Music (Part Two)

"Foreign bands"

To follow the first part, still in jazz from nowdays, I came to Nils Petter Molvaer, reading about Erik Truffaz. He is from Norway and he brought electro and techno into jazz and a bit of drum n' bass too...
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=2fAX8kXgtmI&feature=channel_page

Also from Norway, Jaga Jazzist. First time I listened to them, it was actually a gig in Paris, they were the support band for Tony Allen. A group of ten, no singer, very good on stage, their first record, "A living room hush" is really good.
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=yeOvxU7bW4c&feature=related

Without any transition, Keziah Jones from Nigeria. Unpredicatbale on stage, funky, incredible guitar player:
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=yodD39mlGBI (you should really click this link...)
His last two records are more arranged, he tried to make real albums you can listen from beginning to the end I guess.
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk7ILDXIeRA

Some from the US, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, thanks a lot for the show in 1999 in Carhaix!! http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=epyocEIR_vw
They are well known in France, in the US too but nearly unknown in the UK and it looks like absolutely unknown in Scotland... I was really into it in high school, still listening a lot to their first two records.

A band from Cicago, Tortoise. An instrumental band, French magazine Les Inrocks classified them into "post-rock", does anybody know what's that ?
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=v4G4W3UFv0k&feature=related

From eastern Europe, The No Smoking Orchestra, a band who really became famous in France because of the guitarist, Emir Kusturica. A rock band with a traditionnal gypsy touch.
Check the guest for this gig:
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=2gDOz_8J5xc&feature=related

And Gogol Bordello, Ukrainian gypsy roots even if they live in New York. I already wrote about them but here is a new link to watch, "American wedding" from Le Bataclan:
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=lTOL_Pu6b2w

Coming to Gogol Bordello, I will finish the part 2 with Manu Chao. I know, I could have put him into the French bands but really, why should I do that ??
Mano Negra: http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=qWV2kM1laIc
Radio Bemba: http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=1tP1umpp4M4&feature=related


A part three will follow...

Music (Part One)

As we have a wonderful tool called youtube, I thought it could be nice and easy to share music tastes.

Let's start with the French singers! I actually listen to only a few artists who sing in French.
First one is Serge Gainsbourg. He wanted to be a painter, considered himself not good enough, turned into music and became popular in the sixties. After that he tried writting, acting and was a director too. He played a lot of style in music, kind of like a chameleon, he changed style from song with lyrics, like love songs to funky music or reggae.
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=trLGhbFDIAk
I'm a huge fan of the reggae period, end of the seventies, there's a live record at "Théâtre le Palace" from 1979 with Sly & Robbie which is amazing.
Serge died at the beginning of the nineties.

Second one is Christophe Miossec. He emerged in the middle of 90s with his stunning first record "Boire", meaning "Drink". He's from Britanny, his songs are mainly about it and women...
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=qyo46h6L6M4
I like his lyrics. I've seen a few times in concert in Rennes and Paris.
Have you ever heard about someone who replied "No, it's not. It's shit. My record company pushed me to do it and finished it, I don't like it." to a journalist who just said: "your third album just came out, it's really good"... well he did!
Listen to this one, the video quality is not that good, but sound is fine:
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh3-VUx2w_0

Third one is Noir Désir. Even so sometimes, they sing in English. They are (was ?) a good band, full of energy on stage. They started at the end of the 80s, I was listening to them in high school. They are quite popular in France but then something happened in 2003. The singer killed his girlfriend, a famous French actress, now it looks like they are back on music after he came out of jail. But it's going to be hard for them I guess.
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=UAnXOA4kDmk


That's it for the French lyrics!!

But I listen to other French bands, without lyrics or who sing in another language.
At the end of the 90s, two bands arrived on the music scene. They came with their own sound. Music fans in France know them, now we called them and the bands who followed their way, the "French Dub scene". Those two are Zenzile and High Tone. They have somehow managed to import dub music from studio to live scene. High Tone is more "electronic":
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLeHONLB8D8&feature=related
and Zenzile are really using the Dub base (Bass & Drums) on stage with real instruments:
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=RLhmp5rAicA
but their last records turn to rock and electro, which is quite good to see them do some experimentations.

Still French but without a singer, Bumcello. Two guys, one concept, "100% impro". Cyril plays the drums, he is always barefoot on stage and wearing just a trouser or a short and a crazy hat. He is the "bum". Vincent plays the cello, he is more classic, with a shirt on stage. Those two together become Bumcello. They are really talented. They play or have played with numerous other bands. I saw them "live" recently for the 12th time...
Sometimes they have guests on stage too.
http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/bumcello/video/xt79w_bumcello-soudanese-rock_music

Last French one, Erik Truffaz. Now it's jazz music, well modern way of it, meaning it goes into plenty of directions. This guy is amazing. He plays the trumpet, he has several bands, but with his main one, they have inserted drum n' bass into jazz.
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgs7HMOtgck&feature=channel_page
For me, this guy and his band, they are as creative as Pink Floyd were back in the seventies.
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=70HM6V1wx8g


All those are highly recommended, lol
Part two will come soon with foreign bands...

