Seamermar, a fellow francophile on the boards, has had some technical trouble starting a thread about this topic, so I went ahead and started one.

What are your favourite French, Belgian, Swiss, or French-Canadian singers, groups or songs?

I'll start with one, and I'll even post a video. Lately, I've been listening to an artist called Ours (French for 'bear').

http://tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:LAYCGjqzsI6lIM:http://www.aoura.com/zours/CoverAlbumOurs-RVB.jpg

He is the son of famous French singer Alain Souchon, and I think he is helping to take la chanson française in a new direction.

Here is a link to the youtube video for my favourite song of his Quand Nina est saoûle (When Nina is Drunk).

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=NqxZqvz_mKA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC2zqLyT9Yk&NR=1


Reminds me of high school.



Cat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC2zqLyT9Yk&NR=1

Reminds me of high school.

Cat


Unfortunately, I have no rockollection of that song... :-\\


...Yeah, I know - bad pun. :P


Here's a couple from me (peak positions in Dutch Top 40 indicated):

Mort Shuman - Le Lac Majeur (1973 - #1)
One of my earliest musical memories, by American born Mort (Mortimer) Shuman.
Yes, that's the same guy that co-wrote songs like "Viva Las Vegas", "A Teenager In Love" and "Save The Last Dance For Me". He moved to France in the 1960's where he died in 1991.


Michel Sardou - Les Lacs Du Connemara  (1982 - #9)
One of the most haunting melodies I've ever heard - my mother loved this song. I'm sure I've posted it before.

Alizée - Moi...Lolita (2001 - #2)
French singer Alizée was only 16 years old at the time of this recording.

In-Grid - Tu Es Foutu (2002 - #2)
In-Grid is an Italian singer. Her parents named her after Ingrid Bergman.

Alizée - Moi...Lolita (2001 - #2)
French singer Alizée was only 16 years old at the time of this recording.


Man, the exchange at the beginning is just cruel. He declares his love for her, asks if she loves him in return, and all she does is ask him to borrow 200 Francs and says she'll pay him back. Cold as ice.

Here's a video of Canadian singer Pierre Lapointe singing three songs, of which the first is one of my very favourites. Check it out.

http://www.postedecoute.ca/catalogue/cover/xlarge/33995.jpg

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=E-0SShvHvGo

Pierre Lapointe is very good indeed.  My personal favourite is 'Qu'en est-il de la chance?' that features an awesome music video inspired by the classic movie TRON

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBgeGu4AWPQ



ATM, my favourite French singer is KATE RYAN.  Her latest album 'Free' is doing moderately well in Canada, especially in Quebec.  The single 'Ella Elle La' is currently in the Canadian Hot 100

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8at9AatIb9E

http://firstmusic.web-log.nl/photos/uncategorized/2008/04/18/kateryanellaellela.jpg




As for old school, remember Nancy Martinez?  She was a Hi-NRG artist who sang in both French and English and in 1984, had a BIG Canadian dance hit in a duet with her then husband Allen Harris on 'Sunshine Reggae / La Vie En Rose', a clever medley that covered an old song:  'La Vie En Rose' by Edith Piaf and a then new song:  'Sunshine Reggae' by Laid Back

And who can forget that 70s Canadian legend Michel Pagliaro!  He also sang in French and English.  Songs like 'J'Entends Frapper and 'M'Lady' brought him BIG success all across Canada, but it was his English sung songs like 'Lovin' You Ain't Easy' and 'What the Hell I Got'  that made him most popular.  'Lovin' You Ain't Easy' even cracked the UK Top 40 in 1972

In-Grid - Tu Es Foutu (2002 - #2)
In-Grid is an Italian singer. Her parents named her after Ingrid Bergman.


I know this one.  Good tune!.  The others sounded good also :)

ATM, my favourite French singer is KATE RYAN.  Her latest album 'Free' is doing moderately well in Canada, especially in Quebec.  The single 'Ella Elle La' is currently in the Canadian Hot 100

http://firstmusic.web-log.nl/photos/uncategorized/2008/04/18/kateryanellaellela.jpg


I know the song, it has gotten pretty popular.. It was on the Musimax channel's Franco Top 5. She's a Belgian singer. The song is actually a cover. France Gall sang it originally back in 1987.

