Françoise Hardy: chercher et detruire

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I only have 'Ma Jeunesse Fout La Camp' which I love, but only play when I want to feel young & sad, because the melancholy can be quite overwhelming. So where do I go from here? And is there anything to avoid at any cost?

― Omar, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

Ahhh. the ravishing mademoiselle hardy. everything up until about 1973 is heart-achingly flawless. All the vogue disques stuff ( & boy was she prolific) make a peerlessly loverlorn summer score ( which may benefit from woeful ignorance of the french tongue if the translations on the engilsh language lps are any indication). all eminently affordable due to ubiquity in charity shops, all beautifuly designed. what i've heard of her 70s material is more erratic but by no means irredeemible. i have a soft spot for her contribution to the b-side of sexy boy also. lovely lady. wrote almost all her own songs too.

― cw, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

All the sixties stuff is all safely woth owning in my experience - the odd cornball number greatly outweighed by the good ones...gets a little adult-oriented bland by the mid seventies, I find.

I haven't heard the english translations nor is my french worth anything, could a french speaker tell me if her lyrics are as beautiful as they seem?

― fritz, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

The only thing I remember from her is a duet of I'll Be Seeing You with Iggy Pop! It's great of course.

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

could a french speaker tell me if her lyrics are as beautiful as they seem?

I'd love to help, but I know like 2 of her songs and I don't remember how the words go.

― Patrick, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

Whoa, "Tous les garçons et les filles" is on the radio this very minute.

― Patrick, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

to hit even an even younger and more melancholic vibe its always good to hear her sing in english... its the grand paradox... the magdelena curse as she sounds even more frail and unsure of what shes doing yet retaining the britney spears notion of enjoying a filthy adult education... check out the english versions of 'Ce Petit Coeur'; 'this Little Heart' or her biggest french hit 'Tous Les Garcons Et Les Filles'; 'Find me a boy'... completely necessary... one great thing about any song translation in a language foreign or even just secondary to an artist like francois hardy is the uncertainty and hesitancy of the voice, something which is often missed in the pomp and familiarity of a song performed just one more time in native tounge and with all the confidence of a local chart-topping nymphet... and please remember; the thing with any dirty french chanteuse is to not listen to the lyrics or even imagine that any other accent then french could pull off such inane schoolyard script, as its not about the lyrics, its always about the dirt of the innocent...

― Dan, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

I think this ties in with cashmoneygun hiphop somehow. (no other accent could pull it off; the lyrics are juvenile...) No? Okay then.

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

tons of good stuff - but my favorite is, shit i forgot the title, the one with "reve" & "le martien" etc, black & white cover photo, circa 1970? on the back she wears a hat , smokes a cig.

― duane, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

Just got some of said artistes' stuff. Very handsome voice, taseful backgrounds, melodies..classic

― Mike Hanley, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

is that "la question" that dz is describing?

― jon, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

yes it is, thanks fer the prompt! & from what i know, that might've been her last real good record .

― d.zarakov, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

question - she covered a Nirvana song, true or false? A: true but (trick question!) it was by the '60s band Nirvana (the song - "Tiny Goddess" off I think it's called "Francoise Sings in English", it's real good.)

― D.Z., Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

Okay I've seen 'La question' in the shops for little money, so I'll get that one tomorrow, and her English-sung albums are not be avoided (I'll remember that). Last week I had one of those "lucky buys" when at a discount bookshop I found 'Notes Secrètes' a French biography with lyrics a tons of pictures. She was a bit of une belle star, oui? i love it when books like that just seem to materialize in order to fulfill some private wish.

― Omar, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

Being new to Francoise Hardy, where would one start?

― JC, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

if you're after vinyl: loads of the vogue 60s stuff is readily attainable from charity shops & 2nd hand emporiums. all of it is great & so heavily re-issued with different sleeves & titles that its difficult to pin down one specificly. CDs: i saw a bunch of nicely packaged compilations of her early phase in hmv the other day which were good value. don't remember any titles.sorry.

― cw, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

As I said in another thread, Francoise is exactly what I'd want to look like, were I a French girl. Just look at her wearing black leotards in the packing crate on one of her first albums--didn't that Beatles photographer steal this idea? Oh, and the 'sixties singles are good, too.

― X. Y. Zedd, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

What thread was that Zedd? I'd like to second that wish you see ;). Were I French girl I would love to look F.H. on the back of La Question (photo with hat + cigaret). Weird record btw.

― Omar, Monday, 2 July 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

Omar, you've probably found this already--but it was the "Search And Destoy" thread on "French Ye-Ye Pop." Much useful information, including some useless disinformation from myself... Even in recent photos, Francoise looks pretty darn fetching for someone, like me, in the shady side of life.

― X. Y. Zedd, Monday, 2 July 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

Oh, my gosh! How could I forget--Francoise's star turn on Malcolm McLaren's 1994 "Paris" album. She sings a song about death by roses whose title I somehow can't think of at the moment, but let me assure you it's one of the most stunningly transcendent pieces of pop music ever recorded, the essence of fluffy French pop. Even if you hate McLaren (and I wouldn't blame you), this song would be enough to convert you for life. I'm humming it even now in my head but blast me if I can think of the words just now! Anyway, rush right out and buy this--you will not regret the expense!

― X. Y. Zedd, Monday, 2 July 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

Francoise Hardy:

Can't think of the name of the english album, but that was my first introduction to her. Aawww....a sun kissed parisian goddess. Francoise Hardy and Jane Birkin, surely the beatles and the stones.

But she does beautiful covers of Tim Hardin, Buddy Holly, Ray Davies....

The new Francoise Hardy has to be Dot Allison.................there is a superstar talent....

― doompatrol23@hotmail.com, Tuesday, 3 July 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

4 years pass...

REVIVE

I bought La Question in France...it's gorgeous....reminds me a little of chelsea girls nico...kinda but better....just an amazing singer!

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 15 November 2005 01:17 (7 years ago) Permalink

this music makes me feel pretty.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 15 November 2005 01:40 (7 years ago) Permalink

like if i had hair I would totally sit on my balcony on brushing me hair like princess amidala in episode iii.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 15 November 2005 01:41 (7 years ago) Permalink

listening to francois hardy

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 15 November 2005 01:44 (7 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

classique

― gershy, Sunday, 27 May 2007 06:56 (5 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

― velko, Wednesday, 20 January 2010 09:17 (3 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

Happy Birthday, Françoise

― Do you know what the secret of comity is? (Michael White), Tuesday, 17 January 2012 16:18 (1 year ago) Permalink

5 months pass...

Despite the generic rock backing tracks i really like her singing and songwriting on the recent stuff I've heard.

― ratso piazzolla (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 30 June 2012 23:40 (10 months ago) Permalink

5 months pass...

― buzza, Sunday, 23 December 2012 06:04 (5 months ago) Permalink

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