[Shanghai] Music I - The French Invasion
Nov. 16th, 2006 11:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
petronia(I told myself that I really had to blog, so. XD)
For circuitous reasons, when I was in Shanghai I had a fairly extensive conversation with a publicist of the Shanghai Concert Hall. (Among other things he asked me to look over the syntax of the English blurbs on their latest programme brochure, and what those raised things you use to cross expressways were called. I totally blanked on the latter - I think I told him "skywalk" - later I realised the term he wanted was "pedestrian overpass". :P) At one point I told him I lived in Montreal, which was in French Canada, and the first thing he asked was,
"Do you think it would be possible to bring Garou to Shanghai for a concert?"
I was surprised enough that I didn't pointillate at how he expected me to be in touch with Garou's people, or something (nb: not all Canadians know each other, seriously). It turned out he was a big fan of the Notre-Dame de Paris musical. XD I said why not? We agreed that the Chinese would probably love a production of Notre-Dame de Paris, just like the Russians did. It's a story everybody knows, and since it'd be subtitled anyway you could stage it in the original language.
Chinese people love French pop. I always end up picking up French pop compilations when I'm in Shanghai, because it's a good way of getting hold of those songs you loved on the radio during the 90s but can't identify the artist or title of - 20 RMB for someone else's Soulseek time, in other words. XD; The French also love China - I knew they were into Chinese lit in a big way but I didn't realise until I went back to Shanghai that it would translate into more French people in China. I heard more French spoken on the streets than any other Western language.
Of course, this means relevant online BBSes are full of posters baffled at the fact that Shanghai department stores keep looping this one girlpop theme song from a cheesy fifteen-year-old French TV drama.
Hélène et les garçons (Hélène Rollès) - Je m'appelle Hélène
Hélène Rollès - Ce train qui s'en va
Basically it sort of sounds like old Hirosue Ryoko ballads and/or that theme song Kubo Tite picked for Orihime, which is the answer right there. (Somewhat relatedly, if anyone knows why Chinese people are still so obsessed with Sakai Noriko, drop me a note.)
More French pop I purchased in Shanghai (and ripped and tagged myself, since ahaha there's no guarantee the Soulseeker can read French well enough to determine the artist and title of any given song either):
François Feldman - Magic Boulevard: I seriously think this song is more popular in Asia than in France. But it's one of those great dramatic torch numbers.
Magic Boulevard
Elle voit des films
Cent fois les mêmes
Les mêmes crimes
Et les mêmes scènes
Elle travaille seule
Elle place les gens
Dernier fauteuil
Ou premier rang
Les phrases d'amour
Sur grand écran
La nuit, le jour
Ça lui fait du vent
Elle vit comme ça
L'amour des autres
Mais quelques fois
Y a l'image qui saute
Elle vit sa vie dans le noir, bizarre
Pour toujours elle maquille son désespoir
Au magic'boul'vard
Elle laisse tranquille
Les amoureux
Qui ratent le film
En fermant les yeux
Elle vend ses glaces
Avec ses rêves
Un sourire passe
Au bord de ses lèvres
La demoiselle
A lampe de poche
Se voudrait belle
Pour faire du cinoche
Parfois quelle chance
La salle est vide
Pour une séance
Elle devient Ingrid
Elle vit sa vie dans le noir, bizarre
Pour toujours elle maquille son désespoir
Au magic'boul'vard
Elle voit passer
Des gens connus
Des gens glacés
Qui ne parlent plus
Jamais la foule
Ne prend sa main
Ses larmes coulent
Avec le mot
...And a metric crapton of Patricia Kaas ahaha. Apart from the first track these are all from her Je te dis vous album (awesome title btw).
Patricia Kaas - Vénus des abribus: the late eighties persuaded me that this sort of thing was the Platonic ideal of pop music. I'm not so sure I've changed my mind.
Patricia Kaas - Hotel Normandy
Patricia Kaas - Jojo
Patricia Kaas - Je te dis vous: I like this because it's such a classic Patricia Kaas pose - the "mademoiselle" singing the blues in some provincial dive.
