oh here's another one i love, by boris vian. fits the times just right

Monsieur le Président
Je vous fais une lettre
Que vous lirez peut-être
Si vous avez le temps
Je viens de recevoir
Mes papiers militaires
Pour partir à la guerre
Avant mercredi soir
Monsieur le Président
Je ne veux pas la faire
Je ne suis pas sur terre
Pour tuer des pauvres gens
C'est pas pour vous fâcher
Il faut que je vous dise
Ma décision est prise
Je m'en vais déserter

Depuis que je suis né
J'ai vu mourir mon père
J'ai vu partir mes frères
Et pleurer mes enfants
Ma mère a tant souffert
Elle est dedans sa tombe
Et se moque des bombes
Et se moque des vers
Quand j'étais prisonnier
On m'a volé ma femme
On m'a volé mon âme
Et tout mon cher passé
Demain de bon matin
Je fermerai ma porte
Au nez des années mortes
J'irai sur les chemins

Je mendierai ma vie
Sur les routes de France
De Bretagne en Provence
Et je dirai aux gens:
Refusez d'obéir
Refusez de la faire
N'allez pas à la guerre
Refusez de partir
S'il faut donner son sang
Allez donner le vôtre
Vous êtes bon apôtre
Monsieur le Président
Si vous me poursuivez
Prévenez vos gendarmes
Que je n'aurai pas d'armes
Et qu'ils pourront tirer

--
& a cool little note:
La version initiale des 2 derniers vers était:
"que je tiendrai une arme ,
et que je sais tirer ..."
Boris Vian a accepté la modification de son ami Mouloudji
pour conserver le côté pacifiste de la chanson !
--
funny i prefer the original more anarchist lyrics rather than the martyr-type revision

Daitro has some good stuff, and Raein has some french songs too. Gotta love that french emo

I'd say:

Edith Piaf
Barbara
Serge Gainsbourg
Jacques Brel
Françoise Hardy
Serge Reggiani
Noir Désir
Dominique A
Jean-Louis Murat
Alain Bashung

go to the chocoreve blog and u can download a 70s folk/psych album by folhdove http://chocoreve.blogspot.com .
My girlfriend really likes Francoiz Breut. im also a bit of a fan of french 60s pop like francoise hardy. you could also check out the original versions of my way which was called comme d'habitude (i think, i forget who sings it). La Mer by Charles Trennet is another classic that you'll probably recognise from its english version.

The best bands in France right now...

Anteenagers M.C.
Frustration
Crash Normal
Cheveu
Volt (and Lili Z. solo stuff)

All these bands have American releases out on either of these labels...

S-S Records

Plastic Idol

Then there's The Normals, the Cheeraks, tons more. A full LP comp's worth called "Tete a Bebe" is coming on S-S with only French artpunk and garage bands. Might be the year's best compilation.

These all come recommended for fans of stuff like The Fall, Wire, Rema Rema, Tubeway Army, Coachwhips, etc. I have no vested interest in those labels. I just like the music and want anyone interested to know about it.

exactly. Francoiz Breut is awesome.

Cheveu's french band is reviewed by Byron Coley in the last WIRE issue :

Cheveau
clara vénus/superhero sdz/royal 7"
Dog/Make my day s-s 7"

"France's cheveau have an excellent grasp on a very French post-punk dynamism, devolved in a lopsided way from progenitors such as Metal urbain, warum joe and Berurier noir. Their sound is both less and more mechanical than the suggests.
In the sense that the drumming is "real" (at least I think it is), and that the keyboard seem more robotic than the suggests. But whatever their model, these guys produce a superior guitar raunch with great memble mystery moves. This power is amplified on the Dog/Make my day 7", which was actually an earlier release (I think). The primitivism here is less fully integrated, but still lush enough to make you fall over."

oh, one song here is in french : "clara venus" (words by Rimbaud)
www.myspace.com/cheveu

I wouldn't really recommend them for a beginner though. The vocabulary and pronounciation is sometimes funny to contemporary ears : for example the way they pronounce the r like spaniards and pronounce e's you don't normally pronouce is hilarious....

If you're into emo you should check out Daitro. I used to really be into Raein and they play with these guys all the time. You'll need the lyrics if you plan to use it to help you learn french though. I posted an MP3 for ya.

Daitro - Au bout de mes lévres

joe le taxi



ha ha. i kill me.

Thanks a bunch... I'm sort of learning the language, but movies are helping more than the music.

Some Arcade Fire

Movies:
Man Bites Dog
Alphaville

i'd recommend Les Georges Leningrad, but Dominique does tend to slur a bit so not the best teaching method

you gonna head to the Milwaukee show Mike?

I'm trying to get into the secret show at the double door--that would be the greatest venue that I've ever seen them... I don't know about Milwaukee.. I've potentially got a bunch of friends in town that wouldn't be into it. Also, low fundage for a (sort of) road trip because I'm moving to France in a month and a half... Je suis broke as fuck!

Are you going? I'd love to shotgun beers and have a headbutt contest before during and after the show. Jenn can join in, but she'll be allowed to wear a football helmet.

Oh, and I have a Les Georges Cd par your request a couple years back... not too shabby!

Henri Chopin talks during some of his soundscapes.
http://www.ubu.com/sound/chopin.html

yeah, we are gonna forgo the busride and fly in the day of, and fly out in the morning

and we could head to the bar and totally rip on the blue man group, total ripoff of the smurfs.........and the smurfs,..............THEY STINK!!! (falls over)

jaques brell

serge gainsbourg
I think somebody else said it, but still, I had to put it in there...