Salut à tous! I was pretty excited to share that the rains have finally ceased, though just found out that a new batch of downpours is expected circa New Year’s Eve… oh well. As the French say: quelle surprise.
I was also surprised with news of Brigitte Bardot’s passing. At 91, the iconic star led a full life, though not without its fair share of scandal. Rather than dive too deeply into her late-life politics and whatnot, I prefer to remember her as an aesthetic macaron with sultry, kittenesque sharpness on screen, iconic to francophiles everywhere (so vividly captured in Bardot by Julia de Nuñez).
While I can’t say that I was an avid listener of her sonic escapades (admittedly kind of dumbly blasé for a post kicking off with Brigitte Bardot), that one song with Serge Gainsbourg was pretty emblematic of French ’60s angst (though, due to its off-the-charts sexiness, it was released much later, in the 80’s! So, the Bardot was swapped out for Jane Birkin in the original release).
Regardless, some of that stylistic influence can be gleaned in Air’s “The Duelist,” feat. Jarvis Cocker & Charlotte Gainsbourg–who is actually Gainsbourg’s daughter with Jane Birkin:
Actually, that entire album is possibly Air’s masterpiece, so check it out from track 1!
My laptop’s battery is at its wit’s end right now, so I’ll end this post with two other songs to check out, if you feel like vibing to the new wave French existentialism and gutsy attitude which Bardot so cleverly embodied:
Marie Laforêt – Marie Douceur, Marie Colère
(You might recognize the beat from the Rolling Stones’ “Paint in Black.”)
Sébastien Tellier – La Ritournelle
I love this song. To me, it’s what synesthesia sounds like; but also like experiencing a diluvian outpour of nostalgia. Either way, great stuff, intense and sublime like only the French know how.
À la prochain fois,
Ró