La Musique

One of the most interesting things I've noticed here in France is how much American music is played. It boggled my mind at first why people would care to listen to music they understood only in varying degrees and the answer I got from the French people I asked responded "we listen for the beat."

That's all well and good but you miss something I feel but by not fully comprehending the lyrics you're missing something great... that soaring feeling you get when you connect with a song on that lyrical level.

However, it makes sense economically for bands to sing in English. The United States is I believe the third largest country in the world with 300 million people combined with the anglophones living in Canada, Australia and of course Great Britain make the English speaking audiences the ones you want to target for the most bang for the buck.

I've been listening to Phoenix a lot this past week because their songs are good summer songs, light qnd qiry anot not too serious... plus they're French so I feel an added sense of approval for listening to them. Anyway I found an interview where the band discusses its motivations for singing in English, you can watch it down below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=y3QGd1EW2Lw&feature=fvw

I'm really impressed by Phoenix songs. Their lyrics show a pretty intimate knowledge of the English language in terms of slang and the way the construct sentences even. When I first heard of them I'm pretty sure I didn't realize they were French. My friends and I met some really cool French kids our age and we were talking about French bands and one of the boys asked if they sung with an accent andf I told him no because the only way I could tell they're French is by their accent when they talk not sing. Very interesting

Post-Colonial Theory and Indie Rock

I brushed off Vampire Weekend as a so-so, preppy band composed of Ivy-League kids of privilege devoid of depth. And I mean if you listen to a lot the lyrics on their debut, the constant references to designer clothes and elite travel spots can become a bit of an overload. However, I recently picked up a copy of Rolling Stone out of a pile that my sister leaves for me to read when I come back from school and I read a really interesting article about them that made me rethink all my previous assumptions.

"To some, the band members were indie-rock colonialists, plundering Third World styles for their own gain. But for Koenig, who studied the semiotics of post-colonial literature, concepts like purism and authenticity are as outdated as a land line. Everything is intertwined, he says, and "polar opposites don't exist." Start seeing the connections, and "the idea of fusion - of mixing things - seems less and less like a novelty, and more just the way the world works." (From R.S. mag, Feb 2010)

Ezra Koenig (the one in the yellow sweater):

"But around the time the band started, I became very interested in the connection between preppy American fashion and Victorian imperialism. For instance: Where does the word 'khaki' come from? It's Urdu. Where does 'seersucker' come from? Hindi-slash-Persian. Madras prints? They're from India. Blazers? They were a British naval uniform.

"Now obviously that's a very fucked up period," he continues. But there's something exciting about realizing that these clothes have come to represent WASPy Americans, the pinnacle of whiteness, actually have their roots in India or the non-Western world. They have this fascinating history flowing through them. Preppiness is this wide open thing."

I never knew about such a link between fashions and being a student of cultural theory, his words impressed me. It was also a mini-lesson that one shouldn't always take things at face value. I hope Ezra and the rest of the band members can talk more about their music and opinions like this, because it's fascinating!

A Sunday Smile

What is it with all the songs about Sundays?

"A Sunday Smile" by Beirut
"Sunday  Morning" by not only the Velvet Underground but Maroon 5 and No Doubt

Okay so I didn't exactly make a comprehensive list, but that's more than I can say for songs about Wednesday or for that matter Friday or Saturday, the other days in the weekend. I guess the spirit of those weekend days are probably just incorporated under all "club songs."

Though Sunday was usually the time of the week to go to Church and pay respect to God, its role has deviated somewhat to a restful time to spend with lovers or family. So though not as many people are going to Church on Sundays as they did 50 years ago in America, its purpose remains rooted in tradition - time to be at peace with people you love! awww!

Songs have different meanings for people... like memories they can be tied to an event or person in someone's life. Have you ever noticed that groups of friends often share a love for a particular band even though they may have divergent tastes in music overall? The original intent/meaning of the song matters to the lyricist himself/herself. When a listener/fan gives a song meaning in their life, that's where the magic happens!
If you look at the lyrics of some of the songs I mentioned it's interesting to see how the writers juxtapose Sunday's traditional meaning in our culture with their own sentiments.
--Lou Reed is feeling restless and looking back at all the wasted years.
--Zach Condon describes his love's smile as a Sunday smile which you could take to mean a few things (I personally think of peaceful) and alludes to the sky and a white church in his song.
--Adam Levine's song is more happy and details happy times with someone he loved, though like the previous two songs it's about longing for something missed or lost.

So Sundays also foster memories for people and things lost?