DJ Anne. En francais.

American French classes all have the same basic soundtrack. A little Edith Piaf, some Maurice Chevalier, and one or two MC Solaar songs thrown in as an acknowledgement of the French hip hop scene. I had a high school French teacher that got us all humming along to Boris Vian’s “J’suis snob,” but mostly we hear pretty cliche stuff. Don’t get me wrong–I love the classics as much (maybe more) than the next person. But it’s always fun to add something else to the rotation.

So with that in mind, I thought I’d share some of my new French favorites in honor of this week’s French media kick.

A World Without Music

Adjusting to life without my own computer has required some changes in my music listening habits. Living on someone else’s computer means I can’t fill the hard drive with pirated music. Without my own library of mp3s, finding tunes requires a little more work.  I now have to find a place for jams that is a) streaming and b) (preferably) legal.

This task is complicated by living in France. While there’s been an explosion of legal and free ways to listen to music in the US (like Pandora) and even to watch tv for free, most of these options do not yet have licensing agreements for users in France.

NPR’s site rocks, especially with the new media player, but they usually only put up one track from each artist. Myspace works if you already know the names of the bands you want to listen to and you don’t mind having to open a new page after every 4 songs, but you still have to deal with the obnoxiousness which is the Myspace universe.  

So this morning, I’m rocking out to Daytrotter.

S: Siren Music Festival

This Saturday from noon-9pm, Coney Island is home to the annual Siren Music Festival. The free, all ages show will include headlining performances by The New York Dolls and M.I.A. I’m personally most excited about We Are Scientists (graduates of my alma matter) and the up and coming, Bushwick-based White Rabbits (who you can also hear on tonight’s Letterman).

What could be more fun for a summer Saturday than free music and the beach? Just be sure to bring sunscreen!

Cheap (but awesome) Concert!

We interrupt this alphabetical tribute to the borough we love to plug one of our many talented friends.

Singer/ Songwriter Libbie Schrader (Pomona ’01 and friend of the blog) is playing a show at the Bitter End this Thursday at 9 PM the Bitter End (147 Bleeker ave. in Manhattan). Tickets are $7.

Pomona folks will remember her as the lead singer of Think of England. She’s been featured on NPR, KCRW and in a bunch of major singer/songwriter competitions. And her show at Piano’s was one of my favorite shows of last year.

Maybe I’m just nostalgic for the Claremont music scene, but I think she rocks. You should make a point to check her out.

More Than Just Books

One day I dropped by the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, planning to guiltily return the book I had failed to read before hanging out in Prospect Park. I never made it into the sunshine, though—just as I was about to leave, a voice from the loudspeaker announced that Michael Cunningham, author of the Hours, was giving a free reading from his new book.

Of course libraries are great for books, but the reading that day, an intimate talk where empty seats abounded, reminded me that they’re also an amazing and underutilized resource for other forms of entertainment. The thrifty New Yorker will find high quality art exhibits, music, movies, classes, and writing workshops all for a grand total of zero dollars.

Concert Season is Coming: Are You Prepared?

With the return of sunshine, you can feel a subtle change in the air–it’s finally starting to rock. After what feels like just a trickle of major concerts over the winter months, music has returned.

Last weeks SXSW is the opening day of concert hunting season.  From this point on, the concerts will be coming at you fast and furious. And nothing is worse than finding out that your favorite band was playing in some super intimate venue 2 days after the concert.

So with concert season coming, the question must be asked. Are you prepared?