Comments on: Serge

Serge

gsb — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 23:27:45 -0800

Serge Gainsbourg. Who died fifteen years ago, yesterday.

By: gsb

gsb — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 23:29:13 -0800

From the requiem: It can't be an accident that he recruits beautiful women to sing his simple pop songs about physical sexuality with no sentimental component, about outlaws and hipster products and disposible artifacts of pop culture. His message with this song seems to me to be that there is no difference between pop and pornography; in terms of its shallow disposibility and its empty sexual titlillation, it's all the same. "I love you" in such a culture means nothing, or it's opposite, or "I love myself."

By: ford and the prefects

ford and the prefects — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 23:34:07 -0800

A silent moment, a glass of absinthe, and an underaged girl to Mr. Gainsbourg. Slanche, Serge!

By: dgaicun

dgaicun — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 00:08:26 -0800

There's a Gainsbourg tribute album coming out with the likes of R.E.M. and Portishead on it. That link contains Mp3s of the tracks by Franz Ferdinand (ft. Jane Birkin) and Cat Power. It also features his infamous Birkin orgasm song 'Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus'. Shoot, if it provided the inspiration for Jennifer Charles' spectacular dam break on 'Music to Make Love to your Old Lady By', then kudos are in order.

By: BitterOldPunk

BitterOldPunk — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 00:15:53 -0800

Shit. Ford and the prefects said it already. Allons y, mon ami.

By: lumpenprole

lumpenprole — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 00:17:06 -0800

The best Gainsbourg tribute albums are 'intoxicated man' and 'pink elephants', the translations done by Mick Harvey (one of the perennial 'Bad Seeds' for Nick Cave). Both are now available on emusic. Ah, Serge, we miss your insanity. And who of course, can forget him telling Whitney Houston exactly what he thinks. (NSFW, if you need to be told). Serge rules, still.

By: dgaicun

dgaicun — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 00:53:18 -0800

So that's the origin of 'pardon my French'.

By: NewBornHippy

NewBornHippy — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 02:23:41 -0800

lumpenprole, merçi. I saw this live when I was a teenager -- awesome. I also remember the day he burned the equivalent of a $100 bill live on TV. And the outrage surrounding the release of Lemon Incest. I remember the Saturday he died -- at my university, students in the computer lab were crying... I also remember when French TV was cool: Droit de Reponse, Bukovsky getting drunk live on stage during Apostrophe...

By: bunglin jones

bunglin jones — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 02:44:12 -0800

Serge is, to me, like Bukowski - an almost fantastically ugly man whose mind and artistic output were so compelling that his face seemed to somehow become handsome. I know a lot of girls who've twisted their faces in disgust when they've seen pictures of Serge before they knew anything about him. The same girls, once they've heard the music .... there's almost nothing they wouldn't have done if it meant they could get a bit of that stinking-of-gitanes-and-absinthe Gainsbourg action. Same thing with Bukowski. They're both brilliant - and they give a lot of hope to us not-so-pretty boys...

By: Dantien

Dantien — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 03:41:32 -0800

Don't miss Serge's most outstanding record Aux Armes et Caetera! The i Threes, Sly & Robbie, banned in France, and one of the best reggae albums ever. I loved Serge before, but this is so beautiful it still makes me cry.

By: milkwood

milkwood — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 03:51:57 -0800

so sad. I remember it was a national day of mourning in France.

By: NewBornHippy

NewBornHippy — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 04:08:50 -0800

Don't miss Serge's most outstanding record Aux Armes et Caetera! Yep -- now, *that* is my Marseillaise.

By: insomnus

insomnus — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 04:37:51 -0800

I've said it before: There was no need for anyone else to make music after Gainsbourg and France Gall.

By: Aknaton

Aknaton — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 06:32:28 -0800

"La Chanson de Prévert" what a great title! was inspired by the famous poet Jacques Prévert. Oh. Poor guy. A story I found here:

...he tied up with the 18 year old France Gall. Her first hit had been «Sacré Charlemagne», released the previous year. But when she appeared on television, lollipop in hand, singing Gainsbourg's «Les sucettes», both of their careers went through the roof. Ostensibly the song of a young girl who loves anis flavored lollipops, «Les sucettes», in realitiy it was a vulgar joke made fully evident when Gainsbourg recorded the song himself. Once the joke was explained to Ms. Gall, she never worked or spoke with Gainsbourg again!

I've read that one of his obituaries gave the cause of death as "He drank too many cigarettes."

By: shoepal

shoepal — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 06:39:16 -0800

Merci, gsb (and lumpenprole).

By: matteo

matteo — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 07:23:30 -0800

"I uoont to fawkk 'er" what a man. .

By: iamck

iamck — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 07:57:51 -0800

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 08:25:46 -0800

France Gall's recording of "Lollipop" is the one really interesting moment in an anotherwise rather drab pop career.

By: Sijeka

Sijeka — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 12:34:09 -0800

All of my friends in france are in their early 20s and still listen to him like maniacs. I personally dont like him, but .

By: arcticwoman

arcticwoman — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 12:57:49 -0800

Serge, je t'adore. .