French in Three Threes

In my last article I said I’d do a top ten. Alas, when I began I found myself wanting multiple tracks from the same artists and struggling to choose which. So I’m picking three tracks each from a trio of artists. It represents a truer picture of what I’m listening to. Not a forced selection, where I’m trying to be niche and different.

Artist Number One.. Claire Laffut

Track One: Vérité

I first heard this maybe half a decade ago and it’s been a recurring feature of my musical world since then. I pretty much know all the lyrics now, though I’m still half and half in remembering what they actually mean in English.

It helps that the video has both French and English subtitles, though it’s difficult to focus on the words as the video’s a little too beautiful. In more than one way. It has that French arty vibe, mixed with the aesthetics of a Chanel advert. Helped somewhat by the fact that the Belgian singer is also a model.

(Having just read her Wikipedia page it turns out she did actually model for Chanel in 2018, lol.)

Track Two: Hiroshima

This is another where I’ve had a mini French lesson through repetition.

Nos baisers sont des balles

It’s interesting this one, as it’s much less French. Musically is sounds a bit like Rihanna - which is a plus in my book, but I’ve seen comments making a critique along these lines. On top of this the video is more in line with what we’d see in an American pop video. Certainly compared to the previous track. She even looks less French.

It’s tempting to see it as a conscious effort to appeal to a wider market, however the song itself is still sung in French, and it’s rare that non-English music crosses the divide. So that can’t have been the overriding motive.

The song still hasn’t hit a million views on YouTube, which surprises me. As at the time it sounded like a hit. An opinion I still hold. Perhaps it just fell between two stools. Not quite mainstream enough to be pop. Not quite chic enough to appeal to the arty people who liked the first song. Perhaps over time it’ll find some appreciation.

Track Three: La Fessée

This one grew on me. At first I wasn’t too keen on it, but it wormed its way into my affections. It’s strange how that sometimes happens with music. The chorus is almost a tongue-twister. There’s something about the rhythm and speed of the repeated words that make it hard to imitate. It kept throwing me off at first, but now I’ve conquered it it’s really pleasing to sing along to.

The word fessée translates as spanking. I’m not sure if it means quite the same thing it means in English. Though my stereotypical view of the French lends me to assume so. As a disclaimer I should say at this point that my French isn’t great, so I reserve the right to plead innocence if there’s anything too untoward, lol.

I’m sure it’s all perfectly innocent though. The innocent image of her eating an apple on the EP cover shows that, right?

Anyhow, Artist Number Two.. Cléa Vincent

Track One: Jmy attendais pas

I always have a habit of wanting to start these descriptions with the phrase, “This is a great track,” but it’s somewhat superfluous - obviously I wouldn’t be picking them if I didn’t think they were great. However, with this one the song is just a great track. It’s right up my alley. It’s not at all interesting or unusual that I would like it. It’s a textbook example of my indie, poppy tastes.

Naturally, I really like the collage-like video too. There’s something very appealing about that point in a band or artist’s career where they’re still regular people, living in the regular world, but are on the cusp of success. There’s this sense of lift off. Of breaking free. It’s something that can’t be bottled, and once you become successful you can’t ever truly go back to being a ‘nobody’ that’s about to fully blossom. Similar to how once you’re an adult you can never quite recapture that moment of being young and becoming an adult.

I feel this is the elixir of life that fuels great art, and I think artists that have long, interesting careers find ways of renewing this child-like “Wow” enthusiasm for the world.

Track Two: Cléa Vincent feat Jacques - État Second

This one is very different to the first one, and, in contrast, not the sort of music I would normally listen to. It sounded so strange when I first heard it. My first few listens were purely for the novelty. It has the appearance of an electronic dance track, but there’s something off about it. Something not quite right. That sense has subsided now that I’ve listened to it so many times. In fact, it currently has just 67k views on YouTube and probably a few hundred of those are mine.

The title translates as ‘Second State’ - an easy one to translate even with my limited French - and the lyrics are about music taking someone into a different state of being. So it works well. The video’s also fittingly weird. Especially the haircuts. Another thing that seemed strange and novel on first viewing, but that now looks normal to my familiarised brain.

Track Three: Sexe d’un garçon

Firstly, this is one where my prejudiced view of the French is totally unfounded. The title doesn’t translate to mean ‘sex with a boy.’ Though it might look like that on first glance to English speakers. It means having the gender of a boy. The general gist of the lyrics being that just because she’s a bit of a tomboy doesn’t mean she’s an actual male. It’s basically a feminist statement that women don’t have to be pigeonholed.

This is another interesting aspect to listening to music in a second language. If I intuitively understood French like I understand English the overtly left wing message might’ve been a barrier to me. Or, to put it more bluntly, it might’ve annoyed me.

“Not more woke politics!”

Plus, even with a translation it’s hard to judge the exact tone as a non-speaker. I’m not against feminism. I’m all for it in the classical liberal sense. Just not the intersectional Marxist sense. So where does this fall on that spectrum? It’s hard to say when you can’t quite grasp the subtleties.

Thankfully, it’s moot, as I began listening to it in total ignorance. Blissfully unaware of any political messaging. Of the three tracks this is probably the one I’ve listened to the most. It’s a very catchy piece of pop. Very singable. So judging purely by the vibe I’m going to say this is the right kind of feminism.

And yes, I am a man taking it upon myself to make that judgement.

Artist Number Three.. Pierre de Maere

Track One: Je pense à vous

This one’s doing numbers. Released just a few months ago it’s already in the millions. And it’s easy to see why, as it’s very upbeat and catchy.

In the video he looks like an English indie pop star, in the mould of a young Pete Doherty or Jarvis Cocker. Only noticeably camp. So it was a curious juxtaposition when I first came across it. (Apparently, after being tagged as a queer artist, he stated, “I prefer the word flamboyant to the word queer.” Which suggests he understands how politicised and clichéd that term now is, and seeks to form his own identity away from it.)

It’s not often you see someone and think, “This person has star quality,” but it was clear in this case, and I wasn’t surprised to find he also has a string of previous hits.

Track Two: Menteur

This one’s a bit more downbeat and lamentful. In the video he has a Morrissey-like quality. I really love the feel of the song, especially the alliterative repeating of words beginning with the letter M.

Maman, je mens, je mens, Et je me mens à moi-même..

(Mother, I lie, I lie, And I lie to myself..)

Very doleful. Not quite, “Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head..” but getting there.

The repetition of the M creates a flow that’s satisfying to mimic with your mouth. Especially when taken with the switches between low and higher pitch singing. He also heavily expresses that distinct French ‘R’ sound in the song. So it’s a very unique and well-articulated vocal track, that plays on the French language to good effect.

Track Three: Un jour je marierai un ange

As you can see from the thumbnail, this one’s very camp. It’s a testament to the song, as normally this would be a little too camp for my tastes.

The title translates as, ‘One day I’ll marry an angel.’

As with the previous track there’s a very distinctive vocal style. Where the words chosen and the intonation create something challenging, but enjoyable to sing along to. There’s a texture and landscape to the vocals. Like the highs and lows are peaks and troughs of a mountain range you’re journeying along.

That might be a bit of a pretentious way to describe singing, but the human voice is an incredible instrument and it’s always interesting to me when I see (or rather hear) someone being expressive with it. Where you sing along and find yourself having to take your voice to places it doesn’t normally go. Like, “Oh, what am I doing here?”

A really excellent piece of pop music.

And with my three threes I’ll end it there.