Voilà combien de jours, voilà combien de nuits,
Voilà combien de temps que tu es reparti,
Tu m’as dit cette fois, c’est le dernier voyage,
Pour nos cœurs déchirés, c’est le dernier naufrage,
Au printemps, tu verras, je serai de retour,
Le printemps, c’est joli pour se parler d’amour,
Nous irons voir ensemble les jardins refleuris,
Et déambulerons dans les rues de Paris,

Dis, quand reviendras-tu,
Dis, au moins le sais-tu,
Que tout le temps qui passe,
Ne se rattrape guère,
Que tout le temps perdu,
Ne se rattrape plus,

Le printemps s’est enfui depuis longtemps déjà,
Craquent les feuilles mortes, brûlent les feux de bois,
A voir Paris si beau dans cette fin d’automne,
Soudain je m’alanguis, je rêve, je frissonne,
Je tangue, je chavire, et comme la rengaine,
Je vais, je viens, je vire, je me tourne, je me traîne,
Ton image me hante, je te parle tout bas,
Et j’ai le mal d’amour, et j’ai le mal de toi,

Dis, quand reviendras-tu,
Dis, au moins le sais-tu,
Que tout le temps qui passe,
Ne se rattrape guère,
Que tout le temps perdu,
Ne se rattrape plus,

J’ai beau t’aimer encore, j’ai beau t’aimer toujours,
J’ai beau n’aimer que toi, j’ai beau t’aimer d’amour,
Si tu ne comprends pas qu’il te faut revenir,
Je ferai de nous deux mes plus beaux souvenirs,
Je reprendrai la route, le monde m’émerveille,
J’irai me réchauffer à un autre soleil,
Je ne suis pas de celles qui meurent de chagrin,
Je n’ai pas la vertu des femmes de marins,

Dis, quand reviendras-tu,
Dis, au moins le sais-tu,
Que tout le temps qui passe,
Ne se rattrape guère,
Que tout le temps perdu,
Ne se rattrape plus…

© Tous droits réservés – 1963 – Barbara

Caché dans ton guichet
contreplaqué, aggloméré,
linoleum
Bureau des P & t
Toute la saint’journée
J’ai a te parler
J’veux un timbre a cent ball’ss
ou j’veux téléphoner
Donne moi plutôt un p’tit ticket
dore pour aller m’balader

Parlez
Parlez dans l’hygiaphone
T’as pas besoin d’sonner
Demande a l’interphone
Si t’as envie d’quelqu’un
Décroch’ton téléphone

Comme ça a s’regarder
chacun de chaque cote
On a l’air de mérous
coinces dans l’aquarium
Mais faudra qu’entre nous
je casse le plexiglas
Et qu’un jour, Mimi,
je te parle en face
Que j’te raconte l’histoire
du p’tit ticket troue
Qui n’a jamais vraiment marche
pour aller s’balader

Danse
Joue ton électrophone
Tas pas besoin d’gueuler
Demande au mégaphone
Bientôt au bout du fil
Tu n’auras plus personne

Danse !

Bientôt au bout du fil
Tu n’auras plus personne

© Tous droits réservés – 1977

Téléphone:
Jean-Louis Aubert, Richard Kolinka, Louis Bertignac & Corine Marienneau

As regulars here know by now, Lucid Culture HQ is undergoing some big renovations and for that reason we have to leave this site more or less in limbo until about the middle of October  when we  return with more of the stuff you may have grown accustomed to: the NYC live music calendar, cd and concert reviews, Song of the Day and our Tuesday Top Ten Songs list. This will also serve as a test of sorts to see how much traffic we get while there’s not much going on here. In the meantime, here are the songs of the day that we’d scheduled to appear, a new one every day through October 15, 2009  as the countdown to #1 on the Top 666 Songs of Alltime list continues.  If this isn’t enough to satisfy your curiosity, look around a little, browse the index above and we’ll be back before you know it.

304. Joy Division – Walked in Line

“All dressed in uniforms so fine/They drank and killed to pass the time/Wearing the shame of all their crimes/With measured steps they walked in line.” Nazis as metaphor for conformity as a whole, stepping to a ridiculously simple, potent descending punk riff. An early, 1977-era song released on the posthumous 1981 Still lp, available in a ridiculous number of live and studio versions: peek around.

303. Dick Dale – Misirlou

The lefty guitar genius and surf music pioneer is Lebanese-American and probably heard this iconic Greek melody as a kid in the 50s. Nice to see him healthy again and back on the road. New York Greek party rockers Magges also do a tremendously fun version.

