Friday's French music break - Josef Salvat, "Open season"

This week's Friday's French music break couldn't be more removed - geographically speaking - from France.

Indeed, it comes from the other side of the globe. Australia to be exact.

But given that country was also invited earlier this year to participate in the 60th anniversary of the annual musical jamboree fest, the Eurovision Song Contest, it's perhaps not so surprising for one of its artists to be featured here.

And besides, Josef Salvat, who hit it big in 2014 with his remake of Rihanna's "Diamonds" (written of course by another Australian musical export, Sia Furler) actually sings a fair part of his own reworked "Open Season" in French.

Josef Salvat (screenshot "Open Season ) une autre saison" official video)

Voilà, the reason it's this week's pick.

It's a delightful version of a song that swings along, pulling the listener into it's feelgood mood with couplets which, according to music journalist, Jonathan Hamard, are "especially seductive with their percussion and almost martial rhythm" (!!!).

Whatever words you might choose to describe the 26-year-old's song, the overall effect is only enhanced by an excellent video which is a simple but effective pastiche of its own genre, the "making of".

So sit back. Hit the two links below - one for the French version,  and the other for the English.

Compare and contrast - but more importantly, enjoy!

Friday's French music break - Julien Doré, "Chou Wasabi"

Friday's French music break puts paid to the myth that contestants, let alone winners, of TV  talent shows have a limited appeal after their 15-minutes of small screen fame, lack originality and are simply a product of prime time television.

That might well be the case of the vast majority of wannabe warblers, but there are exceptions to the rule.

When Julien Doré won the fifth edition of the once-defunct but since-revived "Nouvelle Star" (the French version of Pop Idol) in 2007 he had spent a season interpreting other people's songs and doing so with a refreshing touch of creativity.

Julien Doré (screenshot TV5 Monde "Acoustic" - September 2014)

Few, who followed his progress through the competition, will forget his rocked-up rendition of Alizée's "Moi...Lolita", the debut single in 2000 from the then Mylène Farmer managed 15-year-old. .

Doré went further later in the competition with another unlikely rocked-up (but this time acoustic) version of a pop giant when he transformed Britney Spear's quintessential international Disney break-out teen hit "Baby One More Time" into...well, something else.

OK OK so most definitely not his genre, but it got Doré noticed and it was clear that he had a talent, was prepared to take risks  and didn't appear to take the whole talent show experience too seriously.

Plus he had stage presence, charm, charisma and his very distinctive style and musicality.

And that has served him well ever since, with each of his three albums - "Ersatz" in 2008, "Bichon" in 2011 and most recently the critically acclaimed "Love" (guess the theme) in 2013 - reflecting his musical eclecticism

Just as important, in interviews, Doré doesn't appear to come across as having been bitten by the star bug, his concerts (see a list here for upcoming dates) are a treat for fans as the "master of the ukele" (the instrument with which he auditioned for "Nouvelle Star") draws in a crowd of all ages.

If the excellent "Paris-Seychelles" - the first track to be lifted from "Love" as a single - whetted your appetite, then ""Chou Wasabi" si probably its natural successor - lyrically and melodically - as well as the video which features the same "young Doré double".

Australian-born Micky Green joins Doré for the duet which "evokes a relationship reaching its end"

And its quite simply hauntingly beautiful.

Enjoy.

Perth opera company drops Bizet's "Carmen" for "smoking reasons"

Name an opera - a French one.

The chances are it'll be Georges Bizet's "Carmen" - famous among opera aficianados and those not so "in the know" if you like.

It's staged regularly worldwide and in fact - get this - is, according to Operabase, a company to which over 700 opera houses report their performances, only second (for the 2014-15 season) behind  Giuseppe Verdi's "La traviata".

It'll be performed at some of the most prestigious venues during the current season, including New York's Metropolitan opera, Dresden's Semperoper, La Scala in Milan,  and Prague, Hamburg, Madrid, Budapest, Saint Peterburg, London, Berlin...and so the list goes on.

Anna Caterina Antonacci (screenshot from "Carmen" at the Royal Opera House in London, 2013)

But, although it was also scheduled to be performed in Perth, Western Australia, the powers that be have decided to "cancel" it for the next two years.

And for, what on the face of it...and even when delving a little deeper...seems to be the most extraordinary - and not to say, ridiculous - of reasons.

Smoking!

The opera, which debuted in 1875 is partially set in and around a tobacco factory in the Spanish city of Seville with portrayals of smoking in the setting, action, libretto and text...at least during the first act.

And that's apparently reason enough for the West Australia Opera Company to drop it from its schedules.

You see, from March 2015, the (state-owned) company has a two-year A$400,000 (around €270,000) partnership deal with the Western Australian government health agency  - Healthway.

