Welcome back to the blog for another year - and decade! I hope 2020 is finding you content and well. If not – well, music is a great elixir, and there are a ton of beautiful tunes in this post to help soothe what ails you :).

As has become tradition, my first post of the new year is a look back at my favourite records of the previous year, with a playlist for you to sample songs from each. As a bonus, I've added a playlist of my favourite releases of 2018 as well, since I wasn't blogging this time last year, but had been saving a list of records I loved.

Wow, there were some killer albums that came out in both 2019 and 2018. Once again, I'm extremely heartened by the state of new music – it just takes a little digging to find the good stuff ;).Here are my lists of top 10 albums for each year (in no real order, except for the top 3 in each list):

Now onto the fun stuff - the playlists! These represent what ended up being a fairly random number of my favourite releases. For the 2019 playlist, I was ready to go with a nice, neat 25 albums and 5 EPs and singles, but discovered I'd forgotten a couple of essential inclusions, and struggled to cut anything further. Then I realised one of the benefits of running my own blog is I can do whatever the fuck I want! So, 27 albums it is! (or 32 releases including EPs and singles).

If you are new to my contemporary music tastes, what you can expect is lots of neo-psych, avant-pop, shimmery dream pop, pop noir, and otherwise songs with irresistible melodies and strong songwriting, usually in a retro or classic vein. My playlists tend to be female-dominated - it's not by design, it's just that somehow my tastes lead me to more women making the type of music I love. I've never liked to make a statement of it; in some way, I think it's more interesting and powerful not to point it out, because why should it be unusual? That said, I am pleased to celebrate some extremely talented, sometimes overlooked female artists and present them to an audience who may not yet know them.

These were made on Spotify (RIP my fave playlisting service, 8tracks), but if you have another preferred streaming platform, visit the Soundsgood link beneath the playlist artwork for more listening options (the playlists, however, may be incomplete on some platforms).

Best of 2019: Spotify playlist | Soundsgood (more listening options)

A psychedelic mix just in time for Christmas! There's not much I need to say about this that the title doesn't already tell you. All I will say is, on playing it through, I noticed it's kind of an odd blend of cheerful and sinister – but hey, that seems apt for Christmas! It's named for a song by The Smoking Trees from the superb Active Listener Christmas Album from 2012. (A name-your-price download on Bandcamp, it's well worth grabbing). Oddly, I only noticed after compiling this that there are quite a few tracks from 2012, for some reason. Apparently that year was a fine vintage for Christmas psych!

Mixcloud | Alternate link | View image

Here's an all-France Gall mix, featuring some of my favourite songs of hers from 1963 to 1972. I say some of because, well, I love pretty much all her stuff from that era - it took some restraint to only choose 38 songs! You'll find some of her absolute classics here, as well as some lesser-known songs that are equally wonderful. After making the mix, I realised I drew a lot from my favourite album of hers, the 1967 psych-pop classic, 1968. I also seem to have included every song where she does her adorable version of scatting, which is really just the best thing ever. As well as her French songs, I've included a few of her German tracks, the Japanese version of 'Un prince charmant' and the Italian version of 'La Quatrième Chose'.

I've already gone into what I love about France Gall's music, so I'm not going to get descriptive here, but just let the music speak for itself. My hope is these selections would make someone new to her music fall in love with it as much as I did. And perhaps there are a few things here that are not so readily familiar to established French pop fans. 

Okay, so it's nearly March, which probably makes this the world's most untimely 'Best of 2017' list! First I'll get to the music, but there's a personal note at the bottom of this post explaining why I'm sometimes much later with posts than I'd like, and why I think they're still worth doing anyway.

Wow, I was really blown away by the musical offerings from last year! There's some truly spectacular music being made by incredibly creative artists who are dedicated to their craft. and to making brilliant music for the sake of it. Though it's easier than ever to find music from all over the world to suit your particular tastes, I'm pretty convinced there's also just more and more amazing music being produced. This playlist features a song from each of my favourite 2017 albums. It's pretty long, with fifty-five tracks, coming in at around three hours and forty minutes of listening. I heard so much great stuff, this was as much as I could narrow it down! And you'll notice this is only Part One.... 

Image via Discogs

I love a good depressing seasonal tune, and it doesn't much bleaker than one set in a desolate, post-apocalyptic world!

