30.3.12

Zou Bisou Bisou

If you watched the Mad Men S5 premiere this week, then you saw this moment. Don Draper's wife, Megan (Jessica Paré), throws a surprise birthday party for her husband. In the middle of the party, she busts out a French pop song, Zou Bisou Bisou. I thought it was a pretty cool, lighthearted and sexy moment. Mad Men, bringing yé-yé to the masses. Who woulda thought?

I'm not very familiar with the yé-yé scene (I know who Françoise Hardy, France Gall and Sylvie Vartan are, but that's about it) but a little googling reveals that the original version of the song was sung in English by Sophia Loren, and then in French by Gillian Hills. Actually, after reading the wiki page, it's sorta confusing. I bet that page has gone through a ton of edits in the past few days since the premiere, so I'll leave you to figure it out for yourself if you're so inclined.

In any case, you can actually buy Jessica Paré's version of the song on iTunes or on 7" vinyl (b/w the Mad Men theme song). You can also see the clip from the show here.

Jessica Paré - Zou Bisou Bisou

21.3.12

Fall Back in Love Eventually

I picked up tickets today to see The Naked & Famous (next month, April 21 at the Warfield). I saw them a few months ago at the Independent with a friend and figured why not see them again. All the way from New Zealand, their songs are dance-y, full of synths (but not completely) and instantly accessible. It's just catchy, fun pop music...and the lead singer is CUTE.

I love this single, Young Blood; it's monster of a sing-a-long anthem about young love. I get it stuck in my head and it stays there for weeks at a time. Check it out on their album, Passive Me Aggressive You. It's about a year and a half old now, so hopefully it's about time for something new.

The Naked & Famous - Young Blood

17.3.12

You keep me under your spell

I recently saw Drive, which I very much enjoyed. In the film was a song by Desire called Under Your Spell. Watching the film, the song sounded familiar to me, I had to look up the soundtrack listing and then I stupidly realized I had their album. I like the song but I didn't like the chit-chat breakdown in the middle with the two girls talking to each other. The Drive soundtrack has an edited version of Under Your Spell which omits the chatter and the result is much more satisfying, for me.

I like the song's simplicity; I don't eat, I don't sleep, I do nothing but think of you. The basics of obsession when you meet that certain someone.

Find this on the aforementioned Drive soundtrack; alternatively, you can find the original version on Desire's II, which is a pain to search for.

Desire - Under Your Spell

14.3.12

Fredo's Lament

I've been slacking lately, mostly when it comes to this blog, but I'm trying to get back into it. In any case, I'm here now. I recently attended a screening of The Godfather, a film I absolutely love and had never before seen in a theater. That was pretty exciting and it got me thinking, if ever there was a tragic figure in the history of cinema, Fredo Corleone might pop up on some people's lists. Definitely on mine. I tried to make a Fredo Corleone inspired mix, songs that might speak for him or remind people of him. I tried to follow the arc of his life; birth, full of promise, upbeat. Then it gets darker and maybe a little bit ferocious. Anyways, this is what came out, it lives over on 8tracks.com and it's embedded here, maybe you'll like it; press play.