeed. Like Michèle Torr’s Non, à tous les garçons. A song written by Serge Gainsbourg. Or the baroque Je ne sais pas ce que je veux (a cover by sixties-band Nirvana,reworked by Hardy herself). A thick booklet with great info (main informant: Graham from the excellent Ready Steady Girls) comes along with it. This is no cd you’d want to download, this is one you want to own. And I’m not saying that ’cause this blog is mentioned as a reference source. A nice surprise.

Françoise Hardy – Je ne sais ce que je veux
Nirvana – Tiny Goddess
Michèle Torr – Non, à tous les garçons

UPDATE: FS-visitor Teyo mentioned in the comments that Andreas Dorau sampled the Hardy-track. For a wonderful song, I might add.
Andreas Dorau – Allein im Park

Santa, Je t’aime

  • Posted on 29/11/2010
  • /Under Musique

In addition to the opening of my Christmas musicblog, I will post French (or French themed) Christmas songs on this blog too. The Superions are a side-project of Fred Schneider, singer of the B-52’s. It’s synth-driven and funny. Well, they mean it to be funny. Decide for yourself, listen to their album Destination…Christmas here. One of the tracks that caught my attention was Santa, Je t’aime. This is a very loose rework of one of the very first Je t’aime… moi non plus-parodys by Bourvil. Funny? Mwoh. Sexy? We heard far sexier tunes on this blog. Still, it’s something that’s appropriate for this blog. And I can post nice pictures with it. So there.

The Superions – Santa, je t’aime

UPDATE: there’s a VIDEO

Gateau Blaster

  • Posted on 26/11/2010
  • /Under Musique

Comic Strip is not the first French rap crew to use a Serge Gainsbourg sample, but they sure are the funniest. This is their English bio (from here): ‘COMIC STRIP is an up and coming french rap band. Led by freaking MC Wapi alongside producers TAMBOUR BATTANT , COMIC STRIP is about telling funny stories , sometimes with a hidden sense to it, and sometimes not. It s about hip hop and it s about electronics. It’s about “rap français”, and it s about UK grime, and US HipHop, and russian hardcore techno (well not quite sure bout the last one). Burning stages with heavy beats and an unusual sense of humor, it s meant to stay on the stage, and there s no firing those crazy unemployed B Boyz’
You can download their album Gateau Blaster for free (or a small donation, make sure doing so) HERE.

Comic Strip – Comic Strip Song
Of course, that’s this Gainsbourg song they’ve sampled.

So many filles (2)

  • Posted on 26/11/2010
  • /Under Musique

Another quick update, with Beatrice, Rachel and the long lost Lizzy Ling. The latter finally has a new album out, on which she works her Asian magic. Odd songs, with sensual qualities. Really really dig this track:

Lizzy Ling – la fille d’ombre

After a few English collaborations (this one, and this one), Beatrice/CdP reappears with a featured spot on a Omnikrom track. They think a little differently about ‘having a flow’ in Canada, I presume. But CdP’s guestvocals work really well. See the video HERE.

Omnikrom ft. Coeur de Pirate – Dans tes rêves

Rachel Des Bois’ (pictured) third album is out. Had not heard from her before, but thanks to this blog’s main pusher FransS she came on my radar. She might be a tad to rockish for most, but this is a very fine song:

Rachel Des Bois – Mon amour, je rentre

Genevieve Toupin

  • Posted on 25/11/2010
  • /Under Podcast

From the inbox:

It was almost one year ago that I read about Geneviève Toupin on your blog. This was so amusing to me because at the time she was living in my town (Winnipeg, Manitoba) and I had never heard about her. What a great album.

A concert with Geneviève and band was recently recorded by the CBC and available on demand.

So many filles, so little time

  • Posted on 25/11/2010
  • /Under Musique

Vanessa Paradis doing a tribute to Franck Langolff, Anais Kaël singing about a vibrator, the first single by a new Canadian talent and Fredda & Pascal redoing Serge’s Dents de lait, dents de loup. And a new album by Canadian singer Maryse Letarte. And an EP by Buridane. And that’s just from the past two weeks. Here’s a quick roundup of releases you really should know about:

Franck Langolff died in 2006 from cancer. The songwriter wrote many great songs, like Joe le Taxi for Vanessa Paradis. She is one of the stars who pay tribute to Langolff by singing unreleased songs, found by his son. Other singers contributing to Dr Tom ou la liberté en cavale are Arthur H, Thomas Dutronc, Ours and actress Cécile Cassel (yes, Vincent’s sister, pictured on the left). More? Here.
Vanessa Paradis – La gardienne et le réverbère Du 41
Cécile Cassel – La plante carnivore

Anais Kaël sings songs in the old chanson tradition. Her second album is just out and features a very funny song about a ‘vibromasseur’.
Anai Kaël – La Confession du vibromasseur

Curly blonde, Vanessa-Paradis-soundalike Buridane released an EP on which she doesn’t sound that much like Vanessa any more. Which is not bad at all.
Buridane – Comme avant

Brigitte Boisjoli was a contestant on Canadian tv-talenthunt Star Academy. She’s about to tour with a musicalgroupe through Canada (just like almost every tv-talenthunt winner in Holland is about to join the musical acting guild), but her first single sure sounds like she has way more talent than to be just a chorusline girl:
Brigitte Boisjoli – Fruits défendus

Fredda (Dastrevigne) and Pascal Parisot finally had the follow-up released to their Radiomatic-album (2007). Yeye-covers, with a modern twist. Very nice. Lots of Gainsbourg-tracks too, like this one.
Radiomatic – Dents de lait, dents de loup

Canadian songstress Maryse Letarte (pictured on the right) came on my radar when she released her beautiful Christmas album (mostly original songs) in 2008. Her new album is just as seasonal: lots and lots of tristesse. A must-have for people who regret Keren Ann’s transition to English.
Maryse Letarte – Ajourd’hui c’est dimanche

You want the meilleur: FS Yearlist

The end is nigh, so we’re counting our musical blessings again. What were the FIVE best French-language albums by girls in 2010? And the FIVE best Male French Vocal Achievements, released this year? Send your lists, and add some comments to each choice, to guuzbourg[a]gmail[.]com. Do it before December 10. Publication of the FillesSourires Yearlist will be around Dec 15. Merci!

← Newer Posts
Older Posts →