'Juste quelques flocons qui tombent' ("Just a few flakes falling") isn't really a Christmas song, but is apparently associated enough with this time of year to be included on Christmas compilations. This is curious, because the lyrics don't reference anything related to Noël, and from what I can find, the track seems to have been released not around Christmas time but in February, 1967. Perhaps the association comes from its snowy imagery, or the chiming bells that unusually punctuate its psych-folk-pop sound, or perhaps it's because of the story of how Antoine came to write the song.

The idea for the song came to Antoine on Christmas Eve, 1965, according to Anthologie des tubes rock: Soixante ans de musique pour les kids (François Grimpet & Daniel Lesueur, Camion Blanc, 2016), This was shortly before he would score a huge hit with 'Les Élucubrations d'Antoine' early the following year, becoming not only an overnight pop superstar, but a major force in reshaping the French pop scene in the post-yé-yé years. At this point however, he had a debut EP under his belt that hadn't made much of a splash, and was still a struggling musician. Having performed that evening for a modest fee, Antoine had just enough to dine out with his girlfriend but nothing left over for transport, so they footed it home. Walking toward the Marais district, the couple looked back to see a snow-covered Paris, nothing visible except their footprints in the snow, leaving them with the feeling of being the only two people in the world. With his songwriter's imagination and having keenly absorbed the pacifist themes of the likes of Bob Dylan, Antoine soon turned this image into a song about a world decimated by nuclear war, where he and his lover are the only survivors.  

If I'm understanding the lyrics correctly, the final verse sees Antoine comparing himself and his girlfriend to Adam and Eve, but cautioning they must avoid repopulating the world – since the last world was such a flop! What a sentiment to hear in a track that gets billed as one of "Les plus belles chansons de Noël"!

Photo: Mademoiselle Age Tendre, November 1969.

Johnny Hallyday
15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017

French pop has lost its long-reigning king. It feels inconceivable – both because the young, beautiful Johnny of fifty years ago lives perpetually in iconic images and sounds, seeming forever 'L'idole des jeunes', and because today's Johnny seemed indefatiguable, still full of a zest for music and life. I really have no words for now that would do an even adequate job of capturing who Johnny was or the immensity of this loss. So I thought I'd just share a collection of few favourite things: photos from those gorgeous, seemingly endless pictorials in the pages of Salut les copains and Mademoiselle Age Tendre (I sometimes wonder how much of their lives the idoles spent in front of the camera!), some of his best songs, and a few videos that showcase what a charismatic performer he was.

Click on any of the photos for a larger version.

Salut les copains, December 1963.

Here's a scene from a 1967 French film, Les Poneyttes, in which France's biggest pop star, Johnny Hallyday, performs 'Le Mauvais Rêve' ('Bad Dream'), dressed and painted as a golden statue. I'm not sure exactly why (not having found subtitles for this film), but I'd guess it's a commentary on the god-like status afforded the idoles. The lyrics describe a nightmare that starts in a desolate city, empty but for some zombie-like inhabitants, and ends in a loveless void, with Hallyday assuring himself "it's only a dream... a bad dream". So the idea here is probably to contrast the hollow trappings of stardom and fan worship with an inner fear of true loneliness. It's quite a spectacular, effective scene that suits the epic feel of the song, in what otherwise strikes me as a fairly silly, mediocre film.

It's my first post of the new year and, though late to the game, I wanted to share my favourite music from last year. 2016 was a notoriously terrible year (not that this year is exactly peachy so far!), but thankfully the same can't be said of the music that came out last year. It was, to quote Lisa Simpson's insensitive future fiancé, like a flower that grew out of a pot of dirt. I feel spoiled by the amount and variety of quality music I've been enjoying from last year's offerings. There are the gorgeous vintage European pop sounds of The Yearning and Lia Pamina, the visionary retrofuturism of Adrian Younge, the moving, classic songwriting of Big Smoke, the raw garage rock of The Mystery Lights, some fresh takes on dream pop, and many outings in psychedelic-influenced, experimental pop. Some of these albums have quickly become all-time favourites, not just favourites of the year. Below is a playlist of songs from my most-loved releases of 2016, including albums, singles and EPs, in no particular order. A list of my top eleven albums (I could not narrow it down to ten!) of the year – again, in no specific order – follows it.

Pop-up player | 8tracks tips

If you prefer Spotify, listen here. Update: By request, now also on Deezer (but missing the Samara Lubelski song).

Tracklist:

Happy Bastille Day! Enjoy this mix of 60s-70s French psychedelic rock, psych-pop, freakbeat, experimental/avant-garde sounds and other mind-bending goodness: Quatrième Dimension.

