Music Day: Reality TV Edition

In France, one version of "American Idol" isn't enough, so they have two. The first is called "In Search of a New Star," and it's the one most similar to AI. There's also "Star Academy," which is a combination of AI and The Real World, in that the contestants all live together and are filmed fighting over use of the toaster and whatnot. I don't remember which show this particular singer came from, but he's wildly popular now. I give you the video for "Plus que tout," which, in music video terms, is sort of Robert Palmer on acid:

I realize that your brain is possibly exploding as your eyes and ears refuse to agree but yes, in fact, that voice belongs to that face. The singer is a man. I promise.

French Pop: Showtunes Style!

While French musicals aren't as well-known as, say, Andrew Lloyd Weber shows, they're far more pervasive in pop culture. Whenever there's a particularly successful stage show, its soundtrack vaults right up the Top 40 and videos follow; the cast become pop stars and live happily ever after. Think about it; while well-known American actors sometimes take a turn on Broadway, it's rare that a performer starts on Broadway and then becomes a household name.

Not here. There's Garou, whose role as the terrifying Quasimodo in the musical version of Notre Dame de Paris launched him into super stardom; he and two other leads from the musical give Three-Tenors-style concerts. The two leads from Le Roi Soleil (Emmanuel Moire, who played Louis XIV, and Christophe Maé, who played his flamboyantly gay brother) now sell out arenas throughout the country. And now, the latest and greatest show: Mozart, the Rock Opera.

For your enjoyment (if you can manage to, I freely admit it's not my favorite), the Official Video:

French Music: Paris Edition

By the time this video posts, I will be in PARIS! To celebrate, I am indulging myself: today's selection is the incomparable Edith Piaf. Bonus Points to anyone who sees her biopic, La Vie en Rose. (Marion Cotillard won an Oscar for her spot-on performance. Excellent film.)

French Pop, Part Deux

Since last week I shared with you some truly bad French music, I thought I'd take a moment to share with you a song that never fails to make me smile. This guy's name is Bénabar, and he's famous for his clever lyrics as well as his "traditional" instrumentation, that is, piano, accordion and the occasional brass band.

I love this song because it makes me laugh; in it, he earnestly lists the clues-- clothing that is ironed, the sudden disappearance of his porn collection, the presence of fruits in his fridge-- which lead him to suspect that there is a girl living in his apartment.

After a crappy day at school, I need this tongue-in-cheek silliness to restore my good humor. So enjoy, I'm off to prepare for Terrible Thursday.

Side Note: French Pop

This note should really only contain one word: craptastic. There are certainly exceptions (I'd put Raphael or Corneille up against any American act), but sadly, these guys don't get played nearly as much as the other wincingly abysmal acts. It's so bad that the public's preference for English-language music is understandable, and oh my, but they do loves them some Amurican music; truly, you haven't fully lived until you've heard an entire bar full of French folks confidently declaring that Beeelly Jeeen ees nawt mai lawver. In fact, the preference for English-language music is so strong that in 1994 the government passed a law that 40 percent of every station's playlist much be in French.

Quotas. That's always a good system, right? The result, inevitably, is garbage like this:

His name is Tom Frager, and he's a surfer who owns a guitar, a dog and, I suppose, a video camera. (Seriously, if he spent more than $50 making this video, he got ripped off. Also, if he spent more than 5 minutes writing the song, he needs another hobby.) The song is called "Lady Melody" (which is French, right?) and the lyrics are so painful that by the time he gets to the verse about, and I swear, I am not making this up, "je fly away," it's all I can do not to smash the TV to pieces.