DSK, the musical

Une icône de la pop est morte... depuis des lustres

Avec le décès de Michael Jackson, les événements qui se déroulent en Iran sont passés au deuxième plan. Mais pour moi, le Michael Jackson qui a fait Thriller, un album mythique et géant, est mort il y a longtemps. Ses déboires, son recours sans cesse au bistouri (qui l’a rendu méconnaissable et effrayant à regarder, une sorte d’épouvantail vivant), sans parler de ses problèmes avec les jeunes gens… toutes ses histoires ont fini par enterrer Michael Jackson. Puis, les rumeurs insistantes qui courent ses dernières années sur sa situation financière, fragilisée par les procès pour abus sexuels sur mineurs. On dit qu’il laisse derrière lui une montagne de dettes, de quelques 400 millions de dollars.

Le prix de la célébrité est lourd, très lourd.

Twice in a Lifetime

I thought I was in Heaven when I saw David Byrne at Benaroya in February of this year (see blog entry). Who knew that four months later we would get the chance to see him at the Paramount - for free? (Thanks Prdeep and Frontier Bank!) Was it the Same As it Ever Was? Not quite. Some of the same songs, but not all. And then this special surprise at the end. I had never seen a marching band that looked to have strippers, cross-dressers and possibly trannies among its membership. They did a gig later on at the Comet Tavern and when we left the Paramount they were doing an impromptu performance in the lobby.

The only scary moment came when people were dancing to Burning Down the House. We were on the mezzanine and it was shaking, literally shaking. I had thoughts of disaster.

Parachute doré

Alain Souchon does it again.
I was just reading Le Monde and came across an article about French pop singer and songwriter Alain Souchon. You have probably never heard of him, unless you live in France or some other French-speaking land. He's typical of French stars, at least those who came on the scene before the advent of the reality show version of "the star-making machinery behind the popular song." His songs are popular, but they are highly personal and often about things that really matter. Check out Foule Sentimentale. Even if you don't understand the words, you'll appreciate the haunting tune. Or so I hope. Is it possible to separate that song from its lyrics? Is it possible to appreciate the tune without listening to the words?
I don't know. But Alain Souchon has just written a song called Parachute doré (Golden parachute), and you can download it for free from his official website or see/hear it here: http://tinyurl.com/3wteov

You can probably guess that this song is well-timed given the planetary meltdown of the stock markets, the collapse of the banking system, and news that AIG executives, after begging for and getting an 85 billion dollar bailout from the government, spent a week at a ritzy spa, for another half million of our money. Alain Souchon's latest song is about the world we live in, with all its faults.

"Il y a des gens, on leur dit vous avez une boîte avec plein d'employés, vous organisez (...) et le gars, le chef, il sait pas. La boîte, elle coule, et là, on lui donne des millions et des millions. Il s'en va sous les tropiques. Mange des noix de coco avec des top-models. Nage dans l'eau transparente. Ça, ça s'appelle un parachute doré, c'est extra, vous merdez complètement et on vous donne plein d'argent!"


"J'ai creusé, creusé la dette, au lieu de me creuser la tête. Un jour, les cours ont chuté et moi... parachuté !"

Ah, I'll let you wonder what he's saying for awhile, then translate. But listen to the song as well. Note how sweet the voice is, how detached and ironic the singer is. Ironic but not cynical; without illusions, but not resigned. Thank you, Alain Souchon... c'est déjà ça!