Ever heard of Tricot Machine? It's a Quebec group that became very popular last year.

http://www.theatregranada.com/IMG/jpg/TRICOTMACHINE.jpg

Here's a link to the video for Pas fait en chocolat (Not made of chocolate). It's their best and catchiest song, in my opinion. Check it out.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=3MUaTEkZPW4

Oh I know the France Gall version yes, also very good


Ever heard of Tricot Machine? It's a Quebec group that became very popular last year.

http://www.theatregranada.com/IMG/jpg/TRICOTMACHINE.jpg

Here's a link to the video for Pas fait en chocolat (Not made of chocolate). It's their best and catchiest song, in my opinion. Check it out.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=3MUaTEkZPW4


Oh yes I know that one well.  Saw it on Musique Plus one day.  Catchy stuff indeed


How about the legendary Plastic Bertrand and his late 70s hit 'Ça plane pour moi?'  I never really looked past that song until the late 90s when I caught the video for 'Téléphone à téléphone mon bijou' on a retro 80s video show on Musique Plus.  I then dove deeper into his discog and found some other great ones like 'Tout petit la planète'

Serge Gainsbourg: The Initials B.B.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rBiTL0ej2o

Jacques Brel:  Jef (live concert 1964)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Mx8AN0GF4

(et pour un peu de '80s MTV....)

Jean Michel Jarre - Zoolookologie*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aR1EKLT0cI&feature=related

8)

*The sampled voice is Laurie Anderson, who does not appear in video

To be honest I don't eat any burger at all,
neither MacDonald nor Whistledog

But I swear this time I'm gonna bit up to the last song cause they both gave me a good bone, something to chew on.

I'm just home from work so I'm a bit more clumsy than  as usual, but I can reach to say that as a middle-aged  8-P (I hate this term, but I don't know other :-amorçer ce sujet  ;)

Can I wirte in Frech in this thread ?  ::) Please just a little  ;)

Jacques Brel:  Jef (live concert 1964)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Mx8AN0GF4



What a great song. I hadn't ever heard that one before.

I can't forget Claude François here, the legend.

http://multimedia.fnac.com/multimedia/images_produits/ZoomPE/0/2/8/5051442625820.jpg

The original writer and performer of 'My Way', the song made famous in English by Paul Anka (who, being from Montreal, heard the French song and re-wrote it in English) and Sinatra. In French it's called 'Comme d'habitude', and it is 100 times better than the English version. It's about a couple whose relationship has gone stale. Beautiful. Here's the video.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7N1T8vkFr4

A nice little ditty which won Eurovision in 1971 for Monaco...

Rather surprisingly, it charted in the UK in its original language...a rarity in itself!

Seamermar, a fellow francophile on the boards, has had some technical trouble starting a thread about this topic, so I went ahead and started one.

What are your favourite French, Belgian, Swiss, or French-Canadian singers, groups or songs?

I'll start with one, and I'll even post a video. Lately, I've been listening to an artist called Ours (French for 'bear').

http://tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:LAYCGjqzsI6lIM:http://www.aoura.com/zours/CoverAlbumOurs-RVB.jpg

He is the son of famous French singer Alain Souchon, and I think he is helping to take la chanson française in a new direction.

Here is a link to the youtube video for my favourite song of his Quand Nina est saoûle (When Nina is Drunk).

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=NqxZqvz_mKA




Merci de cette chanson Mcdonald.

Thanks for this song, I didn't know this author at all , it's a music so warm that it reminds me of Mediterranean sea.

from now on : "on fera l'ours au bord de l'eau"  :)

A nice little ditty which won Eurovision in 1971 for Monaco...

Rather surprisingly, it charted in the UK in its original language...a rarity in itself!