West Australian Opera general manager Carolyn Chard said the company had voluntarily made the change to its schedule to accommodate Healthway's policies, describing it as "not difficult".

"We care about the health and wellbeing of our staff, stage performers and all the opera lovers throughout Western Australia," said Chard, adding that the decision had been a "voluntary" one to fit in with Heathway's policies.

Healthway chairwoman, Rosanna Capolingua, praised the decision, although she stressed that no pressure had been put on the opera company to drop "Carmen".

“The portrayal of smoking on stage, in film and on TV normalises smoking and presents it as being attractive, which could dissuade smokers from quitting and encourage young people to take it up.” she said.

What a lot of tosh - at least when it comes to an opera that has been so consistently performed down the decades.

Whatever.

Here's a clip of the most famous aria, "Habanera" from "Carmen", performed in 2013 at the Opéra Bastille in Paris and featuring Italian soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci in the title role.

Yes, she was blonde.

No, she didn't light up.

Gisèle Bündchen stars in Chanel N°5 latest commercial

After all the teasing and taunting the new commercial for Chanel N°5 has been released.

Starring Brazilian supermodel (such a cliché) and directed by Australian Baz Luhrmann, it is without doubt an advertising "masterpiece" (which means it captures your attention, if only for its extravagance), running to over three minutes at its longest version and featuring all the glamour and style you would expect.

Gisèle Bündchen (screenshot from Chanel N°5: "The One That I Want - The Film"

But does the self-proclaimed "world's most desirable fragrance" need to spend the spondoolicks on a campaign (and a launch party) for a product which already projects an image of unobtainable luxury.

Bündchen alone was reportedly paid $4 million for her role (admittedly less than the $7 million Brad Pitt apparently received for his yawn-along part in a previous commercial) - and that launch party in New York?

Gisèle Bündchen (screenshot from Chanel N°5: "The One That I Want - The Film

Well, as usual, Chanel is keeping mum about the figures. But the marketing people must know what they're doing - n'est ce pas?

Opinions are divided over the new commercial. "Wonderful" for some, "average" for others.

Perhaps the most captivating element as, in the words of the New York Times review, Bündchen "an overtaxed modern gal" struggles with the complexities of every day life (as if) such as "surfing in the Hamptons, sending her daughter off in the care of a nanny, getting in a quick photo shoot and reuniting with her man for a canoodle at a jazz club" is the background track.

It's an almost soporofic but at the same time hypnotic remake by US singer-songwriter Matthew Hemerlein - better known (apparently) under his stage name Lo-Fang - of the appropriately entitled (for the purposes of the commercial) "You're the won that I want" from the 1978 film version of the musical "Grease"

Conclusion - beautifully shot, definitely bewitching on first viewing (it holds your attention) but as triumphant as previous campaigns - the jury's out.

And whether, as Luhrmann insists, Bündchen "is the perfect modern No.5 woman" - well the answer is a resounding "no."

That accolade belongs - and this is going to appear entirely contradictory to many probably - to the woman, who when asked what she wore in bed, famously said "Chanel No. 5, of course".


Marilyn Monroe surely remains as modern today as she did back in April 1960 - a fact Chanel recognised in a 2012 retro (in fashion you just have to wait a bit for the "old" to become "new" again) campaign.

Marilyn Monroe (screenshot from "Marilyn and N°5 - Inside Chanel")

Marilyn Monroe (screenshot from "Marilyn and N°5 - Inside Chanel")

Anyway, here's Bündchen in Luhrmann's "mini-film" commercial.

You judge for yourselves.

Friday's French music break - Faul & Wad Ad vs. Pnau, "Changes"

Friday's French music break this week is "Deep house".

Say what?

"A style of house music which fuses elements of Chicago house, jazz-funk, and Detroit techno." apparently, and whose "sonic qualities include slower beats per minute, fewer vocals, darker emotions, jazz-influences, and dissonant melodies."

Right well that's clear, if not a little...um...pompous.

And "Deep house" is reputedly the correct term to describe the music produced by French DJs Faul & Wad Ad as they "go up against" (versus) Pnau with "Changes".

Faul & Wad Ad (From Wikipedia - author Amolithis)

It's all in the art of "mixing" and "sampling" it seems, with Faul (Maxime - who seems to lack a surname) and Wad Ad (Camil Meyer) nabbing the "best bits" from the chorus of "Baby" by the Australian dance music duo Pnau and then doing their stuff in the studio.

The result?

A "Deep house" classic and an instant hit, variously described as a "beautiful dance monster" "with an irresistible warm vibe, impossible to stand still to" and which just calls out to us "to move and shake... with its tingling sax-riff that sits on a gorgeously structured beat.

