If Jane Birkin is sellin’, I’m buyin’.
Directed by Serge Gainsbourg in 1976. And, yes, the voice over is by Serge.
From now on when I think of hand washables, I’ll be in a Birkin state of mind. Wooleet? Mais oui.
Histoire de Melody Nelson, a 27 minute rock opera released on vinyl in 1971, is generally considered to be Serge Gainsbourg’s magnum opus, albeit one that is somewhat smaller in scale than most operatic masterpieces. It tells the tale of a wealthy middle-aged man who crosses paths with a younger woman, practically killing her when his car collides with her as she is bicycling, and his subsequent erotic obsession for the girl. At the time of its release, the music, lyrics and production of Histoire de Melody Nelson were considered innovative, adventurous and provocative and still to this day continue to enthrall listeners and influence countless musicians.
Dangerous Minds’ Richard Metzger has previously written about Histoire de Melody Nelson in his typically tantalizing fashion and you can read it here.
Melody, a film based on Histoire de Melody Nelson made for French TV, was directed by Jean Christophe Averty with Gainsbourg and his lover Jane Birkin in the lead roles. Averty’s visual style was acutely attuned to Gainsbourg’s surreal sensibilities and the fusion of film to music and lyrics works wonderfully.
Here is Melody in its entirety:
Serge Gainsbourg sings “Requiem Pour Un Con” from 1968 French film Le Pacha starring Jean Gabin.
What a sweet groove.
A tantalizingly brief clip of a collaboration between fashion giant Yves Saint-Laurent and composer/arranger/ key Serge Gainsbourg collaborator, Jean-Claude Vannier. A version of L’enfant la Mouche et les Allumettes from Vannier’s 1972 LP L’enfant Assassin des Mouches (pictured above) is performed as rather surreal accompaniment to the fashion goings-on from The Roland Petit Show in 1971. Wish it went on longer.
Bonus: A few songs from the wonderful aformentioned LP
Le Roi Des Mouches Et La Confiture De Rouse
Les Gardes Volent Au Secours Du Roi
L`enfant Au Royaume Des Mouches
With thanks to Justin Meldal-Johnsen !
Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp (The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger) cover Serge Gainsbourg’s “Comic Strip” in this video shot by a fan earlier this evening in Paris.
Sean and Charlotte seem to be channeling more of Serge and Jane than John and Yoko. Though Sean has certainly inherited his Dad’s guitar playing chops.
Marianne Faithfull looking stunningly gorgeous in 1967 French musical comedy Anna starring Anna Karina and Jean-Claude Brialy. In this scene Marianne sings ‘Hier Ou Demain’ written by Serge Gainsbourg.
Oh, Marianne. My knees are trembling, my upper lip quivering, my groin is vibrating like a tuning fork struck by the hand of God and storm clouds are bursting in the skies hovering above my feverish head. My dog is slapping me silly and begging to come to my senses. Could this be love? .
Have a listen to “Moogy Woogy” by Serge Gainsbourg, from the soundtrack to Trop Jolies Pour Etre Honnetes (Too Pretty to be Honest) (great title, eh?), a 1972 French crime caper co-starring “Mrs. Gainsbourg” at the time, gorgeous Jane Birkin.
Via the always awesome World of Kane.
Serge Gainsbourg and Jerry Lee Lewis rhapsodizing about women and fucking in Bourges, France, 1987. Raw video footage shot for French TV but never broadcast for obvious reasons. This is epic.
The Guardian reports on a beloved French tortoise named “Kiki,” who apparently amused the French public to no end with his priapic, Gainsbourg-esque antics. Kiki, in addition to being one of the world’s horniest animals, was also one of its oldest. Canonize that mofo! >Via the Guardian:
France was in mourning today for one of its oldest and best-loved lotharios, a giant tortoise named Kiki, who died at the age of 146.
Staff at the M?ɬ
My earlier detour to Tosh Berman’s site tipped me off to the forthcoming Serge Gainsbourg bio-pic. Forthcoming in France, anyway—I’m not exactly sure when Serge Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life will see its American release. Judging from the following NSFW-ish trailer, though, the casting seems pretty spot-on, and forget it’s all in French: much like Serge’s music, it doesn’t need much in the way of translation.
Mister Freedom is a 1969 satire directed by expat American fashion photographer William Klein. It stars French actress Delphne Seyrig (who was also in Day of the Jackal). Donald Pleasence and Serge Gainsbourg have supporting roles and May 1968 student rebel-rouser Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Simone Signoret and Yves Montand have uncredited cameos.
Mister Freedom concerns a loutish, jingoistic American superhero, a self-righteous idiot run amok, who’s willing to destroy France in order to save it from the Ruskies and Chinamen. Obviously this is a parody of American foreign policy of the Vietnam era, but what’s so utterly uncanny about the film is how well it predicts the Bush era. It’s incredible! Watch a clip and see if you agree:
Beck made a “tribute” to Mister Freedom with his Sexx Laws video and the Japanese pop duo Pizzicato 5 made an homage to the film with their Sister Freedom Tapes EP.