Saturday 27 February 2010

Up Je T'Aime

I was just reminded by a post on A La Carte of a French comedy version of Je T'Aime... Moi No Plus that we had our own Carry On version a couple of years after the original made such a big splash on the British airwaves

Ladies and Gentlemen Up Je T'Aime by Frankie & June



Don't forget L'Amour Electronique ce soir
9pm - 3am at The West Hill, 67 Buckingham Place, BN1 3PQ

hope to see you there
love and electronics
xxx

Thursday 25 February 2010

a good charity shop haul

Last Friday we went for a little day-trip to Bexhill-on-Sea, where we trawled the many charity and junk shops for second-hand treasures. I flicked my way through record-after-record of James Last and Sound Of Music LPs, but I came away with a nice little haul.

In the very first charity shop I picked up a copy of The Art Of Noise's 1984 proto-sample cut-and-stick pop hit Close (To The Edit) for 30p. A little musique concrète gem amongst the Lionel Richies and Band Aids. The b-side is a curious one – a medley/sampler of all the tracks on their album Who’s Afraid Of (The Art Of Noise), and the sleeve has a punch-out token for 50p off the album (offer closes 30th November 1984).












The Art Of Noise - Close (To The Edit)









The Art Of Noise -A Time To Hear (Who's Listening)
[buy The Art Of Noise from iTunes | Amazon.uk]



Our final stop of the day unearthed something even better – a 1965 Françoise Hardy seven-inch, the UK version of Le Temps Des Souvenirs sung in English as Just Call And I’ll Be There. And on the flip-side, one of my faves, You Just Have To Say The Word. It used to belong to Hazel, who lost the sleeve, but did stick a little name label on with (age-yellowed) sellotape. And the price: a mere 49p!









Françoise Hardy - Just Call And I'll Be There
Françoise Hardy - You Just Have To Say The Word
[buy Françoise Hardy from Amazon.com]



Other records I picked up:
A Link Wray Early Recordings LP for 50p
A 1981 reissued Sun Records compilation LP Rebel Rockabilly for 50p
And, er, The Most of Lulu for 50p for the track Love Loves To Love Love.

Once we’d got charity shop fatigue we went for a little walk along the prom, and in the evening we went to see our dear friend Bat For Lashes at the De La Warr Pavillion.




It was a grand day out.

………………………………………………………………
ps. I’m pleased to say I’ve finally set up my record player so I can record vinyl.

Thursday 18 February 2010

SETLIST from 23 January 2010

Here is the setlist from our first L'Amour Electronique of 2010

Dominic
Marie Laforêt – Marie Douceur, Marie Colère
Tubeway Army – Me, I Disconnect From You
Biky – Reponses
Michel Polnareff – L’Oiseau De Nuit
Boy From Brazil – Le Claquer Des Doigts
Gillian Hills – Ma Premiere Cigarette
Stereolab – Eloge D’Eros
Depeche Mode – Photographic
Telex – Moskow Diskow

Sarah
Katsen – Drax
Dan Deacon – Okie Dokie
France Gall – Ne Sois Pas Si Bête
Chantal Goya – Ce Soir On Danse
Stereo Total – Chewing Gum
The Chap – Fun and Interesting
The Human League – The Path Of Least Resistance
Yacht – Psychic City
Michèle Richard – Dou Da Dou

Verity
Sebastien Tellier – Kilometer
April March – Magic Ass
Serge Gainsbourg – Comic Strip
Jean-Michel Jarre – Oxygene pt.4
Magnetic Fields – Smoke and Mirrors
Françoise Hardy – Les Petits Garçons
Jacques Dutronc – Les Gens Sont Fous, Les Temps Temps Sont Flous
The Human League – Sound Of The Crowd
Add N To (X) – Barry 7’s Contraption

