Nouvelle Vague - Dance With Me

Nouvelle Vague Dance With Me Lyrics

Let's dance little stranger
Show me secret sins
Love can be like bondage
Seduce me once again

Burning like an angel
Who has heaven in reprieve
Burning like the voodoo man
With devils on his sleeve

Won't you dance with me
In my world of fantasy
Won't you dance with me
Ritual fertility

Like an apparition
You don't seem real at all
Like a premonition
Of curses on my soul

The way I want to love you
Well it could be against the law
I've seen you in a thousand minds
You've made the angels fall

Won't you dance with me
In my world of fantasy
Won't you dance with me
Ritual fertility

Come on little stranger
There's only one last dance
Soon the music's over
Let's give it one more chance

Won't you dance with me
In my world of fantasy
Won't you dance with me
Ritual fertility

Take a chance with me
In my world of fantasy
Won't you dance with me
Ritual fertility

Nouvelle Vague - Mala Vida

Nouvelle Vague Mala Vida Lyrics

Tú me estás dando mala vida, yo pronto me voy a escapar.
Gitana mía, por lo menos, date cuenta, gitana mía, por favor.
No me dejas ni respirar, tú me estás dando mala vida.

Cada día, se la traga mi corazón, dime tú porque te trato yo tan bien.
Cuando tú me hablas como a un cabrón, gitana mía !
Mi corazoncito está sufriendo, gitana mía, por favor.
Sufriendo malnutrición, me estás dando mala vida, mi corazón.

Tú me estás dando mala vida, yo pronto me voy a escapar.
Gitana mía, por lo menos, date cuenta, gitana mía, por favor.
No me dejas ni respirar, tú me estás dando mala vida.

Cada día, se la traga mi corazón, dime tú porque te trato yo tan bien.
Cuando tú me hablas como a un cabrón, gitana mía !
Mi corazoncito está sufriendo, gitana mía, por favor.
Sufriendo malnutrición, me estás dando mala vida, mi corazón.

Mala vida, yo pronto me voy a escapar.
Gitana mía, por lo menos, date cuenta, gitana mía, por favor.
No me dejas ni respirar, tú me estás dando mala vida, mi corazón.
Mi corazón, mi corazón.

Something Kind Of French

I've just kicked off my music-related arthouse flick marathon with this bizarrely enchanting & entertaining animated movie, The Triples of Belleville, (also known as Belleville Rendez-vous, or in its sexy native tongue, Les Triplettes de Belleville). Currently on my list, I have La Vie En rose, those two Daft Punk feature films, Heima and then possibly Once. No, wait, come back! Don't worry, I'm not always this artsy-fartsy, offbeat 'indie' type! Just occasionally...Anyway, the movie brought me back to an old idea for a mix of mine, which is a collection of songs from various French chanteuse. Now when it comes to contemporary French music I'm just at the beginner level, but hopefully you find something nice to enjoy out of this mostly mellow mix.

(note: my monthly bandwidth limit is about to be crossed, so if the the first link doesn't work, try the alternate one)

Benoit Charest - Belleville Rendez-Vous (French Version) [alt. link]
Authentic retro.
Carla Bruni - Those Dancing Days Are Gone [alt. link]
Back then when I was listening to her album, never would I have imagined that the former supermodel could now become the present First Lady of France. C'est la vie.
Mareva Galanter - Bang Bang (Avec Jacno) [alt. link]
Also an ex-model. I like this version, particularly because of the music box.
Emilie Simon - Flowers (Acoustic) [alt. link]
I ought to give an extensive post for her someday. In the meantime, here's a rarity, which can only be found on the bonus cd of her debut album.
Air ft. Francoise Hardy - Jeanne [alt. link]
Francoise sings, so it counts.
Olivia Ruiz - La Femme Chocolat [alt. link]
This remains the only I've known of her, but it's really nice, and a bit quirky. And there's a ukelele.
April March - Laisse Tomber Les Filles [alt. link]
Known as 'Chick Habit' in English, featured in Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof. Great cover.
Charlotte Gainsbourg - The Songs That We Sing [alt. link]
Adore her. This mix can't be complete without her.
Nouvelle Vague - In A Manner Of Speaking [alt. link]
Ditto.


BONUSES: (because I'm kind like that)
Nouvelle Vague - Dance With Me (iTunes Live Session) [alt. link]
Nouvelle Vague's set to return this year with a new 80s-movie-themed album. Apparently, Skye Edwards of Morcheeba fame recorded vocals for 2 songs, titles of which I can't recall now, but it's bound to be great.

