Aussie Melodie
Australia calling! Next week, Mélodie Française is released, a compilation of Aussie bands covering French classics and lesser known gems. Artists I'd never heard of, like Gossling, Big Scary and The Walking Who tackle songs by Serge (of course), Françoise Hardy and Renaud. Two tasters are out there, a very nifty version of Gainsbourg & Bardot's Bonnie & Clyde by Deep Sea Arcade with Megan Washington, and the Michel Berger-penned La minute de silence shown above. As far as I know, the comp is not released outside of Australia, but I'll try'n get a copy.
(Merci Marjorie)
Deep Sea Arcade & Megan Washington – Bonnie & Clyde
You know Rammstein. This German band mixes metal with (homo-)eroticism, electronics, East-German references, irony, humour and great visuals. Introduction? See here. You might not know Roger Baptist, aka Rummelsnuff. He's a one-man Rammstein, who recorded several albums under different monikers. He once recorded a cover of Becaud's Nathalie, on his most recent release Brüder the Gainsbourg-and-Bardot-duet Bonnie & Clyde gets a treatment. Roger gets help from French actress and singer Valerie Renay (pictured).
Rummelsnuff – Bonnie & Clyde
Laetitia Sadier singing Bardot's Contact! Woo! She sang the song last week together with The Loved Drones (another sideproject of Benjamin Schoos, aka Miam Monster Miam), on the 5th birthday of the Freaksville label. A radiorecording of Contact is available for free download, here. And below.
Laetitia Sadier & the Loved Drones – Contact
La Fiancée
Cover-albums. Usually a sign of artistic fatigue (like the double live album), but Claire La Fiancée is just starting. And because the songs on her first two EP's (especially the first one, that ended high in the FS Yearlist in 2009; see here) were fresh and sensual, we believe her when Claire states that on Trois she's covering the songs she loves, her way. Songs by Benjamin Biolay (Bien Avant), It's Immaterial (Driving away from home, a duet with original singer John J. Campbell), The Zombies (Smokey Day, that now sounds like something Serge could've written for Jane in the 70s), Etienne Daho (Ouverture), Brigitte Bardot (Une histoire de plage, see Claire do a live version here) and Jil Caplan (Tout ce qui nous separé). Interesting choices, very nice result. She really gave the songs a La Fiancée makeover.
La Fiancée – Tout ce qui nous separé
Gateau Blaster
Comic Strip is not the first French rap crew to use a Serge Gainsbourg sample, but they sure are the funniest. This is their English bio (from here): 'COMIC STRIP is an up and coming french rap band. Led by freaking MC Wapi alongside producers TAMBOUR BATTANT , COMIC STRIP is about telling funny stories , sometimes with a hidden sense to it, and sometimes not. It s about hip hop and it s about electronics. It's about "rap français", and it s about UK grime, and US HipHop, and russian hardcore techno (well not quite sure bout the last one). Burning stages with heavy beats and an unusual sense of humor, it s meant to stay on the stage, and there s no firing those crazy unemployed B Boyz'
You can download their album Gateau Blaster for free (or a small donation, make sure doing so) HERE.
Comic Strip – Comic Strip Song
Of course, that's this Gainsbourg song they've sampled.
Bardot, Coppola, Dior
Brigitte Bardot in a commercial shot by Sofia Coppola for a fragrance by Dior. Yep, it's from 2008 but I never saw this 'director's cut' before, and the song is a surprise too (though it's from a Best Of cd by Bardot, I seem to have missed it completely).
Brigitte Bardot – Moi je joue
Gainsbourgalia
A post with Gainsbourg-related stuff, covers and soundtrack-music. The other day I tried to watch the 1968 movie Slogan, the first film starring both Jane and Serge. Without subtitles it was impossible to follow, then again, the storyline isn't that difficult and it seems that the director tried harder to make the film look good than to tell a good story. I haven't seen Mister Freedom (from 1969), featuring Serge, Philippe Noiret and Donald Pleasance. IMDB says: "Mr. Freedom, a pro-America superhero who fights for God and country by beating, robbing, raping and killing anyone who looks like they might disagree with him. When he hears that France is in danger of falling to the Commies, Mr. Freedom heads overseas to set things right. When the welcome he receives isn't quite as warm as he expected, he gives up hope of steering the French away from the Reds and decides to salvage what he can by destroying the entire country." Right. Serge made the hard funkin' soundtrack together with Michel Colombier, I found that one this week. Interesting is that this is the first time he played with the Marseillaise (he would redo the national anthem later). No clue who sings this song, by the way.
Serge Gainsbourg & Michel Colombier – No No Yes Yes
Coverwise, I bumped into the album chanteuse Marie France made with Brigitte Bardot and Gainsbourg-covers. She stays very close to the original versions, alas, but it has nice details. See a French documentary on Marie France here, see her sing Bardot here.
Marie France – Tu veux ou tu veux pas
Marie France & Aurelien Wiik – Bonnie & Clyde
And finally, we already knew that Neil Hannon and his Divine Comedy are big fans of French music (Brel, Gainsbourg, etc). New album Bang Goes the Knighthood sports a bonus-cd with live-recorded covers of songs by Jacques Dutronc, Vanessa Paradis, Jacques Brel and Vicky Leandros. But also a reprise of Charlotte Gainsbourg's The Songs That We Sing – a chanson Neil wrote for her. See live videos of that concert on Youtube, for instance here, and here.
The Divine Comedy – The Songs that we Sing