Archive for 'Culture'
“Je ne veux pas la fin de nous” (“I Don’t Want The End Of Us”) Posted by Hichem on Nov 16, 2012
Oui, it’s really him, the late Roi du Pop (King of Pop), Monsieur “Michel” Jackson, singing in French! You probably have already heard his song in English, “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You“, right? Now listen to the same song, interpreted by MJ himself, in French this time, which he named “Je Ne Veux Pas La Fin De Nous“, meaning…
Tout ce que tu veux voir (All You Want to See) Posted by Hichem on Nov 6, 2012
Vesoul, a little French town in eastern France, is also the title of a 1968 song by the prominent singer Jacques Brel, in which he delivers a super fast-paced valse (waltz.) Also in “Vesoul“, Brel famously screamed his “Chauffe, Marcel, chauffe!” (“Heat up, Marcel, heat up!“): Marcel is in fact Brel’s accordionist, Marcel Azzola, who…
“BOUM!” The French Song in the New 007 Movie “SKYFALL” Posted by Hichem on Nov 2, 2012
The French song you are about to hear is called “Boum!!” (Yes, that’s the French spelling of the English “Boom“), which was prominently featured in a rather dramatic scene of the brand new 007 movie “Skyfall.” But unlike dynamite, C-4, nitroglycerin, or Semtex-based explosions of which James Bond is such a “bloody expert” (actually more of the…
The Music School of Notre-Dame de Paris Posted by Hichem on Oct 8, 2012
In most recent times, Notre Dame de Paris tended to be exclusively linked with the art of Gothic architecture. But how about musical art? Other than the “big hit” musical “Notre de Dame de Paris“, based on Victor Hugo‘s works, not much else can be thought of in the mind of the general public by associating…
La Semaine Prochaine (Next Week) Posted by Hichem on Oct 1, 2012
There is something that you need to know about setting up appointments in French: When for example someone tells you “on se voit jeudi prochain“, although it may translate literally as the English “we meet up *next* Thursday”, i.e. not this upcoming Thursday but the Thursday of the following week, in reality it means the…
Demander la Lune (To Ask for the Moon) Posted by Hichem on Sep 30, 2012
Just as it’s the case in English, the French expression demander la lune means “to ask for the moon“, “to ask for too much”; “to ask for something impossible or nearly impossible to get.” Now imagine if people demandaient la lune à la lune elle-même (asked the moon itself for the moon), how often can they get…
Comme Toi (Like You) Posted by Hichem on Sep 23, 2012
This is the story of a little girl who was barely eight years old. She lived in Warsaw, Poland. It was the eve of the Second World War. The horrible Holocaust was about to be unleashed by the Nazis. All she wanted was to play and enjoy a happy life. All she wanted was to…