Can you hear the beat of my heart?*

[image source]

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]

SETLIST from 26 September 2009

We were joined by guest DJ Nick Hills (with a silent H) and his trusty box of seven-inch disques des années Sixties. Verity was busy finishing her PhD, and so there were just three.

Here’s the setlist, with our picks of the night, including TWO Kinks cover versions - one in French and one on Synths:

Sarah
Devo – Patterns
David Bowie – Fashion
Roxy Music – The Thrill of it All
Les Roche Martin – Les Mains Dans Les Poches
France Gall – Baby Pop
Serge Gainsbourg – Le Poinçonneur des Lilas
Stereo Total – Cannibale
Large Number – The Number People
Chicks on Speed – Give Me Back My Man
Ladytron – Olivetti Jerk
Dominic
Gillian Hills – Oublie
Stereo Total – Exakt Neutral
Monty – Que Me Reste-t-il
Silicon Teens – You Really Got Me
Petula Clark – Si, C’est Oui, C’est Oui
Japan – Quiet Life
Jean et Janet – Je T’aime Normal
Brigitte Bardot – Contact
Marie Laforêt (avec Gérard Klein) – Le Vin De L’été
Koko Von Napoo – Polly
Anna Karina – Rollergirl
Nick
Rokes – The Works of Bartholomew
Antoine – La Tramontana
Rokes – Siamo Sotto Il Sole
Michel Polnareff – La Mouche
Erick St Laurent – Eleonor Rigby
Les Compagnans de la Chanson – Le Sous-Marin Vert
Petula Clark – Un Jeune Homme Bien
Sylvie Vartan – De Ma Vie
Sylvie Vartan – Moi Je Danse
Claude François – Si Tu Veux Etre Heureux
Claude François – Comment Fais-tu?
France Gall – Laisse Tomber Les Filles
Sarah
Brigitte Bardot – La Madrague
Chantal Goya – Mon Ange Gardien
Ria Bartok – J'y Pense Tout Bas
Sylvie Vartan – Irrésistiblement
Tom Tom Club – On, On, On, On (remix version)
Toni Basil – You Gotta Problem
A-Ha – We’re Looking For The Whales
The Associates – 18 Carat Love Affair
The Human League – Crow and A Baby
Soft Cell – Chips On My Shoulder
Dominic
Isabelle – Amstramgram
Katsen – Let’s Build A City
Les Shades – Orage Mecanique
Jacques Brel – Jacky
Françoise Cactus – You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory
Ultravox – Vienna
Françoise Hardy – Non, Ce N’est Pas Un Rêve
Bertrand Burgalat & Robert Wyatt – This Summer Night
Die Dorau & Die Marinas – Fred Vom Jupiter
Nick
[we have no song data for Nick’s set]
Sarah
Michèle Richard – Dou Da Dou
Alice Dona – Les Trois Couleurs De L'Amour
Brigitte Bardot – Le Soleil
Chantal Goya – La Pluie Du Ciel
Depeche Mode – Master and Servant
Euryhtmics – Love Is A Stranger
Tubeway Army – Are Friends Electric?
The Human League – Rock ‘n’ Roll
Stereo Total – Orange Mecanique
Jean-Michel Jarre – Oxygene pt.4
John Foxx – No One Driving
Dominic
Jean-Claude Vannier - L’Enfant Au Royaume Des Mouches
Ronnie Bird – Chante
Bazooka – Dada Dodo (version instrumental)
Eileen – Ces Bottes Sont Faites Pour Marcher
Antoine – Les Élucubrations D’Antoine
Dave Rogers - theme from Cybernoid (Zx Spectrum 128K)
Serge Gainsbourg et Brigitte Bardot – Bonnie & Clyde
Françoise Hardy – Pourtant Tu M’aimes
Röyksopp feat. Robyn – The Girl and The Robot
Michèle et Ses Wouaps – Dam Dam
Sarah
Datarock – Computer Camp Love
Dauerfisch – So Gut!
Buggles – Video Killed The Radio Star
Dominic
Jean-Claude Vannier – Danse De L’Enfant Et Du Roi Des Mouches /
French language disques - Numbers
Delphine – La Fermature Éclair
Michel Polnareff – Qui a Tue Grand’maman
Sarah
Sebastien Tellier – Divine
Denim – Romeo Jones Is In Love Again
Add N to (X) – Incinerator No.1
Dominic
Stereo Total – Tu M’as Voulue
Chantal Kelly – Notre Prof D’Anglias
Stella – L’Idole Des Jaunes
Sarah
Magnetic Fields – I Thought You Were My Boyfriend
Dominic
Brezel Göring – Ich Bin So Süchtig
Sarah
The Blue Minkies – You Make Me Blush
Luke Haines – Off My Rocker At The Art School Bop
Dominic
Au Revoir Simone – Shadows
French Language disque – Thank You/Merci … Goodbye/Au Revoir

mp3 selection
Dominic
Silicon Teens – You Really Got Me
[buy Silicon Teens: iTunes | Mute Records shop]
Nick
Petula Clark – Un Jeune Homme Bien
[buy Petula Clark: Amazon.uk]
Sarah
Denim – Romeo Jones Is In Love Again
[buy Denim: iTunes | Amazon.uk]

I spy (with my little eye)

Everyone out there’s ranting on about James Bond double-o seven… Now we have no idea what a Quantum of Solace is, and we couldn’t really give a flying Nick Nack.

Let’s go back to a time when Bond themes were good, and when CGI wasn’t relied upon as a valid plot-replacement device: It’s 1969, Jean-Jacques Perrey unleashes The Amazing New Electronic Pop Sound of Jean-Jacques Perrey. Track 7 is his very own Moog-ed up homage to Her Majesty’s number 7 spy - a poignant, understated little ditty, which probably wasn’t even considered for official Bond-theme material because its composer was French!

Jean-Jacques Perrey – Mister James Bond

[Space Age Pop has a nice little biog of Perrey including links to get hold of his albums.]


Rewind three years: At the height of her fame, Petula Clark must have been itching to get her voice ‘round a Bond theme. But Mister Barry snubbed her, so she penned her own, complete with comedy dying sound effects.

Petula Clark – L’Agent Secret

[Dans Mon Café posted this song in January 07. It’s all gone quiet over there at the moment, and I imagine the mp3 link is long-dead now. However, a helpful reader left a comment with the lyrics in English and French, so you can see all the ways those secret agents died, and how to be the best!]


Here's something every spy should carry in their briefcase:

But there are other spies too y’know…

Plastics will tell you all about the most elusive spy ever to operate out of Tokyo:

Plastics – Top Secret Man

[I love Plastics, they’re like Japan’s answer to Devo and The B-52s. If anyone out there knows where I can hear more Plastics, please write in.]

And talking of Devo, here’s their De-volutionary cover of the US Danger Man theme from Duty Now For The Future.

Devo – Secret Agent Man

[I much prefer this earlier jerkier garage-version featured in the short film In the Beginning Was The End: The Truth About De-evolution. Things to look out for: Booji Boy’s wayward hand-jiving; 2 ape-masked men paddling the behind of a strange looking china-doll lady; the monkey-masked man that goes “SE-CRET!”; and the home-made electronic drums that look like car hub-caps. One thing to ignore: the idiot who introduces the video]

Devo – Secret Agent Man