Is being/sounding French the newest trend?

New? Hells no. How about that damn disco song "Voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi?" or the entire Stereolab back catalogue? Nope, French as shorthand for cool goes back a long way. Of course, so does the idea of cool as shorthand for 'better than you', so the French must therefore think they are the coolest people alive...

I reckon you're referring to Lady Marmalade...

Anyhow, yes, French is the new Latin. They sent out a memo about it, I'm surprised you didn't get it. In all seriousness, of course "French cool" has existed for decades, BUT Keiko has an excellent point, which is that all of a sudden everything in the world seems French. When Madonna is doing something French house, then you know the trend is being beaten with sticks.

French culture has never been properly appreciated by navel-gazing Anglo-Saxons, anyway.

Having just heard the new single by Air I must conclude the French are indeed the coolest people on earth, if they get rid of their pompous arsehole of a president I'm moving there at once. Everybody there must be good looking, smart, smokers, drinkers and have excellent taste in music. Okay not really, but at least 'Radio #1' is fookin brilliant!

If bringing in the Euro is equivalent to opening the Chunnel gates to *more* Daft Punk bollocks, I'm voting Tory!

French "cool" - a nonsense!

Oui.

Non, in Newcastle we is pissed at what foreigners did to Jif

Sorry to sound snotty, but isn't the correct answer "No, it's quite an old trend"? New French cool surfaced at least three years ago with the advent of Air et al. and everyone going doolally for old Francoise Hardy and Serge Gainsbourg records. I'd say that the whole trend is rather passé (ha!) but there are such good records still being released so to lose interest seems churlish.

"Everybody there must be good looking, smart, smokers, drinkers and have excellent taste in music"

You just described my workplace, come work here! Except that "excellent taste" thing, one of 'em insists on listening to The Lady in Freaking Red all day.

ANYHOW, I think saying that French cool is an "old trend" is a misnomer. For the mainstream media, it's an old trend? What attention was Air given a few years ago? Some, yeah, but hardly the level they're getting all of a sudden. It's like the whole electronica thing a few years back: certainly techno music existed prior to the short explosion of the media going techno-crazy, and certainly those knowledgable about music were well versed in it, but for mainstream media it was the new thing. That's the difference here.

Their wine has gone a little downhill but you can't beat a good St. Emilions for your claret fix.

Fromage!

I think the amount of interest in the French right now is a continuation of that which has been going on for a couple of years, but there's certainly been a cumulative effect. While a couple of years ago the only ones to have made real waves were Daft Punk and Air we've since seen Modjo, Bob Sinclair, Etienne de Crecy, Dimitri From Paris, Cassius, Super Discount, Mirwais etc. etc. etc. all receive attention. Not all of those are in the spotlight as we speak, but with the return of Daft Punk and Air it seems only natural that the hype would resurge - especially since both acts have in essence "come of age". It's kind of like the initially scattered forces of britpop coming together to crest at the release of "The Great Escape" and "(What's The Story) Morning Glory".

One minor point though: Basement Jaxx are compared to Daft Punk because "Romeo" is pop-house, and probably not due to some attempt at Frenchness on their part.

Cool/clever use of French language in pop was Rick Springfield's "Don't Talk to Strangers" wherein Rick hopes his babe won't fall for "some slick continental dude" - we hate those guys! - and then there's a verse in French (er, can't translate).