I love French music!

How much do you know about French music?

2012-02-12T00:50:00.004-02:00

I decided to prepare a little surprise for the readers of this blog: a quiz to test your knowledge on French chanson!

So I chose some of my favorite pieces from my favorite French songs ever to make this quiz. Of course, the selected songs are based on my own taste and, if you fail, it means nothing, really. But I thought it would be fun anyway.

Don't worry about writing down your name, the website will no store it or use it for anything other then this test, and if it makes you feel better, you can even use a nickname (or an alias, like James Bond).

I hope you guys enjoy doing this quiz, I sure had a blast making it!

Do you know French music?

News on Barcella and Amandine Bourgeois

2012-02-10T16:57:00.001-02:00

Singer Barcella released today two new titles that will be released in his next record, scheduled to be out in...I have no idea when.

Anyhow, there's a very nice song called Ma Douce available on his website and there's also Claire Fontaine, a song that you can download for free (who doesn't love free stuff, right? I know I do). I'd prefer that the free song would have been Ma Douce, but you know what they say, we can't have it all.

Be careful clicking on Barcella's website, though: the song is programmed in autoplay (don't you hate when they do that?).

--------------------

Amandine Bourgeois also released a new single today, called Sans Amour, and it came with a cute video clip. I'm not a huge fan of Amandine's but I thought this song was quite interesting, check it out.

Emily Loizeu's Studio Diaries

2012-02-09T14:22:00.001-02:00

I posted here that, since last Monday, Emily Loizeau on her Fan Page that she was back in studio for the recording of her third record.

Since then, she's been posting images for her so called "Journal de bord d'enregistrement" and I decided to post the pictures here, since I know it's not everyone who has a Facebook account (is it really?).

And, of course, that's a pretty good reason to listen to one of her songs. I selected Voilà Pourquoi, a cute song from Emily Loizeau's her first record, to be the soundtrack of this post.

Day 01: Monday

Day 02: Tuesday

Day 03: Wednesday

New video clip by Nadeáh

2012-02-08T17:24:00.000-02:00

Do you guys remember I made a post here about Nadeáh?

Well, I've got news for you. She just released a new video clip for the song At the moment, one of my favorites from her first solo record, called Venus gets even.

For those who don't know that, Nadeáh is Australian and lives in Paris, she started her career as one of the singers of the project Nouvelle Vague.

Valentine's Day with French music

2012-02-08T10:00:00.000-02:00

So, it's that time of the year. Love is in the air. Everywhere you look, heart shaped balloons seem to be floating around. There's no denying, even the coolest couples are somehow affected by Valentine's Day.

And what's best for the background of your special day with your better half than French music?

Seriously, French chanson is to music what Valentine's Day is to every other day of the year. So I prepared a little list for those who are looking for the perfect soundtrack to surprise and dazzle their loved ones on Valentine's Day.

And I'd like to remind you that I have already published another list with a bunch of other French romantic songs.

1. L'amoureuse, by Carla Bruni

2. In the mood for l'amour, by Claire Denamur

3. Mon amour, by Ben l'Oncle Soul

4. Marilou sous la neige, by Serge Gainsbourg

5. Les roses et les promesses, by Benjamin Biolay

Emily Loizeau is back!

2012-02-06T22:51:00.001-02:00

Great news this Monday.

The new Anaïs single is available on iTunes Store (only in Europe, as far as I know) and the great website Filles Sourires posted a player with the new song.

And I have just read on Emily Loizeau's fan page that she is in studio for the recordings of her new record. I don't have any other information regarding to release date or name yet, but I'll post it as soon as I find out.

While we wait for her new record, how about remembering one of the songs from her last album?

Parachutes, by Jenn Grant

2012-02-06T20:04:00.001-02:00

Sometimes I allow myself to take a break from French music to listen to other stuff, and during those times, I always stumble upon some songs that I just can't resist and have to share with other people, even if that means going a little out of the tracks in this blog.

Yesterday, a friend of mine sent me a link to a trailer (apparently, he saw that on Super Bowl) and the trailer featured a song that I instantly fell in love with.

So I went searching and thanks to this amazing thing called Google, it took me less than 2 minutes to find Jenn Grant.

When I first found it on Youtube, the video below had around 300 views. Now, thanks to me (and my friends on Facebook), the counter shows 700. I'm just obsessed with this song, really. And that's the reason I decided to share it with you guys. Hope you'll enjoy.

Chanson de Lundi

2012-02-06T13:27:00.003-02:00

Yesterday I got an email from a Belgium artist telling me about his work.

His name is Frédéric Lorge, and he uses the artistic name of Deauville. His first record of French music will be out next 15th, on iTunes Store.

Out of all the songs on his SoundCloud page, my favorite was the charming L'important, and yesterday I listened to it over and over.

All the covers of Gainsbourg

2012-02-04T15:48:00.001-02:00

Some say that Gainsbourg, himself, wasn't exactly a great singer and did no interpreted his songs in the best way possible, and that is the reason why, during his lifetime, he did no achieve worldwide fame he so much deserved.

I disagree to that. I really think Gainsbourg knew exactly how to sing his songs and the fact is that in all of the covers of his songs, the ones I like the most are those that show a resemblance on the way he originally sang.

Drawing made by Vincent Lefebvre

But that's a matter of taste, and everyone is allowed to theirs. As we say here in Brazil (in a rough translation) "a taste is like an ass: each person is entitled to have their own". Of course, there are asses and asses. And there are those that simply look better than others.

So I prepared a list of Gainsbourg's 10 songs sang by other people. Just a few of my favorites because if I were to list every Gainsbourg cover in the world, I'd really have to spend and entire year in this list.

The order is completely random.

Vielle Canaille

The original

Vieille canaille by Gainsbourg on Grooveshark

The cover by Ben l'Oncle Soul and Sly Johnson

La Javanaise

The original

La Javanaise by Serge Gainsbourg on Grooveshark

The cover by Madeleine Peyroux

La Javanaise by Madeleine Peyroux on Grooveshark

S.S. in Uruguay

The original

S.S. In Uruguay by Serge Gainsbourg on Grooveshark

The cover by Julien Doré

Comment te dire adieu

The original (by Françoise Hardy)

Comment Te Dire Adieu (It Hurts To Say Goodbye) by Françoise Hardy on Grooveshark

The cover by Berry

La Noyée (beautiful, beautiful, beautiful song)

The original

The cover by Carla Bruni

Je suis venu te dire que je m'en vais

The original

Je Suis Venu Te Dire Que Je M'en Vais by Serge Gainsbourg on Grooveshark

The cover by Coeur de Pirate

Je suis venu te dire que je m'en vais by Coeur de Pirate on Grooveshark

L'anamour

The original

L'anamour by Serge Gainsbourg on Grooveshark

The cover by Ivy

L'Anamour by Ivy on Grooveshark

Couleur Café

The original

Couleur Cafe by Serge Gainsbourg on Grooveshark

The cover by Luciana Mello (with Corneille)

Couleur Café by Luciana Mello - www.musicasparabaixar.org on Grooveshark

L'eau à la bouche

The original

L'Eau A La Bouche by Serge Gainsbourg on Grooveshark

The cover by Yuri Buenaventura

L'Eau A La Bouche by Yuri Buenaventura on Grooveshark

Bonnie and Clyde

The original

Bonnie and Clyde by Serge Gainsbourg on Grooveshark

The cover by Luna (yes! that Luna, the one from the 90's, that came from Galaxie 500)

Bonnie And Clyde by Luna on Grooveshark

Marcus Collins' cover of a cover

2012-02-04T00:19:00.001-02:00

There was a pretty awkward moment in the musical scene during the week involving one of my favorites, dear adored Ben l'Oncle Soul.

The runner up of the 2011 British edition of X Factor, singer Marcus Collins, released the first single of his new record to be released in March. It's a cover of White Stripes' greatest hit, the amazing Seven Nation Army. So far, nothing wrong with that piece of news, if it weren't for the fact that the arrangements os his version sound very much like Ben l'Oncle Soul's version, released in his debut album from 2010.

Several French websites and some other around the globe are talking about the weird resemblance and the question everyone seems to be asking themselves is: did he really copy the arrangements?

Since Ben l'Oncle Soul has been pretty big in the UK in the past couple of years, I find it hard to believe that everything is just mere coincidence. Check out the two versions and judge for yourself:

Speaking of Ben l'Oncle Soul, I just visited his website and saw that he's offering a free download of his song Come Home. Enjoy!

Gene Kelly: An American in Paris

2012-02-01T16:53:00.000-02:00

While I was writing about the new album by Anaïs, I realized that I had never watched the classic An american in Paris. I will correct that right away, but meanwhile, I leave you guys to the trailer of this classic movie from the 50's that won the Academy Award in 1951 and is starred by the amazing Gene Kelly.

I'm a unconditional admirer of Gene Kelly's and while I was writing this post I went digging up information about him and realized that tomorrow is going to be 16 years since he died. Weird coincidence.

So I guess an homage is in order, even though the subject is not exactly related to this blog. Let's watch again (and again!) the incredible scene that made Kelly immortal.

And to end this humble homage, I post below a video of French actress Nora Arnezeder covering Singin' in the rain, a title released in this album by Naïve Records.

P.S.: I come from a city that rains A LOT and I can not tell you guys how many time I spent under the rain trying to copy Gene Kelly's amazing dancing steps.

Anaïs n'embrasse pas les garçons

2012-02-01T15:42:00.000-02:00

Yesterday, the great website Pure Charts released a player with a preview of Je n'embrasse pas les garçons, the song that plays in the background of the video I posted here that shows Anaïs in studio. The single has the release date set to next Monday, the February 6 on the French Amazon.

I'm super excited with the release of Anaïs third album, specially because, as she announced earlier in January, it's gonna be all about covering French classics from the 30's to the 60's.

Anaïs have been performing this song in live concerts for a while now:

The original was written by Georges Guétary (talented composer and actor who starred in films like An american in Paris) for the movie Plume au vent.

I love French music!

2012-01-31T20:42:00.001-02:00

So I finally got myself a domain .com to make this website a little bit more professional.

For those of you who already follow Under Paris Skies, fear not! The content will remain exactly the same, the only thing that changed was the domain's name and that's just because I thought it sounded a little better (plus, the other domains I tried were already taken).

Doesn't it look good when you access a .com website instead of a poor address on Blogger? Very fancy. Changes are good sometimes.

The incredible Nina

2012-01-29T18:52:00.000-02:00

To say great things about Nina Simone is so cliché that it's not even worth the trouble. Nina was amazing.

In 1992, she moved to the south of France where she stayed until her death, in 2003. It is obvious in her work that she really loved both the music and the country.

