They’re international rock stars, their lead singer Thomas Mars is married to the director Sofia Coppola, and they speak the language of love — needless to say, French band Phoenix are already the epitome of cool.
With their album Bankrupt! in mind, ANDPOP’s Simon Mohos asks bass player Deck D’Arcy and guitarist Christian Mazzalai questions based on their new tracks. From singing in english to what they think should be never be faked, watch and learn from this episode of Small Talk as Phoenix discuss their ongoing quest of cool.
At first glance, you might wrongly assume this beautiful French girl will sing a folksy Carla Bruni-esque lullaby or a pop ballad, but you’d be completely wrong. Instead, Rachel La Voix D’Homme decided to sing DEATH METAL to audition for France’s Got Talent.
The 24-year-old shocked all the judges, proving you should never judge someone based on how they look.
Watch it here
Columnist Victoria Abraham defines one artist each week so you can impress your friends with your musical brilliance. This week, she tackles Coeur de Pirate, a silky smooth French-Canadian songstress.
You don’t need to speak the language of love to love this artist’s music. Nor should you let her blonde hair and doe eyes fool you. With arms full of tattoos and thick black eyeliner she’s bringing a tough edge to her sweet as pie voice. And stay tuned, as she goes on tour in France on March 22.
Origins: Montreal, Quebec
Known for: This 22-year-old crooner is known for her unique indie pop sound.
Used in a sentence: Coeur de Pirate is a doll-faced rebel with just the right amount of sexy and sweet.
File next to: Indochine, Carla Bruni
Notable lyrics: Martin sings about love and saying goodbye to a bad relationship in the following lyrics from her song “Adieu,” mixing her rebel attitude with characteristic sexy/sweet charm. Translated, she sings:
You laugh so badly/You laugh emptily/Wine stains on your shirt/That have two exploding spots/On your body that pushed me away/You make love in two thrusts
Download now: Listen to “Comme des Enfants” and “Adieu” and you’ll fall in love, just like I did. Even if you don’t understand the lyrics, it will put a smile on your face.
Watch Adieu here:
Fun facts:
Her real name is Béatrice Martin and her stage name means “Heart of a Pirate.” She began playing the piano when she was three years old, and until 2010 she only sang in French. Her first English song was “Brutal Hearts” with Bedouin Soundclash. She’s expecting her first child this summer.
Career highlights:
Her first album, Couer de Pirate, came out in 2008 and her single “Comme des Enfants” eventually rose to the Top Five in France. In 2009, her debut album was nominated for Francophone Album of the Year at the Juno Awards and for the Polaris Music Prize. Her second album, Blonde, was released in 2011.
Canadian audiences missed out on a piece of Michael Jackson history by not being able to see the documentary “Gone Too Soon.” Now the owners of the film are going after the distributor who did not live up to his contractual obligation.
TMZ reports Objective Films, LLC has filed a lawsuit against a company headed by Pierre Turgeon. In the lawsuit Objective claims they sold the French and Canadian distribution rights to Pierre’s company in exchange for $100k back in 2009.
Objective claims they received $50,000 but Pierre reneged on the other half. Objective was able to get the flick distributed in France … Canada wasn’t so lucky. Objective further claims Turgeon never really wanted to do legitimate business with Objective, however he just wanted the MJ affiliation to inflate his stock price.
Turgeon tells a different story to TMZ — saying, “The movie was bad … so we applied the clause (in our contract) that enabled us to not pick up the rights to the movie.”
He adds, “We paid in advance in good faith $50,000 for the project … We plan to get back our $50,000.”
Paris Hilton was detained by French police on the island of Corsica after being caught with cannabis in her handbag.
FoxNews reports Hilton was detained Friday night at the airport in Figari on a private jet from Paris. As there was less than a gram found, she was released without charge.
A local newspaper says she was traveling with “people close to power in Malaysia,” and was supposed to travel by yacht to the luxury resort of Porto Cervo in Sardinia, Italy.
TMZ is reporting that Lindsay Lohan is on a plane headed back to the United States.
This past week an arrest warrant was issued for Lindsay after she missed a court date. The actresses’ lawyer appeared on her behalf in court explaining that Lindsay’s passport had been stolen, leaving her stranded in Cannes, France. The Judge unfortunately didn’t buy the story.
Lohan will be in court Monday to appear in front of the Judge. However she did enjoy her last night in Cannes with a stroll, along with every celebrity photographer in France.
Clint Eastwood was made a commander in France’s Legion of Honour for his contributions to cinema, reports CBC. French President Nicolas Sarkozy helped celebrate the 79-year-old at an awards ceremony Friday in Paris.
Two years ago, Eastwood was made a knight in the Legion of Honour. He is now at the third level of five for accolades in the Legion.
“I love France, I love movies, and I love the appreciation that the French people have for movies,” Eastwood said.
