Thursday 18 November 2010

Can we learn to love French pop music?

There is a page on the BBC website entitled "Can we learn to love French pop music?" I really like French music so I was interested to read that a radio station was to be launched that would play mostly French music. Then I read that it was launched yesterday but is only for London listeners.

The tone of the article is not very supportive of French music and even those French songs that have managed to sell copies in England were not in favour. There were big French stars in the list of artists to avoid. It wasn't all bad news but I thought I would add a comment to try to redress the balance - and here it is.

I have many French CDs and music DVDs. If you really want to know how well the music is appreciated then look at the audience. Sang pour Sang by Johnny Halliday is really moving. I happen to like most French music and I have seen great emotion in singers and audience alike. I don't think that you can beat Brel's Amsterdam and even Joe Dassin's Champs Elysees is a real crowd pleaser. Bon courage to the radio station.

A bientôt

Wednesday 23 June 2010

Homophones

France have not done too well in the World Cup, or should I say la coupe du monde, so you may not know what the French shout out when they score a goal. Well the word for goal is but, but this sounds to an English ear like boo.

Another homophone is le bout which means the tip or the end. I was thinking about this word recently when I saw someone finishing a cigarette. Does the English word cigarette butt meaning a cigarette end come from this French word? I guess it does.

If you are a French football supporter then I suppose you could turn to another homophone (booze) but in French there is the past participle of boire, bu, that sounds the same. Whether it is but, boo or bu I think that there is a good chance au bout du compte (all things considered) that the French will turn to booze.

A bientôt