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St. Patrick's day 2007 & Irish music in
France... |
Dateline: March 2007 |
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 March
and Saint Patrick's Day, when the expat's thoughts turn home. But don't fear
that the lavish CLUAS Foreign Correspondent Expense Account is being wasted on
homesick yearning for Tayto Crisps, Barry's Tea and TG4 weathergirls. Not at
all! Instead, we're taking the opportunity to see how Irish acts are getting on
in France these days. And hurrah! They're getting on very well!
Read the full article...
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Best French Music of 2006... |
Dateline: December 2006 |
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 In
China apparently they curse you with "may you live in interesting times".
Here in France in 2006, times are very interesting - and you wouldn't miss it
for the world. The country has been shaken by protests, adrenalised and then
traumatised by the World Cup, smitten by S?ol?e... and the soundtrack has been
fantastic.
Read the full article...
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Prix Constantine: France's most prestigious
contemporary music honour... |
Dateline: November 2006 |
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 France's
most prestigious contemporary music honour, the Prix Constantin, was presented
at a ceremony in the Olympia theatre in Paris on 15 November last. The prize,
named in memory of a late French music industry talent-spotter, is awarded
annually to an artist or group who has come to prominence during the year. The
ceremony consisted of a concert featuring ten short-listed acts, before the
announcement of the winner and successor to Camille, last year's laureate.
Read the full article... |
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La Rentr? 2006: what's stirring in
the French music scene... |
Dateline: September 2006 |
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 September
in France means 'la rentrée' (literally, 'the return'), when everybody goes back
to school, work and normal life after the whole country was practically shut
down for the month of August. France's pop stars are also packing away their
beach towels and getting back to the studio and stage. Autumn 2006 will see a
flurry of activity on the French music scene.
Read the full article... |
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The latest Parisian bands angling for indie
stardom... |
Dateline: August 2006 |
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 'Paris
Calling' is the name of a 2006 compilation album and a subsequent showcase gig
in the French capital. As the Clash-alluding title suggests, the half-dozen or
so bands involved see themselves as parishioners in the broad church of punk and
new wave - and mass is in English. Photos are black-and-white, blurry and taken
either in a crowded venue or against a blank wall.
Read the full article... |
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Phoenix ready to make it big? |
Dateline: July 2006 |
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 It's
hard to concentrate on music at the moment when football, wonderful football, is
demanding all your love and attention. The French rock scene, however, could
soon have its own international champions before the end of the summer. Phoenix,
from Versailles, have just released their third album "It's Never Been Like
That" and big things are expected of them.
Read the full article... |
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Rap and its constructive role in French
society. |
Dateline: May 2006 |
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 So
far this year there have been high-profile clashes on the streets of Paris
lately between police and students protesting at the centre-right government's
controversial labour laws aimed at the 18-25 age bracket. Following weeks of
strikes, protests, student sit-ins, streetfighting, burning cars and omnipresent
riot-police, the proposed laws were eventually scrapped.
Read the full article... |
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The French success of Irishman Perry
Blake. |
Dateline: April 2006 |
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 I
braved the paddywagons around the Sorbonne last week to head to my favourite
Parisian book- and record-store, Gibert Joseph halfway up the boulevard Saint
Michel. There, I found a display for the new release by an Irish singer
described on his album's promo sticker as 'le dernier dandy romantique'
('the last romantic dandy'). This wasn't the
new Van Morrison record,
then.
Read the full article... |
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Irish music, as understood by the French... |
Dateline: March 2006 |
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 So it's March again, the month when a certain green-tinted festival will be
celebrated around the world by ex-pats and non-Pats alike. France too will join
in the fun. Last year, posters plastered across every metro station in Paris
were promoting a huge St Patrick's night concert at Bercy, the equivalent of The
Point. The advertising featured a young red-haired dancer, Book-of-Kells
typeface and a list of Celtic regions - Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany, the
Isle of Man... but not Ireland! Surely some mistake?
Read the full article... |
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Hallyday & Gainsbourg back in the news? |
Dateline: January 2006 |
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 Not
to be confused with the Dublin-based cabaret singer of the same name,
Camille and her album 'Le Fil' won the prestigious Prix Constantine for
the most promising new act to emerge onto the French scene in 2005.
Sounding both petulant and warm at once, this single is idiosyncratic
and likeable. An approximate transcription of the backing vocal is
'splutter-groan-squeal-belch-fart'.
Read the full article... |
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Voulez-Vous Rocker Avec Moi? The French rock
scene. |
Dateline: January 2006 |
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 As I sit on a terrasse sipping my
café allongé and
watching Parisian commuters scowl at tourists, I reflect on the many
wonderful things about life in France - excellent food; streets alive
with history and art; Juliette Binoche.
Unfortunately, being the CLUAS correspondent in Paris involves listening
to a lot of French alternative music - and French alternative music is
quite dire.
Read the full article... |
