The English Blog (Free subscription) | 01/03/2010
It's a new year and a new decade, so perhaps it's time for some new clichés (as the old joke goes). In the meantime, however, Charles Bremner looks at some old ones (in English and in French) on his TimesOnline...
Filles Sourires (Free subscription) | 12/28/2009
When Alain Bashung hit it big in 1981 – Gaby oh Gaby was in the French charts for 54 weeks and sold a million copies –, they called him the „Johnny Hallyday de la New Wave“. Actually, the Gallic super-antistar who garnered eleven Victoires de la Musiques awards between 1985 and 2009, sounded all-too-often more like Paolo Conte merging David Bowie attitude with an unhealthy...
frogsmoke.com (Free subscription) | 12/27/2009
The year 2009 marked the death of four famous Frogsmokers. From left to right: Claude Berri (actor, writer, producer, and director, died aged 84) Alain Bashung (singer, songwriter and actor, died aged 61) Maurice Druon (novelist and a member of the Académie Française, died aged 90) Claude Lévi-Strauss (anthropologist and ethnologist, died aged 100) May they rest in peace!
Filles Sourires (Free subscription) | 12/21/2009
We gathered the best French albums of the decade a few weeks ago, but left out the duds. Anyway, John Cleese once said that it’s simply wrong to be French, and here’s ten good (and of course utterly impartial) reasons for that, listening-wise: Camille – Le Fil (2005) Qu’est-ce que c’est? Bobby McFerrin without cojones? Edith Piaf on nitrous oxide? In any case, a highly...
I Luv SA (Free subscription) | 12/08/2009
When one surfs the internet you sometimes stumble across blogs, and information that are really eye-openers. In this instance I started to read a blog by one Alex Engwete. In his own words “This is a companion blog in English of my blog in French also called “Alex Engwete”. This is foremost an exercise in “congology,” that is, a semiotic vigilance on cultural and political...
Filles Sourires (Free subscription) | 12/07/2009
So, we had Marianne Dissard, we had Sammy Decoster, we had Alain Bashung, we had Francoiz Breut...and now we have Madjo . Another French artist (born out of parents from France and Senegal) who takes inspiration from the American south. On her first EP she covers Leadbelly (yep, Where Did You Sleep Last Night), and she names Billie Holiday, Robert Johnson and Jon Brion as influences. She sings in...
Label Rock (Free subscription) | 11/02/2009
LABEL ROCK Radio Show PLAYLISTE DIMANCHE 1 NOVEMBRE 2009 http://www.archive.org/details/LABELROCKLABELROCKDIMANCHE1NOVEMBRE2009 (Download/téléchargement) STARBOARD SILENT SIDE “You need verses my galak sea” contact@yylabel.com AUFGANG “Channel 7” ( http://www.myspace.com/aufgangsonar ) DANTON EEPROM “Give me pain” ( http://www.myspace.com/dantonrocks...
Fin de Cinema (Free subscription) | 10/24/2009
While I'm not a huge fan of Fernando Arrabal, I'll likely check out Cult Epics' Arrabal Collection, Volume 2, which includes some lesser-known works from the director, including Car Cemetery with Juliet Berto and The Emperor of Peru with (um) Mickey Rooney. I normally wouldn't list something like the new Nia Vardalos film, but I guess since I've listed everything else IFC has been releasing, it's only...
Serge the Concierge (Free subscription) | 10/04/2009
Not sure that his name registers on the radar of many people outside France, Miossec (French site) is a talented...
LIFT Conference Blog (Free subscription) | 06/08/2009
Beside team communications, this blog features posts written by community members. If you have a Lift account you can also share your thoughts and ideas by clicking here . Here is a post introducing in more details the Lift France workshop titled Managing ourself with art [ Version française ci-dessous ] How many times have you read, heard and pronounced the word "crisis" today? These...
montreal city weblog (Free subscription) | 04/21/2009
Indoor shows for this summer's FrancoFolies have been announced; the Université de Montréal gave Charles Aznavour an honorary degree yesterday and it was reported all over , as was the news that the FrancoFolies will be dedicated this year to Alain Bashung .
France24 (Free subscription) | 03/20/2009
French singer Alain Bashung was put to rest on Friday at Paris' Père Lachaise cemetery as hundreds gathered to bid the pop icon goodbye. The star died aged 61 after losing a battle against cancer last Saturday.
the brain police (Free subscription) | 03/20/2009
Yesterday, the French artist, Alain Bashung was laid to rest. He was one of the good guys. A political artist who wrote great poetry and never compromised his integrity. He appeared 3 weeks ago to recieve a "Lifetime Achievment" Award at the Victoire de Musique, sort of the French Grammys for pop music. He performed well, in fact he did a brilliant version of Resident de la Republique, but...
Contactmusic Ltd (Free subscription) | 03/19/2009
French music superstar ALAIN BASHUNG is to be buried on Friday (19Mar09), after losing his battle with lung cancer. The popular rocker, the most awarded artist in the ...
The Independent (Free subscription) | 03/18/2009
Though little known outside Francophone countries, the singer Alain Bashung was a huge star in his native France as well as in Belgium, Switzerland and Canada. His death last Saturday made front pages and lead news bulletins and the France 2 television channel cleared its Sunday night schedule to air an in-concert special and a moving tribute. Politicians of every hue paid their respects to the singer-songwriter,...
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