French rock ‘n’ roll: An oxymoron?
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?
Tags: Antoine et les Problèmes, Bastille Day, Dean Curtis, France, French rock, harmonica, Paul Kaufman, Robert Labbe
July 14th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
This blog compares Antoine favorably to Dylan and the Kinks, so perhaps I need to continue my research!
July 14th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Plastic Bertrand’s comedy-punk single “Ca Plane Pour Moi” was ace, but I never heard the album. Anyway, I think he/they was/were Belgian; does Francophone count? Les Negresses Vertes’ album, Mlah (possibly their debut), is wonderful, essaying a fusion (somewhat analogous to that created by The Pogues) between Gypsy-jazz and punk. Other albums of theirs haven’t bowled me over, but I listen to this one often and think they are/were actually French…
That’s all I’ve got on this question, but I’m sure there’s lots more out there. Even so, the French contribution may not rival those of the US, UK, and Jamaica…
July 14th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Awww fuck! You beat me to Plastic Bertrand!
Well I still have Kickboy Face!
Not truly French Rock and Roll, but Plastic Bertrand was all I had!
July 14th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
But of course, Elton Motello recorded it first …
July 14th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
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.
July 14th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
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!)
July 14th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
This was hella cool … But it’s from Quebec:
Note the cameo by Django Reinhardt!
July 14th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
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.
July 14th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Mes amis! N’oubliez pas Les Thugs!
http://ogami.subpop.com/bands/lesthugs/lesthugs.html
http://www.lesthugs.fr/
July 14th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
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!
July 14th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
>>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.
July 14th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
Thanks Ray!!
July 14th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
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…”
July 14th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
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.
July 15th, 2009 at 4:27 am
Daft Punk, Parkour, Cerrone, Savate, Etron Fou, Magma, Black Devil Disco Club… best I could do.
July 15th, 2009 at 5:19 am
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.
July 15th, 2009 at 7:35 am
July 15th, 2009 at 8:43 am
>>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?
July 15th, 2009 at 9:06 am
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.
July 15th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Zut Alors! No mention of Serge Gainsbourg?
The ballad of Melody Nelson.
I think this came out in 1971. Nabakov meets Lou Reed.
July 15th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
“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:
July 15th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
We’ve really been using the term “rock ‘n’ roll” pretty loosely . . .
July 15th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
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.
July 15th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
>>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:
July 15th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
I missed this topic until now because I was out dancing last night to French 60s rock ‘n roll!
I would say most French 60s rock were covers of UK or US hits, but there are a lot of great covers to be found.
My favorite artistes are Jacques Dutronc, Ronnie Bird, Michel Polnareff, Clothilde, Le Fleurs de Pavot, Marie Laforet, Pussy Cat, and France Gall, who all did lots of garagey and psychedelic songs. Some of the yeye singers (especially Gall) started rocking out harder in the later 60s. I find some Serge Gainsbourg interesting to listen to but it’s mostly not rock ‘n roll.
Good site of French 60s girl singers with great photos and sound samples:
Ready Steady Girls!
Good compilations (if you can find them as most are out of print) are:
Femmes de Paris series (3 volumes, Vol 1 was previously Girls in the Garage Vol. 4) – yeye girls
Gentlemen de Paris vol. 1 (Femmes de Paris and Gentlemen de Paris also was offered in a single set w/75 tracks)
ls sont fous ces gaulois series (3 volumes?) – wild garage and psych stuff, much of it I find annoying
O Toi, Beatnik… – great comp of 60s garage from France
Pop a Paris series – originally 5 volumes, later condensed to two best-of volumes
Swinging Mademoiselle series – 2 volumes which which came out in the 90s
Ultra Chicks – 5 volumes!
Start with Pop a Paris and Femmes / Gentlemen de Paris as they are easier to find and good overviews.
There are some online music blogs with great obscure French 70s punk from 45s, like Killed By Death.
July 15th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
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
July 15th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
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:
July 16th, 2009 at 5:01 am
Much of the YéYé Movement in France and Spain was just the exploitation of pretty young women. Men like Gainsbourg would write suggestive songs for these teen girls to sing, simultaneously pushing their innocence and their sexuality.
For the most part the songs were marginal, with a few exceptions like the songs of Francoise Hardy. One of my favorites of the genre is Jaqueline Taieb’s “7:00 in the Morning,” recorded when she was just 18 in 1966. This is the English version, but the record does a great job of emulating the British and American sounds popular at the time:
July 17th, 2009 at 11:20 am
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.
July 17th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
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…
July 17th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
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.
July 18th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Because Fred is Dead.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:30 pm
Parisian Rockin’ Dogs!
And Swiss Rockin’ Dogs, but I think also francophone:
August 3rd, 2009 at 7:03 am
Roger Moore, a blogger who linked to this post, seconds Dean’s endorsement of Jacques Dutronc.
I like this!
October 11th, 2009 at 11:54 am
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?
November 8th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
I want to mention Kickboy Face again … Just because I like the name “Kickboy Face.”
May 6th, 2010 at 7:25 am
June 7th, 2010 at 11:09 am
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!
June 7th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Antoine is still around, a big star in France, I guess he make TV adds, my french friends say most his music are crap, but they do like the above mentioned song, the song is about being young and having long hair and how it’s not a crime and blah, blah ,blah, I really love the song, it’s cool.
My wife love Jacques Dutronc.
France has a pretty cool punk music scene as we speak, bands like Anteengers Music Club, Steve and the Jerks, Operation S, Crash Normal, I could go on… and bands from the 90’s that were great, The Splash 4, The No Talents and from the 80’s The Dum Dum Boys.
June 7th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
Was the Dum Dum Boys a reference to Iggy Pop song…or vice versa??
June 8th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
>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).
June 10th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
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:).