Dominic
Michel Polnareff – Beatnik
Charlotte Gainsbourg – IRM
Felix Da Housecat feat. Miss Kittin – Madame Hollywood
Dani – Sans Asterisque
Henri Salvador – Beta Gamma, L’Ordinateur
David Whittaker - Theme from The Tube (ZX Spectrum 128K) /
L’Infonie – L’Affair
Chantal Goya – Tu M’As Trop Menti
Serge Gainsbourg – Un Poison Violent, C’est Ca L’Amour
Brigitte Bardot – Harley Davidson
Stereo Total – Supergirl
Claire Dixon – Fleurs, Vent
Françoise Hardy – Je T’aime
Christine Pilzer – Mon Petit Homme Spatial

Sarah
Serge Gainsbourg – Le Poinçonneur Des Lilas
Jacques Dutronc – J’ai Tout Lu, Tout Vu, Tout Bu
Ria Bartok – Ecoute Mon Coeur
Sylvie Vartan – L’Irrésistiblement
Krisma – Black Silk Stockings
Bat For Lashes – Pearl’s Dream
MIA – Bamboo Banga
Chicks On Speed – For All The Boys In The World

Verity
Jacques Dutronc – Et Moi, Et Moi, Et Moi
Denim – Snake Bite
Dalida – Petit Elephant Twist
Stereo Total – Les Chansons d’A
Violaine – Dam’Dou Ah!
The Knife – You Made Me Like Charity
Neil Young – Sample + Hold
Neon Neon – Dream Cars
Pet Shop Boys – Rent
Sebastien Tellier – Sexual Sportswear

Dominic
Bazooka – Dada Dodo (version instrumental)
Ariane – Ice Cream
Toss – Da Da Da (est-ce qu'on s'cherche ou est ce qu'on triche?)
Les Beatlettes – C’est Graçe a Toi
Jacques Dutronc – Sur Une Nappe De Restaurant
Stereo Total – Orange Mecanique
Michel Polnareff – Dans La Maison Vide
Jean-Jacques Perrey – E.V.A.
Die Dorau & Die Marinas – Fred Vom Jupiter

Sarah
Trouble Vs Glue – No No More
Devo – Pink Pussy Cat
OMD – Almost
Ultravox – Quiet Man
Brigitte Bardot – Maria Ninguém
Jacques Dutronc – Les Cactus
Les Roche Martin – Les Mains Dans Les Poches
Pulp – OU
Ladytron – Discotraxx

Verity
Serge Gainsbourg – Requiem Pour un Con
France Gall – N’ecoute Pas Les Idoles
Mareva Galanter – Les Filles C’est Fait Pour Faire L’Amour
Heaven 17 – Temptation
OMD – Enola Gay
Trans X – Living On Video
Serge Gainsbourg – Love On The Beat
Yazoo – Nobody’s Diary

Dominic
Silicon Teens – Let’s Dance
Michel Legrand – Digue Ding Ding
Emmanuelle Seigner – Femme Fatale
Eileen – C’est Bottes Sont Fait Pour Marcher
Carole Robert & Les Improvistes - Le Fruit Defendu
Cats In Paris – Loose Tooth Tactile

Sarah
Sukia – The Dream Machine
Glass Candy – Candy Castle
Momus – I Am The Law
Soft Cell – Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go?

Verity
Françoise Hardy – Je Veux Qu’il Revienne
Sandie Shaw - Toujours un coin qui me rappelle
Jane Birkin – Raccrochez, C’est Un Horreur
Ray Davies/BBC Sporting Themes – Breezy Bounce
Add N To (X) – Metal Fingers In My Body

Dominic
Stereo Total – Tu M’as Voulue
Les 5 Gentlemen – Si Tu Reviens Chez Moi
Miss Pain – Teenage Action/New Distraction

Sarah
John Foxx – 20th Century
The B-52s – Dance This Mess Around
Sparks – Get In The Swing

Verity
Jacques Dutronc – Fais Pas Çi, Fais Pas Ça
Stereolab – French Disko
Michel Polnareff - Y'a que pas pouvoir qu'on peut
The Tornadoes - Telstar



