Sunday Music: Down with Genres

I have little tolerance for genre-based taste in music. Honestly, if you only listen to industrial metal, or rockabilly, or indie freakfolk, you can hardly call yourself a "music lover." Every genre and every type of music has produced an artist or a handful of songs that are worthy of a listen. Even [wince] modern bluegrass.

With that in mind, I once again bring you the immortal CloClo, and his adaption of the Four Seasons' "December 1963 (Oh What a Night)," accompanied by the hot-pants-wearing Les Clodettes. I don't know why--I just love this guy.

Sunday Music: Cl**de Franç**s

Take that, you folkies! Here's how how a Frenchman does "If I Had a Hammer." Cl**de Franç**s is barely known here, but he was a huge, huge, HUGE star in France. "CloClo," as he was known to his fans, was beloved for his frenetic dancing, sequined suits and shameless kitsch. (See "Le Telephone Pleure--Tears on the phone" on YouTube) Franç**s made his contribution to American culture with his 1968 hit "Comme d'habitude," which Paul Anka reworked into "My Way," a signature tune for Frank Sinatra. Franç**s lived a charmed, or perhaps cursed, life. He was seriously injured in a car accident, then narrowly escaped death during an IRA bombing in London, and then a crazed fan took a shot at him. In 1978, he tried to remove a broken light bulb while standing in his bath, and was electrocuted.

I found a timeline of Cl**de's life, written in Frenglish. Here's a couple of the entries:

"September 1975: Cl**de goes down from his helicopter and by taking again its take-off, this one is crushed"

"June 25, 1977: Cl**de is taken in hunting by criminals when it drives car to go has Dannemois"

More near-misses...I think.

[Link]

Update: Isn't a shame how the flying copyright monkeys waste their time taking good stuff down? Never mind that it might turn a few people on to some artists they've never heard of before...Anyway, I hope the aster*sks may prevent the monkeys' search engines from hitting this one.

Sunday Music: Annie Philippe

Annie Philippe was a 17 year old DJ when she was discovered by orchestra leader Paul Mauriat. Although her biggest hit was "Ticket de quai," the 1966 song, "C'est la mode" is the real brainworm. You'll hear this in your head for days; it's far more insidious than even the theme for "Green Acres." You have been warned.

More about Annie Philippe at Garagehangover [Link]

Les Sucettes

France Gall and deliciously sleazy Serge Gainsbourg, singing about a girl's love for anise-flavored suckers. Tragically, the version where Gall is accompanied by dancers dressed as giant sucettes was pulled from YouTube. A pic of real frenchie sucettes is here. Gall insisted that she had no idea that the song, which was written by Gainsbourg, could be perceived as a double entendre.

Annie aime les sucettes
Les sucettes à l'anis
Les sucettes à l'anis
D'Annie
Donnent à ses baisers
Un goût ani-
sé lorsque le sucre d'orge
parfumé à l'anis
Coule dans la gorge d'Annie
Elle est au paradis


Annie likes lollipops,
Anise-flavored lollipops,
Annie's anise-flavored lollipops
give her kisses
an anise taste
And when the barley sugar
flavored with anise
trickles down Annie's throat
she is in paradise.

Have a restful weekend.

Sunday Music: Les Irresistibles

Four boys in mod attire + three zippy euro sports cars + smokin' Farfisa organ solo = inert film-making. The director must have been inexperienced/bored/depressed...there has to be an explanation. Les Irrestibles were American expats living in Paris, and this was on the top of the charts in 1968.

Sunday Music: Les Surfaros

Isn't France wonderful? In what other country could a group of adorable Malagasy teenagers become pop music phenoms? Well ok...maybe Japan. Anyway, enjoy the tiny, melodious Surfaros as they sing Sur Garçon, with the choreographic accompaniment of three rhythm-impaired French people.

Happy Sunday: Antoine et Les Problèmes

Mondays are hard. Generating blog content is hard. Solution: post a video every Sunday. I hope you enjoy the following proto music video, possibly copied from a Scopitone. No actual French rock stars were hurt during the making of this film, despite Antoine's atrocious lip-syncing.



Les élucubrations d'Antoine, 1966(?)