le pop

I’ve been getting down on some of the geek-fest that is vinyl converting. I enjoyed painstakingly brushing down the vinyl, tut-tutting at Ben for wiping his dirty fingers all over the anti-static brush. I chose not to take the crackle off what I converted, as the little that there is gives the record an edge of extra authenticity.

Fabienne Delsol released her second solo LP Between You And Me on Wild Billy Childish’s label Damaged Goods last year, and now I can have it in my ears when I’m out and about, as well as on my record player. She sings in French and English, and this is sung in English. It’s a jangly gem with loose guitars and Delsol’s soft accented vocals.

Fabienne Delsol – I’m Gonna Catch Me A Rat

There’s a lot of France Gall in it (the ‘Sucettes’ girl)….I want a better copy of this track. It won the 1965 Eurovision competition for her, she was representing Luxembourg. Serge Gainsbourg composed it, and it became the first ‘non-ballad’ to win Eurovision ever…

France Gall – Poupee De Cire Poupee De Son

Wikipedia tells me (among a lot of other things) that “The title can be translated as “Wax doll, Bran doll” (a bran doll being a floppy doll stuffed with bran or sawdust) or as “Doll of wax, Doll of sound” (with implications that Gall is a “singing doll” controlled by Gainsbourg)… Gall is clearly singing about her own situation as the conduit for lyrics written by adults projecting themselves onto her as a teen pop star. The lyrics acquire an additional potency because, even in singing about her experience as a “singing doll”, she still must rely on Gainsbourg to put her feelings into words.” Oh Serge!!….

The following track is from a Vadim Music compilation of french pop, called Dou A Dou. It’s freaking great, I bought it as a gamble, not knowing whether it was just some cheapo compilation, but oh no. It’s not got a weak track on there. Which makes it difficult to pick what to post. In keeping with the previous tracks, I chose this by Orlane Paquin, an actress and sometime singer. Its about the half ten train and sounds like travelling music, with simple string sections and easy blase vocals that drift along with the track.

Orlane Paquin – Le Train De 10h30

It sounds like a travelling sequence in a black and white French new wave film. Brap.   

Incidentally, I’ve always wanted to know what the lyrics to “Der Computer” by France Gall. If anyone could translate them for me and tell me what she’s saying about said computer I’d be very grateful.