In 1965, she released an album that featured three French songs: Ne me quitte pas, by Jacques Brel, Tomorrow is my turn, an amazing version of L'amour c'est comme un jour and You've got to learn, both by Charles Aznavour.

In 1987, her greatest hit My baby just cares for me was chosen to feature in an ad for Chanel n5 and the film, diretected by Ridley Scott, brought back Nina to the spotlight and gave her career a new dimension.

You've got to learn (Il faut savoir)

Tomorrow is my turn (L'amour c'est comme un jour)

A different version:

Ne me quitte pas

Bonus: speaking of Nina Simone, the amazing studios Aardman made an animation out of one of her greatest hits (and one of my favorite songs EVER).

C'était un rendez-vous

2012-01-28T12:43:00.000-02:00

In 1976, filmmaker Claude Lelouch engaged a camera in a Ferrari - or a Mercedes, there are disagreements among sources - and went out himself, driving wildly through the streets of Paris in the first hours of the morning. For over eight minutes, the car covers squares, monuments and sights of Paris at an incredibly high speed. The filmmaker was arrested after this dangerous promenade.

The film, called C'était un rendez-vous, soon became an icon and, of course, the subject for a lot of copies.

In June last year the band Snow Patrol took some images of the film and transformed it in a vide clip, changing the original soundtrack with one of their own songs. The news are old, but the movie, for those who don't know it, is always worth a while. Watch below the original, followed by the Snow Patrol version.

Pink Martini (in French)

2012-01-28T12:31:00.001-02:00

The great American band Pink Martini was born in Portland, Oregon, and has a very interesting proposition. The group describes itself as music archaeologists, and their website lists musical influences that pass through the golden age of Hollywood, Japanese music from the 50's and the Brazilian Bossa Nova. And apart from their original songs the band also covers songs from all corners of the world, and usually the result is an album with some of the best songs in the world always singing in more than one language. In their seven released albums (one of them being a retrospective), the band has played songs in several languages, including Russian, Spanish, Japanese, Italian and French.

In 1997, Pink Martini released their first record and soon made a hit with a song that sounded so nostalgic and great that a lot of people over the internet still thinks it's an Édith Piaf song (you can find the wrong credits all over Youtube). Sympathique soon made a big hit in all the cool Cafés in the world and I bet every aspiring writer in Starbucks new how to sing "je ne veux pas travailler".

The band has sang several times in French, including a project with DJ Dimitri from Paris covering the classic Syracuse.

Barbie Muse

2012-01-28T12:15:00.000-02:00

French artist Jocelyne Grivaud made a series of pictures of Barbie dolls placing them as the main characters of immortal paintings, photographs, movies and others. The result is surprisingly fun with Barbie posing as Mona Lisa, Statue of Liberty and even Coco Chanel.

The images below show some examples of the collection, to see the entire gallery, click here.

Via Likecool.

Marine Quéméré

2012-01-24T10:30:00.000-02:00

I have JUST found a new French singer named Marine Quéméré and I can already sense a deep delicious smell of good records in the air. In less than a heart beat, I fell in love with three of her songs: Cet été, La vie promet and Aie !, Aie ! are the kind of songs that makes your day better. And I haven't even listened to all of her songs in MySpace.

I don't have much information about Marine yet, since her MySpace page only leads us to her Facebook fan page.

While I don't find more details about her, I recommend you guys listening to the song below because, after all, a song can say a lot more about singer then anything I could ever write.

Le Printemps de Bourges 2012

2012-01-23T20:42:00.000-02:00

The first confirmed names for this year's edition of Le Printemps de Bourges are already being published in the festival's website.

The concerts will take place, as usual, in the pretty French city of Bourges from April 24 to 29. The pretty ville is located around 200 kilometers away from Paris and some of this blog's favorites are confirmed in the line-up. Bénabar, Brigitte and Arthur H are some of the names.

Check out the line up here.

And for those of you who are admirers of the gorgeous illustrations on the header of this blog, I think you will be happy to know that last year's promotional video for Le Printemps de Bourges was made by Vincent Lefebvre, the very same one who's responsible for the design of this humble blog. How cool is that?

Click here and check out all the illustrations he ever did for Under Paris.

Have you met Loheem?

2012-01-23T09:46:00.003-02:00

Loheem is one of those girls you just fall in love with after watching her video of the song Colorfield.

She hasn't released an album yet, but there's a bunch of songs you can listen in her BandCamp profile.

I'm hoping to learn more about her very soon and write a longer review/post. Meanwhile, I wish you all a good week and a little bit of sunshine (specially for those who are facing the deep winter) by recommending her most popular single.

Have a nice week!

La Marseillaise: All you need is love

2012-01-22T15:05:00.002-02:00

For some reason (no idea why), the French national anthem, the famous Marseillaise made an appearance on Twitter's trending topics today in France.

The subject reminded me of the great version by Serge Gainsbourg, a version that goes against all the bullshit of war and all the blood that drips out from this amazing song, leaving behind only the beauty of the melody.

And, since the subject is La Marseillaise being transformed and reinterpreted by pop icons, here's another very famous version of the song.

Olivia sings for the Red Star (2)

2012-01-22T03:19:00.002-02:00

It came out last Monday the latest Olivia Ruiz's project. It's an album with only 6 standard jazz covers that will be sold exclusively online. The record is already available for sale in the French iTunes store. Here are the tracks:

1. Have yourself a merry little Christmas
2. Sing sing sing
3. Bewitched
4. The more I see you
5. What's this
6. Girl talk

To listen to pieces of the songs you can also visit the Red Star Orchestra official website.

For the event of the release of the digital record, there was a third teaser (remember I posted the first one here?) featuring, this time, no one less then Miles fucking Davis (pardon my French). Not bad, huh? Check it out (and for those of you who haven't seen the previous teasers, check out the other videos below).

On tour: Keren Ann, Claire Denamur and Maya Barsony

2012-01-21T19:02:00.000-02:00

Keren Ann
01.02 New York / Lincoln Center
13.01 Paris / Trianon

Claire Denamur
24.01 Grenoble
17.02 Strasbourg
18.02 Mulhouse
21.02 Canteleu
07.03 Cherbourg
11.03 Petite Forêt / Espace culturel Barbara
13.03 Saint-Martin de Crau / Festival Voix de Femmes
23.03 Fumel / Centre Culturel
30.03 Tourouvre / Festival de la Chanson
06.04 Calais / Centre Culturel Gérard Philippe
13.04 Béthune / Théâtre de Poche
20.04 Chalette / Centre Culturel

Maya Barsony
13.03 Paris / Sentier des Halles (apparently, it's gonna be really good, this one)

The best French songs of 2010

2012-01-21T15:23:00.001-02:00

As I promised in this post, here's a list of best French songs of 2010. I know it's really late for that but, since this is a new blog, I guess that could be used as a good excuse.

2010 was incredibly good for French music, we've had Zaz and Ben l'Oncle Soul, and in my opinion, the two of them are all a year needs to be considered good.

So, with no further delay, here it is:

1. Soulman - Ben l'Oncle Soul (Ben l'Oncle Soul) - I'm not even commenting on this choice. I love him. I know it's pop and I know it's not as deep as a Benjamin Biolay song, but who says that music has to be deep all the time? This song brightens my day, and that's good enough for me.

Soulman by Ben L'Oncle Soul on Grooveshark

2. La Fée - Zaz (Zaz L'album) Undoubtedly, Zaz was the great revelation in 2010. Even though I do prefer Ben and I like Soulman better than any of the Zaz's songs, I do recognize her value and I even think that maybe this list would be more respectful if I had putted Zaz in first place.

La Fee by Zaz on Grooveshark

3. Come Home - Yael Naim (She was a boy) - Yaim's second album didn't disappoint me, even not having such great review. Come Home is one of those songs that reminds me of early mornings and sunshine.

Come Home by Yael Naïm on Grooveshark

4. La Banane - Philippe Katerine (Philippe Katerine) - the very controversial Katerine surprised everyone with a weird funny record that divided the critics. I remember reading somewhere a critic asking himself "is he a real genious or is he really stupid?".

La Banane by Katerine on Grooveshark

5. Ame Sensible - Lili Ster (La Castafiore) - There's a very cute video with this song on Youtube, click here to watch.

6. Dites-les avec des flingues - Bejamin Paulin (L'homme moderne) - With a gainsbournian look, Benjamin arrived in 2010 ready for action. He recently announced a new record, to be released in the Summer.

Dites le avec des flingues by Benjamin Paulin on Grooveshark

7. L'idole de Jeunes - Keren Ann and Benjamin Biolay (Thelma, Louise et Chantal BO) - this one goes against all the year's lists: it's worse than a version, it's a version of a version! Still I liked it so much that I just can't resist.

8. Raconte-moi - Stacey Kent (Raconte-Moi)

Raconte-moi by Stacey Kent on Grooveshark

9. Le Patriote - Raphaël (Pacific 231) - And I'm not even a fan!

Le Patriote by Raphael on Grooveshark

10. Bilan carbone - Benoit Dorémus (2020)

Bilan carbone by Benoit Dorémus on Grooveshark

Alex Beaupain and Camélia Jordana

2012-01-21T14:59:00.000-02:00

When I first saw the performances delivered by Camélia Jordana in the singing contest Nouvelle Star, I got over excited. I thought to myself "this is the birth of a diva".

Unfortunately, her first album was to die for and I got a little disappointed when it came out. But still I had some faith in her future. And, in the end of last year, this faith started paying of. She recorded a beautiful duet with Alex Beaupain.

And here it is:

Who is afraid of Marine le Pen?

2012-01-21T14:50:00.001-02:00

As you probably already know, the candidate of the extreme right French party Marine le Pen can change a lot of people's lives, if she's elected.

In fact, everything around her is a source of so much controversy that even the funny French singer Philippe Katerine has already released a song about her. The tune is called Marine le Pen and tells the story of a man who's waling on the streets and, when se sees a sexy blond woman, he starts to stalk her. When the man realizes the sexy blond is Marine le Pen he gets all scared an paranoid and starts running in the streets of Paris, while she is obviously following him.

The song is all fun and laughs, but it does talk about some serious subject: the feeling of fear that she inspires.

Mademoiselle Berry

2012-01-21T14:44:00.000-02:00

This post was originally written in Portuguese for the site Conexão Paris.

Berry is the codename of the young singer Élise Pottier, and although her nickname reminds us of a fruit (and her voice is as sweet as one), the choice of the name is related to a reference to the birthplace of controversial writer George Sand (who has been, among other things, Chopin's lover).

Berry is a breath of fresh air, one of those singers that make us smile without us really knowing why. She began her artistic career in dedicating to the theater. At age 16, decided to quit school and was advised by a teacher to persue a career as an actress.

