When I look at this list, the capital letters look inconcistent to me. If any of the song titles need fixing (big/small letters, accents) I'd really appreciate the help.
I always see the same thing with films so I looked around before and I believe the rule is that the first noun and any article or adjective preceding it are capitalized, but I've also seen only the first word (and any names, obviously) capitalized. A cursory Google search reveals that there is quite a bit of discussion the subject, and even differences among dictionaries. Simply be consistent I suppose?
Actually there is no typographical code written in stone, but the general rule in French is as Stephan says that the definite articles "le, la, les, l' " and the following word should be in capitals.
For the rest (even with the undefinite article Un, Une, Des, etc...) only the first word is in capitals.
Actually if you want to be overly fussy the rule is more complicated but not used very much so let's not try to assfuck flies (as we say in French, or split hair to be more polite) and let's stick to that. It's already complex enough... Like in every profession people invent rules and rules to be sure they are the only ones who know..
Ex : La Vie en rose
Cherchez le garçon
Un enfant de la balle
So the list should be
Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin - Je t'aime moi non plus
2. Edith Piaf - La Vie en rose
3. Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot - Bonnie & Clyde
4. Francoise Hardy - Tous les garçons et les filles
5. Gérard Manset - Il voyage en solitaire
6. Léo Ferré - Avec le temps
7. Les Rita Mitsouko - Marcia baila
8. Jacques Dutronc - (Il est 5 heures) Paris s'éveille
9. Christophe - Les Mots bleus
10. Taxi Girl - Cherchez le garcon
11. Air - Le Soleil est près de moi
12. Alain Bashung - Vertige de l'amour
13. Ronnie Bird - Fais attention
14. Michel Polnareff - Love Me, Please Love Me
15. Henri Salvador - Syracuse
16. Carla Bruni - Quelqu'un m'a dit
17. Les Rita Mitsouko - C'est comme ça
18. Claude Francois - Comme d'habitude
19. Serge Gainsbourg - Le Poinçonneur des Lilas (here Les Lilas is a town)
20. Jacques Dutronc - Les Playboys
21. Jeanne Moreau - Le Tourbillon
PS : I've also corrected the accents and added a ç
Hello French AMers! I will include a couple of French critics lists of songs in the next update and with that comes a number of French-language songs. Here is a preliminary top list of French songs. I'd like to know whether you like it or not.
1. Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin - Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus
2. Edith Piaf - La Vie En Rose
3. Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot - Bonnie & Clyde
4. Francoise Hardy - Tous les garçons et les filles
5. Gérard Manset - Il Voyage en Solitaire
6. Léo Ferré - Avec le temps
7. Les Rita Mitsouko - Marcia Baila
8. Jacques Dutronc - (Il Est 5 Heures) Paris S'éveille
9. Christophe - Les Mots Bleus
10. Taxi Girl - Cherchez le Garcon
11. Air - Le Soleil Est Prés De Moi
12. Alain Bashung - Vertige De L'Amour
13. Ronnie Bird - Fais Attention
14. Michel Polnareff - Love Me, Please Love Me
15. Henri Salvador - Syracuse
16. Carla Bruni - Quelqu'un m'a dit
17. Les Rita Mitsouko - C'est Comme Ca
18. Claude Francois - Comme d'habitude
19. Serge Gainsbourg - Le Poinconneur Des Lilas
20. Jacques Dutronc - Les Playboys
21. Jeanne Moreau - Le Tourbillon
It's a good list with some of "classics" .... but... but...but...Carla Bruni ???? How it's possible to found this thing in the middle of all these fucking good songs ?
I'm really surpised to found the Air's and Ronnie Bird's songs. These two songs are, by far, less known than all the other that are in the "patrimoine" of the French. I never heard neither one nor the other then I heard hundreds of times all the other songs ?
Thank you.
I have exactly the same reservations as Romain about Bruni, Air and Ronnie Bird (don't know the last two songs).The other songs are great classics.
There is nothing from the 50s (no Brel and Brassens is hard to swallow, while the more intellectual Ferré is not omitted), and nothing from the 90s, which was a very interesting decade in which the average quality of French pop increased significantly.
2 songs of rita Mitsouko and 2 Dutronc is maybe a little too much, but I don't know about the context of this list so...
Carla Bruni has been included in one list from Les Inrockuptibles, but most acclaim come from Spain where her song has been included in lists from the Spanish Rolling Stone as well as Honorio's beloved Rock de Lux.
Hum... Extremely different from my would-be Top 21 French songs I guess, but I do have listened to Ronnie Bird and Air, and I like both :) . The only thing is, my favourite from Bird is "Chante", not "Fais attention". However, I share the others' opinion about Carla Bruni, but I may be politically biased...
Don't forget the guys from West Africa, Quebec, Haiti ...
Hmm, there are artists from these places that sing in French, but I don't think any songs are listed at AM. Am I wrong or was it not an AM-specific comment?
Don't forget the guys from West Africa, Quebec, Haiti ...
Hmm, there are artists from these places that sing in French, but I don't think any songs are listed at AM. Am I wrong or was it not an AM-specific comment?
For Africa (Mali), I suggest Amadou & Mariams "Sabali", which is partly sung in french and will be my number 3 in the 2008 poll. The song is number 73 in the end-of-year-list.
Carla Bruni has been included in one list from Les Inrockuptibles, but most acclaim come from Spain where her song has been included in lists from the Spanish Rolling Stone as well as Honorio's beloved Rock de Lux.
Yes, you’re right, especially shocking was the inclusion into the Top 10 (!) of songs from 2000-2004 by Spanish Rolling Stone. Anyway let me point to the fact that this acclaim came during the pre-Sarkozy period, at the time Carla was a top model that debuted in music with an album in an unexpected chanson style that was quite consistent, or at least better that one can expect coming from a top model. Anyway, not merits enough to be included into the Top 20 French songs of all time...
OK Guys, here's a fantastic book for all those interested in french songs...It just came out today...It picks up the 200 essential french records and at the end a list of 2000 essential songs...check it out!!!
Here's the link on amazon.fr
I guess the advantage of Ferré against Brel or Brassens is that if asked what Ferré best song is, most people will answer "Avec le Temps" while for Brel you might get a bit more "Ne Me Quitte Pas" than other answers but I'm sure you will have lots of "Ces Gens-Là", "Amsterdam" or "Au Suivant". It's the same for Brassens, lot of good songs, none that stands out more than the others.
Not surprised to see 2 Dutronc songs, first because he is one the best French artists in terms of singles and also because lots of French lists are done by Rock magazines more than "French music" magazines. So he gets quite an advantage here.
The strangest omission for me is Noir Désir, but they are pretty well represented in the Albums section. And surprised that "Vertige de l'amour" appears instead of some much better and as much known songs (La Nuit Je Mens is his masterpiece for me, but Osez Joséphine, Ma Petite Entreprise or Madame Rêve are other stand-out tracks).
OK Guys, here's a fantastic book for all those interested in french songs...It just came out today...It picks up the 200 essential french records and at the end a list of 2000 essential songs...check it out!!!
Here's the link on amazon.fr
I took a look at this book today. It's actually much more complete about mainstream music here in France than what we have discussed on this forum so far. The book is built on the same plan as that of the "Discothèque parfaite de l'histoire du rock" so, counting the "Ca devrait vous plaire" sections, it does include much more than 200 albums.
However, as far as it is interesting, it does include a bit of acclaim for artists I can't bear (such as Michel Sardou) and I don't feel like copying a content that huge all over again. Count me out .
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