{"id":32318,"date":"2020-09-22T05:30:36","date_gmt":"2020-09-22T03:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=32318"},"modified":"2020-09-21T00:24:54","modified_gmt":"2020-09-20T22:24:54","slug":"french-culture-music-for-the-classes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/french-culture-music-for-the-classes\/","title":{"rendered":"French Culture – Music for the classes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Back when I was teaching, I loved to use songs to introduce new vocabulary. At the time, my musical collection was limited to the songs and CDs I owned … and was a little stuck in the 1980’s!<\/p>\n

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Il n\u2019y a pas que les ann\u00e9es 80\u00a0!<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been reading my posts for a while then you know I love music \u2026 but also that sometimes I get stuck in the past! Sometimes I need a bit of a coup de pied<\/strong> (kick<\/em>) to get me to remember that it\u2019s not all about the 80\u2019s<\/a>! <\/em>1<\/a><\/sup>Mais si comme moi vous aussi vous adorez les ann\u00e9es 80, cliquez ici<\/a>! <\/span><\/p>\n

One of the benefits of working from home these last few months though has been the chance to listen to streaming music when I’m not on meetings. And I’ve discovered a whole world of more modern French music that I hope you’ll enjoy.<\/p>\n

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Herv\u00e9<\/strong><\/p>\n

Herv\u00e9 est un jeune chanteur avec un c\u0153ur poids-plume<\/a> qui bats 100 fois par minute <\/a><\/strong>(a young singer with a feather-weight heart<\/a> that beats 100 times a minute<\/em>). As he says in this interview<\/a> from Quotidien avec Yann\u00a0<\/strong>Barth\u00e8s<\/b> (Daily with Yann Barthes)<\/em>, he named his debut album Hyper “parce qu’<\/strong>il est hyper partout dans la vie comme \u00e0 la sc\u00e8ne<\/strong>” (because he’s hyper everywhere in life like on stage).<\/em><\/p>\n

You can enjoy his cooking skills in this self-produced quarantine video<\/a>2<\/a><\/sup>Si bien du mal<\/em> could loosely be translated as hurt so good<\/em><\/span> during which he makes cr\u00eapes from une recette de sa grand-m\u00e8re<\/strong> (his grandmother’s recipe)<\/em> or see him celebrate an early moment of quarantine freedom in this other (also) self-produced video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Clara Luciani<\/strong><\/p>\n

Clara Luciani, 2019 winner of the Victoire de la musique R\u00e9v\u00e9lation\u00a0sc\u00e8ne <\/b>(Best new artist in the French music awards)<\/em>, swings from coy to combative in songs like Nue<\/strong><\/a> (Naked<\/em>) and La<\/strong> Grenade<\/strong><\/a> (The Grenade).\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

In\u00a0La baie<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(the bay)<\/em> an animated Clara takes us on a journey to “un pont perdu sur l’Atlantique, un coin secret sous les palmiers<\/strong>” (a lost bridge on the Atlantic, a secret corner beneath the palm trees).<\/em><\/p>\n

Bolivard<\/strong><\/p>\n

Is an artist and musician who combines his talents and his unique view of the world<\/a> in videos like the animated Focus<\/a> in which he imagines what his road through life might be, in the slightly disturbing R\u00e9alit\u00e9<\/a> ,<\/strong> and in his unique takes on La vie<\/strong><\/a> (life<\/em>) and la mort<\/strong><\/a> (to death<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Et pour finir … Corine<\/strong><\/p>\n

To wrap up,<\/em> I couldn’t put all my nostalgia<\/a> away. Corine<\/strong> is a contemporary singer with a decidedly retro flair Her 70’s-inspired modern hits celebrate the essence of the disco era from the makeup<\/a> counter3<\/a><\/sup>Maquillage<\/em> means makeup<\/em><\/span> to\u00a0la plage<\/strong> <\/a>(the beach)<\/em> to Tokyo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Et vous? Qui sont vos chanteur\u00b7euse\u00b7s pr\u00e9f\u00e9r\u00e9\u00b7e\u00b7s?<\/strong>4<\/a><\/sup>I’ve chosen to use the new inclusive form<\/a> since – even though the Acad\u00e9mie fran\u00e7aise is not on board<\/a> – it is useful practice since it is showing up more and more across the internet.<\/span>5<\/a><\/sup>Speaking of gendered language, did you know that since 2012 the word mademoiselle<\/em> (miss)<\/em> is banned from official use?<\/span> (And you? Who are your favorite French singers?<\/em>) Let me know in the comments below Of if you like any of these artists or their songs and you would like me to feature any in an upcoming post with translations and explanations, let me know that too.<\/p>\n

Now that we have all this new music, it might be time for a night en bo\u00eete<\/strong><\/a>. For something a little more upbeat, check out Let Me Love You<\/em><\/a> 6<\/a><\/sup>Laisse-moi t’aimer<\/strong><\/span> from Laurie Darmon or take it more chill with Pretty People<\/em><\/a> 7<\/a><\/sup>Jolies Personnes<\/a><\/strong><\/span> from George Ka.<\/div>\n

Image courtesy https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/vinyl-albums-near-player-164901\/ [CC0]<\/p>\n