Johnny Hallyday has a nickname, which is “the biggest rock star you’ve never heard of.” He has another one, which is “the French Elvis.”
Both of these are exaggerations of a sort, as plenty of people have heard of him (he’s had 18 Platinum albums, though most of those sold in France and le monde Francophone), and I don’t think he’s quite as talented as Elvis. He’s also done a lot of bandwagon hopping over the years, and partaken in some trends that he shouldn’t have.
But his career has had more than a few shining moments, not the least of which is one of my all-time favorite songs, “Joue Pas De Rock’n'Roll Pour Moi.” In English, I think of it as, “Don’t Play That Rock’n'Roll For Me.”Continue reading →
I know, I know, I’m the last person in the entire universe to get on this bandwagon*, but still: damn, who the fuck is Lady Gaga, and what fucking planet is she from? Her songs are absurd dance explosions, her fashion is already the stuff of legend, and her videos are like super-condensed tiny little films that reference everything from Hitchcock to Minnie Mouse.
*Thanks, Marla!
They combine the superglam pop fashion sensibility that’s come to dominate celebrity culture since the passing of grunge (see: Gwen Stefani, Beyonce) with the grotesque, disturbing, Uncanny Valley sensibility that was once found in the videos of Marilyn Manson. You can find any of them on youtube yourself, though (I particularly recommend “Paparazzi” and “Bad Romance”), so instead I’m going to show you a couple of things that you might not see otherwise.
Lady Gaga is a fantastic songwriter, of course, but that superslick production almost disguises what a talented musician she is. For all the vocoder she employs, woman has got a pair of LUNGS. Check out this video of her playing piano and singing a stripped-down version of “Paparazzi.”
Kid Creole is the stage name of August Darnell. The Coconuts, according to Wikipedia, are “a glamorous trio of female backing vocalists whose lineup has changed throughout the years.” That’s a classy name you came up with for them, Darnell.
I have a love/hate relationship with Kid Creole and the Coconuts. Their music is so damn catchy, but Kid Creole likes himself. A whole lot. Which isn’t a problem in of itself, but a lot of his songs are tainted with a brand of misogynistic braggadocio that really irks me. Why do you need to put down women to make yourself look good, Kid Creole?
Sometimes it’s in the usual ways (check out this remix of the cheerful, “I’m A Wonderful Thing, Baby,” to feel like you’re in 1992 Miami Beach, living it up). And sometimes, he just gets kind of fucking strange.
The best example of this I can find for you is their song, “Annie, I’m Not Your Daddy.” Actual lyric: “See if I was in your blood / Then you wouldn’t be so ugly.”
Thanks, Kid Creole. Thanks a lot. It’s about telling a girl that her mom slept around and you’re not her dad. Also, there’s a weird bridge, where for no real reason, the Coconuts seem to be chanting, “ona, ona, onamonapia.” What the hell is that about? Nothing in this song even comes close to being onamonapia.
Take a listen for yourself, and see what you think. It will be stuck in your head for days. Days during which you will be wondering, “Why the fuck did Kid Creole put these words to this music?”
I never thought I’d say this, but I’m kind of desperate for another Justin Timberlake album to come out.
Remember in 2006, a few months before FutureSex/LoveSounds came out, when we all heard “SexyBack” for the first time? And we were like, “wait, who is this?” And then someone was like, “Duh, it’s Justin Timberlake.” And we were like, “WHAT THE FUCK.” It sounded so different, so much more mature and sexy and gritty than anything he’d done before. Continue reading →
If you know The Rugburns, you probably know them for their track “Me and Eddie Vedder.” It was released in 1994, but I remember first hearing it in 1998 on my local awesome modern rock station. It’s a pretty bitchin’ song, no lie:
The Rugburns are from San Diego, and as I think they haven’t released anything since like 1995, I don’t have any pictures of them for you. So sad. But this song is great, right? It has all kinds of badass references, to things like the Brady Bunch and Led Zeppelin and Tom Wolfe, and hearkens us back to a simpler time, when Eddie Vedder was a relevant cultural touchstone.
Unlike now, when Pearl Jam is fucking making Target commercials. Don’t even click that link, it will make you sad. Especially after listening to that song. Just think about the time when Clarissa, on Clarissa Explains it All, had backstage passes to a Pearl Jam concert but couldn’t go because her grandma was in town, but then her grandma was cool and let her and Sam go.
sorry for the shitty picture, but check her sweet Keith Haring shirt
The real reason I’m telling you about the Rugburns is for this song, “Now’s Not The Right Time For Love.” It also has awesome lyrics, and is kind of sweet and sad, in a way that also hearkens back to more innocent, grungey times (aka, 1995):
I think this song is about saying that you’re too busy for love because of all of the important fake things you’re pretending to do. My favorite verse is the last, with the line about “Cute guys with crew cuts / Naming stars / But the gravity keeps pulling them back to the bars.”
On the one hand, you could say that this song didn’t date well, because it sounds so totally mid-nineties alternagrunge. On the other hand, you could say that it has dated beautifully, because it’s such a great representation of such. Really, though, what I want to know is this: if 1995 wasn’t the right time for love, then when is?
Johnny Hallyday has a nickname, which is “the biggest rock star you’ve never heard of.” He has another one, which is “the French Elvis.”