And now the mp3s
Sarah
The Human League – The Path Of Least Resistance
[buy The Human League from iTunes | Amazon.uk]
Dominic
Serge Gainsbourg – Un Poison Violent, C’est Ca L’Amour
[buy Serge Gainsbourg from iTunes | Amazon.uk]
Verity
Violaine – Dam’Dou Ah!
[re-issued on Swinging Mademoiselle volume 2, which you can't get anywhere]

Sunday 14 February 2010

Can you hear the beat of my heart?*



Poor Annie Philippe, she was terribly worried about her palpitations. So worried that she went to the doctor for a check up:
“Monsieur, I’m terribly concerned about these curious sounds coming from deep within my heaving bosom.”
She flinched at the first touch of the cold stethoscope.
The doctor listened intently:
TCHAKA-BOUM-TCHAKA-BOUM-TCHAKA-BOUM-TCHAKA-BOUM
“Well goodness gracious me!”

Annie Philippe - Tchakaboum (Mon Coeur Fait Tchakaboum)
[buy Annie Philippe from iTunes]


Petula can certainly feel the beat of her heart. She can hear the BOOM, like the rhythm of a train, like a thousand drums... uh-oh, there it goes again... I’d stay away from your beau if I were you Pet, or you’ll end up having a Eurovision heart attack like that Minuouche Barelli did.

Petula Clark - Le Coeur Qui Bat
[buy Petula Clark from Amazon.uk]


My biggest concern is for fälschung siamese-twin/maker of fizzy 8-bit disturbo-pop Raüberhöle. You see her/their heart is beeping some pretty noisy bleeps and those noisy little bleeps keep making her/them come over all Lene Lovich “Eh! Oooh! Eeh! Ooh!”

Raüberhöle - My Heart Bleeps Noisy Beeps
[buy Raüberhöle from iTunes | Amazon.uk]



[*the post title is a reference to/paraphrasal of this]

Sunday 7 February 2010

Nice things

No, not nice things, Nice things. I'm going to Nice for a few days.

Does anyone out there have any tips for
1. good record shops that sell old vinyl
2. good bars and vegetarian restaurants
3. good second-hand shops/flea markets
4. other good stuff/things to do.

I've given up trying to search because all I get is millions of results for "nice" things as opposed to "Nice" things.

You can leave comments or email me: lamourelectronique[at]misspain.co.uk
Thanks in advance
Domx























Resolution

Let's face it, the vast majority of people who make their new year resolutions at the start of January will be well and truly off their respective wagons by now, rendering the whole charade a little futile. I've never been much good at keeping them myself - in fact the only one I can seriously remember upholding was my 2006 vow to give up my job before the year was out. Eight months later I escaped the shackles of full-time employment, and I've been skint but happy ever since.

This year I thought I should try and post more music here on L'Amour Electronique. A resolution which was somewhat at odds with last years not-so-successful plan to spend less time on my computer. In the first week of January my computer had to be taken in for some repairs to stop big blocks of white obscuring the display. It was gone for over 2 weeks, which was enough time to get me used to a life sans ordinateur. Yes, I denounced the teachings of Kraftwerk, I fell out of love with computer.

My plan is to make more posts, but to be a bit less elaborate with them. 2010 will be the year of the more prolific/less verbose L'Amour Electronique.

On the subject of New Year's resolutions, any red-blooded males out there trying to give up the smokes, I suggest you look away now.


You see Miss Hills has been hanging out with that bad boy Jimmy. She's only sweet sixteen and he's her little champion, taking her behind the bike-sheds for that quintessentially 50's/ 60's rite of passage. We tried to warn her, Jimmy's nothing but a bad influence, she'll be rolling round naked with Jane Birkin before you know it.

*puff* *puff*

Gillian Hills - Ma Première Cigarette
[buy Gillian Hills: iTunes | Amazon.fr]