At this time she met jazz composer Manou, who soon joined her to write songs. And that's how Mademoiselle, her debut record, was born and released in 2008. Mademoiselle is soft and cool and sounds like a lazy Sunday afternoon in the field, with just the perfect balance between sunny and windy.

I had the pleasure of seeing one of her concerts last year. I travelled over 600 hundred kilometers (around 370 miles) just to see her, and even though my hopes were way high, Berry never disappointed me. Her concert was super good and Berry sings with a constant smile on her face, as if she's having a blast while she sings (if any of you speak Portuguese, here's the post I wrote right after seeing her live).

I chose to post here two songs that came out in Mademoiselle: the first is Le Bonheur, one of my favorites, and the second is a version of a song by Hervé Vilard certainly known by the most frequent readers here from Conexão Paris.

Capri c'est fini, Berry Vidéo Juthova sélectionnée dans Musique

And for those of you who already new all about Berry before reading this post, here's a good surprise: Berry will be releasing a new record in April and she was already kind enough to give us a little taste of it. Here's a little morceau of Si c'est la vie.

And, just because I can't resist, here's the original version of Capri. One piece of trivia: Vilard wrote this song without ever stepping foot in Capri. He wrote it because he was inspired by a poster he saw on a metro station.

Les Victoires de la Musique 2012

2012-01-21T14:25:00.001-02:00

It was announced, during the end of the last week, the nominees for this year's edition of the award Les Victoires de la Musique.

Since in 2010 and 2011, I've been doing some predictions in my Portuguese blog, I guess this became some sort of tradition (which I'm now doing in English). I only listed below the categories I'm interested in. In case you want to see the whole list, just click here.

So here's my predictions for this year's big winners. My predictions are the ones in bold.

The award ceremony will be held March, 3. Let's wait and see!

Best Male Artist
Benjamin Biolay
Julien Clerc*
Thomas Dutronc
Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine

* I'm ALWAYS cheering for Biolay, but I have a strong feeling that Clerc will be the winner this year.

Best Female Artist
Catherine Ringer
Camille
Nolwenn Leroy
Zaz*

* where is Coeur de Pirate in this list?

Best new artist (people's choice)
Brigitte
L
Inna Modja
Orelsan

Best new artist
Alexis HK*
Brigitte
Imany
Skip the Use

* Honestly, I don't understand why Alexis HK is listed here, since he's not new. At All. But since his name in this list is so odd, I'm betting he's gonna win.

Record of the year
Camille - "Ilo veyou"

Coeur de Pirate - "Blonde"*
Catherine Ringer - "Ring N' Roll"
Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine - "Suppléments de mensonge"

* I'd sing and dance if I had pompons! Goooooo Pirate!

Song of the year
Jean-Louis Aubert - "Puisses-tu"

Camille - "L'étourderie"
Mika - "Elle me dit"
Laurent Voulzy - "Jeanne"

Rock record of the years
Archimède - "Trafalgar"
Izia - "So Much Trouble"*
Keren Ann - "101"
Shaka Ponk - "The Geeks & The Jerkin Socks"

Best Video clip
Julien Doré - "Kiss Me Forever"*
Inna Modja - "French Cancan"
Orelsan - "Raelsan"
Vanessa Paradis et -M- - "La Seine"

* Since I just LOVE this video, let's watch it again!

Seriously, how cool is Julien Doré in this film?

Anaïs' new record

2012-01-15T02:19:00.003-02:00

After over 3 years since her last record, the funny and controversial French singer Anaïs finally announced the arrival of her third album.

Her official website haven't published the details yet, but, as far as I know, the record will be called A l'eau de Javel and will be all about covers of French classics from the 30's to the 60's. Sounds promising, huh?

The singer has already announced that she will start touring in March and she has a date in Paris on May, 9. The tickets are available and they cost between 30 and 38 euros. If you are interested, just click here to get yours.

Yesterday, I found a promo video that shows Anaïs working on the new album, check it out:

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Are you curious to know more about the song she's singing in the video? It's this one:

Obama in bleu, blanc, rouge

2012-01-10T15:37:00.002-02:00

Obama in bleu, blanc, rouge

I read some curious news today at Le Figaro: the theme for Barack Obama's next presidential campaign will be composed by two Frenchmen form Bordeaux.

Tony Jazz and Mathieu Billon were invited by the president because of a video that Jazz did back in 2008 and that captivated Obama's attention.

The song will be ready in March and has the name What more because the composers will base the song using samples of Al Green's What more do you want from me.

Romantic French songs

2012-01-09T16:19:00.000-02:00

A lot of people find my blog (the one in Portuguese) looking for expressions like romantic French music, the most beautiful French songs or French love songs. And since I believe this blog exists to help people find what they want, I decided to create a post only for the subject "love songs in French".

Whether you're gonna use this list for some romance, or to cry over the lost lover, or even inspire a lonely heart, I made it list as a form of sentimental service, a romantic cuddle for the souls of the world.

The cynic and cold hearted ones will have to excuse me, but this post is all about romance.

La vie en Rose - Édith Piaf

La Vie En Rose by Edith Piaf on Grooveshark

Que reste-t-il de nos amours - Charles Trenet

Que Reste T Il De Nos Amours ? (Version 2) by Charles Trenet on Grooveshark

Vous qui passez sans me voir - Jean Sablon

Vous Qui Passez Sans Me Voir by Jean Sablon on Grooveshark

Tous les gaçons et les filles - Françoise Hardy

Tous Les Garcons Et Les Filles by Francois Hardy on Grooveshark

La Noyée - Serge Gainsbourg
Perhaps the most romantic song by Gainsbourg, this song was recorded only once in a live presentation, therefore, the video is mandatory. But careful: it's heart breaking. Carla Bruni made her own version of it click here to listen.

Tous les visages de l'amour - Charles Aznavour

Tous Les Visages De L'Amour (She) by Charles Aznavour on Grooveshark

Puisque vous partez en voyage - Jean Sablon et Mireille

Puisque Vous Partez En Voyage by Mireille Et Jean Sablon on Grooveshark

Quand on a que l'amour - Jacques Brel
And last, but not at all least, the cherry on top of the ice cream. This song is by the same man who wrote Ne me quitte pas. And since there's a video of Brel singing this song with such strength and so much soul, I just couldn't post just the song for you to hear. If that guy didn't know what love was, well, then I guess no one else will ever know.

Deixei aqui só as músicas antigas. Da nouvelle scène française, prometo fazer outra seleção ainda essa semana.

Olivia sings for the red star

2012-01-09T15:57:00.002-02:00

Olivia Ruiz posted today on her Facebook page a teaser for the release of her awaited record with covers of para standard do jazz. The same one I announced here last week.

The video has the ever so cute face of Louis Armstrong being dubbed in French and saying good things about Olivia Ruiz. Check it out.

Chanson de Lundi

2012-01-09T15:56:00.002-02:00

Madeleine Peyroux is an American singer that grew up in Paris, and granddaughter of a Frenchwoman from whom she took the artistic last name. Peyroux used to be a Parisian street singer and, for that reason, it wasn't a big surprise when she released a version of J'ai deux amours, a song that was immortalized by the Josephine Baker.

And that's today's Chanson de Lundi.

J'ai Deux Amours by Madeleine Peyroux on Grooveshark

The best French records of the decade

2012-01-05T19:23:00.000-02:00

On the original version of Under Paris Skies, I published, in the end of 2009, a list I made with the top 10 records of the decade. Since I didn't manage to put it in order, I decided that the list would follow chronological order, since all the records bellow are so amazing.

As you are going to notice, the list features mostly the artists from the nouvelle scène française, since I think they were the real stars of the decade when it comes to French music.

Henri Salvador :: Chambre avec Vue (2000)

The decade started great with this gorgeous record by Henri Salvador. Sensing the new generation coming, Salvador was smart enough to invite some of the new blood to write the songs. In the record there are beautiful tracks such as Jardin d'Hiver, by Benjamin Biolay and Mademoiselle, by Thomas Dutronc.

Henri Salvador was one of those enlightened people who were always able to update and identify young talent as they arise without feeling threatened by them. Instead, he took these songs by young composers and made them his own. Moreover, his constant good humor made him hors concours in the congeniality contest of French music.

He died in 2008 at the age of 90.

Coralie Clément :: Salle des pas perdus (2001)

This was Coralie's first album, released when the singer was only 19.

The sister of Benjamin Biolay released this album and, very soon, one of its tracks would already be included in a Hollywood soundtrack. Not bad, huh? The film in question is the delightful "Something's Gotta Give," and gave Coralie an international fame.

Benjamin Biolay :: Rose Kennedy (2002)

In addition to composing and producing his sister's debut album in the previous year, Benjamin Biolay found time to release, in 2002, a record of his own. Up until today, I still think it's his best record.

It has incredible tracks, like Les Cerfs-Volants, Un Ete sur la côte, Les roses et les promesses, Melodie du bonheur, among others. I've been completely in love with this album since I first listened to it.

And I highly recommend you watch this videoclipe.

Vincent Delerm - Vincent Delerm (2002)

While making this list, I really couldn't decide if would choose the record Vincent Delerm or Les piqûres d'arrignée. The latter has tracks like Il fait si beau, Déjà Toi and J'ai pas même you dis, but I chose this one because this is the one that features Fanny Ardant et moi.

And that's all I have to say about it.

Nouvelle Vague :: Nouvelle Vague (2004)

If this album had been released at the time of vinyl records, he probably would have stuck in my radiogram.

If the version of Heart of Glass which appeared in the band's next album had come out on this one, he certainly would have broke inside my CD player.

I'm not exaggerating.

Camille :: Le fil (2005)

I don't think it would be possible to make a list of best records of the decade in France without ever mentioning Camille.

Camille is bold, strong and her popularity and the impact that she has on people (although I think often overrated) says a lot about her work.

Emily Loizeau :: L'autre bout du monde (2006)

This album has tracks that goes from sad to joyful, always with an atmosphere a little burlesque, which prevails in the singer's next work, the album "Pays sauvage.

The tracks Boby Cherri and Voilà pourquoi are the best of the joyful songs, and Je ne sais pas Choisir Loizeau shows a more playfulness while London Town, a beautiful duet with Andrew Bird, stands out among the melancholy part . It is a record that has certainly a big portion of variety and fun.

Thomas Dutronc :: Comme un manouche sans guitarre (2007)

Thomas is the son of French stars Françoise Hardy and Jacques Dutronc and that has to mean something, right? I mean, we are talking about Françoise Hardy and Jacques Dutronc here!

