Anarchists and Communists:
It was 1993, he was "anarchiste" but I didn't know him from Adam, I was on my own on my preferred French side of the Geneva border and when he appeared on the screen having just died it stopped me in my tracks. I couldn't understand a lot of the commentary and could hardly grasp the beauty in his face and his voice. He still moves me and always will:
Leo Ferre - Avec le Temps - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH7dG0qyzyg
I am vaguely aware there is something dubious about one of the members of this band but I've never known quite what it involves and I don't want to know. When I heard them, I thought they had the spirit and, crucially, the intelligence of The Clash. France is wonderful for all sorts of reasons including those that it would be easy to knee-jerk against, eg the melting pot of Marseille which is severely underrated and can be extraordinarily friendly and atmospheric whatever the American guidebooks have said for decades. Truly it is one of my favourite cities. Plus of course the '68 rebellious French spirit. I had the privilege of staying with Communist gardeners - first met at Womad - in a ramshackle home in the mountains north of Nice. Big attitude but they worked for the so-called respectable and were very respectable themselves, albeit doping al fresco under cicada to Tangerine Dream.
Noir Désir - L'homme Pressé - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms7WWPLEkgU
(Tell you why it cheers me up - I don't get every word - I know broadly it's good-ish propaganda - I don't have the ability to question the rest!)
It was 1993, he was "anarchiste" but I didn't know him from Adam, I was on my own on my preferred French side of the Geneva border and when he appeared on the screen having just died it stopped me in my tracks. I couldn't understand a lot of the commentary and could hardly grasp the beauty in his face and his voice. He still moves me and always will:
Leo Ferre - Avec le Temps - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH7dG0qyzyg
I am vaguely aware there is something dubious about one of the members of this band but I've never known quite what it involves and I don't want to know. When I heard them, I thought they had the spirit and, crucially, the intelligence of The Clash. France is wonderful for all sorts of reasons including those that it would be easy to knee-jerk against, eg the melting pot of Marseille which is severely underrated and can be extraordinarily friendly and atmospheric whatever the American guidebooks have said for decades. Truly it is one of my favourite cities. Plus of course the '68 rebellious French spirit. I had the privilege of staying with Communist gardeners - first met at Womad - in a ramshackle home in the mountains north of Nice. Big attitude but they worked for the so-called respectable and were very respectable themselves, albeit doping al fresco under cicada to Tangerine Dream.
Noir Désir - L'homme Pressé - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms7WWPLEkgU
(Tell you why it cheers me up - I don't get every word - I know broadly it's good-ish propaganda - I don't have the ability to question the rest!)
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