19 posts tagged “french”
)I may be doing more of these "quick" snippets, usually in three's. Nothing fancy, just news and notes:
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Tour Dates
06/13/08 Varsity Theater Minneapolis
06/14/08 Empty Bottle Chicago, IL 06/16/08 Drake Hotel Toronto, Ontario 06/18/08 Sound Fix In-Store Performance Brooklyn, NY 06/18/08 Union Pool Brooklyn, NY 06/19/08 IOTA Club & Cafe Arlington, VA 06/20/08 Millcreek Tavern Philadelphia, PA 06/21/08 Arts Center Carrboro, NC |
Item #1: Hey, I'll be attending Annuals' live show tomorrow (June 13th) at the Varsity Theater. I think it's all ages, which means the show will start pretty early (5-6pm). Look for me if you're going to this show also.
Check out their other dates, you can sign up at Canvasback Music for a chance to attend the concert of your choice, runner up receive a free Wet Zoo EP. In addition, if you're in the Minneapolis area, the grand winner will also receive a pair of tickets to the Underwater Adventures Aquarium (I think it's in the Mall of America).
It doesn't cost anything to enter in the contest, so you might as well enter. The worst you can do is not win.
I will write a little more about the Annuals on my concert review, so that's scheduled for Saturday morning.
PS, I just entered into their contest.
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Item #2: Remember Prototypes? You guys love them. It looks like their song "L'Amour, L'Amour, L'Amour", from their third album, Synthetique (out on Minty Fresh), have been recently used in various commercials (iPod and Mitsubishi) and television shows (The L Word).
I got the chance to listen to the said song and it's very cute. Obviously, I still cannot speak French, but it doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of complicated lyrics here... but still, there is something about the French accent that gets me everytime.
My question is, why weren't they on Eurovision 2008?
Item #3: I got this press release about Prince Fatty. I am only mentioning this because I laughed at just his name, as well as his album Survival Of The Fattest.
I listened to the MP3 that sometime comes with these things and it wasn't what I was expecting: it's reggae! Very interesting, I've decided to include the song here as well as mention his two dates he'll be playing:
July 16 Los Angeles The Dub Club
July 18 New York Hudson Terrace
After doing more reading, it becomes clear to me that 'fat' might be in reference to pot (smoke a fatty) because the fatty himself, Mike Pelanconi, is a skinny white dude.
Mike and Fatboy Slim should have a duel. That's right, Survival Of The Fattest.
Links:
www.annualsmusic.com
www.prototypes.org
myspace.com/princefatty
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"Seasons in the Sun" is one of those songs that is massively popular in Asia, especially where I'm from originally in Vietnam. I found out that the song is actually a 1961 Belgian French song called "Le Moribond" (The Dying Man) by folk singer Jacques Brel.
Brel lived in Belgium and moved to Paris in the 70s, and most of his body of work (from 1954 to 1977), was mostly composed and sung exclusively in French.
The song was translated into English and recorded as a song by Rod McKuen, which sounds kind of like Leonard Nimoy's acting/singing... especially at the end, where it gets a little exaggerated. I found the recording on imeem, so hopefully the embedding feature will work out.
Prior to Terry Jacks hit recording, there were several attempts by The Kingston Trio (1963) and The Fortunes (1968), and Pearls Before Swine (1970), but none of them ever got as popular as Jacks' version in 1974.
A couple of notes, about the Fortunes, they are still active (and playing live) and have the "Seasons in the Sun" song available for download on their website, although from listening to it, it sounds like, perhaps it's a re-recording(?). Anyway, some tour dates:
05/24/08 California Cliffs, Great Yarmouth.
06/06/08 Keswick Rugby Club, Cumbria
06/08/08 Whitby Pavillion
06/13/08 Memorial Social Center, Wickhambrook, Newmarket.
06/28/08 Theatre on the Steps, Bridgnorth, Shropshire
07/05/08 Spa Pavilion, Felixstowe
07/13/08 Pavilion Theatre, Cromer
07/19/08 Alvaston Hall, Nantwich (Warners)
07/25/08 Purley Chase Golf Club. Nr Nuneaton.
07/26/08 Artrix Theater Bromsgrove
07/31/08 Canterbury (CUTG)
More tour dates on thefortunes.co.uk
So the story behind the #1 hit song by Canadian singer Terry Jacks, was that Jacks had proposed to The Beach Boys to record "Seasons in the Sun", but The Beach Boys abandoned the project. Jacks decided to record and release the song himself, and to this day have sold over six million copies.
The main difference in Jacks' version and previous versions, was that his version is a little happier, including removing the 'cheating wife' part.
Speaking of happy, Westlife's version is ... let's just say quite interesting. Their singing and upbeat song doesn't really carry across the message of a dying man. At all. Still the song did well for them, although it was eventually left off their Greatest Hits CD in 2002, possibly due to licensing/royalities rights.
