Francophiles - what's really good?

http://www.mastertrax.com/imgs/catalogo/TSRCD005.jpg

Yeah, it's more early Human League-ish. Very cold, affected new wave (not new romantic style new wave.)

The list is alright if you like 60s-70s singer songwriters. Leo Ferre is a must, especially if you understand French, the lyrics are simply poetry of the purest kind. Michel Fugain is alright. Maxime Leforestier does not rock my boat. Serge Reggiani, no, you can find better.

well good thing it's in french. i love that first HL album, just the lyrics are TERRIBLE

5. Marie Laforêt - Romantic, simple songs.

This sounds good.

You'll like it then. They have copies at Amoeba in the misc European Rock section, I think.

I don't know but things like Les Ritas Mitsouko, Noir Désir, Stéphan Eicher, Plastique Bertrand, Jacques Higelin, Arthur H. definitly have more appeal on a strictly musical standpoint than most of those mentionned.

They all seem more accessible to Anglo-American musical tastes.

Marie Laforêt - Romantic, simple songs. Don't know if this is your thing, but I like many of her songs.
Maxime Leforestier - Typical Hippie. Listen to "San Francisco," and "C'est un vrai Roman" "San Francisco" used to make me wistful sometimes when I heard it on French radio. My ex's dad was a big fan of one of his albums from the late 80's.

Renaud cultivated a trashy look but he was an interesting personality and occasionaly genius lyricist. I have no idea whatsoever what he's up to now. Unless your French is really good, I wouldn't suggest him 'cause his music is fairly standard musette-type stuff, but have you ever heard of Boby Lapointe? Anybody care for Autour de Lucie?

Francois Breut is a newer artist worth checking out as well.

I'm guessing Keren Ann and Coralie Clement are well covered elsewhere, but I'll drop them in just in case...

Search: Brigitte Fontaine! Especially Fontaine + Sonic Youth, "Demi clocharde," terrific song.

Also search: French hip hop. I'm not really au courant on that right now (I do like La Rumeur, Disiz la Peste.. and maybe pick up a mix from Busta Flex?) but you can go to www.skyrock.fr for the big Paris hip hop station, they play a lot of American hip hop but plenty of francophone stuff too.

I'm a mid 90s fan - who can remember the song that starts off "Je m'en fuis, rien ne peut cacher mon bonheur..." and the chorus is "partir seule...". I'd like to get my hands on that one, but I can;t find who sings it.

Also, does anyone have Bisso Na Bisso. I've only heard the title track (which was great), but before expensively importing the CD would like to know if its any good.

Heh, and I remember Steffen Eicher - "Je suis tombe pour elle..." didn't he do that one. I just stumbled on this site and it's brought back lots of good memories.

'nother recommendation - Volapük, funtabulous improvisors.

JEAN-CLAUDE VANNIER
L' Enfant Assassin des Mouches

http://realaudio01.datapipe.net:8080/ramgen/othermusic/lenfanta.rm
http://realaudio01.datapipe.net:8080/ramgen/othermusic/mortduro.rm

It sounds too good to be true. Serge Gainsbourg's Histoire de Melody Nelson had a follow-up! But maybe I should backtrack...

Jean-Claude Vannier was a self-taught musician and a collaborator on many of Gainsbourg's celebrated soundtracks (Cannabis, Les Chemins de Katmandou). He was also the arranger of the aforementioned Melody Nelson. That album has always been a "must have" for record collectors of rock, rare groove, funk and French pop. Placed over a psychedelic, orchestral backdrop of swooping strings, funky backbeats, fuzzy guitars and male choruses, Gainsbourg's mostly spoken word story of a fictional encounter with a young English girl is considered by many to be one of the best and most original concept albums ever made.

The problem was trying to find a decent follow-up to this tour de force. Not to say that Gainsbourg didn't create some fine post-Nelson music; it's just that he never really returned to that crazy, crazy orch-funk style and left many fans craving a sound from an era that was never really revisited again…Or was it?
In 1972, a teeny French label gave the now in-demand arranger/producer an opportunity to produce a solo album. This time around, Vannier took the innovative sound of Melody Nelson and pushed it even further. The idea was to create an avant-garde ballet score that combined the musique concrete and Orchestra Klaxon ideas that he was exploring at the time with the sound he was primarily known for.
What came out was this phenomenal record. The classic Melody Nelson elements are all here, but with more of a dark, experimental edge. The album didn't fare too well due in part to all of his unbridled experimentation; and the nebulous artwork (featuring the nude arranger on the beach, and macabre liner notes written by Serge Gainsbourg) didn't help either.
You can hear traces of Isaac Hayes, Hermann Nitsch, Galt MacDermot, David Axelrod, Barry White and Xenakis in this piece -- it's that eff-in' good! But to compare this record to any one of those artists would be wrong. Vannier is an innovator in his own right and maybe this record, paired with the classic Melody Nelson, will give him some well-deserved aplomb that the aforementioned artists have enjoyed for quite awhile. [DH]

the lido isn't lying about Roubaix, he went off to me one night at Fabric about this guy, how he's still trying to track down all his stuff.

I'll add one here:

Saian Supa Crew (the first album; it's incredible incredible rap music)

And I'll second Michael White's Boby Lapointe nomination, although it's seriously loopy ridiculous stuff that makes you want to go ride a bicycle and make ridiculous passes at girls that fail and then you'll roll your eyes and do a big shoulder shrug and take a big bite of a baguette and wipe your hand on your moustache. It almost sounds like music for children, which is part of the joke: a lot of the lyrics have double meanings.. "La Maman des Poissons" for instance

Jean-Claude Vannier - L'Enfant Assassin des Mouches [Re-issue]

Really worth-checking:

Rita Mitsouko
Christophe
Gerard Manset
Taxi Girl
Etienne Daho
Bertrand Burgalat
Michel Polnareff
Richard Gotainer
The Michel Legrand soundtrack to Les Demoiselles de Rochefort
Barbara

The best French rap group ever is NTM, four consistently excellent albums.