...to the Sublime

French Kicks*

*updated

OK, I'm belatedly on a French music kick--just trying to keep that Paris groove going. I came across this disc recently--a tribute to the late singer, songwriter and all-around scoundrel Serge Gainsbourg. I'd never really explored his music, and this 2006 collection of English translations (available on iTunes) turned out to be a great introduction, featuring interesting collaborations such as Marianne Faithfull with Sly and Robbie ("Lola R. forever"/"Lola rastaquouere"); Faultline, Brian Molko and Françoise Hardy ("Requiem for a jerk"/"Requiem por un con"); and Franz Ferdinand & Jane Birkin ("A song for sorry angel"/"Sorry angel"). Birkin was the British actress/singer with whom Gainsbourg had a daughter, the singer/actress Charlotte Gainsbourg. Charlotte doesn't perform on this disc (though I believe that's her on the cover), and no one reprises the controversial "Lemon Incest," the father/daughter duet they recorded when Charlotte was 12! Ah, the French... 

But Cat Power and the British supermodel Karen Elson perform "I love you (me either)," originally recorded in 1969 as "Je t'aime moi non plus," with Gainsbourg and Birkin simulating orgasm. Gainsbourg originally was to record it with then-girlfriend Brigitte Bardot, but she backed out. C'est la vie.

*According to Chuckipedia (my fellow music obsessive Chuck Philips), Bardot and Gainsbourg did indeed record the aforementioned moan-fest. I stand corrected. 

Paris in the Rear View Mirror

Sorry for the long silence, but we took a long dreamed-of trip to Paris. Gabriel was turning 14 on July 14--Bastille Day--so we figured it was a perfect occasion for our first visit. What can I say? It was all wondrous--the museums, architecture, food and wine. We didn't catch any live music though. In fact, our hotel room didn't have a radio and I didn't explore any relevant apps for my iPhone. So I contented myself by singing that line from the Mark-Almond Band's "Lonely Girl": The boulevard St. Germain sees couples strolling hand in hand all day..."

But on our way home we stopped in New York for a few days and at a cool little book and CD store in the West Village I stumbled upon this disc by Malcolm McLaren. I've always been a fan of McLaren. I know a lot of people think he's just a poseur and a charlatan, but I think he's pretty damn clever. This CD is McLaren's paean to the City of Light. It's a lovely affair, with McLaren reciting verse over jazzy arrangements, with contributions from Catherine Deneuve(!) and François Hardy.

So this is how I am passing these days in stifling L.A.: drinking French wine, listening to a Brit's love letter to Paris, and dreaming of those magical streets. Bonsoir.