A vast contrast to Westlife's poppy version is from Nirvana, who seems to stumble through the song. It's also interesting to note that you see Kurt Cobain playing the drums, instead of Dave Grohl (who looks like he's playing bass in the video).
Also interesting to note is that the song is vastly popular with punk bands such as Bad Religion, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and Blink 182.
I am including a few other covers below, my favorite is Black Box Recorder, who I've previously mentioned. Their version sounds like a French film soundtrack :).
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Links: www.weheartmusic.com
| Papi Chulo wrote: Tue, May 20, 2008 at 7:04 PM |
Don't forget the awesome version by Too Much Joy (click the Play link next to the track on that page. You can listen to 25 tracks per month free on Rhapsody). They were one of my favorites back in the day, and they still do the best version that I've ever heard. Even better live.
Here are some random album artwork that's sexually suggestive. We're not talking explicit or anything, just some eye-catching covers that I've noticed.
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The first album here is the 2005 self-titled debut album from French singer, Pauline Croze (paulinecroze.com). The cover shows (what looks like) a naked Croze, looking innocent with her doll-like eyes. She was twenty-five when they took that picture for her debut album, but the truth is she started writing and playing music when she was fourteen.
Last year, she released Un Bruit Qui Court, and seems to be more popular than ever.
Neon Neon (myspace.com/neonx2) has a rather suggestive and rude cover for his EP, Raquel. I don't really know much about him, apparently he's currently residing in Los Angeles, by the way of Wales?
This song, "Raquel", reminds me of early 80s new wave dance music, which I like... and apparently other people like him too as he's featured on the cover of last month's BPM Magazine.
Look closely at the cover to 2008's We're In the Music Biz by Robots In Disguise (robotsindisguise.co.uk) and you might be surprised. They're actually naked, with body paint. I guess they're more than meets the eye, huh?
If you got that joke, that's because they stole their name from Transformers[W♥M].
These two English girls reminds me of DIY punk DJs mixing some electronic music (but they also sing). They sound really fun, don't they?
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Speaking of looking closer, does the map of Make it Happen by Nizlopi (nizlopi.com) remind you of something else?
I think the cover is pretty clever actually, nothing too sexual, and at a quick glance, you wouldn't notice the woman's body.
Apparently there's only two members in this band: Luke Concannon and John Parker, two dudes from Leamington Spa in the UK. They got their name (Nizlopi) from Concannon's crush on a Hungarian girl.
While I Walk You Home features what looks like two people about to do the horizontal tango, but with the sunlight through the window, I would have to guess this is the morning after.
Despite the somewhat sleazy cover art (at least I think so), the music of Norway's Dylan Mondegreen (dylanmondegreen.com) is actually quite nice and folky.
Finally, we have a blatant booby cover of What's Wrong With You from New York's The Crayons (thecrayonsmusic.com).
I hope the tanned gorgeous babe on the cover sell some CDs, and as easy-on-the-eye as the cover, they're actually easy-on-the-ear as well.
Check out this song "God Hates Me".
So, this ends the first part on "Sex Sells". I hope to have a collection of "unintentional porn" in my next article. (Please send me some suggestions).
04/15/2008 00:05:20
vu
my♥posts
weheartmusic.com
Once upon a time I was just a young teenager with bad hair and a glint in my eye when one day I stumbled across a beer like no other. The Year 9 History trip to Belgium was a special time in my life. I had a crush on a girl named Becky, I knew a little bit about history and I was in a foreign land. Good times. I cannot remember exactly why one of the history teachers shared a taste of his beer with me. Maybe it is best the mind blacks out certain details but I do remember that beer. It was called Duval. Well now I am the history teacher and it is my turn to share. Unfortunately, despite all the best technological advancement, I am unable to share Duval beer with you today, instead I offer you The Duvals. I was secretly hoping that they were a tribute band to one of my favourite beers. It turns out that The Duvals are made up of the Duval brothers.
This two piece French electro-punk rock group offer a distinctive sound that echos from my laptop like a grandiose piece of pop drama. The songs are carefully crafted and perfectly packaged within a satisfying EP, suitably entitled 'A Journey In My Head'. While listening to it, I get instant flashbacks of groups like Terris and Kent.
My introduction does not to justice to The Duval brothers as it is full of the rather dull trivia of my life. Philippe and Laurent Duval have lived for music since early childhood. While I was blowing out a half hearted attempt at 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the recorder, the brothers were establishing themselves in the world of artisans and artists. Their studies took them from the Parisian clubs to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in America.
Touring across the United States and Europe has apparently honed their dramatic style of musical performance and, although I've never attended a live show, I've heard they are memorable occasions. Listening to the EP, it is easy to believe that their stage performances are full of energy.
One of the highlights from the five track EP is 'Just A Lie', which is a fine example of synth-rock and bring to mind the operatic singing style of the late, great Freddie Mercury. Another song I enjoyed was the title track, 'A Journey In My Head'.