Man, who's cooking food in here? I'm starving. >_>
For circuitous reasons, when I was in Shanghai I had a fairly extensive conversation with a publicist of the Shanghai Concert Hall. (Among other things he asked me to look over the syntax of the English blurbs on their latest programme brochure, and what those raised things you use to cross expressways were called. I totally blanked on the latter - I think I told him "skywalk" - later I realised the term he wanted was "pedestrian overpass". :P) At one point I told him I lived in Montreal, which was in French Canada, and the first thing he asked was,
"Do you think it would be possible to bring Garou to Shanghai for a concert?"
I was surprised enough that I didn't pointillate at how he expected me to be in touch with Garou's people, or something (nb: not all Canadians know each other, seriously). It turned out he was a big fan of the Notre-Dame de Paris musical. XD I said why not? We agreed that the Chinese would probably love a production of Notre-Dame de Paris, just like the Russians did. It's a story everybody knows, and since it'd be subtitled anyway you could stage it in the original language.
Chinese people love French pop. I always end up picking up French pop compilations when I'm in Shanghai, because it's a good way of getting hold of those songs you loved on the radio during the 90s but can't identify the artist or title of - 20 RMB for someone else's Soulseek time, in other words. XD; The French also love China - I knew they were into Chinese lit in a big way but I didn't realise until I went back to Shanghai that it would translate into more French people in China. I heard more French spoken on the streets than any other Western language.
Of course, this means relevant online BBSes are full of posters baffled at the fact that Shanghai department stores keep looping this one girlpop theme song from a cheesy fifteen-year-old French TV drama.
Hélène et les garçons (Hélène Rollès) - Je m'appelle Hélène
Hélène Rollès - Ce train qui s'en va
Basically it sort of sounds like old Hirosue Ryoko ballads and/or that theme song Kubo Tite picked for Orihime, which is the answer right there. (Somewhat relatedly, if anyone knows why Chinese people are still so obsessed with Sakai Noriko, drop me a note.)
More French pop I purchased in Shanghai (and ripped and tagged myself, since ahaha there's no guarantee the Soulseeker can read French well enough to determine the artist and title of any given song either):
François Feldman - Magic Boulevard: I seriously think this song is more popular in Asia than in France. But it's one of those great dramatic torch numbers.
Magic Boulevard
Elle voit des films
Cent fois les mêmes
Les mêmes crimes
Et les mêmes scènes
Elle travaille seule
Elle place les gens
Dernier fauteuil
Ou premier rang
Les phrases d'amour
Sur grand écran
La nuit, le jour
Ça lui fait du vent
Elle vit comme ça
L'amour des autres
Mais quelques fois
Y a l'image qui saute
Elle vit sa vie dans le noir, bizarre
Pour toujours elle maquille son désespoir
Au magic'boul'vard
Elle laisse tranquille
Les amoureux
Qui ratent le film
En fermant les yeux
Elle vend ses glaces
Avec ses rêves
Un sourire passe
Au bord de ses lèvres
La demoiselle
A lampe de poche
Se voudrait belle
Pour faire du cinoche
Parfois quelle chance
La salle est vide
Pour une séance
Elle devient Ingrid
Elle vit sa vie dans le noir, bizarre
Pour toujours elle maquille son désespoir
Au magic'boul'vard
Elle voit passer
Des gens connus
Des gens glacés
Qui ne parlent plus
Jamais la foule
Ne prend sa main
Ses larmes coulent
Avec le mot
...And a metric crapton of Patricia Kaas ahaha. Apart from the first track these are all from her Je te dis vous album (awesome title btw).
Patricia Kaas - Vénus des abribus: the late eighties persuaded me that this sort of thing was the Platonic ideal of pop music. I'm not so sure I've changed my mind.
Patricia Kaas - Hotel Normandy
Patricia Kaas - Jojo
Patricia Kaas - Je te dis vous: I like this because it's such a classic Patricia Kaas pose - the "mademoiselle" singing the blues in some provincial dive.
Man, who's cooking food in here? I'm starving. >_>
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Date: 2006-11-17 01:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-17 08:44 am (UTC)