Yelle - A Cause Des Garcons [alt. link]
Not sure where to put this in the mix, so here it is. Catchy, fun French electropop. With an equally fun video (look it up). Fin.




What, what did you say? I forgot something? Silly, of course not. Nice day.

Oh, and if you haven't bookmared Filles Sourires, do so. It's my ultimate source for the latest happening in female French music.

Relaxed & Remixed

Last time I did this, the feedback was really positive, so I figured it'd be great if I turned this into a trademark semi-regular weekend feature. I admit to being quite a remix junkie. If there's an artist/song/remixer I love, then I would try to hunt down all the commissioned remixes. It's a tad time-consuming, and might get obsessive at times. You know, whereas others like to collect dead butterflies or stamps, I like to collect...remixes. It's fascinating though, to be able to listen to how differently your fave track was re-read by the remixer. Anyways, as usual, here are 5 remixes for the weekend. There's jazzy downtempo, there's glitch, there's folktronic, trippy Latin chillout and dark, moody dubstep. The one thing they have in common is that not a single one of them is a waste of time, in my opinion. Hope you find something to love among these little pieces of aural pleasure.



Kings Of Convenience - I'd Rather Dance With You (The After Dark Parliamix)
Skye - What's Wrong With Me (Nouvelle Vague Remix)
Emiliana Torrini - Heartstopper ('Stop Hearting' Mix By múm)
Bebel Gilberto - Aganju (The Latin Project Remix)
Bloc Party - Where Is Home (Burial Remix)




Pictured: A light installation by United Visual Artists. Check out their website for more of their fluorescently awesome works.

2007 Halloween Mix - Part 1

this image of Heidi Klum and Seal from last year still gives me the creeps

Apparently, this year I'm strangely not so enthused with the idea of Halloween. Maybe the forthcoming midterm exams due next week are to blame? I have the whole day unplanned, so probably by tomorrow night I'll just end up sitting by the couch watching a 'Treehouse of Horror' marathon, again.
With that in mind, I made this mix, not so much in a 'let's wear ironic costumes, go out and trash some parties' manner, but more like 'let's just sit here by the window with a bowl of candies, all worn out and bored'.
The tracks I chose are not as spooky as their titles might imply, but unintentionally they all tend to have an indie folk/rock vibe. My fave out of the bunch is probably The Rosebuds' track, a cinematic 6-minute haunting nightdriving jam. Both Akron and Band Of Horses are bands whose new tracks I dig, but haven't actually heard the albums yet. And Lost In The Trees should have deserved more blog hype.
Have fun, folks. Maybe come back later and tell me about your Halloween experience - like the silly costumes you saw or something. Not that I will get any kind of weird, creepy thrills from reading your comments, though. :-)


Nouvelle Vague - Bela Lugosi's Dead
The Rosebuds - Night Of The Three Furies
Akron - Don't Be Afraid, You're Already Dead
Band Of Horses - Is There A Ghost
Lost In The Trees - If You're Afraid Of The Dark
The Postmarks - Every Day Is A Halloween



Part 2 now available at The Bamboo Orchestra.

The Bamboo Lounge - Covers

Another downtempo playlist. But this time, I mix it up a little bit. The following 5 tracks have one thing in common: they're all covers. And they sound great for a Sunday night chillout at home.

Jose Gonzalez - Hand On Your Heart (Kylie Minogue Cover) (from Stay In The Shade EP)
Undoubtedly the prettiest Kylie cover I ever heard. It takes the song to a whole new emotional level. The perfect setting for the song would be when you're rowing a small boat through a swamp on a sunny day.
Iron And Wine - Such Great Heights (The Postal Service Cover) (from Garden State Soundtrack)
This is just too beautiful. I can see myself on a shore with this song in my earbuds, watching sunset and flocks of seagulls flying by.
Nouvelle Vague - Dance With Me (Lords of The New Church Cover) (from Bande a Part)
One of their best tracks. So bossanova it wouldn't sound of place in a little quite coffeehouse in Paris.
Eliane Elias - Tropicalia (Beck Cover) (from Around The City)
A laidback, jazzy, loungey version with relaxing female vocals. Really nice.
Worm Is Green - Love Will Tear Us Apart (from Automagic)
Interesting take on the Joy Division's classic, by Icelandic electronic outfit Worm Is Green.



---
Anyway, I'm having thoughts about opening a spin-off blog dedicated to this genre only (electronic/chill-out/downtempo/instrumental), due to my rising specific interest in it. Should I take a chance with it? These posts don't seem to really fit well with the tone of the blog...
And I'm aware that today's Aprils Fool Day. But I'm just too tired to try to think of any pranks and frankly, I've just got too much to be worrying about...