Yes, clearly the song has not failed to prevent those apparently "in the know" from waxing lyrical without a hyperbolical care in the world.

Don't you just love music reviews?

Anyway, "Changes" might be familiar to some of you as it has been a commercial success in more than one sense of the word.

It has been a top 10 hit in more than a dozen European countries (including Germany and the United Kingdom) since its release in November 2013 and is still lingering at number 11 in the French charts.

And Mercedes decided to use it in the current TV campaign for its C Class.

Anyway, forget all those somewhat puffed-up critiques of the song and decide for yourselves.

Oh yes, and should you want to delve further into "Deep house" try checking out this link for more gobbledygook on the genre.

Take it away Faul & Wad Ad vs. Pnau (try saying with a straight face).

France's embarrassment and anger over Strategic Airlines

Strategic Airlines - a charter company banned by France - makes a mockery of the country's civil aviation authority and takes advantage of a lack of European Union-wide regulations.

(screenshot from TF1 news)

In a special report during its prime time news on Monday, French television channel TF1 looked at how a European subsidiary of the Australian-based company Strategic Airlines had managed to flout a ban placed on it by the French civil aviation authority last September.

The charter airline simply moved its headquarters to neighbouring Luxembourg, as a "completely separate subsidiary" gained a licence from that country's aviation authority, and continued its flights from French airports to destinations in Greece and Portugal.

Strategic Airlines first gained a licence to fly in Europe in 2009 but its name soon became synonymous, as far as passengers and authorities in France were concerned, with technical problems and delays.

Complaints about waits of up to 30 hours because of technical problems and 'planes described by passengers as "flying coffins" as well as spot-checks carried out French civil aviation authority officials led to its licence being revoked in September 2010.

But just a few weeks later the company was back in business.

It had found a loophole in European Union regulations: there is no single agency within the 27-member state bloc responsible for overseeing airlines.

Perhaps the European Aviation Safety Agency would be the body most able to fulfil that function, but its role is limited as it makes clear on its website.

"The Agency works hand in hand with the national authorities which continue to carry out many operational tasks, such as certification of individual aircraft or licencing of pilots."

In other words each member state is responsible for deciding whether a licence will be issued to an airline and although a blacklist of airlines exists, it only applies to non-European companies.

And, according to Gilles Gompertz the general manager of the airline consulting business Avico, Strategic took full advantage of the inadequacy of EU-wide regulations.

"We closed the the door (to the airline) in September 2010 and one month later we opened the window," he said.

"What cannot be explained is the refusal by the company to correct faults and to return to the market after it has effectively been banned. That's shocking."

While Luxembourg's civil aviation authority is apparently "keeping a close eye" on Strategic's operations, it did little to prevent the airline once again upsetting passengers in December, this time those bound for the island of Madeira.

After a 10-hour wait, they were informed that their 'plane had been cancelled - an incident the airline put down to having been the fault of the tour operator.

A "perfect" summer job

There were probably plenty of disappointed applicants last year when Briton Ben Southall beat out over 34,000 others to become caretaker of an Australian tropical island for six months in the so-called "Best job in the world".

But now a similar position of sorts is up for grabs in France, albeit for a limited period and with a distinctive - how to put it? - French touch perhaps.

It's the "Summer job of 2010" (le "job de l'été 2010") offered by the tourist office of the seaside town of Les Sables-d'Olonne and involves - among other things - spreading suntan lotion on holidaymakers: a six week stint which will earn the lucky recruits €5,000.

Photo, Payton Chung from Chicago, USA - from Wikipedia

Actually there isn't just one position as a "creamer" (yep that really is the name the organisers have dreamt up for the job) available but two, as François Boche the director of the town's tourist office explained on national radio.

And the successful candidates won't just be rubbing lotion into sunbathers who've perhaps forgotten to bring along some protection.

"We're looking for a young woman and a young man and applicants will be judged on their ability to get along with members of the public," he said.

"And they'll also need to have some knowledge of health issues and in particular the need to wear sun protection," he continued.

"As well as applying lotion to sunbathers, the successful candidates will be offering advice and information on sun protection," he added.

"And they'll be handing out free samples from the company sponsoring the whole operation."

Ah yes. The "Summer job of 2010" isn't just a public service aimed at increasing awareness of the need to protect against the sun's rays, but also a marketing strategy, and Boche admits that the relatively high pay - €5,000 for just six weeks work - is also a way for the town to promote itself.

So how do all those aspiring "creamers" who want to spend six weeks in July and August on the beaches of the western coast of France actually go about applying?

