My Christmas Gift to You: Serge Gainsbourg
As I mentioned yesterday, Jesus really isn't my guy.
To me Christmas is a time to give generously to friends and family, to fly home to the ancestral homeland, and to reflect upon the events of the previous year. Religion doesn't enter into it, since religion is hokum.
That said, reverence is important in life, and I revere a handful of my cultural and creative forebears in an evolving pantheon I call the Tainted Saints.
In the spirit of Christmas I have decided to give generously to you, the fine readers of Lemuria Press, the greatest gift imaginable, the music, character, and charm of my favorite Tainted Saint, French composer, poet, and legendary drunk Serge Gainsbourg.
I've posted about Serge before, and near as I can tell no one pays attention or even bothers to click through to the links. "Mona's rambling on about another non-English-speaking musician," I can hear you think. "The only thing worse is when he talks about politics."
I understand, but I implore you to follow the following YouTube link. If it doesn't appeal to you, no harm done. Simply move on, and I'll talk more about Dungeons & Dragons later this week. Sorry to have disturbed you.
On the other hand, if the following clip intrigues you, you're my kind of person and we can move on to the advanced course.
Without further ado, I give you Serge Gainsbourg, my hero:
Now that I have your attention with Serge Gainsbourg as a character, I bring you Serge Gainsbourg as a musician, this time with Brigitte Bardot in what must be one of his finest compositions. Watching this makes me wish I had been born 25 years earlier.
Speaking of Bardot, here are two songs from his era of collaboration with one of France's most famous superstars: "Initials B.B.", her signature song and one of Gainsbourg's best, and "Docteur Jekyll et Monsieur Hyde," which stands out on an utterly brilliant album (also titled Initials B.B.). This guy definitely knows his way around a cigarette, and almost makes getting cancer worthwhile. Those movies in grade school that talked about how smoking makes you cool? They were warning you away from Serge Gainsbourg.
Ready for some more 60s madness, Gainsbourg style? I give you "Qui est 'in,' Qui est 'Out'," one of my current favorites. Dig the funky dancers, man. The sound-synch isn't perfect, but it's still a beauty to behold.
Speaking of a beauties to behold, this final clip features Serge and the love of his life, British actress Jane Birkin. The moral of the story is that even ugly, boorish bastards can have a great love life so long as their talent eclipses the Sun. This tune, "69 Annee Erotique," celebrates one of history's great love stories. Like much of Gainsbourg's output it is soaking in sexuality. As someone in the comments to this video says, this song is "somewhere near the top of a very brilliant repertoire." I keep watching this one over and over again and I never tire of it.
I hope I've hooked at least one of you. If you're interested in exploring Gainsbourg, the best place to start is his unparalleled "concept" album, Histoire de Melody Nelson, written as an elaborate mash note to Birkin and promised to her the first time the couple met. It's gorgeous and a good deal more psychedelic than the stuff I've posted today, and I'm pretty sure it will remain my favorite record until the day I die. Maybe longer, actually, as I want it played at my funeral.
So Merry Christmas to one and all. Tonight, have a drink in honor of Serge Gainsbourg, composer, smoker, lover, and Tainted Saint.
Then have another. And another.
It's what he would have wanted.
To me Christmas is a time to give generously to friends and family, to fly home to the ancestral homeland, and to reflect upon the events of the previous year. Religion doesn't enter into it, since religion is hokum.
That said, reverence is important in life, and I revere a handful of my cultural and creative forebears in an evolving pantheon I call the Tainted Saints.
In the spirit of Christmas I have decided to give generously to you, the fine readers of Lemuria Press, the greatest gift imaginable, the music, character, and charm of my favorite Tainted Saint, French composer, poet, and legendary drunk Serge Gainsbourg.
I've posted about Serge before, and near as I can tell no one pays attention or even bothers to click through to the links. "Mona's rambling on about another non-English-speaking musician," I can hear you think. "The only thing worse is when he talks about politics."
I understand, but I implore you to follow the following YouTube link. If it doesn't appeal to you, no harm done. Simply move on, and I'll talk more about Dungeons & Dragons later this week. Sorry to have disturbed you.
On the other hand, if the following clip intrigues you, you're my kind of person and we can move on to the advanced course.
Without further ado, I give you Serge Gainsbourg, my hero:
Now that I have your attention with Serge Gainsbourg as a character, I bring you Serge Gainsbourg as a musician, this time with Brigitte Bardot in what must be one of his finest compositions. Watching this makes me wish I had been born 25 years earlier.
Speaking of Bardot, here are two songs from his era of collaboration with one of France's most famous superstars: "Initials B.B.", her signature song and one of Gainsbourg's best, and "Docteur Jekyll et Monsieur Hyde," which stands out on an utterly brilliant album (also titled Initials B.B.). This guy definitely knows his way around a cigarette, and almost makes getting cancer worthwhile. Those movies in grade school that talked about how smoking makes you cool? They were warning you away from Serge Gainsbourg.
Ready for some more 60s madness, Gainsbourg style? I give you "Qui est 'in,' Qui est 'Out'," one of my current favorites. Dig the funky dancers, man. The sound-synch isn't perfect, but it's still a beauty to behold.
Speaking of a beauties to behold, this final clip features Serge and the love of his life, British actress Jane Birkin. The moral of the story is that even ugly, boorish bastards can have a great love life so long as their talent eclipses the Sun. This tune, "69 Annee Erotique," celebrates one of history's great love stories. Like much of Gainsbourg's output it is soaking in sexuality. As someone in the comments to this video says, this song is "somewhere near the top of a very brilliant repertoire." I keep watching this one over and over again and I never tire of it.
I hope I've hooked at least one of you. If you're interested in exploring Gainsbourg, the best place to start is his unparalleled "concept" album, Histoire de Melody Nelson, written as an elaborate mash note to Birkin and promised to her the first time the couple met. It's gorgeous and a good deal more psychedelic than the stuff I've posted today, and I'm pretty sure it will remain my favorite record until the day I die. Maybe longer, actually, as I want it played at my funeral.
So Merry Christmas to one and all. Tonight, have a drink in honor of Serge Gainsbourg, composer, smoker, lover, and Tainted Saint.
Then have another. And another.
It's what he would have wanted.