Especially in honor of Bastille Day, here’s an eternal question inspired by an absolutely charming 1966 performance Dean Curtis surfaced by a French combo dubbed Antoine et les Problèmes. “Les élucubrations” is delivered with élan, esprit and a ton of other wonderful French nouns … However, I still find it extremely difficult to listen to.
(It actually reminds me of a small child Robert Labbe, Paul Kaufman and I watched working cafe tables in Belgium, frantically wheezing into a harmonica until he was paid to leave.)
But — mon Dieu! — Che Underground: The Blog is here to smash stereotypes, not to perpetuate them! An unrepentant francophile myself (with a healthy appreciation for other Gallic art forms), I need guidance: Where are the French rockers?
This blog compares Antoine favorably to Dylan and the Kinks, so perhaps I need to continue my research!
But of course, Elton Motello recorded it first …
Ya know what? I listened to Antoine again on my superior Mac speakers, and I liked him better! The lyrics are fun, although I don’t get any of the fab ’60s French references:
Oh, Yeah !
Ma mère m’a dit, Antoine, fais-toi couper les cheveux,
Je lui ai dit, ma mère, dans vingt ans si tu veux,
Je ne les garde pas pour me faire remarquer,
Ni parce que je trouve ça beau,
Mais parce que ça me plaît.
Oh, Yeah!
My mother said to me, Antoine, cut your hair,
I said to her, Mom, I will in 20 years,
I don’t keep it to stand out,
Or because I think it’s good-looking
But because I like it.
It’s phunny watching Phranc in Catholic Discipline … I phorget she wasn’t always a pholksinger!
PS: “And i guess I’ll never find out which one of you wrote with a greasy lipstick .. ‘Babylon must fall’ … on the bathroom mirror.” LOL … I just looked this up — I always thought the person had written it with “a crrrrrrazy lipstick.” (I keep mine in the medicine cabinet, right next to the deranged mascara!)
This was hella cool … But it’s from Quebec:
Note the cameo by Django Reinhardt!
OK…everyone have fun with the French, but remember I’m all French!! ( Although I guess INJECTION doesn’t seem very French on face value).
I contend that Edith Piaf and Maurice Chevalier were the first French rock stars.
We met at nine
We met at eight
I was on time
No, you were late
Ah yes! I remember it well
And we LO-O-O-V-E Jerry Lewis.
Mes amis! N’oubliez pas Les Thugs!
http://ogami.subpop.com/bands/lesthugs/lesthugs.html
http://www.lesthugs.fr/
There is nothing about the French that precludes them from being great rock ‘n’ rollers--they are some of the most fanatic and knowledgeable of rock fans. There are huge garage punk and rockabilly scenes in France. The problem seems to be the French language, which does not lend itself well to rock and roll rhythms. In the sixties, the French produced some incredible pop records (Franciose Hardy comes to mind immediately), but as you can see in these examples, the language proves a little awkward for the rocking numbers.
For example, Ray Charles’ three syllable “What’d I Say” becomes “Est Ce Que Tu Le Sais” by Les Cats Sauvages (the Wildcats):
Here’s “Be Bop a Lula” by Les Chaussettes Noires (the Black Socks).
Extra credit for the biggest, reddest pompadour ever!
>>The problem seems to be the French language, which does not lend itself well to rock and roll rhythms.
Ray: Yeah, I was kinda mulling that.
It’s funny that one of the first compositions I’m willing to acknowledge was my translation of Tristan Tzara’s “Chanson Dada” — and I do retain a little of the original French in there. I’m a big fan of French literature, including all the cool spiky stuff from the 20th century … But there’s something a bit askew when it comes to superimposing it on a downbeat.
Then again, zydeco … Phew! Now that’s some smokin’ francais.
Thanks Ray!!
I had indeed forgotten Les Thugs, although a few years ago I bought what may be their complete works on CD for 99 cents when my local Wherehouse closed forever. Tonight I may actually listen to it for the first time! I read somewhere once that they got around the difficulty Ray describes by singing partially in nonsense syllables… And do French fans pronounce “Thugs” in the English fashion, or like “Toog?”
Then there’s Johnny Hallyday. I’ve only heard a few songs. Some call him the “French Elvis,” but I think he might be more of a “French Cliff Richard” or, er, “French Alvin Stardust…”
Halliday is considered the French Elvis because he was the first French rock star, and the first popular rock ‘n’ roll singer to sing in the French language. He performed on the Ed Sullivan show in the sixties, and has racked up an impressive nearly fifty-year career as a performer. I’ve been trying to find the album he recorded with the Small Faces and Peter Frampton at the end of the sixties, but haven’t been able to locate it.
Daft Punk, Parkour, Cerrone, Savate, Etron Fou, Magma, Black Devil Disco Club… best I could do.
For Bruce: The French they are a funny race, Par les vous! …….
Savate: that video is a point sparring match. Hard to find real full contact savate, but really it became obsolete whenever an Asian Martial arts guy or an American boxer walked into the room.
>>For example, Ray Charles’ three syllable “What’d I Say” becomes “Est Ce Que Tu Le Sais” by Les Cats Sauvages (the Wildcats)
… Which actually means “Do you know it?” It’s cool that they used “sais” (know) as a homonym for “say,” instead of literally translating the line to “qu’est-ce que j’ai dit?” (KESS kuh jay dee?)
