Friday's French music break - Yucca Velux, "Love"

Friday's French music break this week is a real treat. It's the title track from the EP "Love" from the eccentrically (well there's really no other word for it) named Yucca Velux, a four-piece "symphonic pop" group with an extraordinarily and delightfully different sound.

Yucca Velux (screenshot from Europe 1 radio)

That's mainly down to lead singer Mélo's voice which even manages to make bum, almost flat, notes sound simply delicious.

"Love" is the group's first release since they won Europe 1 radio's "Jeunes talents" early on in the year.

Sung in English, it's a sort of tongue-in-cheek girl-power recipe on how to catch and retain your man.

Clever lyrics which occasionally sit uncomfortably with the melody so that the whole structure of the song sounds somewhat contrived.

But hey, any "love" song which includes the words "quiver" and "qualm" has to be worth a listen.

And it most definitely is, coming across as a sophisticated, classy sound with an almost symphonic-like ending reminiscent of ELO or even the Beatles?

So, sit back - with a glass of red wine as suggested in the lyrics - and let it pour over you.

Enjoy.

Dominique de Villepin's Rolling Stone is a Beatle

Former French prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, confuses The Beatles with The Rolling Stones during a prime time television show.

Dominique de Villepin (photo from Wikipedia, copyright David Mendiboure - Service photo de Matignon)

Dominique de Villepin is due to launch his own political movement on June 19.

It's the next stage of his possible bid to become the next French president when elections take place in 2012.



As France 24 reported earlier this year, the new "independent political movement" is viewed by many as a challenge to his "bitter rival" the current French president, Nicolas Sarkozy.

With the launch fast approaching, Villepin has been multiplying his public appearances and of course has been making full use of the country's media to get his message across.

Last weekend for example, he appeared on Dimanche +, the Sunday afternoon political magazine on Canal +, during which he criticised Sarkozy's foreign policy, saying France's voice wasn't being heard loud enough in the Middle East or Afghanistan,

But just a few days prior to that while on "La boïte à questions" portion of the daily evening news and talk show, Le Grand Journal, on the same channel, Villepin made an error which has more than amused some commentators.

"La boïte à questions" is a short segment of the show during which guests are invited into a room in which they face a screen displaying questions sent in by viewers.

It's a light-hearted affair, obviously meant to be entertaining, but it can at times be quite revealing.

Such was the case with Villepin.

His question and answer session started off well enough.

"Can you say in English, 'I might be a candidate (for the presidency) in 2012'," he was asked.

The former diplomat, one-time foreign minister, and prime minister from 2005-2007 responded with aplomb, albeit it heavily accented.

The next question was one designed to test Villepin's street credibility when he was asked "to show that you're more 'with it' than Benoît Hamon (the 42-year-old spokesman for the Socialist party) can you tell us who Lady Gaga is?

"She's a charming singer, a little eccentric," he replied without flinching.

But it was when the 56-year-old was asked a question about a musical group with which his age would presumably make him more familiar that he came somewhat unstuck.

"If you had been a member of the Rolling Stones, which one would you like to have been?" flashed up on the screen.

"It would have been difficult to have been Mick Jagger," began Villepin in response.

"So probably Ringo Star."

It was a blunder which, as far as the well-known French radio and television presenter Laurent Ruquier was concerned, didn't bode well for the former prime minister.

"It's not by confusing the two (groups) that Dominique de Villepin will appear more intelligent," commented Ruquier during his daily radio programme on Monday.

"Of course it's a mistake that anyone could make as not everyone is familiar with the Beatles" he continued.

"But to try to give the impression that you know something, when you don't, that's not particularly admirable."