Tag: Josephine Baker

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

‘Lovecraft Country’: The True Story of Josephine Baker

“Lovecraft Country” Episode 7 saw Hippolyta blasted through time and space, including a passage that saw her dancing with the real-life icon Josephine Baker.

Lovecraft Country Episode 7 was the trippiest episode yet of the HBO show, with Hippolyta Freeman (played by Aunjanue Ellis) heading through a crack in time and space and into what seemed to be a very Afrofuturist future. Just as she got used to this strange new future, however, she found herself on stage with none other than Josephine Baker (Carra Paterson), the 1920s screen icon.

In the latest episode of Lovecraft Country, we see Baker on stage in a nightclub in Paris, but dancing was just one of the many things the Missouri-born woman did in her 68 years on this earth. She was also the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture, a medal-winning French Resistance agent and a civil rights activist.

The most enduring image of Josephine Baker in the popular culture is the costume she used to wear while dancing in Paris’ Folies Bergère in 1927 (the same year she made her movie debut): a skirt of artificial bananas and a beaded brasserie. This outfit caused a sensation in Paris, where she had moved in 1925 after a successful career in the U.S.

In America, she was named, “the highest-paid chorus girl in vaudeville” for her act, which saw her pretending to mess up the routine throughout the night before perfecting a more complex version of the dance at the encore. Continue reading “‘Lovecraft Country’: The True Story of Josephine Baker” →

Angélique Kidjo et le chœur chante Joséphine Baker’s “De Temps en Temps”

Le temps d’une chanson : De temps en temps, chantée par Vous et Angélique Kidjo

Soprano, alto, baryton ! Vous avez été des nombreux à unir vos voix pour chanter “De temps en temps” avec Angélique Kidjo.
Vous avez une nouvelle fois relevé le défis et le résultat est formidable !

Amateurs, débutants et confirmés de tous âges et de toute la France ont pu participer à l’aventure en se filmant en train de chanter De temps en temps !
Rendue célèbre par Joséphine Baker, la chanson “De temps en temps” a été spécialement transcrite pour chœur à trois voix par Albin de la Simone et Angélique Kidjo a souhaité s’associer à ce rendez-vous musical virtuel.

Transcription : Albin de la Simone
Soprano du Choeur de Radio France : Claudine Margely
Alto du Choeur de Radio France : Daïa Durimel
Baryton du Choeur de Radio France : Vincent Lecornier
Piano : Caroline Marty
Musiciennes metteur en ondes : Alice Legros, Elsa Biston
Réalisation vidéo : Philippe Guillabert
Mixage : Xavier Leveque

Et si vous le souhaitez, cultivez votre pratique du chant grâce à nos ressources en ligne :
Avec le site VO!X, ma chorale interactive de Radio France, apprenez à chanter en chorale grâce aux nombreux tutoriels, répertoire adapté, films d’animation… : https://vox.radiofrance.fr/

Chanson du Jour “J’ai Deux Amours”

Monsieur Pas de Merde loves this song. We’ve posted two versions, the first by the legendary Josephine Baker, the other more recent by Madeleine Peyroux.

The song was written by the team of Georges Koger, John Murray, Vincent Scotto, Barry Trivers, Henri Eugene Vantard.

Which do you prefer?

Lyrics

On dit qu’au delà des mers 

Là-bas sous le ciel clair 

Il existe une cité 

Continue reading “Chanson du Jour “J’ai Deux Amours”” →