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Fun Stuff => BAND => Topic started by: Hat on 15 May 2007, 23:06
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Ok, so I am getting pretty enthusiastic about learning French at university, and I've been trying to read French Magazines with varying degrees of success, and I'm getting into buying the Asterix books in their original French, but I realized I spend a giant chunk of each day listening to music, and it would be helpful if I inserted a decent amount of French language music into my collection.
So I'm basically looking for anything with fairly audible lyrics, that aren't sung too fast, in French. I'm not even talking modern music here. Old music that is still pleasant on the ears would be perfectly welcome as well.
Anyone know anything of the sort?
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France's entry to this years eurovision. Be sure to watch the video of the performance.
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Tristesses de la Lune by Celtic Frost
Odd thing is Celtic Frost are actually from Switzerland, any way the chick singing this sounds so sexy, theres something about the French accent that just makes everything sound so sensual.
There's the lyrics for you:
http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/celticfrost/intothepandemonium.html#4
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A lot of Laetitia Sadier's lyrics for Stereolab seem pretty clear to me, even though I only studied one year of French at high school. I don't mean I know what she's singing about, but I get a feeling she sings clearly.
The hip Francoise Hardy sings nice and clearly too.
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Errrm of all the songs I know... Á Tout le Monde by Megadeth has a chorus in French. Apart from that I don't know.
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PLASTIC BERTRAND.
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Serge Gainsbourg, guys, what the hell.
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I thought about Serge, but thought he wasn't as useful as the others. I prefer to listen to his music, though. He's ace.
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Serge Gainsbourg is useful if you ever want to describe vulgar sex acts in French. So very useful.
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I'm stretching the limits here, but there are a couple of French hardcore/screamo bands that - while not necessarily what you may be looking for - are pretty boss, have some solid lyrics, and sing all in French.
Amanda Woodward is quite tasty, as is the spin-off they created, Aussitot Mort. Check out Level Plane (http://www.level-plane.com) if you're interested.
*edit: Amanda Woodward's site seems to have gone MIA, so I took down the link.
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A lot of Keren Ann's music is in French. About half of Nolita, which is really good.
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There is a band by the name of les sans coulllot, that my brother was really into a few years back.
Their song SOS elefant, is the one song I have ever preformed on stage... loooong story.
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Serge Gainsbourg, guys, what the hell.
What about his daughter (http://www.myspace.com/charlottegainsbourg)? Did anyone here see Science of Sleep? She sings in both english and french, but listen to her anyway.
Louise Attaque are a very famous french group and their stuff is pretty easy to get. If you life folky rock, check them out.
Also, Yann Tiersen. I'm sure you already know he's the man responsible for the amazing soundtracks of Amelie and Goodbye Lenin. His latest album is what you're looking for, it's mostly vaguely experimental, distorted, indie-ish rock. His previous work is mostly instrumental but try listening to it nonetheless.
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alizee lolz.
There's a suite of rilke's french love poems set to music by Morton Lauridsen (one of the greatest living choral composers) to be found here:
http://homepage.mac.com/kennesten/lauridsen/index2.html
It's on the CD 'Lux Aeterna' on that site. You probably won't get it without buying it. Somewhere in my room I have a CD of my college choir performing one of the pieces. I was going to upload the track, but I can't find it. :/
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W5 is pretty much as comprehensible as a French punk band is going to be, but they are catchy and dancey as hell, so go ahead.
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Keren Ann
Julie Delpy
Serge Gainsbourg
Francoise Hardy
is about the extent of the French music I listen to.
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Je ne veux pas travailler
Je ne veux pas dejenuer
Je veux seulement oublier
et puis je fume
In my class we mostly listen to the poems of Jacques Prevert set to music and they are sort of eh. I like French music though but I only really like the kind that seems like it'd be playing in a cafe in Paris - nothing modern, just that sort of classy very French feeling stuff. Sorry I can't be more helpful! Listen to this (http://youtube.com/watch?v=zqwLx0DG7qQ) though.
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I've been wondering, do Air have songs in French?
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They had an early single called Le Soleil Est Près De Moi... just re-listened to it and that's the extent of the lyrics.
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If you like any of Yann Tiersen's work (Amelie soundtrack, etc.), you will like Les Tetes Raides. It's like all his work, but more expanded and with vocals.