After 32 years on the run from the American government, Academy Award-winning film director Roman Polanski, 76, could finally see a resolution to his outstanding charges. He was finally detained in Switzerland where border officials acted on an American arrest warrant from 1977, but that move could lead to Polanski’s release.
In the seventies, Polanski pleaded guilty to charges for having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor (Samantha Geimer, 13.) After he fled the country, American investigators have been passively keeping tabs on him, waiting for their chance to pounce.
Polanski fled to France before he was formally sentenced and has been on the lam ever since. His capture now could lead to extradition to the U.S. but now that the American, French and Swiss governments involved, the whole process could be fuddled. Polanski could be released entirely, or his time served prior to the initial court case will translate to his sentence.
A person was killed Thursday (July 16) when the stage for Madonna’s Marseille, France, concert collapsed, according to the Associated Press who reported that an additional six workers were injured due to the accident.
The stage for the queen of pop’s Sticky and Sweet show fell apart at the Stade Vélodrome while under construction at approximately 5:15 p.m. local time, according to reports. The identities of the individuals affected by the incident were not released immediately.
TMZ is reporting that Madonna issued the following statement regarding the incident: “I am devastated to have just received this tragic news. My prayers go out to those who were injured and their families along with my deepest sympathy to all those affected by this heartbreaking news.”
In the crazy, testosterone — driven world of sports — shit happens. And just as often as shit happens, boneheaded broadcasters will spend eternity demonizing and chastising incidents which, for the players involved, were in the heat of the moment? and for the broadcasters, in the heat of their cushy seats in the press box.
Case and point: Sunday?s World Cup finale.
Why the random leap into the deep end of World Cup madness? I can?t stand by as Zinedine Zidane?s good name is sullied from one headbutt that was, although ill-advised, in the heat of the moment.
This happens all the time. Many great players, including Michael Jordan, have lost their cool in crucial games due to trash-talking defenders. If you talk trash (yes, I?m looking at you, Gary Payton), you have to understand there is a chance that you?re going to get a fresh fist across the noggin — or in the case of soccer players, a headbutt in your chest.
The difference between the sports? If a guy gets cheeky with you in basketball, hockey or American football, you fight back when that first punch is thrown — and the referees get involved to defuse the situation. In soccer, however, the slightest gust of air from an opposing team member?s flailing limb sends these poor gentlemen flying to the ground like sacks of grass-loving potatoes. Not to say Zidane?s headbutt wasn?t vicious, but that poor Italian defender (Materazzi) looked as if he?d just been run over by the Juggernaut.
It?s also important to establish this isn?t speculation. It?s clear upon reviewing the incident that there was indeed a heated conversation between the two players, and if you look closely enough, it appears as if Materazzi actually gives Zidane a ?purple nurple? before the headbutt counter-offensive.
It has also been reported by FOXSports.com, that Materazzi may have used a racial slur which provoked the headbutt. Even with this news surfacing, the headlines across the globe are filled with words like ?regrettable? and ?stupid? smeared across bolded headlines. If Materazzi did indeed racially offend and nipple-twist Zidane — I?d say the headbutt was almost justifiable. He?d be lucky that?s all that happened! Just try twisting Charles Oakley?s nipple and see what happens!
I also have to vent about how annoying it was to watch Italy pack it in on defense. From halftime on, the ball was on Italy?s side the majority of the time. France was really working hard on offense, and it?s no wonder? Italy had almost every fielded player playing defense! Every time France would make a move, that one white shirt would be flanked by three or four blue shirts. The strategy became clear: Italy wanted no part of this being an exciting game with goals and the like. It was unlikely there would be a single goal coming out of half time. All of Italy?s players were defending, so France couldn?t score. And as such, Italy wouldn?t be able to score as they had but one player on offense! Doesn?t that bother anyone other than me? Sure it?s perfectly legal, but Italy might as well have jumped on each other?s backs and constructed a human wall in front of the goal.
It?s like that annoying kid you used to play Mortal Kombat with. He?d habitually choose Sub-Zero, and his move repertoire would consist of two things: freeze then uppercut, freeze then uppercut, freeze then uppercut. Sure it?s perfectly legal, but it?s cheap as hell and pretty damn annoying. I commend those of you, like France, who took the Johnny Cage approach and wielded a more balanced attack.
The fact is France outplayed Italy in the second half of that game. And just think of all the energy the French team expended on offense trying to crack Italy?s Sub-Zero defense. It?s no wonder studs like Thierry Henri weren?t available for the final shootout.
Italy has two things to thank for their World Cup final victory: Firstly, their cheap tactics on defense (to which I don?t accept the excuse ?that?s the way they play, they play tough defense.? France also played superior defense and picked at the ball all game. The difference, however, is they also put effort into their offense. And the second and most prevalent factor in Italy?s ?victory?? Luck. And when the Vatican is in your country, it should come as no surprise that luck would be on your side.
