dimanche 16 janvier 2011

Serge Gainsbourg: "L'homme à la tête de chou"

Serge Gainsbourg is one the greastest singer-song writer of french music industry. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize. His legacy has been firmly established, and he is often regarded as one of the world's most influential popular musicians.

For me Serge Gainsbourg is THE french artists of all time: a poet,  a dark guy, a HEAVY smoker and drinker, a womenizer who flirted with so many beautiful women....

I died a little too soon but i love him so i had to share my passion for him.

Gainsbourg: The Man

Serge Gainsbourg was born Lucien Ginsburg in Paris, France, the son of Russian Jewish parents, Joseph Ginsburg and OlgaBessman , who fled to France after the 1917 Russian Revolution. His childhood was profoundly affected by the occupation of France by Nazi Germany, during which he and his family, as Jews, were forced to wear the yellow star and eventually flee Paris. Before he was 30 years old, Gainsbourg was a disillusioned painter, but earned his living as a piano player in bars.

His early stage carreer was hard because of his physical appereance. Gainsbourg was feeling rejected because he thought he was an ugly guy : "l'Homme à la tête de chou, half vegetable, half man" (Je suis l'homme, moitié légume et moitié mec...)

Gainsbourg: The Artist

1. Early Work
His early songs were influenced by Boris Vian and were largely in the vein of old-fashioned chanson. Very early, however, Gainsbourg began to move beyond this and experiment with a succession of different musical styles: jazz early on, pop in the 1960s, rock and reggae in the 1970s, and electronica in the 1980s.

Many of his songs contained themes with a morbid or sexual twist in them. An early success, "Le Poinçonneur des Lilas", describes the day in the life of a Paris Métro ticket man whose job it is to stamp holes in passengers' tickets. Gainsbourg describes this chore as so monotonous that the man eventually thinks of putting a hole into his own head and being buried in another



 
 

 
2. Les années yéyé: Gainsbourg, the song-writer
 
Gainsbourg did not have much success with his jazz tune nor with his poetic songs. To earn money he decided to write songs for others. He would write his own lyrics with his own message but would let mostly young starletts of the time sing them. (He would also become a rich man)
 
He had his first success with Juliette Gréco (Javanaise) but the hits were with Françoise Hardy and more importantly France Gall who won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "les Sucettes". "Les Sucettes" ("Lollipops"), caused a scandal in France: Gainsbourg had written the song with double-meanings and strong sexual innuendo, of which the singer was apparently unaware when she recorded it. Whereas Gall thought that the song was about a girl enjoying lollipops, it was really about oral sex. The controversy arising from the song, although a big hit for Gall, threw her career off-track in France for several years.



 

 
3. Serge Gainsbourg et Brigitte Bardot
 
No need to introduce Brigitte Bardot, she was THE most beautiful and demanded woman and the 60's. Serge Gainsbourg wrote her a few songs to sing (Harley Davidson) and they had a short but intense romance while Mrs Bardot was still married. They also made wonderful duos like Bonnie and Clyde and the famous "Je t'aime... moi non plus", which featured explicit lyrics and simulated sounds of female orgasm.
 
The song appeared that year on an LP, Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg. Originally recorded with Brigitte Bardot, it was released with future girlfriend Birkin when Bardot backed out. While Gainsbourg declared it the "ultimate love song," it was considered too "hot"; the song was censored in various countries, and in France even the toned-down version was suppressed. The Vatican made a public statement citing the song as offensive. However, despite all the controversy, it charted within the top ten in many European countries
 
Gainsbourg dedicated his song Initials B.B to Brigitte Bardot.
 

BONNIE AND CLYDE
envoyé par obiwhan76. - Clip, interview et concert.
 
 

 
 

 
4. Les années 1970 : décennie majeure
 
Histoire de Melody Nelson was released in 1971. This concept album, produced and arranged by Jean-Claude Vannier, tells the story of a Lolita-esque affair, with Gainsbourg as the narrator. This album made quite a scandal because Melody -like Lolita- is only 15 years old (14 automne et 15 été)
 

 
 

 
In 1975, he released the album Rock Around the Bunker, a rock album written entirely on the subject of the Nazis. Gainsbourg used black comedy, as he and his family suffered during World War II. While a child in Paris, Gainsbourg had worn the yellow badge as the mark of a Jew. Rock Around the Bunker belonged in the mid-1970s "retro" trend
 

 
The next year saw the release of another major work, L'Homme à tête de chou (Cabbage-Head Man), featuring the new character Marilou and sumptuous orchestral themes. Cabbage-Head Man is one of his nicknames, as it refers to his ears but also the blind love he has for Marilou, paying everything she wants and have nothng in return. At the end of the album (Marilou sous la neige) he would eventually kill her. For me this album is also the beginning of Gainsbarre, Gainsbourg alter ego, being a kind of Mr Hyde hiding in him, alcohol, cigarettes are mostly the reason of that change but also again the desire to provoc. His voice is really different, but the style and lyrics are still there.
 

 
 

 
 

 
5. Final years
 
After a turbulent 13-year-long relationship, Jane Birkin left Gainsbourg.[9] In the 1980s, near the end of his life, Gainsbourg became a regular figure on French TV. His appearances seemed devoted to his controversial sense of humour and provocation: burning 500 francs bill to prostest against heavy taxation, saying on national TV he wanted to fuck Whitney Houston. Treating an ex porn star and future singer Catherine Ringer a "whore"
 

 
 

 
 

 
Gainsbourg: The Icon
 
Gainsbourg died on March 2, 1991 of a heart attack. He was buried in the Jewish lot of the Montparnasse Cemetery, in Paris. His funeral brought Paris to a standstill, and French President François Mitterrand said of him, "He was our Baudelaire, our Apollinaire... He elevated the song to the level of art. His home at the well-known address rue de Verneuil is still covered in graffiti and poems (Go check it out)
 
Since his death, Gainsbourg's music has reached legendary stature in France. His lyrical brilliance in French has left an extraordinary legacy. His music, always progressive, covered many styles: jazz, ballads, mambo, lounge, reggae, pop (including adult contemporary pop, kitsch pop, yé-yé pop), disco, bossa nova, and rock and roll. He has gained a following in the English-speaking world with many non-mainstream artists finding his arrangements highly influential. The band Phoenix said they were only listening Gainsbourg for french inspiration
 
A feature film titled Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque) was released in France in January 2010, which is based on the graphic novel by the writer-director of the film, Joann Sfar. Gainsbourg is portrayed by Eric Elmosnino.
 
Sorry for this REALLY long article but Gainsbours is so complex that you need more than a few words to understand his caracter.
I did not write the article all by myself but a lot of is from me.
 
Tell me what you think, the playlist is on the way
Yours truly
JP

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