I can't believe you know that song. I love that song! Sévérine. Man, she sang a lot of songs in German too, one of which I really like as well (Jetzt geht die Party richtig los).

A nice little ditty which won Eurovision in 1971 for Monaco...

Rather surprisingly, it charted in the UK in its original language...a rarity in itself!


Surprising, indeed.

And since we're on the subject of Eurovision:

Vicky Leandros - l'Amour Est Blue
The original rendition of this song, really made popualr by Paul Mauriat.

Sandra Kim - J'aime La Vie
"Moi, j'ai quinze ans..." Petite menteuse... ;) Elle avait ne que 13 ans à ce temps.
BTW: the first (and only) time Belgium won the contest. And sorry about my French - it's a bit rusty.

Thanks Henk, "incontournables pour ceux qui aiment music et lacs"  :)
I'd already heard these songs, but have no idea about its names.
Now I can keep them in my library songs.


You're welcome! :)

What a great song. I hadn't ever heard that one before.


We had a Brel record with the English lyrics printed on the back.  I dunno, seems like an Anglophone singer couldn't get away with such sentimentality without everybody thinking he's a big f@g!

What, no Edith yet?  Here's one to start:

Edith Piaf - Non, je ne regrette rien (1961)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFRuLFR91e4

Don't forget:

Plastic Bertrand - Ca Plane Pour Moi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVDfmn_TMkI

You might wonder why there was no great French surf music.  Plastic Bertrand might answer!
:D

To be honest I don't eat any burger at all,
neither MacDonald nor Whistledog



I didn't know that's what a whistle dog was, some kind of weird hot dog from A&W!

According to the Urban Dictionary, it's something else too:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=whistle%20dog
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/09/scared.gif

You can't have a thread about French music without these two:

Julien "JuJu" Clerc

(Elle voulait q'on l'apelle) Venise
Si on chantait (Live in Amsterdam, May 2007)
Hélène


Gérard Lenormand

La ballade des gens heureux
Voici les clés
Si j'étais président



And one slightly more recent song:

Patrick Bruel - Casser la voix
The live version of this song reached #8 in our charts in 1992.

Serge Gainsbourg: The Initials B.B.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rBiTL0ej2o




He reminds me of Leonard Cohen. In some way I find there's a resemblance  in their styles of singing and looking.

And one slightly more recent song:

Patrick Bruel - Casser la voix
The live version of this song reached #8 in our charts in 1992.


He sounds so good Henk :) also in this one V

Patrick Bruel - Place Des Grands Hommes
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=K2WNNqZcr7E&NR=1

He's also an actor. He was in a movie recently called Un secret which was really great.

I almost forgot about a Quebec group that is totally awesome: Malajube!

http://www.socan.ca/jsp/fr/images/Summer06_Feature.jpg

They have a lot of great songs, but their most popular hit is probably Montréal -40°. It was featured in a Rogers Wireless commercial, and another song, Ton Plat Favori, was in a Zellers commercial. Pâte filo was also featured in a commercial for RadioShack in the United States.

Montréal -40° - http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=UHwSk8bFS4M

Ton plat favori - http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=u_9A3KcU5_Q

Pâte filo - http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=2t6zmTDzSRk&feature=related

And probably one of the coolest music videos ever shot in Canada, for Étienne d'août, seriously, watch this the whole way through. Great concept, great song. - http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=OiIlhg-lmAc

I didn't know that's what a whistle dog was, some kind of weird hot dog from A&W!

According to the Urban Dictionary, it's something else too:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=whistle%20dog
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/09/scared.gif


Good Lord!  :o

I shall regard Jason in a much different light now...the filthy swine!  >:( ;)

Les Cowboys Fringants

Huit secondes

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=PhoiAV7pt0I&feature=related

Pour dire:         

Plus Rien 

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=r2D8jOzG7NM

Ça ne vous dit rien ?  >:(

Sad to see how bad we treat our land

Not a personal favourite of mine, les Cowboys Fringants. I can see why other people like them. I mean, their music isn't terrible or anything, but to me they're a bunch of hippy shagballs who can't keep themselves from weaving their predictable political views into everything they sing. Not a day goes by that I don't see at least 12 of their clones walking around town. It's like yeah, I know that you're environmental, that you're anti-globalisation, that you're separatist etc... You're a case study. I can read about you in my political science textbooks.

