»Without him, we all would have become accounting clerks«, Jacques Brel once said about Charles Trenet, the godfather of French song who invented modern chanson with his stunning blend of surrealism, nostalgia, buoyancy and joie de vivre. Born exactly 100 years ago, on May 18, 1913, the so-called Fou chantant first pursued a career as a writer: In his early novel Dodo Manières his alter ego feels downright enchanted while listening to Louis Armstrong’s Hobo You Can’t Ride This Train , and jazz was what made him turn to song. Portrayed by Jean Cocteau as an angel on a [...]
'Françoise was a confirmed Anglophile who had wanted to record in Britain, with British arrangers, as soon as she became famous', Bob Stanley writes in the liner notes of 'Midnight Blue', a compilation of Hardy's finest English songs, recorded between 1968 and 1972. I'm not a real fan of Fran's English songs. It's the accent, it's the fact that the translated songs were better in their original form. I like her better in Italian (Spotify-link), but, granted, there are some nice tunes. As is always the case with Ace, the liner-notes are fine, it sounds great [...]
Just a reminder, if you have Spotify you can listen to my New French Pop 2013 playlist. New songs added almost every week. Go HERE
»Django’s Orchid Lounge [on Maui] is my little hideout on the ocean«, country superstar Willie Nelson writes in his 2012 memoir Roll Me Up and Smoke Me If I Die. »My brother-in-law named it Django’s Orchid Lounge since he knows how much I love Django Reinhardt. For those who don’t know, Django Reinhardt is the greatest guitar player who ever lived.« Introduced to the sound of Django by guitar teacher Paul Buskirk in 1955, Willie pays tribute to his guitar hero on his brand new album Let’s Face the Music and Dance with a fine, inspired version of [...]
Jeff Lynne’s latest album Long Wave is nearly about 28 min. It features eleven tunes that sound ... well, a bit like he tried to pull a portable radio out of the dungheap in his well-groomed Beverly Hills garden. Conceived as an hommage to the songs that shaped his youth, the album hardly achieves more than beaming Golden Age classics, Chuck Berry and Roy Orbison into the realm of Lackluster Alley. The most memorable song might be its opener, a last call adaptation of The Aznavour’s lofty ’74 longing melodrama She a.k.a. Tous les visages de l’amour. And in comparison [...]
Lyric video for Elodie's new single
Official Love Song video: Official video for duet with Benjamin Biolay:
Chilean psych-rock band The Holydrug Couple recorded a organ-heavy version of Je t'aime... moi non plus for a Record Store Day compilation. More on that here.
Hell just froze over: Autour de Lucie is back. The seminal French rock band, the only mid-90s band from the Hexagone that was on par with the big alt rock names from the UK and USA, reformed (they called it quits about 10 years ago). Singer Valerie Leulliot announced a new album, there's a new single especially for Record Store Day. Rejoice! Autour de Lucie - Ta lumière particulière
Yet another guest post by Steve, on red hot Axelle: Firstly, a small confession. I've never been a huge fan of Axelle Red. Sure, I'd retrospectively discovered " À Tâtons ", a superb fusion of Memphis Soul, Nashville Country and French "Je ne sais quoi" (or should that be Flemish "Ik weet niet wat"? - sorry Guuz) (Actually, that should read: 'dat onbekende iets'- G'bourg), but for some unknown reason we'd kind of failed to connect; She had "The Voice", but similar to my review of Alizée, I'd often [...]
Download for free a cover version of Gainsbourg's Ah! Melody! by Emilie Simon and producer/Beirut-trumpeteer Kelly Pratt aka Bright Moments HERE
La Femme's album, Psycho Tropical Berlin, is out. It features mostly French sequenced fuzzsurfsighpopsongs, like this one:
Amsterdam-based, but very French neo-new wave artiste Emmanuelle Ornon aka Fusée Doreée has a new EP out, on Bandcamp. This, I think, is the best track Dans le Noir by Fusée Dorée
Guestpost time again! Steve on the new Alizée album: It's probably safe to say that the release of Alizée's 2010 "comeback" album, "Une Enfant du Siècle" - billed as a brave new style and change of direction - a concept album based around the life of American actress Edie Sedgwick - failed to resonate with the public at large, who obviously weren't quite ready for the change of direction envisaged by the former teenage star. It wasn't helped that the album was ultimately a mess of musical contradictions, and [...]
Recorded with a trio, live in the studio. It's 'name your price' on Bandcamp: La barque (Live) by Fanny Bloom
Guestpost! Mark takes on a linkfest with great performances by La Grande Sophie: “La Grande Sophie est un spectacle à elle toute seule, tant sur le plan visuel que sur le plan vocal” Pub pour le festival Muzik'elles septembre 2012 La Grande Sophie is great in many ways, and not the least is that her concerts have the most dramatic start of any on the planet . Her band is in place in the dark, the sound and lighting build up, the first bars of ‘Ma [...]
Filles Sourires
R.I.P. Romanthony, producer and “One More Time” singer
Ciara – Goodies (BORGEOUS Remix)
Watch Fred Armisen’s SNL farewell with Carrie Brownstein, Kim Gordon, J Mascis, Aimee Mann
José González – Crosses (Dinner Date Remix)