302. The Dog Show – If I Laugh Anymore I’ll Break

Blistering and catchy, sort of a cross between the Dead Boys and 50s R&B. One of the more obscure tracks here, this is on a rare ep by the NYC mod punks from 2003 or so and well worth seeking out, whether on a live bootleg (they exist) or otherwise.

301. Elvis Costello – Riot Act

One of Steve Nieve’s finest, most poignant moments in the band with all those hauntingly restrained piano arpeggios. From Get Happy, 1980; mp3s are everywhere.

300. The Grateful Dead – Days Between

Every now and then, Jerry and co. would pull out the gravitas and this is a prime, extremely poignant example from right before the end, an elegiac epic that in its dark, determined way might just be their best song. Not that it really mattered, but the Dead never released it during their lifetime as either a studio or live recording. So you need to go to dead.net or archive.org, where this 12-minute gem resides in several places.

299. The Go-Betweens – You Can’t Say No Forever

Haunting, percussive janglerock cautionary tale about the dangers of succumbing to the lure of marriage. An apt companion piece to the Fun Boy Three’s Tunnel of Love…and a million blues and country songs. It doesn’t sound much like anything the artsy New Zealand pop band ever did before or after. From 16 Lovers’ Lane, 1989; mp3s are everywhere.

298. The Rolling Stones – Black Limousine

A poignant requiem for a good time, Ron Wood’s warmly fluid blues solo one of his finest moments in the band over a neat hesitation-step series of basic blues changes. From Tattoo You, 1981; mp3s are everywhere, and don’t be shy about downloading it because like all major label releases, this one will never make the band any more money. Not that they need it anyway. The link above is a spirited live version from the tour of the same year.

297. Telephone – Au Coeur de la Nuit

The title translates as “heart of the night,” which to songwriter Jean-Louis Aubert’s credit transcends cliche here. One of the most iconic songs in French rock, it’s a blistering requiem, title track from the Parisian rockers’ 1981 lp. Which you can download all over the place; the link above is a careening live version from German tv.

296. Zager & Evans – In the Year 2525

OK, some of you may find this cheesy and over-the-top. But we think the 1969 one-hit wonder is spooky in a psychedelic California Dreaming kind of way. Whatever you think, the video above is hilarious – and it screams out for someone with a little more depth to cover the song and bring out all its apocalyptic angst. By the way, the song was a last-minute addition to the band’s first album (if you find it, pick it up, it’s rare). Available for taping off your favorite oldies radio station as well as all over the web.

295. Randi Russo – Wonderland

Arguably the iconic indie rock siren’s signature song, this is a bruised, towering anthem about being left behind. And the injustice and cruel irony of it. From her classic Solar Bipolar cd, 2000; the link in the title above is the considerably faster but still dangerous version from the Live at Sin-e album, 2005.

294. Amy Rigby – Rode Hard

Culture shock has seldom been more amusingly, or more poignantly portrayed: fearless big city girl goes south and she doesn’t understand the natives any better than they understand her. She might be jealous of their brightly lit homes and seemingly secure lives, but she’s not sure. And are there any eligible guys within a hundred mile radius? Is there one? From the Sugar Tree cd, 2000, which you could download, or you could get at her site, she’s an independent artist so none of your money will go to any sleazy record label exec.

293. Erika Simonian – Bitter & Brittle

Best song on the classic 2003 All the Plastic Animals cd by the NYC underground songwriter/chanteuse and Sprinkle Genies guitarist, grimly yet wittily contemplating a fullscale breakdown with one of her characteristically gemlike lyrics.

292. Elvis Costello – Love Went Mad

“Do you know how I feel? Do you have a heart, do you have a heart of iron and steel?” the King inquires with a savage amphetamine insistence. A fast, anthemic smash from Punch the Clock, 1983, driven by Steve Nieve’s incisively bright piano. Mp3s are everywhere.

291. Curtis Eller – After the Soil Fails

Apocalyptic opening track on the fiery NYC banjo rocker’s 2008 cd Wirewalkers & Assassins:

This time the dream is a Russian oil tanker

Fidel Castro and Cuban sugarcane

Richard Nixon’s having the same old nightmare

Jack Ruby’s black secret crawling up through the drain…

When the hurricanes finally take out New Orleans

And scarlet fever has finally left Philadelphia bare…

There’s a ghost that we remember hanging in the air

290. Ninth House – Your Past May Come Back to Haunt Me

Catchy, swaying Nashville gothic existentialist cautionary tale: “I know all your secrets,” frontman Mark Sinnis intones ominously. From Swim in the Silence, 2000.

