Music from French West Indies

Great biguine and gwoka albums very rare can be downloaded on the great blog Listen to your ears which dig up LPs of the Caribbeans islands. Beside those albums from French Antilles (French West Indies), there are also a few albums from Guyane (a French territory in the north of Brazil).

Minor Swing

Minor Swing, the great song of Django Reinhardt, played by Musette masters Jo Privat and Matelo Ferré!

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

The famous love song of the The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, the masterpiece of Jacques Demy. In this scene, Nino (Guy Foucher) has been told that he has to go to Algeria to do his military service, and says goodbye to his lover Geneviève (Catherine Deneuve).

The Final scene of the movie with the incredible music of Michel Legrand, some years after the previous scene. They are both married (Geneviève was pregnant and had to marry a rich guy). They meet by chance. Time has past, is love gone?

The Swinging Poet

Inspired by classical French Poets, chanson and Jazz, Brassens redefined French Chanson in the mid-50’s to the 70s. With, a great sense of the melody, a guitar with a perfect swing, and lyrics in the same time poetic, deep and subservise, he’s hailed in France as a true genius of songwritting and the greatest master of French Chanson.

A selection of his greatest songs:

Brassens – The swinging Poet

1. Supplique pour Etre Enterré à la plage de Sète
2. Le Roi des Cons
3. Rien à Jeter
4. Le temps ne fait rien à l'affaire (Quand on est con)
5. Putain de toi
6. La prière
7 .La Premiere Fille
8. Le Pornographe
9. Le Petit Cheval
10. Pauvre Martin
11. Les passantes
12. Le Parapluie
13. La Non-Demande en Marriage
14. Mourir pour des Idées

15. La Mauvaise Réputation
16. Le Mauvais Sujet Repenti
17. La Marine
18. La Marche nuptiale
19. Une Jolie fleur
20. Je suis un voyou
21. Je me suis fait tout petit
22. Il n’y a pas d’amour heureux
23. Hécatombe
24. Le Gorille
25. Embrasse-les tous
26. Dans l’Eau de la Claire Fontaine
27. La Complainte des filles de joie
28. La Chasse Aux Papillons
29. Le Bistrot
30. Les Amoureux des Bancs Publics

Bad Reputation

Georges Brassens is to my opinion the best French singer-songwriter musician of the XXth century. And actually most of people who love French music think the same and I can't explain why he's so less famous outside France than Gainsbourg, Brel or Edith Piaf. So you can imagine how pleased I am to welcome the release of a CD of Brassens sung in English. It's called Bad Reputation, Pierre de Gaillande Sings George Brassens and features Keren Ann. Pierre de Gaillande is Franco-american and has worked, among others, with the great Vic Chesnutt. Both translation and music are very good. In stores June 8th 2010!

A nice quote that can be found on Barbès' website: "He [Brassens] is both a national outcast and hero in France, yet most of us don't know him on this side of the Channel. His lyrics were more subversive than Dylan orthe Sex Pistols and he wrote better tunes than either." Alex Kapranos, of Franz Ferdinand. quoted in The Guardian October 2006

A few more:
"A few years ago, in the course of a literary discussion, someone asked who was the best poet at the moment in France. I responded without hesitation: Georges Brassens."
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Nobel Prize for Literature 1981

"I believe it is a mortal sin not to listen to Brassens."
Jacques Brel, songwriter

Welfare Heart

He sings in English deep and beatiful folk songs. His sound is all but what's done in France in 2010. All his LPS can be downloaded for free. Check out his myspace

Ernesto Violin - Seasons Of the Sun