Le Post-Punk Francais

As promised, Part II of this French punk sampleur - Post-Punk/New Wave Francais. Although I can't say that I entirely buy the distinction made by Simon Reynolds in Rip It Up and Start Again between New Wave and Post-Punk, I will say that the bands here at least thought of themselves as a continuation of the Punk spirit of '77. But where to begin?

Well, how about here.



Catchy, n'est pas? Although I'm always tempted to say that song sounds like a rip-off of "Melt With You" by English post-punk band, Modern English, that would be absurd, since "Edith Nylon" by the band Edith Nylon pre-dates that 80s gem by 3 years, having been recorded for their 1979 debut album. So it appears that here the French have the better of their English counterparts! Anyway, for those who would think of this as a simple pop trifle, I recommend checking out and translating the lyrics which deal with the bodyparts of a bionic woman with "interchangeable parts" that include chrome lips and a 'stainless vagina.'

Along the same lines, but a little more B-52s and rockabilly, Ici Paris. Their titular anthem "Allo Monde . . . Ici Paris" is pretty fantastic. They are the group pictured at the top of this post. They however didn't perform in that ridiculous get-up.

Ici Paris - Allo Monde

For those who like their music from this era to sound more like robots, I recommend Charles de Goal (a pun, you see!).



Charles de Goal along with many of these post-punk bands, owe their recorded careers to a small independent French label, New Rose Records. Apart from being the pre-eminent indie label for this kind of French music from its formation in 1982 until it was sold to super-chain FNAC in 1992, New Rose recorded some neglected English and American artists for whom the 80s was not a great time commercially while also acting as a European distributor for underground American labels. Among the artists it recorded or distributed: Alex Chilton, Roky Erickson, The Dead Kennedys (distributed), The Troggs, Bo Diddley, The Replacements (distributed), Mission of Burma (distributed), The Fugs, The Cramps (distributed), GG Allin (distributed), and Wreckless Eric. New Rose also operated a store in Paris, which from what I've read, functioned as the center of a scene, perhaps not unlike 'Sex,' Malcolm McLaren's shop that was the center of early London punk.

One band I have to mention as they are definitely THE French post-punk band: Taxi Girl. My favorite song of theirs, and their earliest hit, Cherchez le Garcon.




Taxi Girl was arguably the biggest of these New Wave bands for a number of years in the early 80s. Composed of two high-school friends, Mirwais Ahmadzaï and Daniel Darc (not his real name, which he described in 1984 as "too complicated, too Jewish, and too Russian" UPDATE: real name Daniel Rozoum), and taking its name from a pornographic book read by the head staffer in their lunchroom cafeteria, Taxi Girl was one-part Police and one-part Kraftwerk. After a few years of solid hits, the band broke up. Mirwais went on to a successful solo career in dance music, really taking off once he co-wrote and co-produced most of Madonna's "Music" record including the title song and "Don't Tell Me." Since then he's been active with the new French club scene, producing for Uffie. It should be mentioned that Air and Daft Punk name check Taxi Girl as a huge influence. While I'm talking about the nouveau French club, I have it on good authority from a friend that a young Busy P (ne Pedro Winter) got into the French electronic music scene in 1992 still inhabited by these 80s guys and the "new class" which included a young Daft Punk and Dimitri from Paris, after which he became their manager. So you can kind of trace a straight line from Taxi Girl to Justice, but you have to squint real hard while doing it.

Alright, final act on this remembrance of punk past - Les Rita Mitsouko. If you read the last post on French punk, you'll remember Gazoline, Alain Kan's punk experiment. After Gazoline broke up, the guitarist from that band, Fred Chichin, formed this group with his girlfriend Catherine Ringer, a band that I analogize to France's Talking Heads. Their biggest hit - Marcia Baila (Marcia is dancing) - despite its upbeat rhythm is actually a moving eulogy to the group's dancer, Argentine ballerina Marcia Moretto, who died of cancer in 1981. Great 80s video as well:



Of course, there is much more I could have covered here, but like some kind of internet Levar Burton on cyber-reading rainbow, I'm going to tell you to explore this music on your own. Here's a good start, a compilation list put together by a French journalist. Bonne chance!