Thomas Dutronc released his debut album only in 2007, even though he has been a well known composer since 1995. Comme un Manouche sans guitar is an album that aspires to restore the honor and memory of the great Django Reinhardt to the new generations. Thomas has merit.

Of course he is far from being a Reinhardt, but it is a good start. The CD features delicious songs and Dutronc, the son, is certainly a promise of hope to the French chanson.

Berry :: Mademoiselle (2008)

The first time I heard this album from Berry, I remember feeling that it sounded like a cool breeze blowing in the summer. And though the new French generation was far from been a disappointment, I could not help feeling that this singer gave a breeze of fresh air to the whole scene.

This disc has a great version of "Capri" (better than the original, by Hervé Vilard) and soft music and delightful as "Belle comme tout", "Le bonheur", "Mademoiselle" and "Enfant de salud."

Berry is delicate, beautiful, and when she sings, she does so with a smile on her face that is so loud that you can listen to it, even without looking at her.

Couer De Pirate :: Coeur de Pirate (2009)

The newest enfant terrible of French music. Coeur de Pirate is a cool, pretty, sexy Canadian young girl that released this record when she was 19.
My favorite is the cool duet with Julien Doré called Pour un infidèle. The song has an incredibly cool video clip that I highly recommend watching.

The best French songs of 2011

2012-01-05T18:33:00.000-02:00

Well, I guess it's time for the year lists (OK, I admit, I'm a little late).

2011 was very good year for French music production, therefore, deserves a well thought list. There was new records by Bénabar, Alain Souchon, Coeur de Pirate, Camille, Claire Denamur, Thomas Doutronc Laurent Voulzy, a tribute to Gilbert Bécaud and even Christmas album of Michel Legrand.

The reason I decided to illustrate this post with the pretty fine face of Coeur de Pirate is because she was the artist of the year. The young talented Canadian released a record the shone a little brighter on the shiny sky of French chanson.

01. Saint-Laurent - Coeur de Pirate (Blonde)

Saint-Laurent by Coeur de pirate on Grooveshark

02.Politiquement Correct - Bénabar (Le Bénéfices du Doute)

Politiquement correct by Benabar on Grooveshark

03. She won't trade it for nothing - Keren Ann (101)

She Won\'t Trade It For Nothing by Keren Ann on Grooveshark

04. Mademoiselle Liberté - Vincent Liben avec Berry (Mademoiselle Liberté)

Mademoiselle Liberté (Audio Album) by Vincent Liben et Berry on Grooveshark

05. Le jour et la nuit - Alain Souchon (À cause d'elles)

06. Bang Bang Bang - Claire Denamur (Vagabonde)

07. Les chiens ne font pas des chats - Ludivine Sagnier et Rasha Bukvic (Les Bien-Aimés)

Les chiens ne font pas des chats by Ludivine Sagnier on Grooveshark

08. La France - Camille (Ilo Veyou)

La France by Camille on Grooveshark

09. Julien Doré - Kiss me Forever (Bichon)

10. Jeanne - Laurent Voulzy (Lys and Love)

Jeanne by Laurent VOULZY on Grooveshark

Bonus: Maya Barsony - Poing Virgule (Monter Amoureuse)

Olivia Ruiz

2012-01-04T02:52:00.001-02:00

The talented and cute French singer Olivia Ruiz has prepared two great news for this January.

The first one is the movie Un jour mon père viendra, where she interprets a bride that is forced to hire an actor to play her father in her wedding. The movie will be released tomorrow in the French theaters.

Here's the trailer (in French):

However, the most interesting piece of news isn't her debut as an actress in a feature film, but the announcement she made this week on her Facebook fan page: the cute frenchie told her fans that they could look forward for a nice surprise in the middle of the month. After researching a bit, I found out that she is talking about a new album with only 6 songs. And all of them are versions of standard jazz. Apparently, the record will only be available digitally. Cool, huh?

This surprise will sure make the fans less anxious while waiting for her new album, that is supposed to be released in the summer. Meanwhile, how about remembering the big hit from her last CD?

Cars 2 and Bénabar

2012-01-04T02:44:00.002-02:00

Yesterday I finally decided to watch Cars 2, Pixar's latest animation. And although I'm a huge fan of animation, the first film of the series did not please me so well, so I missed when the second one was out in the movie theaters.

So imagine my surprise when the cars go to Paris and arriving there, during a beautiful sequence featuring scenes of the landmarks of the city, I listen to Bénabar singing a song I had never heard before!

And for those interested in watching the Paris opening sequence in Cars 2, I strongly recommend clicking the play button below.

Shakespeare and Company

2012-01-04T02:26:00.002-02:00

I just read at Le Monde about the death George Whitman, the man who opened the famous bookshop in front of the Notre Dame church.

The small library, founded in 1951, was first called Le Mistral, but later changed its name to Shakespeare and Company. The change came from the desire to make a tribute to the famous old bookseller Sylvia Beach, who had created a bookstore at the beginning of the century that was a reference in English and American literature and that soon became a landmark in Paris.

Sylvia's address - 12, rue de l'Odéon - was closed during the Second World war and the bookseller was never able to reopen it. Still, the place was so notorious that, nowadays, the building carries a plaque telling the story of the bookstore who helped publish James Joyce's Ulysses for the first time, when all publishers rejected it.

The address was swarming with aspiring writers and book lovers. Sylvia's philosophy was to make her bookstore a place of admiration of the letters and she, always generous, used to lend books to those who could not afford to pay. This is the case, for example, of Ernest Hemingway, who tells in his book A movable feast about the kind Sylvia, a gentle woman who was always let him borrow whichever book he wanted without having to pay for them.

And this was the same philosophy adopted George Whitman in his version of Shakespeare and Company. During the years of the Beats, he got visits from people like Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. The address has appeared in several movies and is mandatory address for any book lover who goes to Paris.

Whitman died the last December 14 and was buried in the cemetery of Père Lachaise. The charming bookshop is now in charge of his loving daughter, Sylvia Beach Whitman. In its oficial website, it hangs a pretty tribute to his life.

Chanson de Lundi

2012-01-02T14:00:00.001-02:00

Since the last days were time to rethink the past year, make plans for the future, to dream and to wish, I decided that an appropriate choice for the Chanson de Lundi today was one of the most beautiful songs of the chanson française, one that talks about the past and the future, the losses and gains, the regrets and victories.

Yes, I'm talking about Non, je ne regrette rien.

And, since after I watched the movie La vie en rose, I can't help to listen to this song without remembering the powerful scene when Édith Piaf is first introduced to this piece by its composer, I think it's more than fair to post here this bit of the movie that has such splendorous and emotional acting by Marion Cotillard.

André Manoukian - So in Love

2011-12-26T02:35:00.001-02:00

Earlier today, looking for news on talented French singer Camélia Jordana, I find a record that passed me by completely unnoticed and which I loved at the very first hearing.

It's a compilation of standard jazz made by musician and judge of Nouvelle Star contest André Manoukian. I know, I know, who needs just another compilation of that kind, but, this one is worth the while, I promise. The record, called So in Love, was released in 2010 and gathers voices of a bunch of my favorite French artist: people like Emily Loizeau, Anaïs, Helena Noguerra, the duo Cocoon and, of course, Camélia Jordana, already mentioned above.

The second track of the CD already got me hooked with a beautiful fresh version of the great classic Cheek to Cheek, written by Irving Berlin and immortalized by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. The record's version is interpreted by Anaïs, who gives it a breeze of fun renovated air to the song.

Cheek To Cheek (Avec Anaïs) by André Manoukian - Anaïs on Grooveshark

Anaïs is also responsible for singing Crazy.

Crazy (Avec Anaïs) by André Manoukian - Anaïs on Grooveshark

Camélia Jordana sings What a wonderful world, by Louis Armstrong.

What A Wonderfull World (Avec Camélia Jordana) by André Manoukian - Camélia Jordana on Grooveshark

Loane got the difficult task of singing Every time we say goodbye, by the great Cole Porter and, although she plays safe when singing "(...)from major to minor" (and we simply can not compare to Ella Fitzgerald, since she was so incredible one could think she was an Alien), I really enjoyed the version.

Everytime Time We Say Goodbye (Avec Loane) by André Manoukian - Loane on Grooveshark

And last, but not least, the fun Emily Loizeau closes the record singing Tea for Two.

Tea For Two (Avec Emily Loizeau) by André Manoukian - Emily Loizeau on Grooveshark

Shakira sings Cabrel

2011-12-24T16:08:00.000-02:00

Colombian pop star Shakira released in the beginning of the month a live DVD called Live From Paris. Normally, that would be a piece of news completely ignored by the blog, if it weren't for the fact that Shakira made a version of Francis Cabrel greatest hit Je l'aime à mourir.

In her version of the song, Shakira sings in both Spanish and French (after all, the woman can speak 5 languages, so it's more than natural that she would sing this one in 2).

UPDATE 01/03/2012

Today, I came across with a better video for the same song. And since I thought the quality is so much better, I decided it was needed to post here:

Joyeux Noël!

2011-12-23T18:03:00.003-02:00

First of all I want to thank the talented Vincent Lefebvre for the beautiful Christmas illustration he so kindly created for the blog. Because nothing better than a stunning Christmas decoration to warm up this blog and share a little joy with the world. Thank you very much, Vincent.

Next, I'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

And, since this blog is all about French Music, nothing better than that to celebrate this time of the year. I chose two songs from the Christmas compilation made by great Michel Legrand to share with you. And here they are:

Vive le vent by Mika on Grooveshark

Memory - The new Vincent Delerm Show

2011-12-22T16:51:00.003-02:00

I was in Paris in the beginning of December and so I had the chance to see the latest show by Vincent Delerm.

It was the first time I've ever seen Vincent Delerm live, so I was a little anxious, specially because in this case Memory wasn't a regular music concert, but more of a theater play that features music.

The show was held in a very cute Parisian venue called Les Bouffes du Nord, an amphitheater that reminds us of Shakespearean times. Not too big like any amphitheater, the place is a great choice because of its perfect cozy atmosphere. The round shape seems to bring people together and, later that night, I realized that this is exactly what Delerm wanted.

The play opens with a recording of Woody Allen presenting a character surrounded by a cloud of nostalgia. Probably, the choice of Woody Allen has much to do with the fact that the subject of the play - nostalgia - is exactly the subject of the director's last film (Midnight in Paris), and if we think about it, it's the subject that pretty much defines Allen's work.

Throughout the show, Vincent, playing the character Simon sings 8 new songs and, among them at least 5 were very good, better than those from we the singer's last album - 15 chansons. Besides singing, he dances, talks, plays tennis, juggles balls with fluorine and even rides the bicycle on stage, always accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Nicolas Mathuriau. The latter, a sort of Sancho Panza's has a super important role in the presentation acting as a musician (he plays the harpsichord, keyboard, drums and xylophone) and supporting almost all of the funny skits written by Delerm.

