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.

Le Bonheur, Mademoiselle, Berry

Berry’s album Mademoiselle is my newest find. She calls herself “folk-rock”–I’d call her sound pretty, stripped down, and vocally driven. I like the songs Le Bonheur, Mademoiselle, and Belle Comme Tout best. Le Bonheur wins because of the cool, orca whale like sounds at the beginning of the track (is it feedback? a violin?)

This is Berry’s first album. While it’s been out since February in France, it doesn’t seem to be available on the American version of itunes yet. However, Berry’s Myspace page has 2 of my favorite songs. Check them out if you like Laura Veirs.

Je n’aime que toi, Les chansons d’amour (bande originale du film), Clotilde Hesme, Lois Garrel, and Ludivine Sagnier

Je n’aime que toi (I love only you) is a poppy song about a threesome from a recent French movie musical about the same. OK, it sounds, um, very French, but I highly recommend both. The movie was called “Love Songs” in the US and had a limited release there in late March. See if you can find it. And if not, the song is available on itunes.

Femme libérée, Gilles David Orchestra

This song isn’t actually new, but it’s the kind of cult classic that plays at least once a night in bars–and pretty much always inspires a sing-a-long. The version I bought is from the Gilles David Orchestra, but it was originally sung in 1984 by Cookie Dingler. The catchy refrain is “être une femme libérée, tu sais c’est pas si facile” (basically “being a liberated woman isn’t so easy, you know”). I’m not quite sure how to describe the song, but maybe something like a cross between “These boots were made for walking” and “Girls just want to have fun.” Then throw in a little Spice Girls for good measure. Try it, you’ll like it. You can even find video versions if you search for the song on YouTube.

Loser, LP1, Plastiscines

I first heard this song in the new movie “l’Heure d’été” (also recommended). The Plastiscines are a young, all female pop rock group with a sound something like that of The Ramones or The Strokes. They play short, guitar heavy songs with catchy riffs. There’s nothing deep here (none of their songs are longer than 3 minutes), but it’s fun, danceable rebellion. Check out the video here.