In brief, I don't like les Cowboys Fringants for the same reason many people didn't like Marilyn Manson, for example... it's not that the music was necessarily bad, it was all the baggage that came along with it that annoyed the shît out of folks.

Can't leave out some sexy R&B... this is the French language, after all.

http://www.casafree.com/modules/xcgal/albums/userpics/20352/corneille03.jpg

Corneille is a sort of Rwando-Franco-Germano-Quebecker who makes some great music. His whole family was killed in the Rwandan genocide. He now lives in Montréal.

Some of his hippest songs :

Ensemble : http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=0EfSgjsw1Do

Avec classe (the chick he's chasing all over Montréal in this video is beautiful in a weird way) : http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=5YwNh3XUb7o

Viens : http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Miczf113f2M ***slow jam***

Love this track... 8)

Desireless - Voyage Voyage

One of my favorite band of all times is Air,they do both english and french lyrics but their sound is all french i find 8)
Mer du Japon

Mes Soulier Sont Rouges - La Turlute

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=hPn48m9-kuE&feature=related

a funny song,  ;)

Mes Soulier Sont Rouges - La Turlute

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=hPn48m9-kuE&feature=related

a funny song,  ;)



If you didn't understand French, you'd never guess this song was about blowjobs!

I like the Air and Desireless songs mentioned above too!  However, my favorite french music is the classic 60s french pop such as:

Serge Gainsbourg (Ballade de Melody Nelson)   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99OzdwLoBcc

Dalida & Alain Delon (Paroles, Paroles)     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZFs33Eq0-M

Marie LaForet  (les vendanges de l'amour)    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tdzkrBVFks

I also enjoy Silvie Vartan and Francoise Hardy as well.  And a few "random" French songs such as:

80's Les Rita Mitsouka (Marcia Baila)    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6FVlfOgTo8

But MacDonald, in the end you did like or dislike that song,
I found that was a funny way to "blow" a flute without shocking anyone ;D


Thanks midnite  you left a good samples of French music that I love as well.

LES GORISTES -  a group Breton it's wortho tke a while for listening their folk songs, always funny and  full of irony


SEGOLENE OU NICOLAS


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCLY76CBDiI

Les Goristes - Bretagne is beauty fuel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuoU_5NSoHg&feature=related

Ginette Reno had some nice songs in the 70's, so did Pagliaro.

I'm gonna try to restart this thread for the sake of music French lovers.

Yves Duteil is an artist very especial to me. His voice is smooth and soothing.
His lyrics full of pouring truth to make me shake and think.
This song talks about the ways a language grow and spread around making itself deep and rich in variety as English did.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5GhfH4upts&feature=related

Those who likes French should know this singer and songs.

Well get ready your French ear and enjoy the whisper  ;)

I felt like reviving an old thread today, and picked this one.

Latest post is from Paco, whom I haven't heard from in ages:


I'm gonna try to restart this thread for the sake of music French lovers.

Yves Duteil is an artist very especial to me. His voice is smooth and soothing.
His lyrics full of pouring truth to make me shake and think.
This song talks about the ways a language grow and spread around making itself deep and rich in variety as English did.

Those who likes French should know this singer and songs.

Well get ready your French ear and enjoy the whisper  ;)


Sadly the link does not work anymore, so I can't tell what song he wanted us to listen to. That's why I post something entirely different instead:

Jacques Dutronc - Il est 5 heures, Paris s'éveille

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrKf-a8Z5fc


This was a hit record in early 1968 - that is over 50 years ago today! :o

1P5VoJYV7Ls

IMHO, this is one of the greatest French language songs of the past decade (if not simply one of the greatest songs ever - period):

Stromae - Formidable

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_xH7noaqTA