Vincent talks about life, about love, about France and the day-to-day life. The show is sweet, touching and funny, and although I'm not such a big fan of the Theater, I left there with a smile on my face. And not because Delerm is one of my favorites of the chanson française, but because he delivers a truly honest show, welcoming the audience into his world in an openhearted manner.

The show will be on until December 30th at Les Bouffes du Nord (click the link to get tickets) and I strongly recommend it!

Zaz and Martin Scorsese

2011-12-22T16:31:00.002-02:00

The new film by director Martin Scorsese tells the fantastic story of Hugo Cabret, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station after his father's death and is seeking to unveil a secret that involves his lost parent. Click here to watch the trailer.

The movie is set in Paris and singer Zaz features in the soundtrack. The song is called Coeur Volant and you can hear it on the player below.

Paris Photos

2011-12-20T16:49:00.001-02:00

A good friend of mine, french guy Benoit Loncan, decided to take some pictures of the city he lives (which happens to be the most beautiful city in the world). The result was so beautiful that I just couldn't keep it to myself and I decided to share them here.

To see the pictures of the City of Light, of course, a soundtrack is needed. Here's a Gainsbourg song to go along the photos of Paris.

Marilou Sous La Neige by Serge Gainsbourg on Grooveshark

Luciana Mello sings Couleur Café

2011-12-19T14:22:00.001-02:00

Today's Chanson de Lundi features a Brazilian version of Couleur Café. The song was released this year by singer Luciana Mello in a duet with Corneille.

Unfortunately, I did not find a player to embbed in here, but if you are interested in the studio version of this song, you can go ahead and click this link to listen.

You can also watch the video below, that features Luciana Mello singing with her brother Jairzinho, who is the creator of the beautiful arrengements for this version.

For those who don't remember, Couleur Café is one of the firsts big hits by the great Serge Gainsbourg:

Berry's new single

2011-12-11T22:50:00.000-02:00

The dearest, sweet adorable French singer Berry announced a new record. The work, still without a name, will be released in March, 2012. However, last week, Berry released a single of the new album, so we could have a taste of what waits for us next year.

The name of the song is Si c'est la vie, and it sounds like Berry's next CD will sound as good as the first one.

Iggy Pop and the French Christmas

2011-12-11T22:47:00.000-02:00

Yesterday, as I was waiting for the subway, I notice the Christmas campaign of the Galeries Laffayette. And, in the ad, no one less than Iggy Pop.

After a quick Google search, I found a teaser with Iggy's voice inviting people to buy Christmas presents at the famous French store. Who'd say that there would come the day when Iggy Pop would dress up as Santa to advertise in favor of a temple of the capitalism.

Iggy Pop pour les Galeries Lafayette - Noël... par GaleriesLafayette

And speaking of Iggy Pop and French culture, this post reminded me of two flertations of Iggy with the French music. First, his version of I'll be seeing you, singing in a duet with Françoise Hardy. The second was released last November and it's part of the new Lulu Gainsbourg's homage-record to his dad.

Chanson de Lundi

2011-12-05T12:24:00.000-02:00

Yesterday I decided to listen again to the great record Salle de pas perdus, by Benjamin Biolay's younger sister Coralie Clément. Then I remembered that once a friend explained to me the meaning of this beautiful expression. Aside from its literal translation ("the room of lost steps"), salle de pas perdus is also the name French people give to waiting rooms in public places, like train stations and court rooms. The reason for that is because the people waiting are always anxiously walking back and forth with impatience either for someone or for some important decision to be made (in the case of justice court rooms), therefore, the lost steps.

Because of that memory, today's Chanson de Lundi features Coralie, who unfortunetely haven't released a new album since 2009. The song I chose from the Salle de pas perdus record is Ces matins d'été but I also recommend everyone to listen one more time to this deliciously mellow CD.

Interview with Benjamin Biolay

2011-11-30T14:06:00.000-02:00

Benjamin Biolay released last Monday his first Best of and, because of that he was invited to a talk at the Fnac Ternes, in Paris.

During the last summer, I was lucky enough to see John Lasseter in one of this events promoted by Fnac and because of that experience I knew that I should arrive really early to guarantee my seat in the front roll.

So I left home 3 hours before the begining of the event and I arrived at Fnac aroud 4p.m. By the time I arrived, there was only one woman seating on the front roll and I soon joined her ready to wait the 2 and a half hours that separated me from seeing Benjamin Biolay in person for the first time.

So it happens that waiting in a Book Shop is way better than waiting in the bank and I soon dove into the shelves of books and took advantage of the amazing heap of books they sell at Fnac got myself a copy of one of the adventures of Astérix, the famous gaulois hero.

Little by little, other people joined me, mostly women, and my neighbor, a woman of around 35 seemed super excited about seeing Biolay. When she set down, she instantly turned to me with bright eyes and asked: Tu penses qu'il va jouer? and I answered that no, I didn't think he was going to play because the piano wasn't in position and there was no one taking care of the sound system. I noticed with curiosity that she called me tu, and that was funny since I was a stranger to her and hadn't given her any liberties to be so informal, but soon I understood that the bond that connects fans dismiss the use of formal treatment like vous. She had all Biolay's records in her hands and I thought to myself that I was probably seating next to his biggest fan.

Around 6:20 p.m, Benjamin arrived and cross the stage in front of us waving and smiling. The room, at this point crowded, gave him an ovation and the woman next to me was at the point of having a stroke.

The interview didn't take too long and I had the impression, even though I didn't understand a lot of the stuff that was being said because of my poor French, that Biolay was a very nice person, good humored and incredibly polite towards the audience.

The man that was leading the interview opened it with a rather controversial question about the fact that the release of the Best of wasn't really Biolay's idea but EMI's, and the the label was going to make the CD either he liked it of not. The singer answered that in a very political manner saying that yes, that was true, but knowing that he made sure to be involved in the project and he was happy with the result.

After that he gave quite an interesting piece of information. As everybody knows, Biolay was involved in the record Chambre avec vue, by Henri Salvador and probably because of that connection, he was invited in the production of a record posthumous with new songs composed by Salvador. Apparently, Salvador recorded a bunch of songs that he really liked a capella, but for some reason, the songs never made it into any of his albums and now, 3 years after his death, the label decided to make something after this amazing material. The record will be released next year and I just can't wait for it.

After the interview, there was a brief moment for the questions from the audience and I really wanted to ask the name of the Henri Salvador project, but there was so many people willing to ask Biolay something that I just didn't find a chance. After that, it was time for the autographs and the line in front of the stage was huge and disorganized. When my turn came, I had the chance of telling him I was Brazilian and I had a blog dedicated to the chanson française, to which he reply politely asking me the address and even made small talk asking me where I was from in Brazil. When I said Belo Horizonte, he repeated the name of the city with a smile and the most charming French accent.

Ben L'Oncle Soul

2011-11-27T13:05:00.001-02:00

Ben L’Oncle Soul is a 27 years old French man from Tours who, in 2010, released a great record produced by the French Motown. If I had to describe his music, I'd say he is a sort of French Amy Winehouse. The young man man light and fun versions of songs like Seven Nation Army, Barbie Girl (remember? big hit from Acqua in the 90's) and he even recorded a cool version of Sympathique, by the Pink Martini.

In his debut record, entitled Ben L’Oncle Soul, there are also original songs and everything sound deliciously light and it always puts a smile on my face. His live concerts are full of life and even his back vocal singers dance copying that amazing Temptations style. Not to mention that his video clips are always very cool with a vintage, retro look and great art direction.

Nouvelle Star and Julien Doré

2011-11-27T13:03:00.000-02:00

The TV show Nouvelle Star is a sort of a French version of American Idol and it started in 2003. Just like the American version, the show is more focused on pop music and, most of the artists shown there are only able to maintain themselves in the hit parades for as long as one summer. However, sometimes, the show surprises us all and reveals real talents.

Probably, the most successful case is Julien Doré. He was the winner of the 5th season of the show and, after that, he managed to make himself respected by the critics (making them almost forget he's famous because of a TV show) and, at the same time, gain the love of the audience.

The problem about this time with all the Youtube and so many blogs is that people tend to remind the artists about their dark period and so one day I was curious to see the nowadays very cool Doré in the begining of his career. And, of course, it didn't take me long to find his audition video on Nouvelle Star.

Here, you can watch him already as a strong candidate in the contest singing a cover of the beautiful Coup de soleil, by Richard Cocciante:

And, finally, his latest video clip to promote his most recent CD.

What a change, huh?

Nonato Buzar and the French muse

2011-11-25T11:11:00.001-02:00

When I worked in a TV Show about Brazilian music I had the chance to meet a lot of cool legendary composers and one of them was Nonato Buzar. He's one of those guys that loves to tell a good story and makes you feel completely engaged in anything he's talking about. Unfortunately, he's also one of those musician who were more successful abroad than in his own country.

He told me that, in 1968, he wrote the song Nem vem que não tem with Carlos Imperial. At the end of the song, he decided he didn't want to sign it and gave away the rights to Imperial, who, in return, gave him a brand new car.

What Buzar didn't know was that, two years after that, Brigitte Bardot would record a French version of that song that would be a big hit throughout Europe and, obviously, make so much money that it would be possible to the composer not to buy one car, but a bunch of them, if he had the rights to the song.

He laughs about this story today, because, in the end of the day, he went to live in France and was great friends with Bardot, who even invited him to play some guitar in his 40th birthday (as you can see in the image of this post).

Politiquement Correct 2

2011-11-25T11:11:00.000-02:00

Remember I spoke about the song Politiquement Correct in this post?

Well, yesterday Bénabar released the oficial video clip for that song.

He's also announced a contest for those who are going to be in Paris next Wednesday. If you sign up for his newsletter, you'll have the chance of winning a pair of invitations for a private show of his unreleased new CD. Cool, right?

If you are interested, click here and sign up for his newsletter!

There's also a making of this video clip, that you can watch by clicking here.

Alain Souchon - À cause d'elles

2011-11-23T21:26:00.000-02:00

As I had already posted here, singer/songwriter Alain Souchon, released a new record last Monday, dedicated to children.

And while I was reading the news at Le Monde last weekend, I found an exclusive preview of this new album. Entitles À cause d'elles, the record is full of songs that Souchon used to sing as a kid and it also features a new song written by him and his son (it's the same one on the previous post about this record).

Wanna have a preview? Click here.

News of Zaz

2011-11-23T21:17:00.001-02:00

The singer Zaz, that was a big hit in France in the past year and was invited to every important festival in France last summer has just announced a live record Sans tsu tsou, on the next 5th December. Apart from the CD, the singer is also releasing a live DVD.