My one criticism is the lack of French lyrics. I love the sound of the French language and would have appreciated a touch of European class being added to the EP, which is clearly influenced by the New York punk scene.
Ultimately, it takes a very special band to excite the heart of this old folky and whether the Duvals have what it takes to survive the harsh conditions of my iTunes library, I cannot say at this moment in time. But for now, I am loving the clashing sound of the guitar against the keyboard, aided the unique and varying vocals of Philippe Duval. Like too many Duval beers, I fear that this band may make your head spin for a while, but there is always the risk that the morning after won't be so pretty.
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01/18/08 Paard Van Troje DEN HAAG 01/25/08 Patronaat HAARLEM 01/26/08 Maison de la Culture NAMUR 02/09/08 Bibelot Dordrecht 02/29/08 Festival Générique MULHOUSE 03/01/08 Festival Générique DIJON 03/07/08 M 4 Music Fest, Conference Zurich 03/22/08 Popallure Deinze 03/23/08 De Oosterpoort Groningen 04/03/08 Mezz Breda 04/05/08 Salle Michel Audiard EU 05/01/08 Dauwpop HELLENDOORN
Sounds Like
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Real life Belgium couple, Danny Mommens and Els Pynoo are Vive La Fête, which means "long live the party". The band first caught my attention when they chose to cover Lio's "Bannana Split" and made it more electro on their Hot Shot EP (2005).
Apparently these guys are quite popular in the fashion world because Germany designer, Karl Lagerfeld is one of their biggest fan.
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Not counting their compilation and remix albums, Jour de Chance is their 5th album since they started releasing CDs in 2000.
"Une Par Une" sounds a lot like Stereo Total[W♥M] to me. It's my favorite song, next to the remix of "La Route".
The remix of "La Route" actually appears on their latest remix EP called Jour de Chance Remixs which features the an altered image of the original album artwork.
As you can see between the original version of the song (see their video) and the Black Strobe Remix, they are completely different songs. More information on the French band, Black Strobe, on myspace, where it shows that they are currently on tour.
Speaking of tour, it looks like Vive La Fête are also on tour. I have included their tour dates here.
01/06/2008 10:22:50
vu
my♥posts
vivelafete.be
myspace
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Just quickly, I wanted to welcome both Inuit66 and Alex to the team.
This song is one of my favorite song called "Today" by Sandie Shaw. I will write more about her later.
I'm also including her French version.
I have some press release I wanted to quickly mention (you can access more details on press.weheartmusic.com).
For the month of October, Love in October[W♥M] is giving away free stuff on their myspace. Can we expect this every October?
Douglas James Hall[W♥M] is playing at The Paradise this Sunday 7th October 2007. According to the press statement, this venue is a first for him. Here are some of the other performers: Owen Nicholas, Paul Martin, Jessica Grace, and Olivia Flenley.
10/02/2007 09:02:16
vu
my♥posts
vu@weheartmusic.com
www.weheartmusic.com
From their Wikipedia entry:
The Plastiscines are one of several Parisienne teenage bands, referred to collectively as les bébés rockers. Paris Calling, a compilation album of music by several of them, was released in France in June 2006 (and was due for release in Britain in April 2007). It contained the Plastiscines' first studio tracks, Shake (Twist Around the Fire) and Rake. Those present at its launch included the French Minister of Culture, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, and Babyshambles singer Pete Doherty. Such bands have tended to be scorned by some elements of the press for their bobo (bourgeois bohème or bourgeois Bohemian) backgrounds: in other words, they have been portrayed as "the spoilt kids of rich parents playing at being rock stars".
Links: Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Times Online Article
There was a song in Ratatouille that stood out during the movie. I think it played twice actually, but I forgot the exact moments of when it appeared. The song is called "Le Festin" which translates into English as "The Feast" and is a collaboration between singer Camille Dalmais (Nouvelle Vague) and composer Michael Giacchino. It appears on the soundtrack which was composed by Giacchino who also did music for The Incredibles and videogames such as Call of Duty and Black.
I saw the movie during the daytime and the song remained stuck in my head for the rest of the day. I know this is a music blog, but I just wanted to say that the movie was really spectacular and enjoyable. The movement of even the rats' hair amazed me. Yes, the friggin hair amazed me! Pixar really improved the hair movement since Monsters, Inc.
The lyrics below were pulled from this Livejournal.
French Lyrics: Les rêves des amoureux sont comme le bon vin Éspoire est un plât bien trop vite consommé Jamais on ne redira que la course aux étoiles, ça n'est pas pour moi Et sortez les bouteilles, finis les ennuis |
| English Translation: The dreams of lovers are like good wine Hope is a dish too soon finished Never will they say again that I cannot chase the stars In the close future we will finally (dance / take this....??) |