The Daughters of Marx and Coca-Cola

That Marx and Coca-Cola line is from Jean-Luc Godard, who famously described the characters in Masculin Feminin as "the children of Marx and Coca-Cola." (And we all know who got custody of those kids in the divorce settlement, right?)

Anyway, I've been watching a lot of Godard lately (and I can hear my friend Daniel all the way in London yelling, "Godard?!? You watch Godard?!?") which has had the triple effect of making me (1) talk in a voice over whenever I do anything, (2) walk into bodegas and ask the guy behind the counter to open a pack of Gauloises so I can inhale that pungent tobacco aroma, and (3) drag my 60's French pop compilations out of storage, the Femmes de Paris and Pop à Paris series, because they're chirpy and happy and I've been thinking a lot about death lately. And watching Godard. Which to Daniel is the same thing.

(Sidebar question: Jean-Luc Picard and Jean-Luc Godard; namewise, aren't we talking what Derek Flint is to Erroll Flynn?)

So. Since nothing says joie de vivre like a leggy mademoiselle in a pink mini-skirt singing about how much Annie likes suckers, here's a little online trove of what I've been listening to over the last few days when I'm not dancing to the Japanese Popstars. Here you will find not only one of the best covers of a Rolling Stones tune you will ever hear in your life, but Petula Clark singing in French with the kind of accent that can best be described by the word "phonetic." To say nothing of the only version of "Nights in White Satin" you will ever want to listen to more than once, and a Serge Gainsbourg song that would have killed if Joan Jett had ever covered it.

Bonne écoute.

Mlle. Laforêt

01 - Marie Laforêt - Marie Douceur, Marie Colère
02 - Zouzou - Il Est Parti Comme Il Était Venu
03 - Petula Clark - La Nuit N'en Finit Plus
04 - Annie Philippe - Pour La Gloire
05 - Eileen - Ces Bottes Sont Faites Pour Marcher
06 - Annie Philippe - Baby Love
07 - Patricia - Mes Rêves De Satin

08 - Sylvie Vartan - Donne moi ton amour
09 - France Gall - Les Sucettes
10 - Anna Karina - Roller Girl

Mlle. Karina

And because every good compilation needs a bonus track:

Bonus Track: Jean-Claude Brialy & Anna Karina - Ne Dis Rien