Tracklist (Show details)

1. 5 Gentlemen - L. S. D. 25 ou Les Métamorphoses de Margaret Steinway (1967)
   From L'integrale 1965 / 1968 (2005) on Magic Records.
2. Brigitte Bardot - Le diable est anglais (1968)
   From The Best of Bardot (2004).
3. Les Maledictus Sound - Jim Clark Was Driving Recklessly (1968)
   From Mucho Gusto Records' reissue of Attention (2011).
4. Victoire Scott - 4ième dimension (1968)
   From Ultra Chicks Volume 6: Vous dansez mademoiselle (2002).
5. Papy - Toi le Shazam (1967)
   From Wizzz! Volume 3 (2015) on Born Bad Records.
6. Alessandra and The Atomic Crocus - Ombilic Contact (1974)
   From Smile At Me / Ombilic Contact.
7. Françoise Hardy - Il est trop loin (1967)
   From Ma jeunesse fout le camp...
8. Alice - Viens (1970)
   From The BYG Deal (2009) on Finders Keepers Records.
9. Brigitte Fontaine & Areski Belkacem - Je t'aimerai (1977)
   From Vous et nous.
10. Pat Prilly - Polymorphoses (1972)
    From Moog Expressions.
11. Claude Lombard - Midi (1969)
    From MPLS Ltd's reissue of Claude Lombard chante (2010).
12. Antoine - Un éléphant me regarde (1966)
    From the Un éléphant me regarde EP.
13. Les Fleurs de Pavot - Hippies nous voilà (1968)
    From the reissue of Les Fleurs de Pavots (2006).
14. Serge Gainsbourg - New délire (1968)
    Originally appeared on the soundtrack to the film Manon 70. From Le Cinéma de Serge Gainsbourg (2015).
15. Les Papyvores - Le Papyvore (1967)
    From Wizzz! (Psychorama français 66-71) (2001). Reissued on Born Bad Records in 2011.
16. Les Yper-Sound - Too Fortiche (1967)
    From the Too Fortiche / Psyché Rock EP.
17. Dick Rivers - Via Lucifer (1966)
    From Beginner's Guide To French Pop (2012).
18. Jean Le Fennec - Le Sorcier (1969)
    From the reissue of L'abandon (2010).
19. Yamasuki - Yama Yama (1971)
    From Finders Keepers Records' reissue of Le Monde Fabuleux des Yamasuki (2005).
20. Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes - Alpes 1 (1971)
    From Âme debout.
21. Zouzou - Il est parti comme il était venu (1966)
    From L'intégrale (2003).
22. Sullivan - Haschish-faction (1967)
    From The Atomic Café: French Cuts (1999).
23. Miss JJ - Soolaimon (1970)
    Neil Diamond cover from Hally holly hé / Soolaimon.
24. André Popp - Pour celui qui viendra (1972)
    From Wah Wah Records' reissue of Le Cœur en fête (2012).

This post originally contained the Mixcloud mix below, an earlier version of the mix I hadn't intended to upload but am leaving up since some listeners liked it. 

Mixcloud tracklist

1. 5 Gentlemen - L. S. D. 25 ou Les Métamorphoses de Margaret Steinway (1967)
2. Brigitte Bardot - Le diable est anglais (1968)
3. Les Maledictus Sound - Jim Clark Was Driving Recklessly (1968)
4. Victoire Scott - 4ième dimension (1968)
5. Papy - Toi le Shazam (1967)
6. Igor Wakhévitch - Sang pourpre (1971)
7. Alice - Viens (1970)
8. Brigitte Fontaine & Areski Belkacem - Je t'aimerai (1977)
9. Pat Prilly - Polymorphoses (1972)
10. Françoise Hardy - Il est trop loin (1967)
11. Antoine - Un éléphant me regarde (1966)
12. Les Fleurs de Pavot - Hippies nous voilà (1968)
13. Serge Gainsbourg - New délire (1968)
14. Delphine - Les Prisons de sa majesté (1967)
15. Les Papyvores - Le Papyvore (1967)
16. Les Yper-Sound - Too Fortiche (1967)
17. Jean Le Fennec - Le Sorcier (1969)
18. Yamasuki - Yama Yama (1971)
19. Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes - Alpes 1 (1971)
20. Dick Rivers - Psychédélic (1966)
21. Bernard Fèvre - Skeese (1975)
22. Zouzou - Il est parti comme il était venu (1966)
23. Sullivan - Haschish-faction (1967)
24. Miss JJ - Soolaimon (1970)
25. André Popp - Pour celui qui viendra (1972)

Links: Playlists