Guestposter Roger Grund steers away for a moment from his usual Girls Singing Wiz A French Accent-series, and kicks off a new one: Projet Piano. For the coming weeks nothing but tender, beautiful, piano-driven songs. Suggestions, and other guestposts, are welcomed.
The map of Le Monde Francophone displays a few pockets of French resistence against the Anglo-American cultural dominance. Artists from these ‘islands’, whose relative size is always grossly exaggerated, tend to receive a warm welcome in France, maybe because their very existence contradicts the sad fact that French is no longer a world language. This preferential treatment is however unfair to the exceptionally talented Natasha St-Pier, hailing from the French-speaking part of Canada, who would be very succesful even without her Quèbeqois background. Equally unfair towards Natasha are the frequent comparisons with Celine Dion…
[Short intermission: the comparison of Natasha St-Pier with Celine Dion is a topic on which Mr. Guuzbourg and myself disagree. I think these two ladies have nothing in common other than originating from Canada. Natasha is an original talent with a voice of her own. With regards to La Dion, well, I was taught that if you’ve got nothing nice to say, it’s better to say nothing at all.)] [Well, at least we agree on the latter - G'bourg]
Natasha achieved fame and success in France with her 3rd album De l'amour le mieux, in particular the 2002 hit single Tu trouveras. It's is a classic Fille Sourire-piano ballad. The required doses of charme, tendresse and vulnerability are well in place: Just the way Nasasha pronouces the words ‘mes faiblesses’ is enough to send shivers down your spine. If only she could have veto-ed the vocal contribition of Mr. Pascal Obispo, who somewhat shatters the Fille Sourire dream near the end of the song.
Today Natasha St-Pier continues to go from strenght to strength. This year her new album Longueur d’ondes is a fixture in the charts, and a tour covering tout le monde francophone is on the road as we speak (in French of course).
Natasha St Pier - Tu Trouveras (link works fine now)
Hello
BeantwoordenVerwijderenLink doesn't work, and it is "Tu trouveras" with a "s" ...
Euclide
the spelling error is why the link did not work - fixed now
BeantwoordenVerwijderenLink still not working . . .
BeantwoordenVerwijderenit says "wwww"...just open the link and remov one "w"and everything works fine..
BeantwoordenVerwijderenMiss St Pier is definitely a no-no for me (I don't understand why you reject Nolwenn Leroy and post St Pier stuff). This gets heavy rotation on our worst radio stations (I'm French), along with Dion, Maurane, Lara Fabian, Hélène Ségarra Star Academy nonsense and sub-par MoR shit. Phew!!!.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenGreat blog, anyway (Charlotte Gainsbourg and Dorval, for instance, make my day any time)... ;-)
Ik vind dit niet echt een pianodriven song eerlijk gezegd. Maar wel een leuk liedje ;)
BeantwoordenVerwijderenQuèbeqois, Nasasha, how fast was this written?
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Céline Dion and Natasha St-Pier both did Starmania IIRC.
(All of Canada has French-speaking parts, dear Europeans, it's not just Québec.)
Sorry Sirs: Natasha St.Pier and Celine Dion have at least one thing in common: they are both very awful! Trash...boring...Come on boys..anyway, it`s every time a pleasure to visit your blog. Take care, greetings from Munich
BeantwoordenVerwijderenTold you so, Roger. Pity, can't win 'm all.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenI agree, She's not the most interesting french-speaking singer... Why did you chose her ?
BeantwoordenVerwijderenC'mon people, give guestposter Roger some credit. He brought you Grace, he brought you Honeymoon Killers, he brought you Berntholer. Man's got good taste, if peculiar at moments.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenCanada doesn't have french-speaking parts everywhere.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenThe community of french speaking people are mostly in Quebec. Others but less populated are located in New-Brunswick (where singer Marie-Jo Therio come from) in the eastern part of Canada, also there are small communities in Manitoba (centre) and Ontario.
Euclide
to Mr. Guuzbourg and all others:
BeantwoordenVerwijderenI was warned by Guuzbourg that Natasha would not go down well, but I still insist that there is an essential quality there, at least in the songs I know, like 'Tu trouveras'. I'd say: keep an open mind, and learn to forget your pre-conceived notions on what is good and what is bad. As for myself, I listen to anything from Einstuerzende Neubauten, to Satie, to Abba, to Bach, to 50-60 Garage-trash, to Medeaval church organs, to Folk, to Punk & New Wave, to uncool Jazz, and even to Death Metal (though infrequently). And I have seen the notions of 'cool' change with time. Think of the Carpenters, think of 70s easy listening.. To quote George Michael: listen without prejudice and remember; there is no road without a the middle of the road. Bless Natasha!
Roger Grund
PS: Just to rub it in I will let you know about Tina Arena soon !!
I reckon that miss St. Pier is a very very pretty woman; Just like Chimène Badi. Ha Ha !!!
BeantwoordenVerwijderenTina Arena ?!? Please, leave this place :-)))
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