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um... anthrax did a cover of antisocial both the original which was french (sorry forgot the original artist) and also a version they translated into english...badly
placebo has Protege moi which is a french version of their song protect me...i don't know whether that's got the same lyrics in french
every 4th song byt eh arcade fire is in french
other than that talk to a french person they might know
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French pop music is fuckin awesome. Check out the Le Fie album by Camille and Fleur De Saison by Emilie Simone. There's a bunch of others, but I don't want to try spelling their names
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Alls I know is Josh Groban's "Hymne a L'Amour" and "L'Ultima Notte." Both very good songs, if you like popera.
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I forgot the amazing song that is J'ai Fait Une Promesse by Anathema
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoUDnwi3Qn0
dunno who made the vid but enjoy...
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You can download Gojira in it's native French. If you're into environmentally conscious Death Metal, I'd give it a shot.
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I forgot the amazing song that is J'ai Fait Une Promesse by Anathema
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoUDnwi3Qn0
dunno who made the vid but enjoy...
Fuck yeah
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Malajube is really fun french music; however, they are quebecois and sound it. So unless you're used to that type of french, don't listen to it for the french, just listen to it for the overall goodness of it. The only other french bands I can think of at the moment are sovereignists(sp?), but if you believe in un Quebec libre then you might like Les Cowboys Frignants or Les Trois Accords.
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I'm stretching the limits here, but there are a couple of French hardcore/screamo bands that - while not necessarily what you may be looking for - are pretty boss, have some solid lyrics, and sing all in French.
Amanda Woodward is quite tasty, as is the spin-off they created, Aussitot Mort. Check out Level Plane (http://www.level-plane.com) if you're interested.
*edit: Amanda Woodward's site seems to have gone MIA, so I took down the link.
Amanda Woodward's La Decadence De La Decadence is excellent, and as I remember the lyrics aren't too hard to make out. There's also bands like Anomie, Fingerprint and Belle Epoque who're all amazing but probably only useful for learning French if you want to learn how it sounds going really, really fast. France, Germany and Italy are where it's at for screamo.
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Gojira are an excellent French metal band but they sing in English so I guess they don't count.
Try TTC- I didn't enjoy listening to rap until I heard this dude rapping in French. (that Modeselektor album "hello mom!" is a good intro).
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Gangsta rap in French is fucking great. Seriously, I find all gangsta rap intolerable, but put it in French and all of a sudden I'm all up on that like stink on shit.
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There's heaps of good French metal bands:
Blut Aus Nord anyone. Heavenly are pretty good for Power Metal.
I think Morte Incandescente are French
Then theres are the LLN bands like Mütiilation, Belketre, Torgeist, Vlad Tepes etc
The original post wanted lyrics he would understand and which were in French, whole reason I didn't post them to begin with.
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France, Germany and Italy are where it's at for screamo.
Agreed.
Belle Epoque are a pretty excellent group, and you can download most of their work from their site (http://belle.epoque75.free.fr/)
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Rufus Wainwright sings in French a fair bit, and he sings in kind of a slow, drugged-out way so it's quite easy to understand. It all depends on what you want; are you looking for very Frenchy, smokey, chanteuse-singing-over-an-accordion streetcorner music, or something more contemporary? Folk songs and classical/renaissance music can be pretty awesome too - check out 'Je ne lose dire' if that's up your alley, the version done by the King's Singers is HILARIOUS.
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Gangsta rap in French is fucking great. Seriously, I find all gangsta rap intolerable, but put it in French and all of a sudden I'm all up on that like stink on shit.
Hell yeah! MC Solaar is CLASSIC French rap, I happen to enjoy Passi.
I absolutely love Calogero - awesome sound.
For cheesier stuff, Vanessa Paradis, Kyo ("Chaque Seconde,")
I absolutely love "Touche Pas à Ca" - which is French (Quebecois) "Can't Touch This." It's hilarious.
Serge Gainsbourg, of course, and Edith Piaf, who originally sung "L'Hymne à L'Amour," and "La Vie en Rose."
Ah screw it, I'll post my playlist of songs in French when my iPod comes back on. Long story involving a bad day.
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Edith Piaf=the super-bomb. Talk about a chanteuse. She is THE chanteuse. I'm pretty sure all other chanteuses have to pay a $30 monthly fee to E. P.('s ghost) just to be a part of the club.
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Lot of great french stuff can be found here:
http://www.lehall.com/galerie/chansonsactuelles/index_flash_en.html
One thing I think is kind of funny is most of the French people I talk to listen to mostly American music.