… Although, come to think of it, “Qu’est-ce que c’est?” (KESS kuh say) — “What’s this?” — would work perfectly with the original meter and keep the “say” sound. Maybe I should record a version!
Dites ta mère!
Dites ton père!
Je te ramènerai à la Rivière!
Ooooooh … Qu’est-ce que c’est?
I wonder if any linguist has tackled the question of whether the rhythms of African languages in locations that created some essential blues and rock-‘n’-roll beats bear similarities to the Germanic syllables at the foundation of English?
There is something very compelling about their convergence in African-American musical traditions … And considerably different from the way African sounds manifested in French or Spanish or Portuguese colonial settings.
Zut Alors! No mention of Serge Gainsbourg?
The ballad of Melody Nelson.
I think this came out in 1971. Nabakov meets Lou Reed.
“Seasons in the Sun” is the English language translation of the song “Le Moribond” by Belgian singer Jacques Brel. It was made famous as a worldwide hit song for Terry Jacks in 1974, and again as a hit single for Westlife in late 1999 / early 2000.
Here is an appalling version by Nirvana:
We’ve really been using the term “rock ‘n’ roll” pretty loosely . . .
musique:
AIR.
Lætitia Sadier and Stereolab.
Hector Zazou.
Cheb Khaled, originally from Algeria, currently residing in Paris.
josephine baker.
poemes (the poet used to be the french rock star, right?):
baudelaire
elluard
rimbaud
breton
anais nin rocks us girls on lonely nights.
and i’m not even going to go into the realm of art….you know what they say about Picasso.
>>We’ve really been using the term “rock ‘n’ roll” pretty loosely . . .
Ray: We’ve been twisting it comme des animaux en ballons!
This is what I found when I searched for that phrase on YouTube … It’s NSFW but another reminder of why we love the French:
KRISTEN -- Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Anais Nin…french rock n roll for sure.
Not only is the poetry of Baudelaire so great, but they say that his original translations of Poe into French read better than the actual Poe!
He was also a great art critic.
I hated the Movie about Rimbaud starring Leonardo DiCaprio, totally miscast.
Might as well throw in the Paris years of Henry Miller as a great French “thing”…so glad we’re talking about the French
Just came across this while viddying the Stooges … She’s French — my initial response is irritation, but maybe it’s just too late at night:
Polnareff and Telephone, pretty standard French rock n’ roll in a basic sense. But check out Gasoline (they might be on one of those KBD comps, not sure) and Les Calamítes, three girls who brought the garage rock to an effective length.
Gainsbourg’s reggae album with Sly and Robbie is really good, like better than it should be.
It might be a tad early to be considered “rock ‘n roll” but I don’t thing anything rocks the way that Django Reinhardt’s late 1940’s electric bebop material does, particularly the Summer Paris sessions of 1947. IMHO nothing can touch the frenetic, inventive attacks that come screaming through his amp on those tracks.
Absolute faves from those sessions are Moppin’ The Blues, Babik and Heavy Artillery (the title says it all on that one).
He tears it up, tears it apart and also rebuilds the future of guitar music…
It may be a stretch to consider bebop as a precursor to rock n roll but I couldn’t agree more that Django “Rocked”!
Try playing some of his solos…impossible. I’m content just comping along to some of his tunes!!
Gypsy music is quite an anomoly anyway.
Because Fred is Dead.
Parisian Rockin’ Dogs!
And Swiss Rockin’ Dogs, but I think also francophone:
Roger Moore, a blogger who linked to this post, seconds Dean’s endorsement of Jacques Dutronc.
I like this!
Did we ever find out which one of you wrote with the grrrrrrrreasy lipstick “Babylon must fall” on the bathroom mirror?
It’s been 30 years, and poor Kickboy Face isn’t around any more to scold you. Anybody wanna ‘fess up? 🙂
I want to mention Kickboy Face again … Just because I like the name “Kickboy Face.”
Update: I utterly recant my earlier skepticism about Antoine and “Les Élucubrations.” This song has been in my head ever since, and I like it. It grew on me like some sort of savory French mushroom dish!
Was the Dum Dum Boys a reference to Iggy Pop song…or vice versa??
>My wife love Jacques Dutronc.
He’s great! Another fave of mine is Ronnie Bird, though he is pretty derivative (not a bad thing IMO, isn’t almost everyone?). And Clothilde, who only released 2 EPs, both fabulous. France Gall’s 1968 album is super, and there are other fantastic tracks by lesser knowns, like Les Problemes (to name one).
Bruce: Yes, the 80’s,90’s Dum Dum Boys were very much a Stooges type band, there have been many bands who used this name over the years, I read once, when I was a kid, that The English Beat or members of the band were called The Dum Dum Boys.
Dean: I like Jacques hits, but Michelle is the real fan, and Franc Galls she digs also, I listen in and enjoy, but French Pop is just another can of worms for me to open, my friend Laurent tells me if you knew what the were singing about you would hate them:).
Italian scientists cloned four John Cales in 1968 to create this band: