French Music
 

I long to be in Paris, but find myself at home with a fast pace of life. (Work, School, Kids, the Real World) I think perhaps if I had some music to remind me of being on the streets of Paris I would feel refreshed and relaxed. Could anyone make any reommendations for a tired soul? What music reminds you of Paris?

Paris Cafe Music (www.worldmusic.net) -- "Take a stroll through the streets of Paris and the music that drifts from bars and cafes will most likely be bal musette, an accordion-based music developed at the turn of the century. It's more recent incarnation as rock-musette...brings bal musette into the 21st century..."

As long as were on this topic, does anyone know where in Paris you can get music from 20-30 years ago which has bee formatted to cds? I had several albums by Alain Stivell (Breton/Celtic singer) which I would love to find in cds. Thanks for any info.

Sally -<BR><BR>I've just topped a great thread with the exact same title which should give you lots of wonderful ideas....

I also have several albums by Stivell. Was in the Virgin store next to the Louvre a few weeks ago and saw a few cds there.

Thanks for the above. Leslie, great &quot;twin&quot; thread you passed on to us!

FYI, Stivell, once dubbed as a dinosaur from the 70s, has recently enjoyed a revival due to the arrival of &quot;Celtic rap&quot; groups (yes, there is such a thing ! ) such as Manau, sampling Stivell's songs. I wouldn't swear, but I think that, riding on this come back wave, he has released a new album. Check out on amazon.fr or fnac.com. Otherwise, the hottest current buy is Carla Bruni's debut album &quot;Quelqu'un m'a dit&quot;. She's a former model, but with brains and talent. Very nice voice and lyrics, some say reminiscent of the late Barbara. You can listen to 30 seconds of each song on www.fnac.com

Try and take a listen to Paris Combo, a contemporary Parisian group that has the authentic French bistro sound, with a twist of some world music influence. They have at least two cd's out. We saw them in concert a few months ago, lots of fun!

Someone on the previous thread suggested &quot;anything by Karen Akers&quot; (an American singer who lives in Paris). I enthusiastically second that recommendation, and would like to mention two of Karen Akers's CDs that are especially appropriate for anyone who's interested in music about Paris: Under Paris Skies and Feels Like Home. The songs on Under Paris Skies (all of which are sung in French) include &quot;La Vie en Rose&quot;, &quot;Non, je ne regrette rien&quot;, and &quot;Feuilles Mortes&quot; (better known to Americans as &quot;Autumn Leaves&quot;). The songs on Feels Like Home are about equally divided between English-language and French-language songs. The latter category includes Josephine Baker's &quot;J'Ai Deux Amours&quot;, and &quot;Paris Is a Lonely Town&quot; (a Harold Arlen song that Judy Garland sang on the soundtrack of the animated movie &quot;Gay Purr-ee&quot;). The only overlap between the two CDs is &quot;Non, je regrette rien&quot; -- and, as far as I'm concerned, having two recordings of that song is not a bad thing.