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On a relatively unrelated note, 'Music in French' would make a damn good name for an avant-garde group.
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That reminds me of La Société des Timide á la Parade des Oiseaux. When they do sing, it's usually in French.
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I've really hesitated to revive that thread by posting in it (having read the rules and all), but the shere astonishment I felt by reading it compelled me to add something.
Astonishment? Why? Because no one mentioned George Brassens. Yet, for the very purpose for which this thread has been initiated (and besides the general awesomeness of his songs), he really is a must-listen: the vocabulary is mostly simple, but rich, the grammar is excellent, and the lyrics are distinctively articulated, and usually not too fast. It would really be the first I would recommand to anyone wanting to get used to listen to French, and catch some vocabulary by the way.
Charles Aznavour would be a good one, too. And if you want an initiation to puns in French, Bobi Lapointe.
For something more "pop-rock", Jacques Higelin is a good choice, too. Or, more "indy", Autour de Lucie (I read somewhere that this band is not quite unknown in the USA). I'd recommand Noir Désir, as well, for its rich lyrics, yet since it's a rock band with a "big sound", the words may not be always as easy to catch.
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theres a really cool french rap song on the Herbaliser's Take London called Serge.
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Luna has a bonus track called "Bonnie and Clyde" in french. The lead singer majored in French in college I think.
Es magnifico! (I take Spanish, sorry!)
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Does it have anything to do with Gainsbourg's "Bonny and Clyde"?
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As already stated multiple times:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHQkYYIYue4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHQkYYIYue4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHQkYYIYue4
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Serge Gainsbourg is useful if you ever want to describe vulgar sex acts in French. So very useful.
where can i gets some?
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Rufus Wainwright sings in French a fair bit, and he sings in kind of a slow, drugged-out way so it's quite easy to understand.
I like his music well enough but that isn't really a good way to learn French. I can understand English people speaking French but as soon as I go somewhere that is actually French, it sounds like a big grarbled mash of blllllah. Pretty much all I can make out is "oui" and "tabernac."
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PLASTIC BERTRAND.
Face A La Mer - by Calogero is an amazing song.
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Serge Gainsbourg is useful if you ever want to describe vulgar sex acts in French. So very useful.
where can i gets some?
Hurr.
Also how has no one mentioned Yelle yet? Listen to Yelle. She's cute and makes catchy dance music.
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Serge Gainsbourg, guys, what the hell.
What about his daughter (http://www.myspace.com/charlottegainsbourg)? Did anyone here see Science of Sleep? She sings in both english and french, but listen to her anyway.
A friend sent me 5:55 a few months back. It's really, really good.
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A friend of mine recently turned me on to Georges Moustaki. Its not poppy or anything, but he's a great singer.
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A great songwriter, too. For example, he wrote "Milord" for Edith Piaf.
Come to think of it, I guess I can fairly recommend a long-time favourite of mine, Dominique A, whose poetic and complex lyrics (mostly tragic, with often a sarcastic twist) are well served by his versatile flair in pop melodies. He's a good friend of Yann Tiersen, by the way, and contributed in several of his albums, singing songs he wrote with Tiersen's melodies and arrangements.
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Alcest...French Black Metal....
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Manau is an awesome French rap group with some kind of folkish elements in their work.
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Carla Bruni - Quelqu'un m'a dit
She'll make your heart ache.
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The popular music in France right now is la musique rai. It's a kind of hip hop half arabiv french rap music that also draws on reggae. I recomend Cheb Mami for that. Otherwise, I would go for older french artists like Renaud, Boris Vian, and Charles Aznavour.
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Oh man, the Luna song was a cover. I gotta tell my dad that, one of the CD's I grew up on was Penthouse (the Luna CD with the song).
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Jacques Brel- quirky French singer-songwriter (look up the song "Ne Me Quitte Pas" which is one of his most popular... there are also a bunch of English versions titled "If you go away")
Emilie Simon- she sings pop/ soft electronic music
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Carla Bruni - Quelqu'un m'a dit
She'll make your heart ache.
Seconded. Her song "L'amour" is quite possibly one of my favorites of any artist, plus we have the same vocal range so I can actually sing along. Hooray!
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Try some samarabalouf. most of it is insrumental but some is sung.
A bit of acoustic iis nice now and then.