Tag: Charles Trenet

Chanson du Jour “La Mer”

 

Another influential French singer/songwriter who became popular during the war years, was Charles Trenet. “Without Trenet, we would all be accountants,” said Jacques Brel. Nicknamed “Le Fou Chantant” (the Singing Madman) and resembling Harpo Marx, Trenet wrote mainly comical, some might say “eccentric” songs – nearly a thousand catalogued. His classic “La Mer” (The Sea) is a beautifully melancholic exception. The song has been recorded hundreds of times since it debuted in 1945, and Trenet’s own version is still the best. Nearly 60 years later after “La Mer,” Charles Trenet was still recording his music, releasing Poets Take to the Streets in 1999. Between 1945 and 1999, there were some bumps in the road. In 1963, Trenet spent 28 days in prison in a French prison, charged with consorting with underage boys. It was revealed after Trenet’s death that it was actor Maurice Chevalier who informed the police about his fellow entertainer. Would Trenet have appreciated the irony of being shopped to the cops by the guy who sang “Thank Heaven for Little Girls?” Peut-être.

Read more about Charles Trenet and French Chanson

Picture This: The Music of French Cinema

A great friend of Pas de Merde, Monsieur Wayne Cresser, hosts a wonderful weekly radio show “Picture This”.

A recent theme of Wayne’s was French Cinema. Wayne played cuts from some of my favorite French films, including Amelie, Ratatouille, and Jules et Jim.

You’ll also hear the title song from the hit streaming series Dix Pour Cent (Call My Agent)

I encourage Pas de Merde followers to tune in to WRIU (90.3 FM and streaming at wriu.org) Sundays at 6 pm for more great film music.

J’ai failli oublier! If you love the radio show (below) you may want to read Mr. Cresser’s latest collection of short stories. His most recent work The Book of Norman, is available now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Lulu and Rakuten Kobo. 

Selections from the Picture This broadcast:

• Amelie’s Waltz from Amelie, composed by Yann Tiersen

• From The Triplets of Belleville, composed by Benoit Charest

• Tour de France

• Belleville Rendez-vous, a collaboration between -M-, aka Matthieu Chedid, and Charest

• The Jungle of Belleville

• Title theme from My Uncle, composed by Alain Romans

• Four Songs composed by Georges Auric

• Where is Your Heart from Moulin Rouge

• Suite 2 from Roman Holiday

• Suite 1: Titles and Suite III: The Eiffel Tower from The Lavender Hill Mob

• Title song from Bonjour Tristesse, performed by Juliette Greco

• Title theme from Call My Agent composed by Christophe Mink and Loik Dury

• Three songs composed by Francis Lai

• Olivier from Tender Moment

• I Wonder Why from Tender Moment, performed by Nicole Croisille 

• Title song from 13 Hours in France

• Day for Night Suite from Day for Night, composed by Georges Delerue

• Truancy from The Four Hundred Blows, composed by Jean Constantin

• Charlie and Lena from Shoot the Piano Player, composed by Georges Delerue

• From Jules and Jim

• Title Theme composed by Georges Delerue

• The Whirlwind, composed by Georges Delerue, Yip Harburg and Cyrus Bassiak. performed by Jeanne Moreau

• Title song from Kid of Paris, composed and performed by Charles Aznavour

• She-She from The Seven Faces of Woman, composed and performed by Charles Aznavour

• The Other Waltz from Amelie, composed by Yann Tiersen

• Title song from Poly’s Vacation, composed and performed by Charles Trenet

• Haiti from Zou-Zou, composed by Vincent Scotto, performed by Josephine Baker

• Feeling Like a Million from Babes in Arms, composed by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed, performed by Josephine Baker

• Dream Ship from Princess Tam Tam, composed by Alain Romans, performed by Django Reinhardt

• Title song from The Wild West, composed and performed by Jacques Brel

• Tender Heart from An Idiot in Paris, composed and performed by Jacques Brel

• Midnight in Paris from Have Moicy!, composed by Con Conrad and Herb Magidson, performed by the Unholy Modal Rounders

• My Funny Valentine from Chet Baker Sings, composed by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, performed by Chet Baker

• Belleville, written and performed by Django Reinhardt

• Minor Swing from Lacombe Lucien, written and performed by Django Reinhardt

• Title Theme from The Monkey in Winter, composed and performed by Michel Magne

• Tontons swing from Gun-toting Uncles, composed and performed by Michel Magne

• Le Festin from Ratatouille, composed by Michael Giacchino, performed by Giacchino and Camille