Excentric and Astonishing: The Queen of Kekeland

Brigitte Fontaine is a one of the most precious treasure of French music, alongside with Brassens and Gainsbourg. There is so much to say on her career: she experimented almost all styles, from chanson, to jazz, pop, arab music and avantgarde, and always with her special touch, between genius and insanity, often radical, always moving. She worked with the best French artists, but also with Sonic Youth and Archie Stepp. To my mind, her style and her importance in music can be compared to the great Nico.

To learn more about her, I let you read the article of wikipedia which is very well done (who says I'm lazy?).

Some of my favorite songs, that just give a little taste of her talent:

Dommage Que Tu Sois Mort (1968)
Comme A La Radio (1970)
Lettre A Monsieur le Chef de Gare de la Tour de Carole (1970)
L'auberge (1972)

And to not forget her recent work:
Je T'Aime Encore (2001)

Manual For Successful Rioting

I rarely write about electronic music because I know very little about it. Here, a little of Birdy Nam Nam.
Birdy Nam Nam - Manual For Successful Rioting

A good-fellow

Alexis HK by Pirlouiiiitt

Alexis HK "Les Affranchis" (French name of the Scorsese's Goodfellas), from la Familia, released on March. Its his 5th album.



MySpace

A French Cat meowing

Chat by Pierre-jean G.

Chat (means cat) is a French singer-songwriter who released her first album on February. Worth listening!

"Alice", from Folie Douce

You can listen the whole album there. Their myspace.

"Yes we can", A Crab Said

simply brillant!



Directed by Arthur de Pins

7th Sky French music

DL Discovering French music

Here's the 7th volume of my home made best of French music.

In this volume, you'll find some golden gems of the 1930s with some Musette (Tony Murena), Buigine from Martinique, in the French Carribean (Orchestre Antillais d'Alexandre Stellio), and gypsy swing (master Django Reinhardt & Stephan Grapelli).

You'll also find a new wave hit (Taxi Girl), a rap song (underground rap act "ATK"), and a song of the Master Brassens.

 For the fans of Yann Tiersen and his Amélie's score, I put a beautiful piece of Eric Satie, who is I think, his main influence. The rest is made up of nice songs of the 90's and the 00's, between chanson, pop and rock, with great and beloved singer-songwriters such as Alain Bashung, Mano Solo, Dominique A, Camille, and bands such as Zebda , Dionysos, la Tordue and Tue -Loup.

At last, an experimental cover of Prokovief'sThe Montagues and the Capulet by Ez3kiel and a punk favorite by Bérurier Noir. Enjoy!


Cover: Mano Solo

Discovering French Music volume 7

1. Alain Bashung – Noir de Monde (L’Imprudence , 2002)
2. Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappelli- Honeysuckle Rose (1938)
3. Taxi Girl – Chercher le garçon (Cherchez le garçon, 1980)
4. Tony Murena – Passion (1942)
5. Dionysos – Song For Jedi (Western sous la neige, 2002)
6. Zebda – Mon Père M’a Dit (Le Bruit et l'Odeur, 1995)
7. Serge Gainsbourg – Variations Sur Marilou (L’Homme à la tête de chou, 1976)
8.Orchestre Antillais d’Alexandre Stellio – Mussieu Satan Faché (Au Bal Antillais: Franco-Creole Biguines from Martinique, 1929)
9. ATK – Tricher (Heptagone, 1998)
10. La Tordue – La rose et le réséda (Les choses de rien, 1995)
11. Camille – Ta Douleur (Le Fil, 2005)
12. Georges Brassens – Putain de toi (1954)
13. Dominique A – En Secret (Auguri, 2001)
14. Eric Satie- Gnossienne n°1 (1890)
15. Francoiz Breut- Si Tu Disais (vingt à trente mille jours, 2000)
16. Ez3kiel – The Montagues And The Capulets (Serge Prokovief, Battlefield, 2008)
17. Bérurier Noir – Fils De… (Carnaval des agités, recorded in the late 1980′s /, live released in 1995)
18. Brigitte Fontaine – Dommage que tu sois mort (Brigitte Fontaine est… folle !, 1968)
19. Mano Solo – Barbès-Clichy (Les Années sombres, 1995)
20. Tue-Loup – Le Lac De Fish (Le lac de fish, 2007)
21. La rue Kétanou - La rue Kétanou (2000, En attendant les caravanes)

Discovering French Music 7 from boebis on 8tracks Radio.