To promote the live record, she just released a single of the song Eblouie Par La Nuit (which is the last song from her debut album) and a video clip with the song, that was written by fellow singer Raphaël.

Surpergrass in French!

2011-11-18T16:29:00.001-02:00

The cute band BB Brunes has just released a video clip for their version of Alright, mega hit from Supergrass in the 90's.

BB Brunes - Cul & Chemise (clip) Vidéo bcedric39 sélectionnée dans Musique

Remember the original?

Monsieur 100 000 volts

2011-11-15T17:35:00.000-02:00

Gilbert Bécaud was and incredibly important figure in the history of French chanson. His nickname Monsieur 100 000 volts was due to his electric presence on stage - specially in his favorite venue: the Olympia, in Paris - the singer remained popular for 50 years and was responsible for great immortal songs that were know worldwide.

Bécaud had some of his songs translated into English and was recorded by people from the first rank, like t Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Sonny and Cher, and James Brown. Not bad, right?

His most famous songs were probably Let it be me, that became a big hit in the voice of the Everly Brothers (originally called Je t'appartiens) and What now my love (I chose the Elvis version, but a lot of other great people recorded this one). You can listen them on the players below:

Because of the 10th anniversary of his death, an album will be released with French artists singing his biggest hits. You can see below the track list of this very promising release.

Luz Casal - Je reviens te chercher
Alain Souchon - Alors raconte
Ayo - The day the rains came down
Olivia Ruiz - Les tantes Jeanne
Julien Clerc - C’est en septembre
Alex Beaupain - L’Absent
Renan Luce - Dimanche à Orly
Serge Lama - La rivière
Lynda Lemay - Nos Mains
Anggun - Let it be me
Bénabar et Gérard Darmon - L’indifférence
Patrick Bruel - Nathalie
Eddy Mitchell - Je t’appartiens
Johnny Hallyday - Et maintenant
Peter Cincotti - What now my love

Alain Souchon et les enfants

2011-11-14T02:01:00.001-02:00

Singer/songwriter Alain Souchon announced that his new record, that it's going to be dedicated to children, will be available on November 22.

The great Le Figaro website published, on the last Friday, an article talking about Souchon's new album and posted a video with one of it's tracks. The CD will be called À cause d'elles and the track below has a choir of young boys. I liked it.

Chanson de Lundi

2011-11-14T01:47:00.001-02:00

Coeur de Pirate released last week her long waited second record. And I'm already in love with it.

I believe It's hard for a singer/songwriter who had a very successful first record to release a second one. But, in this case, this young talented québécoise did it again. The new work is called Blonde and I think I like it even better then her debut album.

In case you are interested, the songs are on sale at the online store in the singer's website. It can also be heard on Youtube, if you feel like having a taste of it.

The CD has so many great tracks that's it's even hard to choose one for this Chanson de Lundi but, for now, my favorite is a lovely delicious ballad called Ava, and you can hear it on the player below. I also recommend Les amours dévouées, Verseau and Golden Baby.

Benjamin Biolay - Best of

2011-11-13T16:10:00.000-02:00

Benjamin Biolay announced his first Best of, to be released on November 27. The record marks the ten years of his career and I personally think it's too early for a Best of (because, after all, they all sound a bit desperate, specially when released in Christmas time).

The record has songs from Rose Kennedy to La Superbe and it even has an unreleased song, called L'eau claire des fontaines. Below, there's the track list indicating from which CD the song comes from.

Without any surprise, I noticed that the phase with Clara Mastroianni represents only 15% of the Best of.

1. L’eau claire des fontaines - Unreleased
2. Dans mon dos (À la origine)
3. Dans la merco benz (Trash Yéyé)
4. Les cerfs volants (Rose Kennedy)
5. À l’origine (À la origine)
6. Chère inconnue (Négatif)
7. Padam (La Superbe)
8. Nuage noir (Clara et Moi)
9. Qu’est-ce que ça peut faire ? (Trash Yéyé)
10. Bien avant (Trash Yéyé)
11. La ballade du mois de juin (Home)
12. Négatif (Négatif)
13. Los angeles (Rose Kennedy)
14. Ton héritage (La Superbe)
15. Brandt rhapsodie (La Superbe)
16. La vanité (Négatif)
17. La plage (Home)
18. Novembre toute l’année (Rose Kennedy)
19. La superbe (La Superbe)

I would include Les Roses et les promesses, from Rose Kennedy in this track list. But, then again, if I were in charge of choosing the songs, I'd probably put the entire Rose Kennedy.

Below, we can watch the beautiful short film made for the promotion of Les Roses et les promesses.

Vincent Delerm's new show

2011-11-11T18:50:00.001-02:00

Vincent Delerm has just announced a new show. This time, it's a play with songs and, as the press release says, the singer inverted his creative process. When before he used songs as a pretext to hold a presentation with a theatrical hint, this time he will be using a play as a pretext for presenting new songs.

The play, entitled Memory, will present only unreleased songs mixed with a text wrote by Vincent. As a bonus, Delerm promises there will be a more than special guest: apparently Woody Allen recorded some stuff for the show.

The premiere will be held in Paris on December 6th. To check out the details and buy the ticket, click here.

Disney Classics in French

2011-11-11T01:20:00.000-02:00

I belong to the generation that saw the big come back from Disney in the late 80's and early 90's. My childhood was filled with animated classics like The Little Mermaid, The Beauty and the Beast and O Rei The Lion. I remember watching The Hunchback of Notre Dame in the movie theater and thinking that I had never saw something as beautiful as that.

As a child I tended to get obsessed with movies and watching the same picture over and over again so, obviously, I knew (and still know) all the songs from my favorite Disney movies by heart.

As soon as I started to dig up more about French music, it occurred to me that I should also search for the French versions of those songs I loved so much in my childhood. And I soon found out that, like it happened in the U.S., the songs in French were sang by great French artists. The cool little shrimp, in The Little Mermaid was dubbed by the amazing singer Henri Salvador, for instance.

Speaking of him, Henri Salvador collaborated in more then one film from Disney. Apart from dubbing Sebastian, he also made a French version for the classic The lion sleeps tonight. The song features in The Lion King.

In the player embedded down here, you can listen to the song Le lion est mort ce soir:

And how about watching some of the amazing scenes from those Disney movies in French? Down here are some of my favorite scenes ever!

Finally, I wanted to post here a last scene that, even though I never really liked the song, it represents a historical moment for animation.

The dinner scene, in The Beauty and the Beast, was the first time ever in the cinema history when computer animation was used in a feature film. The executives from Disney were apprehensive with the idea of mixing computer generated images with traditional 2D animation, but were convinced, after seeing that the technique had improved, that it could be done.

After the great looking result, producers and investors were more inclined to use computer animation and nowadays, as everybody knows, the technique is widely used and it represents the largest part of the animation market.

Great compilations of French Music

2011-11-04T14:35:00.003-02:00

People always ask me where to find a good compilation of French music. Of course, Paris has an atmosphere of love around it and if you go on Amazon, you are going to find a bunch of cheesy records filled with obvious romantic cliche songs played with the accordion for those people that want to buy not the real Paris, but what I like to call it the "Hollywood Paris".

But if you are a little more curious than that, and want to discover some real good French music, I got two records to recommend. The first one was released by famous Café de Flore in 2003 and it has lots of interesting songs by artists from the 60's to the 00's. It's not cliche and it's going to make you feel like you're in Paris, but in a more interesting Paris - something like being seated in a hidden Café in an alley in Paris surrounded by French people, instead of in front of the Eiffel Tower surrounded by tourists.

Putumayo

Another good compilation is the one made by Putumayo. This American label is specialized in making compilation with music from all over the Globe and, as far as I know, they do a pretty good job in every title they release.

They have two compilations with French music, but I recommend the one called "French Café". The other one, entitled "Paris" has songs for a more acquired taste and it's full of songs by the people form the nouvelle scène française.

Something's gotta give

The movie "Something's gotta give" has an amazing soundtrack that could easily be considered a compilation of French music.

In the movie, Diane Keaton's character is a writer that loves everything about France and the director explores that using French music in the entire movie. The soundtrack has excellent songs and, during the movie, there are also other songs that are not in the OST, like the delicious upbeat "Boum !", by Charles Trenet. Combo.

Under Paris Skies

What if I got to make my own compilation? Well, I'm glad you asked! This is the list I came up with:

1.Marilou sous la neige - Serge Gainsboug
2. Belinda - Claude François
3. L'amoureuse - Carla Bruni
4. Déjà Toi -Vincent Delerm
5. Puisque vous partez en voyage - Françoise Hardy avec Jacques Dutronc
6. J'suis pas d'ici - Thomas Dutronc
7. Les roses et les promesses - Benjamin Biolay
8. Capri - Berry
9. In the mood for l'amour - Claire Denamur
10. Les enfants du Pirée - Dominique A
11. Si j'avais su que notre amour - Anaïs
12. Nous - Alexis HK
13. S.S. in Uruguay - Julien Doré
14. Dis-lui oui - Bénabar
15. La vie ne vaut rien - Alain Souchon

Isabelle Boulay and Benjamin Biolay

2011-11-04T10:18:00.000-02:00

Benjamin Biolay strikes again! He has just produced Isabelle Boulay's new recordm entitled "Les grands spaces" and it sounds pretty good to me. For those with untrained ears, it takes a little getting used to before fully appreciating Folk music sang in French, but the result is very interesting,

The album will be released on November 8, but if you wanna hear it right now, click here and listen to the whole thing via streaming.

I got this tip in the great "Filles Sourires" blog.

Politiquement correct

2011-11-03T20:07:00.000-02:00

The newest Bénabar single is already available on Youtube. "Politiquement correct" is a track from the singer's new record, "Les Bénéfices du Doute", that will be released on December 5th.

The single is already available for purchase on the French iTunes store for $1,29. A couple months ago, Bénabar had released on his official website a extract of this song, and I have to say: it didn't get me too excited. But now that I've heard the whole song and saw the lyrics, I think I'm starting to take a like to it.

In case anybody is wondering, "Mais moi, je t'emmerde" is a very slang expression and it could be translated into something like "screw you". Bénabar says he wrote this song for those people who are always criticizing the "politically correct" behavior in order to be excused from horrible acts.

