An “apache” (gangster) and his protégé outside a bar in Pigalle, Paris, 1938
The Limiñanas unveil a beautiful video
Just a year ago, The Limiñanas arrived with Shadow People recorded in Berlin. They are coming back this year with a new single titled “trois Bancs” and a beautifully animated video by director Sylvain Rusques.
Source: The Limiñanas unveil a beautiful video – sensationrock.net
Why the Marché d’Aligre is the Best Market in Paris
Nothing is perhaps more French than going to a market. Parisians often buy their vegetables, fruits, meats, and cheeses at marchés, preferring cheaper offerings that aren’t produced en masse like many of the goods found in healthy foods stores like Naturella and Carrefour bio are. If you find yourself in the City of Lights and want an authentic experience in a market that’s full of Parisians, head to the 12th arrondissement for the Marché d’Aligre.
Operating since the late 18th century, Marché d’Aligre is on a street less than a quarter mile long, between rue de Charenton and rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine. As you make your way down the street, lively vendors shout in friendly tones to buy des figues, des pommes, and more. Vendors will be there every day except Monday, but on the weekends expect large crowds flocking to do their shopping. With the jubilant energy, haggling, and bustling Parisien(ne)s, you’ll feel like you’ve traveled back in time to La Belle Époque. On Sunday, a Frenchman wears a black top hat as he winds the orgue de barbarie and sings classic French songs. Where you can easily spend 20 euros without blinking an eye at les marchés in the chicer 6th arrondissement, at Marché d’Aligre, for ten euros or less, you can stock up for the week on all your favorite fruits and leafy greens.
Continue reading “Why the Marché d’Aligre is the Best Market in Paris”Swept Up in the Whirlwind Known as Michel Legrand
Chanson du Jour “Windmills of Your Mind”
Rest in Peace, singer Dusty Springfield and composer Michel Legrand
French composer Michel Legrand has died
The composer of the soundtracks to”Demoiselles de Rochefort” (Young Girls of Rochefort) and “Parapluies de Cherbourg” (Windmills of Your Mind) has died at the age of 86. Vogue pays homage to him.
He was one of the greatest “grands compositeurs” of the music of French films. Who wouldn’t recognize the uplifting lyrics of the song sung by the twins played by Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac in Jacques Demy’s Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (Young Girls of Rochefort). Who wouldn’t be moved by the melodies of “Les Parapluies de Cherbourg” (Windmills of Your Mind), the first French film to be entirely sung, by the same director, a key figure In Legrand’s story, with whom he would collaborate on 9 films.
Michel Legrand was also a pianist and singer. The son of a musician, this jazz fan, who first trained at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, would go on the work with a string of musical legends including Henri Salvador, Maurice Chevallier, Boris Vian, Claude Nougaro in France and Miles Davis, Bill Evans and John Coltrane in America.
He tested out many musical styles, including rock, as in 1956, when, upon his return from America, he worked on several titles with two fellow French music legends, working under pseudonyms; Henry Cording aka Henri Salvador (singer) and Vernon Sinclair aka Boris Vian (lyrics).
In cinema, it was with the director Jacques Demy that he would collaborate the most, starting with the film Lola in 1961, then Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (Windmills of Your Mind) which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Festival of 1964, before being awarded four Oscars. These we followed by Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (Young Girls of Rochefort) in 1968, Peau d’âne (Donkey Skin) in 1970 and six other films.
The composer, goes down in history as truly shaping the sound of French cinema.