Well first up they'll have to submit a 45-second video (as well as communications skills and "some knowledge of health issues" they'll presumably also need to be attractive) and a brief curriculum vitæ outlining why they want the job, online.



A site has been set up specifically for applications.

They're then encouraged to mobilise support among their "network of friends online through Facebook, Twitter or email" because the initial voting process is open to anyone logging on to the site.

In June, the 10 candidates with the highest number of votes will then appear before a jury which will choose the two winners.

Just for the record, and for those of you who might be popping along to the beach at Les Sables-d'Olonne some time over the summer and aren't too thrilled at the thought of a complete stranger offering to apply suntan lotion, Boche has a few words of comfort.

"To avoid any problems, the two 'creamers' will only be proposing to apply protection to the upper back and the arms," he said.

"And as far as children are concerned, it'll only be done in the presence of the parents."

A Valentine's Day Kiss-in against homophobia

The title pretty much says it all as once again the group Kiss-in contre l'homophobie readies itself for action - this time on Valentine's Day.

February 14 is the date set for the next Kiss-in, an event which since it was first held in Paris less than a year ago, has gone nationwide and even international.

The French capital isn't the only place where couples, gay or straight, will be able pucker up or, if they're feeling a slightly more reserved, hug each other or hold hands.

As with the last time the event was held back in December, there are similar Kiss-ins planned in towns and cities around the country - 14 in total, and counting according to the group Kiss-in contre l'homophobie on its Facebook page. - as well abroad in Belgium, Peru and Australia.

All are scheduled to take place on Valentine's Day.

And as if to strengthen the international flavour of the event there'll once again be similar Kiss-ins abroad in Switzerland (February 13) Belgium, Peru, Australia (February 14) and for the first time Mexico (February 28).

The idea seems to be gaining support from the somewhat humble beginnings back in June 2009 when just a dozen or so couples decided to kiss in public at an agreed time at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

The concept is not to shock or provoke, nor is it meant to be a demonstration of gay pride, as Arthur Vauthier, one of those behind the idea, has always been at pains to stress.

"The starting point for the whole idea was the simple observation that there's often hesitancy among same-sex couples to show their fondness for one another in public," he said in an interview with the monthly French gay magazine, Têtu.

"Our idea is to trivialise the gesture by saying, 'kiss wherever you want to because it doesn't interfere with others and it also doesn't embarrass us'."

Social media sites have of course more than helped "spread the word", and as well as the main Facebook group with more than 4,000 members there are also a number of regional ones which tell those that are interested what's happening, when and where.

And, as if to prove that in these days in which the Net is all so important in getting the message across, there's the all-essential blog with info available in several languages: French, English, German and Spanish.



So, make a note in your diaries and if you're interested, drop along to the nearest Kiss-in or organise your own, and as they say here in France, "Bises" for Valentine's Day

Fighting homophobia - the French "kiss-in" goes international

After the success here in France of the previous kiss-in against homophobia in September, the idea is going international.

At four o'clock on Saturday afternoon (December 12), couples - gay and straight - in 19 cities and towns around France are invited to lock lips for five minutes, or simply hold hands if they're a little less demonstrative, in a simultaneous show of affection.

And for the first time they'll be joined by similar actions planned abroad in Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Australia and Peru.

The idea is a straightforward one, as Arthur Vauthier, one of those behind the idea which first took place at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in June this year, said in a recent interview with the monthly French gay magazine, Têtu.

It's not meant to be a demonstration of gay pride with banners and flags, but a sign of tolerance and that same-sex couples don't need to feel embarrassed or ashamed when displaying affection in public.

"The starting point for the whole idea was the simple observation that there's often hesitancy among same-sex couples to show their fondness for one another in public," he said

"That's a result partially of the possible reaction from other people, but also a degree of internalised fear," he continued.

"Our idea is to trivialise the gesture by saying, 'kiss wherever you want to because it doesn't interfere with others and it also doesn't embarrass us'."

The first kiss-in, organised in Paris in June, may only have attracted a few couples, but it was quickly followed by a similar event a month later in Dijon, and in September more French towns and cities including Marseille, Lyon and Lille had joined in.

Social media sites have helped spread the word with more than 3,000 members signing up to the Facebook group "Kiss-in contre l'homophobie !" and of course there's a blog giving a list of where and when the next kiss-ins are planned.

As for the future, Vauthier hopes it'll become an annual event nationally, with various locations being chosen - at least in the capital where perhaps same-sex couples have fewer inhibitions.

"In other French towns and cities it's normal that these sorts of events will take places which are busy," he says.

"As far as Paris, we really must go where we really need to be accepted - so why not at some point the suburbs," he suggests.

If you're interested in taking part, a full list of where and when can be found here.