Diego

Hampden Park, 19th of November
Scotland vs Argentina
(Friendly)


The day before the tickets went on sale, I heard that Diego Armando Maradona was appointed as Argentina coach. So I bought tickets to see his first game in charge.

One of the most gifted football player ever, I'm not going to debate if he or Edson Arrantes do Nascimento aka "Pele" is the best of all time, but he as controversial as he has been, he's now the Argentina coach. He didn't come alone, his assistant Carlos Bilardo is no more no less than the former national coach who won the world cup in 1986 with Diego himself.

In Scotland, Diego is a legend because he managed to score a goal with his hand against England in that same world cup before finishing them with his "solo goal".
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ULd3MLm6hlg&feature=related
The Scots even gave him a price for that before the game...

But nowadays, Terry Butcher is an assistant of the Scottish coach and Butcher is a former English player who played and lost that famous game in 1986. He told the press: "I have not forgiven him" and Maradona replied the day after: "If he doesn't want to shake my hand, I will still sleep at night..."

Hampden park is a special place for Diego, it's where he scored his first goal for Argentina back in 1979.

But now he is the boss, he is here to make Messi, Tevez, Aguerro, Riquelme and the rest go to the world cup and win it.




The game itself, Argentina completely overplayed Scotland in the first 15 minutes, and scored by Maximo Rodriguez. Then Scotland improved but never relly came close to score an equaliser.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rzVI58vkY10&feature=related

It finished 1-0. It was just a friendly, it doesn't really matter anyway.

Next time, Argentina will play in France before going back to the world cup qualifying games.

All the best Diego!

Dublin (November 2007)

I thought it wouldn't do any harm to talk about Dublin, even if I went last year.

I liked the city. The way it's built, with the river splitting the city in two. You can walk along the water, a bit like in Rennes...

Dublin by night

The town center, "Temple Bar", is really cool, restaurants and pubs on a little paved street, kind of like Ashton Lane in Glasgow.

And I spent a lot of money in the following one...

I like that statue of Oscar Wilde, a famous Dubliner

And I saw Radio Bemba on my last night there.

It was a good gig but they were better three weeks before in Glasgow at Carling Academy.

Whisky (again...)

And on the way back to Belfast, we made a little stop at Bushmill distillery, the oldest licensed distillery in the world.

To be honest, I have never heard about this whisky before.

As I bought a bottle not so long ago and still have a bottle of Jameson from last year's trip to Dublin, I didn't buy a bottle neither try it. If anyone has tested it, is it a good one ?

This year it is its 400th anniversary.

To conclude with the trip to Northern Ireland, some words from the guide for the trip to Giant's Causeway:

"The Titanic was built in Belfast. On the other side of the river. I can assure you, there was nothing wrong when he left Belfast. It's not our fault if they put an English captain on board the day he became famous..."

Giant's Causeway (Northern Ireland)

And I didn't stay in Belfast all the time, I made a trip up north to see the Giant's Causeway.

On the way, I passed near the rope bridge, I know you can't really see it on the picture, site is closed during the winter period, nobody can't go down there.

Yeah, there's a bridge to go to the tiny island.

The purpose of the trip was the Giant's Causeway. It's a site near Bushmill, where there is a few thousands of basalt columns. Those were formed by a volcanic eruption. It looks like the stones were put together as it is so "organised" and the name "Giant" comes from a legend which says an Irish Giant there built the causeway to cross the sea so that he could go to Scotland.

Closer pictures:

And a view of the coastline from the hill.

Belfast

Last week I went to Belfast. Well strange city...

Local people all agree it's far much better than before "the events" and they hope for a better future but I found the city gloomy.

I know it's smaller than Glasgow and Dublin but I didn't find real animation despite the Xmas market.

Here are some pictures:

The City Hall

Victoria Square, the City's mall, from outside

Victoria Square, the City's mall, from inside

The Crown, the oldest pub in town

A pub from the University area

Belfast Castle

Statue in front of the University

French invasion in the University...

A really weird thing is the police stations, they look like bunkers, with cameras, grids to protect the buildings, it must have been really tough to live there when people were fighting.

And there is still marks of that period in the town...

Gogol Bordello... Gypsy Punks

Yesterday at Carling Academy.

I missed them last year when they came to ABC, so this time, I had to go.
Well they are awesome on stage. Quite easy to understand why Eugene is a friend of Manu Chao, there was an hispanic touch in Mano Negra, there is a gypsy touch in Gogol Bordello but it's the same madness.

And Eugene is a showman...

Show is full of energy for two hours. They did play "Mala Vida", here is a link to watch:

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=oTuxGG-cBI0&feature=related

Funny thing is I like bands who called themselves "stupid", Stooges, Gogol...

If you have the opportunity, just go and see them live!

Talisker

Soon, I'm going back to Paris for a weekend. The first time in 15 months... So it's time to see Bumcello live again and to bring back to France, one bottle of Talisker 18 years old. This whisky was voted "best single malt" in 2007.







It's made on the Isle of Skye. I've not tested it yet to be honest, only the 10 years old, but I can't wait!