Archive for 'Music'
Zazie . . . bis!* Posted by Tim Hildreth on Aug 2, 2016
Zazie isn’t just dans le métro . . . or au cinéma. As promised in last week’s post, this week I’ll talk about another Zazie. And in a throwback to my Potpourri post, also share a random collection of other useful tidbits to keep you motivated and learning French! Zazie is one of my favorite…
A Bastille Day Tribute Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jul 19, 2016
Last week’s Bastille Day celebrations ended in tragedy. Any day is the wrong day for such a terrible act, but on that day – a celebration of the French ideals of liberté, égalité, et fraternité (liberty, equality, and brotherhood) – it felt especially awful. July 14 may be changed forever by the events in Nice…
Have You Heard “Ma Beauté” by Maître Gims? Posted by Josh Dougherty on Jul 14, 2016
DJ Josh is back at it again, spinning some of today’s hottest hits for Club Transparent. Ok, if you promise to listen to the song, I promise I won’t sound like a cheap club promoter anymore. Today’s song is performing pretty well on the NRJ charts, so if you’re in France, you’ve probably heard it…
Les comptines Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Jul 4, 2016
In my house, we sing lots of comptines, or French nursery rhymes. I’m partial myself to Au clair de la lune, which coincidentally, is the song featured on one of the earliest recordings ever made in 1860. (You can listen to it here, although it is somewhat difficult to hear.) However, there is a simpler (and newer)…
Instrument Names in French Posted by Josh Dougherty on Jun 23, 2016
In my last post, I wrote about one of my biggest passions: l’opéra. I briefly mentioned some orchestra terms but focused more on what happens at an opera house. That being said, an opera can’t happen without an orchestra*, so I’d like to write more on the actual instruments. À mon avis, la voix est…
French Grammar: The Past Conditional Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Jun 20, 2016
The French past conditional, also called the conditional perfect, is used to express what could or would have happened in the past if things had happened differently. As described in my post on si clauses, the past conditional often can follow the past tense in si clauses. For example, “si j’avais su que le magasin…
A vous de choisir! * Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jun 14, 2016
Vous: Qu’est-ce que c’est que ça ? Une chanson ? Encore ? Moi : Et oui, encore une chanson ! J’aime la musique, pas vous ? Et je voudrais partager celle-là avec vous.** The verb vouloir means « to want » or « to want to ». It’s very useful for expressing what your wishes and desires are when communicating with your French friends. When…