Part 2 of our trip into the world of Serge Gainsbourgh. This is from 1972 and the piece, Melody Nelson was written in anticipation of the birth of his daughter, Charlotte. The womans voice in the sound track is Gainsbourgh's wife at the time, Jane Birkin, the mother of Charlotte.
I've heard a number of recent covers of this piece. It lends itself to sonic atmosperic treatments....Yes, d.b., occasionally, I take requests!
7 comments:
funny, but I watched La science des rêves starring Charlotte last night.
Did you see her in the surreal Dylan biopic He's Not There by Todd Haynes?
Naw, missed that one.
Her parents' music does remind me of a soundtrack from a porno flick though. And the names sound like they were written for one as well: 69 Année érotique and Je T'aime Moi Non Plus. Especially the last one where it sounds as if Jane Birkin is cumming.
Really now!
Demonstrating the magnanimity of a true superhero, microdot.
;)
Among other things, Herbie Flowers' bass style really stands out on this album for me...That 'conversational' type of playing seems to have fallen out of favor in Pop, and perhaps it's a lost art now.
Well, the conroversy over Je T'aime Moi Non Plus was exactly what Gainsbourgh was trying to create.
He had recorded it previously with Brigitte Bardot, but she balked at the over the edge overtness of it.
Bardot retreated into a murky retirement in which she became extremely right wing conservative and almost has eschewed human rights voer her obsession with animal rights.
Birkin remains a true humanitarian and a great artist. She occasionally acts and gets better with age, but her recording really illustrate her taste and brilliance.
4 years ago, she released a "homage" to Gainsbourgh...she recorded his songs, but with a great band of Algerian and Morrocan musicians and reinterpreted the music in the style.
She toured Palestine with the band and it was an epic adventure for her. She reall created confrontation with the Israelis and did a lot of shows in vilages. I ave to say, I have been in love with Jane Birkin ever since I saw hwer in Blow Up when I pretended to be 18 and saw the movie in Detroit.
darkblack, I am a bass player and though never a schooled player, I managed to "fake" my way in many different styles of music....
There is a trap door in the process which I have always been able to fall through....
My role models when I played professionally were Bootsy collins and John Paul Jones. I loved the playing in this piece.
Jane Birkin performed here a year or so ago. I am sorry that I missed her. Especially if she moved toward world music.
Jane Birkin did a great album of duets 2 years ago and one of the artists she recorded with was Bryan Ferry. It was a pretty hip record.
Charlotte has a new record out here in France and it's pretty good. It is a collaboration with the American artist Beck Hanson, who produced and cowrote the songs.
I am very much a Beck Hanson fan.
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