Yann Tiersen is a genius
"Soundtracks are the classical music of today" ~ Anisa, as we discussed the genius of Yann Tiersen last night, sitting out on the side of a Strasbourg canal during her last night.
I just got back from FNAC, one of the biggest electronics/audio/visual stores in the area, in the hopes to check out the digital camera selection... of course i got discouraged on that front pretty quickly and decided to get out of there and enjoy the beautiful sunny day (has summer FINALLY started??)... but not before I was just going to peak upstairs in the CD section.
Bad idea.
An hour and a half later, I was still in the store, having discovered the "scan the barcode" music stations where you can listen to 30 second clips of almost any cd's songs. I must’ve had a pile of about 12 cds that I was skimming through, rediscovering all the music I’d been introduced to at the original goat-party fête (Eric’s birthday party after my first visit to the farm), as well as some of the stuff we heard at thsi weekend’s mountain party. Funnily enough, I already recognized a good number of names thanks to a random french compliation CD sophia’s mom gave me back in highschool that turned out the be a bizarrely awesome mix of underground french rock.
And french rock... totally different genre than American rock. I mean, how often do we americans think to stick an accordian in the background as one of the principle instruments? And there are other details... a distinct feel, various styles meshed together (like La Phaze’s jungle and punk), vocals set very much at the front of the music, clear and expressive, some rap mixed in on occasion, electronic influences, big band back-ups, political and environmental issues woven in, absurd lyrics... and, despite how many people might laugh at french rap, despite the fact that Anisa thinks it "just doesn't work", I think it's frickin awesome... When used well, of course... take Java for example. It's rock/rap/something totally different... one song has people buzzing in the background with the lyrics "sad like an empty fridge"... Suffice it to say, I have two Java CDs on my list of must-haves, though I'm not about to pay 20 euros each at this point.
On my list of to-gets:
- La Phaze, Fin de Cycle and Pungle Roads (this is the reggae/punk group I went to see with Gaspard and friends)
- Noir Désir, des visages des Figures
- Les hurlements d'leo, ouest terne
- Java, hawaï and Safari Croisière
- Manu Chao, Clandestino (with the song Bongo Bong, that I've danced to all semester when out salsaing)
- Mickey 3d, tu vas pas mourir de rire
- Raphael, caravan
- Le peuple de l'herbe, ph test/two
- Gotan Project
- Cafe del Mar
So what did I walk out with today? Well, considering there were sale CDs for 8.99 euros, I figured I'd limit myself to a few of those and wait to get the more expensive stuff until I'm back home and can find it through Amazon or something... but I did manage to walk out with some good finds: the new album from De Palmas, who I discovered during my first visit to france, and then two of Yann Tiersen's cds, one being the soundtrack to Goodbye Lenin. Haven't yet seen the movie (yet), but after listening to the CD in Romain's car monday (his favorite movie and Yann Tiersen his favorite musician), it became a necessary addition to my collection. For those who don't know Yann Tiersen, think Amélie. He did the entire soundtrack, and has those amazing piano, accordian, violin compositions that build and fill and tug at every part of your emotional comprehension.
it dawns on me that I haven't yet mentioned Romain, nor talked much about the mountain fete, or about the other various happenings of this past busy week. I feel it merits a post of its own, so I'll sign off on this topic and start a new post...
On a final note: If you don't have any Yann Tiersen, go out and get some now. I'm serious. He'll take you for an emotional rollercoaster. Which is all the better when you're sitting on top of the Vosges at midnight, intertwining fingers with a 24-year-old log-cabin-building mountain man...
http://www.yanntiersen.com/
I just got back from FNAC, one of the biggest electronics/audio/visual stores in the area, in the hopes to check out the digital camera selection... of course i got discouraged on that front pretty quickly and decided to get out of there and enjoy the beautiful sunny day (has summer FINALLY started??)... but not before I was just going to peak upstairs in the CD section.
Bad idea.
An hour and a half later, I was still in the store, having discovered the "scan the barcode" music stations where you can listen to 30 second clips of almost any cd's songs. I must’ve had a pile of about 12 cds that I was skimming through, rediscovering all the music I’d been introduced to at the original goat-party fête (Eric’s birthday party after my first visit to the farm), as well as some of the stuff we heard at thsi weekend’s mountain party. Funnily enough, I already recognized a good number of names thanks to a random french compliation CD sophia’s mom gave me back in highschool that turned out the be a bizarrely awesome mix of underground french rock.
And french rock... totally different genre than American rock. I mean, how often do we americans think to stick an accordian in the background as one of the principle instruments? And there are other details... a distinct feel, various styles meshed together (like La Phaze’s jungle and punk), vocals set very much at the front of the music, clear and expressive, some rap mixed in on occasion, electronic influences, big band back-ups, political and environmental issues woven in, absurd lyrics... and, despite how many people might laugh at french rap, despite the fact that Anisa thinks it "just doesn't work", I think it's frickin awesome... When used well, of course... take Java for example. It's rock/rap/something totally different... one song has people buzzing in the background with the lyrics "sad like an empty fridge"... Suffice it to say, I have two Java CDs on my list of must-haves, though I'm not about to pay 20 euros each at this point.
On my list of to-gets:
- La Phaze, Fin de Cycle and Pungle Roads (this is the reggae/punk group I went to see with Gaspard and friends)
- Noir Désir, des visages des Figures
- Les hurlements d'leo, ouest terne
- Java, hawaï and Safari Croisière
- Manu Chao, Clandestino (with the song Bongo Bong, that I've danced to all semester when out salsaing)
- Mickey 3d, tu vas pas mourir de rire
- Raphael, caravan
- Le peuple de l'herbe, ph test/two
- Gotan Project
- Cafe del Mar
So what did I walk out with today? Well, considering there were sale CDs for 8.99 euros, I figured I'd limit myself to a few of those and wait to get the more expensive stuff until I'm back home and can find it through Amazon or something... but I did manage to walk out with some good finds: the new album from De Palmas, who I discovered during my first visit to france, and then two of Yann Tiersen's cds, one being the soundtrack to Goodbye Lenin. Haven't yet seen the movie (yet), but after listening to the CD in Romain's car monday (his favorite movie and Yann Tiersen his favorite musician), it became a necessary addition to my collection. For those who don't know Yann Tiersen, think Amélie. He did the entire soundtrack, and has those amazing piano, accordian, violin compositions that build and fill and tug at every part of your emotional comprehension.
it dawns on me that I haven't yet mentioned Romain, nor talked much about the mountain fete, or about the other various happenings of this past busy week. I feel it merits a post of its own, so I'll sign off on this topic and start a new post...
On a final note: If you don't have any Yann Tiersen, go out and get some now. I'm serious. He'll take you for an emotional rollercoaster. Which is all the better when you're sitting on top of the Vosges at midnight, intertwining fingers with a 24-year-old log-cabin-building mountain man...
http://www.yanntiersen.com/
posted by Melia at 5:32 AM
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