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. It sounds as if this French lady makes her songs especially for me - but I could be wrong. They feel so much like home to me, even though most of the time I haven't a clue what she's singing about - my French is very basic.
I guess it's the magical Boutonnat sound and her warm enchanting voice.
A few times I've tried to translate some of the lyrics, making it only more confusing
to me. Mylène is somebody who likes to play on a very high level with words, feelings
and music.
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How it all really started?
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In '86 Mylène got her first big hit in France with 'Libertine'.
So I visited this album every now and then just to hold it and that was it. The price never went down and some time later the shop was gone. I regretted it several times not buying this album.
The following years my interest in music almost died (college, girls, a car
and serious lack of sleep had entered my life). In this period I seldom listened
to the radio, only picking up the most famous tunes and sticking with my old favorites -
like Jeanne Mas who was slowly letting me down.
It all proved to be quite a revelation.
It became - and still is - my all time favorite album.
Yes, I can't help it but I get completely lost in these remixes - they're big chunks of drama,
rhythm, magic, clouds, melody, 7 Up, beauty and sensual beats...
One of the main reasons why I completely got hooked on this music was my car.
Did I already mention this is my all time favorite album?
Yes?
Some years later I fell in love with a French girl and just like small donuts...
I started collecting all albums.
I wasn't exactly in the mood for this trip but could use the distraction. It was pretty groovy hangin' around in a gray and rainy London and miss Farmer singing in my earphones such wonderful songs like 'Je t'aime mélancolie', 'L'autre', 'Regrets' or 'Désenchantée', a song that was a giga-giga-hit in France. Though the lyrics in all aren't that optimistic (ermmm.... I guess), I feel the music to be very vivid, full of life and hope. Luckily London has enough weirdo's so I hope people over there have by now forgotten about me, the sad gray Belgian with his bright orange earphones.
At this point, I only knew her music.
I believe 5 songs out of 10 made it into French and Walloon charts (French speaking part of Belgium). That's impressive and it points out the high quality of the album (or the lousy state of the competition in French charts - but this I doubt).
The CD-version of 'Cendres de lune', her first album containing the smash-hit 'Libertine' offered to my surprise two additional remixes, 'Libertine' and 'Tristana'. I was walking on clouds. And I didn't want to come down for a very long time. Moreover, I finally owned the album I wanted to buy several years ago (the one from the expensive shop in Antwerp). I gave it a big kiss when I got home with it and I bought a small teddybear for it so it would never leave me.
Both albums are excellent. In fact they were much better than I had expected,
keeping up high standards on most songs, if not all songs.
Songs like 'Maman a tort', 'Tristana' and 'Au bout de la nuit' became personal favorites.
To make it up, I've troubled the Hotbot server and it returned some nice URLs on Baudelaire, this one being the most informative. He turns out to be the guy who wrote 'Les fleurs du mal' and... let's get back to the music.
4 songs out of 10 made it as chart busters in France.
'Deshabillez-moi' is the hidden treasure.
MAGNIFICENT (just want to be sure everybody on the net gets the message - even people
in Auckland, NZ) !!!!!
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I taped it so I could enjoy this music in my car too, mostly on my trip to work and on the road back home. In my room there was only one disk in the CD player and it was this one. Some of the songs became personal friends, almost family... However, some other songs...
'Anamorphosée' sounded a little bit different compared to previous releases. It sounded
heavier and not that melancholic, it even rocked in places. The guitars get to get out and
were wild...
I like most of the album, songs like 'California',
'L'instant X' and of course
'Comme j'ai mal' are perfect pop-songs.
However I didn't like the first single 'XXL',
a song that became a really big hit in France.
And I really liked the artwork for this album.
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Sounds like signs of adoration?
It was the only time I had a dream like this. But the next day a friend broke the news she was going on tour. I was surprised. It was kinda weird, but I never made a big deal out of it. Besides, my hometown was not on the tour schedule.
Six months later, I was there in Brussels. For a real concert.
And then, there was more...
It was pretty adventurous, driving a 17 year old gasguzzling Firebird (with an old engine
with two sick cylinders) through France in the midst of winter but she didn't let me down,
however it was pretty tough on the mountains between Besançon and Geneva, 550 miles from home.
But I enjoyed every minute of it, even when I almost stranded in Annecy due to fuel problems.
It was not only my favorite MF-show, but it became my favorite all time concert, despite very nice efforts by the Stones, Sheryl Crow, Mellencamp, U2, Hole, Foo Fighters & Neil Young, J.M. Jarre, Inxs, Ocean Colour Scene (now they come close!) and even the rocking Black Crowes. With all respect to those gods, but if I'm offered the chance to see one concert again, it's Grenoble '96.
We were being spoiled. I ordered it to have it as soon as possible. I don't think I ever looked more forward to a release of a new album. I counted the days and weeks and months and then... I went straight to the record shop to collect it.
When I came home with it I discovered there was a scratch right in the middle of the gorgeous
revamped 'Libertine' (doh!), so I had to take it back to the shop
again (again a 30 miles trip) to get another copy.
The record store gave me another copy, but not after checking out my example. To do this,
they played it in the store. It must've been the first time a Mylène Farmer song made it
to a local store sound system here in Flanders.
I was surprised it revived so many memories on those great shows. Her scantily clad body in 'Vertige', the whirling search lights and circling helicopter sound as 'California' opens, the big mechanic spider in 'Alice' and 'La poupée qui fait non' as a duet with Khaled (I only saw this in Geneva)... Sometimes it still sends the shivers down my spine, no other music has ever done this to me. Maybe I got involved too much, but hey, that's the trick.
Go for it completely... and only come back for lunch.
First the single 'L'âme-stram-gram' raided the French hit parades, followed closely by the album. I bought it pretty soon only to be overwhelmed with mixed feelings. On a musical level it sounds more ordinary compared to her previous albums. But, on a linguistic level it's very very very strong (according to native French speakers anyway) but being not very fluent in French a lot of the albums beauty passes me by I guess. The album opens with 'L'amour naissant', it's not a kicking start but a very smooth one. Mylène's voice sounds really fantastic in this song, soft, tender, magical... she sings like a true angel. This is how I like her the most.
My favorite song and a song I loved immediately is
'Je te rends ton amour'.
A gorgeous song reminiscent of her older work. Nice relaxed rhythm,
somewhat mysterious and that nice loving voice.
'L'âme-stram-gram',
'Dessine-moi un mouton
and 'Méfie-toi are other great songs
but not they're not that surprising. I find them walking too careful
between the narrow lines that define a hit.
If I can speak frankly I have to say this is my least favorite Mylène Farmer album.
Still, despite some songs having a dull gray 'failure proof' coat, it's without
doubt my most played '99 album. Even now I still listen a lot to it.
For the moment it ends with the Mylenium tour 1999/2000.
Anyway, I have seen several of the shows by now and I'm completely addicted on this stuff. From the day the first dates were announced I'm counting days and now it happens. More writings to follow when I'm back in reality (may take a while!). Boy, it kicked me off of my feet. Again...
My favorite Mylène Farmer songs all pretty lined up :
Links :
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the Pontiac Firebird Wing :
Pamela Sue -
Mylène -
Franka -
Firebird Trips -
Firebird Links
the Music Wing : Jesus & Mary Chain - John Mellencamp - Mylène Farmer - INXS - Neon Judgement the Scale Model Wing : My Plastic - Dads Plastic - Guide - Plastic Gatherings - Links to Plastic the Cool Clickings Wing |
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