TISH...THAT'S FRENCH! Hot songs & cover versions sung in the language of love....

 

Here's a lot of French-singing ladies from Canada, France and Europe. It's a pretty smooth and lush collection. No distracting ye-ye girls, no punque babes, not even the gurgling trill of Piaf or the high-pitched chirping of the late (as of a few days ago, at the age of 103) Lily Lian.

Below is mostly an assortment of oddities and lovely and sexy obscurities. Most all qualify for the Ill Folks blog because they may be hugely famous in French-speaking nations, but are mostly unknown to English-speakers. All will sound fine, however, played through German speakers on a device made in Japan, or whatever your set-up happens to be.

Pardon the digression (you don't have to read it) but...it's quite sad (QUE LASTIMA!) that FRENCH, once considered the language of love, and also the language of diplomacy, is now hardly taught in schools anywhere but in France. Or maybe Belgium. The United States is now practically bilingual -- with SPANISH the intrusion. Dial up a government agency or a big business or institution of any kind, OR, get a recorded message from one, and you'll likely hear "For English, press one, para ESPANOL, dos!"

The reason is simple. Overpopulation. Also, unlike every other group of immigrants who came to America, the Latinos don't give a fucko about speaking English, and know that they can now get away with NOT bothering. As in, "If you want to watch this boxing match with a Spanish translation, use the SAP channel..." And here's subtitles en Espanol. And anyone who is getting a headache from this shit, cierra la boca. If you don't, you'll have the same fate as lawyer Aaron Schlossberg, who got picketed at his home and kicked out of his office for grumbling at Spanish speakers at a restaurant. 

No doubt in the U.K. soon, the bilingual language will be Arabic. There was a time when people who immigrated learned the language and customs of the host country. That's not the case anymore, and guess what, all it's done is push us farther apart, as speakers of foreign languages keep to themselves and plot to themselves. CAPISCE?? 

What's in the zip file...

1. Carole Laure. Nyuk, a Canuck. "Save The Last Dance for Me" in French. This sexy actress began recording in the 70's, so her albums aren't ancient volumes of forgotten Laure.

2. Francine Laine. Not named after Frankie. Have you ever had a French girl talking urgently and emotionally to you? Me neither. This may fulfill your fantasies: "Moi Sensuelle." Your imagination may be better than the real lyrics.

3. Annie Villeneuve. "Tomber a l'eau." I was drawn to any song with "Tomber" in it, till I learned it has nothing to do with tombs. Catchy power pop from a Canadian who'll make you want to go over the border.

4. Julie. Why go by one name? It makes an Internet search impossible. I found this on a compilation lp of French hits. "Maria Magdalene" may be a religious tune but it has a nice bossa nova rhythm to it. It also has a timeless quality. Meaning, I don't know when it was recorded.

5. Marie LaForet. "Marie Douceur (Paint it Black)." In the 60's she was a stunner, the kind you'd buy just for the album cover. And yes, she could sing, too. This is one of her most passionate cover versions.

6. Nicole Rieu. "Have You Never Been Mellow" in French? "Me Maison Au Bord de L'eau"

7. Dalida sang in many languages, often in French. The selected tune, a polished Abba-esque commercial pop piece, will get you bouncing your baguette. The song is "Mourir su scene." I was surprised at how catchy-happy the song was, since I thought "Mourir" might have to do with mourning, or being morbid in some way. OK, she died too young, and by suicide; that's morbid.

8. Jane Birkin. "Le Sex Shop." She joins Serge Gainsbourg again. You know their more obvious and orgasmic hit single (which is on the blog in the Bardot version, elsewhere). This one ended a film's humorous if slightly melancholy look at a guy's brief entry into the skin trade.

9. Zizi Jeanmaire. A legendary old broad. This is a Serge Gainsbourg song nastily called "Merde a l'amour," and it's sung in a vaudevillian way. You can just imagine the visual, a cakewalk on a street full of dog poop. Or am I romanticizing?

10. Maurane. No, that isn't a weather forecast, that's this Belgium star's name. "Prelude de Bach" takes the familiar tune into lush territory (ie, a saloon where a lush will drink and sob imagining his own sad translation).

11. Monique Gaube. "To Sir With Love" in French. You'd take a French lesson from this teacher.

12. Christien Pilzer. "Dracula." This was 40 years ago. Why she was singing about le vampire is probably a buried secret by now.

13. France Gall. "Resiste." Do you have the gall to resist a woman who is such a credit to France?

14. Veronique Sanson. "Longue Distance." Like Carly or Joni in the 70's and 80's, Vero was a superstar in France during those decades, and is still a legend. Her great melodies were spiced with Island rhythms at times. In America she's vaguely known as "wasn't she married to Stephen Stills? Mom of Chris?"

15. Sandrine Kiberlain. "Le quotid." This heartbreaker also starred in the cult film "Monsieur Hire" as, what else, a heartbreaker. The film's moody, erotic and depressing. Her songs are mostly erotic.

16. Mylene Farmer. "L'amour n'est rien." She took her last name as an homage to Frances Farmer. She's written a song about Edgar A. Poe. Her videos are strange, erotic, and often gothic. I could write endlessly about her, with a pen dipped in blood. She's sometimes foolishly called "the Madonna of France" for her popularity among gays and her flirtations with dance music and dopey background dances doing their ridiculous aerobics routines. Despite duets with Moby, Sting, and some Dylan-haired lesbo (she even got on puppy Fallon's show with Sting) she's not cracked the English-speaking markets. 

17. Francoise Hardy. "Tant de belles choses." The trifecta of French pop superstars
would be Francoise, Veronique and Mylene over the past 40 years. They overlap, and if you're listening or watching them, you'd overlap, too.

18. Julie Zenatti. "Toutes Les Couleurs." We end with some sweet French pastry...the translation is simple enough: "All the Colors."

THAT'S FRENCH!