Here's a piece of an interview he gave explaining his reasons:

"J'emmerde tout un courant de pensée qui, sous prétexte de lutter contre le politiquement correct, défend des idées dégueulasses. Maintenant, si on n'est pas raciste, c'est qu'on est bobo, si on n'est pas misogyne, c'est qu'on est naïf ou angélique. C'était une réaction à ce discours, où je me sentais directement visé. Il faut quand même rappeler que c'est bien de ne pas être raciste, pas être antisémite. Je défends ces valeurs-là. C'est bien de dire bonjour à la dame. C'est pas une profession de foi, c'est pas une agression, c'est un coup de gueule. C'est ce que j'enseigne à mes enfants, c'est aussi pour ça que je me suis senti visé. On apprend aux enfants qu'il faut être gentil, dire bonjour à la dame... Effectivement c'est politiquement correct, mais bordel c'est que j'apprends à mes gosses ! Et c'est bien de dire bonjour à la dame."

Didn't understand a thing? Check out the translation on Google Translate.

Chanson de Lundi

2011-10-31T08:30:00.002-02:00

Thinking about Halloween, the first song that came to mind was "Elle Panique", by Olivia Ruiz. This is the opening song from the awarded record "Miss Météores", released in 2009.

The video clip for "Elle Panique" won the first prize in the "Les Victoires de la Musique" in 2010.

Nadeáh !

2011-10-28T22:25:00.000-02:00

Yesterday, Le Figaro published an article on the new generation of French singers pointing out the fact that, in 2011, the girls outshone the boys when it comes to French chanson.

I couldn't agree more. Out of all my favorite French male singers, only Thomas Dutronc released a new record this year and I wouldn't call it exactly to-die-for. Vincent Delerm is in the business of making children's music; Bénabar is not really getting me excited about his new album; Bensé doesn't even updates the News section of his website since January 2010 and Dominique A has just announced he's only finishing his time off next year.

The only one who didn't disappointed me was Benjamin Biolay (he never does) and his soundtrack for "Pourquoi tu pleures ?" - but, then again, it's a soundtrack, not an album of his own.

But the real reason I decided to write this post is because in that article at Le Figaro I found out about a new name I had never heard before: Nadéah. Her debut record is entirely sang in English (too bad, I'd love to hear her singing in French) and there are a lot of lovely songs.

Nadéah - Odile by Cinq7

Interested in hearing some more? Visit her MySpace.

CORRECTION: Nadéah lives in Paris but was actually born in Australia.

Les enfants du Pirée

2011-10-28T15:44:00.000-02:00

Jules Dassin was an American movie director and one of those artists that were forced to leave the U.S. because he was listed on the horrible Hollywood Blacklist created in the 50's.

In 1960, he wrote and directed the movie "Never on Sunday" and the theme song of the movie, originally sang in Greek, became a great hit worldwide after winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1960.

After that, the song was covered in English (by great girls like Petula Clark and The Chordettes), Italian, Spanish, Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian, German, Dutch and even Mandarin.

The French version of the song, named "Les enfants du Pirée" preserves the original meaning of the Greek title, which is "The Children of Piraeus" and was first released by Dalida.

Recently, singer/songwriter Dominique A made a beautiful cover of that song and that's the one we are going to listen today.

Les enfants du Pirée

And in case anybody is wondering, yes, Jules Dassin is the father of singer Joe Dassin. Here's Joe Dassin's greatest hit "Les champs Elysées" (recently featured in the soundtrack of the movie "The Darjeeling Limited", by Wes Anderson).

Coeur de Pirate

2011-10-24T14:02:00.000-02:00

Coincidentally, I just found out that Canadian Coeur de Pirate is making a tour in the US. You don't know why is this a coincidence? Click here to find out.

A complete list of tour dates and venues (some of them in Europe) can be seeing in this link.

Her long waited second record "Blonde" is going to be released on November 7th, and you can already take a peek clicking on the player below.

Coeur de pirate || Teaser Adieu from Dare To Care Records on Vimeo.

And, since I can't get enough of Coeur de Pirate, here's a video clip of a song featuring Julien Doré. The video clip is absolutely incredible and has a bunch of amazing archive images from the 60's, including videos from the first visit from the Beatles in the US, an interview with Marylin Monroe, Sophia Lauren and other priceless stuff. Check it out on the link below.

COEUR DE PIRATE AVEC JULIEN DORÉ - Pour un infidèle

Notice that there's a continuity mistake in the 01'26'' where it shows a close-up of a right handed person signing a piece of paper and after it reveals that it's actually Julien Doré giving an autograph, the only problem is Julien Doré is signing with his left hand (which makes me wonder if the original plan was to use footage of Paul McCartney).

Chanson de Lundi

2011-10-24T13:04:00.000-02:00

I've been listening a lot to Françoise Hardy's "Tous les garçons et les filles" ( in a free translation: All the boys and girls).

The original version is wonderful and irreplaceable. However, Canadian singer/songwriter Coeur de Pirate, made an incredible cover in a television show that gave the song a more modern approach maintaining the amazing 60's atmosphere. And that's today's Monday's song.

And here's the original version sang by absolute all time diva Françoise Hardy:

French Kisses

2011-10-23T23:51:00.000-02:00

During one of my never ending quests in search of great French music, I found this amazing blog made by a person that has the same taste in music as I do. The blog has the sweet name of "French Kisses" and reminded me, because of its title, of that great romantic comedy featuring Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline.

In the movie "French Kiss", Mr. Kline plays a French thief that takes advantage of poor brokenhearted Meg Ryan. The soundtrack features Kevin Kline singing French classic "La Mer". Wanna hear it? Click on the play button below and enjoy!

Trophy Wife

2011-10-23T17:37:00.000-02:00

In the beginning of this year, it was released on theaters the French movie "Potiche". In the US, the movie got the name of "Trophy Wife" and it features the amazing Catherine Deneuve playing the part of a bored submissive housewife in the 70's who finds herself in the position of running the family business after her husband has a heart attack.

The movie has interesting funny characters (like the secretary/mistress/feminist) and talks about the changes in the women's role in society in the 70's. The original soundtrack is great and the wardrobe is just to die for (specially if you, like me, are crazy about vintage clothes). I strongly recommend it.

At the end of the movie, Cahterine Deneuve sings Jean Ferrat's classic "C'est beau, la vie" and the soundtrack features a duet with Deneuve singing with her former son in law, the brilliant singer/songwriter Benjamin Biolay.

Vincent Lefebvre

2011-10-23T15:55:00.000-02:00

In case anybody is wondering who's the responsible for the beautiful illustration on the header of this blog, his name is Vincent Lefebvre.

He is a friend I met in Paris and who was kind enough to offer himself to make a drawing for the blog.

If you guys are interested in knowing more about his work, here's a link to his blog. Also, Vincent has been working on a new website that's not ready yet, but you can take a peek by clicking in here.

Under Paris Skies

2011-10-19T16:45:00.000-02:00

Very often people ask me why I chose this name for the blog and the reason is very simple: it's the name of a classic French song. The original song is called "Sous le ciel the Paris" (which translates precisely as "Under Paris Skies) and was recorded by a lot of great people, like Édith Piaf and Yves Montand.

Here are some of my favorite versions of it:

Vieille Canaille

2011-10-18T16:23:00.000-02:00

For Serge Gainsbourg fans, prepare yourselves to spend a small fortune on the 40th deluxe anniversary edition of his classic record "Histoire de Melody Nelson". The release date is set to November 15 and you can pre-order it on Amazon for the price of US$ 172.48.

Speaking of Gainsbourg, I promised here on the blog to publish my list of top 10 favorite songs, so here it is:

1. Je suis venu te dire que je m'en vais
2. La Javanaise
3. Elisa
4. Marilou sous la neige
5. Le poinçonneur de Lilás
6. L'eau à la bouche
7. L'anamour
8. Ces petits riens
9. S.S. in Uruguay
10. 69 année érotique

P.S.: Some of you may be surprised to notice that the classic "Je t'aime, moi non plus" is not listed above. Don't get me wrong, I like the song, it's just that I think his work is so much bigger and interesting than his greatest hit, that I just didn't feel like including it on my list.

If I could add just one more song to the list, I would definitely choose "Vieille Canaille" (the title could be translated as "Old Scoundrel", which I think describes Gainsbourg very well and is the reason for the this post's name).

Here's a link to Ben L'Oncle Soul's version of this amazing song:

BEN L'ONCLE SOUL / Sly JOHNSON : "Vieille canaille"

Paris Underwater

2011-10-17T15:53:00.000-02:00

Here's an amazing video of Paris under three feet of water. I found it last week on a Brazilian blog and today they posted it in the amazing Like Cool website.

5:46 am from ArtefactoryLab on Vimeo.

Tips about Paris

2011-10-17T15:20:00.000-02:00

One of the reasons I created an English version of my Brazilian blog, as I already explained here, is because when I was in Paris last summer, I met a new yorker that, after hearing my tips about Paris, insisted on me creating a blog.

Down here are listed some of the tips I gave him. Since I often notice that the most common thing is to find luxury and expensive places when it comes to blogs about Paris, I decided only to give tips about things for free and not so obvious, for people like you and me.

Sunset at Pont des Arts

French People

The first time I went to Paris, I didn't even know how to say "Hi" in French and I was well prepared to meet some of the famous French rudeness. I have to say that after two days in Paris, I was very disappointed. In TWO days, not one person was rude to me, or even ill humored.

That's when I realized that the trick is to always ask - in advance and very politely - no matter how bad is your French, if the person speaks English ("Excusez-moi, parlez vous anglais?"). And there you have it. It works like magic. Suddenly, people are willing to help you, even if they don't speak English.

Another good tip (and that works anywhere in the world) is to always ask for information to people that don't look like they are in a hurry or busy with something. Always prefer people seating on a bench, or smoking a cigarette. And put a smile on your face before asking anything from anyone (also a tip that works anywhere in the world).

It's like my mom used to say: if you are nice to people, people are gonna be nice to you.

Père Lachaise

Père Lachaise is one of the most interesting "not-so-famous" places to go in Paris. It is a very big cemetery located in the 20th arrondissment. And there's a bunch of famous people buried there. They even have a map to help you locate whomever you want to visit - and trust me, you're gonna need a map!

One good tip is to always use the cemetery's main entrance because there you can have a free map (you just need to ask one of the guards), whereas the side entrance (closer to the metro station) has people selling maps for tourists that don't know they can get it for free.

Some of the people buried there are: Jim Morrison, Édith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Georges Méliès, Yves Montand, Henri Salvador, Maria Callas,...

Here's a complete list of every famous person buried there.

This is me next to Édith Piaf's grave. Singer Henri Salvador is buried next to her.

Parc de Belleville

My best friend lives in Paris and he showed me this charming park next to his house. It's definitely not well known and it has one of the best views in Paris. For those people who love to see where the real Parisian go, this is a good spot. Here's the map with all the detailed information.

After going to the park, you can walk down to the charming and bohemian Rue de Belleville to have dinner at one of the amazing Asian restaurants there. My favorite is a Thai place called "Lao Siam". The line to get a table can be hard on those with an empty stomach, but I guarantee it's worth the wait. If you like red meat, I recommend a dish called ~~Le tigre qui cri~~ (correction: the name of the dish is Le tigre qui pleure (it means "the crying tiger"). It's beef with a delicious spicy sauce. Yummy.

La Sacre Coeur de Montmartre

OK, I know that's a very touristic place that everyone knows about, but I wanted to talk about this amazing church because I have a few tips to offer.

First and most importantly: buy a bottle of water before climbing all the stairs. Once you reach the top, you're gonna need some water and, since everyone gets there thirsty, the bottle of water can cost up to 4 euros.

Second, I strongly recommend you would wake up really early to go there. Preferably around 8 a.m.. After 10 in the morning the place gets really crowded and it's impossible to admire the magnificent view with a peace of mind that a place like that requires.

And third: be extra careful with your belongings. My purse was stolen when I went there to a picnic on Bastille day. I don't mean to scare anyone, but, like any touristic spot, there's a bunch of people trying to get money out of distracted, bewildered tourists.

Pont des Arts

Finally, I wanted to talk about Pont des Arts. It's also very touristic but, while I was there, I noticed most of the people on the bridge was young which gave me an impression that older people don't know about it.

Plus, if you are looking for a place to propose to your girlfriend, I think there's no better place to do it.

A couple years ago, somebody had the idea of attaching a padlock to the railing (just like people do in Verona, Italy, to represent Romeo and Juliet) and it soon became a tradition. Nowadays, the railings of the bridge are all covered with love padlocks.

This photograph was taken by my dear friend Fabio Maciel. How charming the bridge looks on the sunset!

Café de Flore

If you are crazy about the idea of the culture life in Paris in the beginning of the 20th century (like Owen Wilson's character in Midnight in Paris), you should have a coffee at Café de Flore. If you do that, you should know that you might be seating on the very same spot where people like Jean Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Édith Piaf once sat.

But if you are more of a Hemingway fan, no worries, just cross the street and take a seat at "Les Deux Magots", another coffee shop known to be the favorite of great geniuses.

Once you're there, take a good look at the Boulevard Saint-Germain and try to imagine those amazing artists walking around on that very same street every day. Like any other Café in Paris, if you seat outside, you're probably gonna have to pay twice the price of the coffee, but just for this once, you should do it.

The best French songs of all time

2011-10-16T23:27:00.000-02:00

Whenever I meet a new person and talk about my blog, it's always the same reaction. First, the person ask me why so much interest in French music and second they ask me to recommend them something and are always curious to know what my favorite songs are.

To choose your favorite song(s) is a very serious and difficult matter and I just can't help remembering Nick Hornby's character in "High Fidelity".

Running the risk of been cruelly unfair, one day I decided to take the challenge and just choose, once and for all, the top 10 best French songs of all time. But I realized I just couldn't do it. So I decided to split the list in three parts: 1) French Classics, 2) French new scene and 3) The Serge Gainsbourg list (and this one I'm gonna publish later, because he deserves, not only a list, but a post of his own).

1) French Classics:

1. Non, je ne regrette rien - Edith Piaf
2. Douce France - Charles Trenet
3. Le moribond - Jacques Brel*
4. Que reste-t-il de nos amours* - Charles Trenet
5. La Mer* - Charles Trenet
6. Comme d'habitude* - Claude François
7. Quand on n'a que l'amour - Jacques Brel
8. J'ai deux amours - Josephine Baker
9. Avoir un bon copain - Georges Brassens
10. Jolie Mome - Léo Ferré

* All of this songs were translated to English and became a huge success worldwide. In order, the English names are: "Seasons in the sun"; "Beyond the sea" (responsible for making Bobby Darin famous); "I wish you love" (nowadays considered a jazz standard); and "My way" (sang by people like Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra).

2) French New Scene:

1. Ton héritage - Benjamin Biolay
2. Sympathique - Pink Martini (I know Pink Martini is an American band, but this song is just so French, I just couldn't leave it out of the list)
3. Fanny Ardant et moi - Vincent Delerm
4. Louise - Thomas Fersen
5. J'suis pas d'ici - Thomas Dutronc
6. Dis-lui oui - Bénabar
7. Bientôt - Coralie Clément
8. Comme des enfants - Coeur de Pirate
9. Soulman - Ben L'Oncle Soul
10. Celle de mes 20 ans - Mélanie Pain

And below you can listen to the first places of both lists:

Vincent Liben and Berry

2011-10-16T23:08:00.000-02:00

Vincent Liben is one of the new talents to watch on French music. He is Belgium and released his debut record in August this year. I haven't heard it yet, but I'm super excited about a duet he released in March with beautiful French singer Berry.

To promote the song, they released a very sweet video clip of the song on Youtube:

After digging up some more information about Liben, I found his SoundCloud page (I just love soundcloud!) and here's one of the songs released in his first album:

La Condition De L'Allumette by vincent liben

Pastry in Paris

2011-10-16T21:48:00.000-02:00

Paris, amongst so many other things, is known for its great pastry shops, called "Pâtisserie". French people take the business of making bread and desert very seriously and, to became a baker chef (called "Boulanger") or pastry chef (called "Pâtissier), it's required a great deal of hard study and practice.

Anyone who ever cooked anything sweet in their life, knows how hard it is to work with sugar, so the pâtissier (or pâtissière, if it's a woman) is a very well respected professional inside any French kitchen.

I found this beautiful film (made by the Louis Vitton City Guide team) in a Brazilian blog and decided to share it here because, in my opinion, everyone with eyes always enjoy watching videos about deliciously looking stuff.

And the subject of sweet things reminded me of a sweet French version of "Come Softly" by the "Fleetwoods". The French version is called "Tout doux, tout doucement" ("doux means "sweet" in French), sang by Marcel Amont.

Make-up in Paris

2011-10-16T20:30:00.000-02:00

I was almost getting in terms with the idea of spending 50 euros in an eyeshadow palette with 4 colors by MAC and all it lacked me was the courage to go to the store and spend this small fortune when, wondering around the streets of Paris I found a small piece of paradise for make-up lovers. I'm talking about "Paris-Berlin" a store close to the Bastille Square that sells professional make-up.

I had never before heard about the brand but decided to go inside anyway attracted by all the colors and tools that are so appealing to any make-up lover. And it was worth the visit. In less the half an hour I was happily leaving the store with a 10-colors professional eyeshadow palette.

I totally recommend Paris-Berlin for anybody who is interested in good make-up for a fair amount of money. The eyeshadow is as great as any famous brand like MAC and even better then some high-end stuff, like Lancôme.

The address for this wonderful place is: 56, Boulevard Richard Lenoir, Paris

And since this blog is about music, not make-up, I'm gonna finish this post with a song I remembered while I was writing this tip.

Pourquoi tu pleures ?

2011-10-14T02:23:00.000-03:00

Benjamin Biolay - probably my favorite singer/songwriter in the French scene today - composed the soundtrack and starred a new French movie that was released last summer in Paris.

The film is called "Pourquoi tu pleures ?", and it's the story of a man who is about to be married and meets a girl that could be the love of his life. I still haven't watched it but the French critics wrote pretty good reviews about it.

Here's the trailer of the movie with English subtitles.

Last week, I found out that, amongst the tracks of the movie's soundtrack is the eternal Cole Porter's classic "C'est magnifique" and I just loved Biolay singing this song (sorry about the images in the video, trust me: I searched other videos on Youtube, but all looked horrible).

And that reminds me that Dean Martin sang that song in the 50's and it's just wonderful:

Comme d'habitude

2011-10-14T01:42:00.000-03:00

When I started to go deep in my researches of French chanson, I started to find out that what I thought were great American classics, were actually French songs (and trust me, there's A BUNCH of those).

The song that surprised me the most is definitely "My way" immortalized by the great Frank Sinatra. Really, the first time I've ever heard "Comme d'Habitude" I really thought that it was a cheesy, tacky, weird version of a great, untouchable classic. Trust me, I even felt a bit angry.

But then I found out I was being unfair. Because I truly believe that the composer has always the right to sing the song he/she wrote no matter how horrible it may turn out. It's just his right.

Yes, dear readers, "My way" wasn't originally written in English, but in French. And it was called "Comme d'Habitude" and composed by a big promising French singer called Claude François.

Though I was shocked at first, after I came to an agreement with the song and nowadays I even like it.

But in any case, under any circumstance, I would NEVER like the original song better than the one sang by Elvis. It lacks me words whenever I hear the king singing "My way". In this case, I'm sorry Claude, but the comparison is just not fair.

And so just we are clear: I really love Claude François's songs, he was an amazing composer. But I'll tell all I know about him some other day.

Seasons in the sun

2011-10-14T01:22:00.000-03:00

Not so many people know that Terry Jacks's biggest hit is actually a French song. More accurately, a Belgian song. "Seasons in the Sun" was released in 1974 and hit the top charts across the globe and sold millions of records worldwide. But a long time before that, the song had already been a big success in France.

Its original name is "Le Moribond" and it was written by Belgian singer/songwriter Jacques Brel. The translation into English is quite faithful to the original lyrics of the song and, as it is in English, the French version is a goodbye letter of a dying man (moribond means exactly that - dying man).

Below, you'll find some of the many versions of "Le Moribond".

Here's Indie band Beirut singing the song with the original French words:

Here's Terry Jack's version:

Nirvana:

And another Indie (and very cool) band called "Black Box Recorder":

And also a never release version by the Beach Boys.

But, since I like to save best for last, here's the most impressive version. I don't think anybody could ever outshine this very impressive and touching live performance by Jacques Brel. It's just amazing.

A little bit about the blog

2011-10-14T01:05:00.000-03:00

My name is Gabriela, but I go by the artistic name of "DJ Penelope". My mother language is not English, so you're probably gonna find some mistakes in my writing from time to time. But I promise I'll do my best no to murder Shakespeare's language.

I'm a Brazilian and I've been in love with French music since...ever. Really, I can't remember when all started, all I know is that I was in my teenage years when Édith Piaf came across my way. And I just fell in love with her music. The rest, as people say, is history.

I used to produce a weekly podcast (in Portuguese) specialized only in French music, but nowadays, I just post on my Brazilian blog about my findings in French music. And I've been doing that for over 3 and a half years now.

I decided that I wanted to write a blog in English because last time I was in Paris I met this New Yorker guy and he got really excited about all the tips I gave him about Paris and French culture and encouraged me to create a blog. So I dedicate this to him.

Right now, I'm sure I'm talking to nobody, since the blog has just began, but, hopefully, someone out there in the fantastic world of Google will find in this humble abode exactly what they are looking for!