289. Elena Zazanis – Stingray

The highly regarded indie film actress is also a terrific singer and songwriter, with a powerful alto wail and a haunting chromatic edge that reflect her Greek heritage. For a few years during the early part of the decade, she led a first-rate, dark New York powerpop band and this is their finest moment, a towering anthem vividly depicting a surreal nightmare scenario that doesn’t end well. Never recorded, although live bootlegs exist.

288. REM – Find the River

Arguably their best song, about as far from their indie roots as they ever got, lush and anthemic with a string section. It’s about getting old, and failure, and death. “All of this is coming your way.” From Automatic for the People, 1992. Click on the video in the link above.

287. Latin Quarter – Truth About John

For about a year the British rock press were all gaga over this lyrically brilliant, Costelloesque band who were one of the first to bring Afropop flourishes into rock. This is probably their most straight-up rock song, a bruising anthem about Albert Goldman’s hatchet-job John Lennon bio. From the Modern Times lp, 1985. The Pip Hoyle style organ solo out is luscious. Frontman Steve Skaith now fronts his own band, continuing to play and record intriguingly polystylistic, lyrical songs. The link in the title above is the stream at imeem.

286. Flash & the Pan – Restless

A few years after their legendary 60s garage-pop band the Easybeats had run its course, Australians Harry Vanda and George Young led this pioneering, truly extraordinary dark new wave studio project best known for their big 1979 hit Hey St. Peter. This apocalyptic number sets a haunting Middle Eastern melody to a fast, hypnotic dance beat, the lyrics as offhandedly disconcertingly as ever. From the classic Lights in the Night lp, 1980, more easily downloaded than you would think – the link above is a torrent.

285. The Room – Naïve

Best song on probably the best ep ever made, the Liverpool new wave legends’ 1985 release Jackpot Jack. This updates noir 60s pop with a jazzy tinge and haunting Hammond organ, Dave Jackson’s ominously breathy voice and characteristically biting lyrics. It’s also a great drinking song – who knew beer goggles could be so lyrical. Jackson and bassist Becky Stringer would carry on in the equally captivating Benny Profane and currently the Nashville gothic act the Dead Cowboys.

il tue sa mère en plein hiver
il déchire par son sens du rire
y kiffe sa race c’est la grande classe
ca m’exaspère toute cette audauce

c’est la misère – quand on s’ramasse
a l’appel des frères d’la soulasse
pas loin d’la rue du fait divers
qu’est ce qu’on s’les glace en plein hiver, en plein desert…

comme un macabé dans sa bière
devant sa gueule reste de glace
pour cotériser les crevasses
soeur vinasse en fait son affaire

face de pustule ca l’rend vénère
il déambule dans l’atmosphere
putain d’maladie ordinair’
y dit j’ai franch’ment pas une gueule à m’foutre en l’air
…franch’ment pas une gueule à m’foutre en l’air
…ça m’branche pas trop d’aller triper sous terre
…en plus j’ai jamais rencontré Jean Louis Aubert…
ah quelle misère
ah quel mystère
ah quelle colère
à quelle heure doit-on écouter france inter ?
pour fredonner un air de Jean Louis Aubert
Jean Louis Aubert…

© Tous droits réservés – 2006

On n’apprend pas un sentiment. Je me suis rendu compte comment nous sommes limités quant aux sentiments.

Notre état émotionnel présent semble être l’effet de son état antérieur, et aussi la cause de celui qui va suivre. Ainsi, pour mieux comprendre notre état émotionnel, nous pourrions regarder celui de nos parents. Même si cela semble un exercice simpliste et réducteur, nous pouvons affirmer que nous avons la tendance d’aimer de la même façon que nos parents nous ont aimés.

Mais nous ne sommes pas exposés qu’à ce pôle d’influence. Nos amis, nos écrivains, nos artistes ou nos joueurs de football préférés, bref, nos modèles, nous apprennent à aimer. Et nous faisons un mix bizarre et évolutif de copies fidèles.

Mais à la fin, on aime comme on a été aime. Pour une raison qui nous dépasse, nous ne faisons pas, ou très peu, preuve de créativité dans les sentiments.

C’est dans les mains de nos parents
C’est dans les cœurs de nos amants
C’est dans les yeux de nos enfants
C’est le plus clair de notre temps
Le plus obscure de nos tourments
On n’invente pas un sentiment
Même si on veut faire autrement

On aime comme on a été aimé.

Heureusement que tu m’as aimée lorsque j’étais enfant…

Car je n’aurais jamais su donner autant.

Malheureusement, ce trop-plein d’amour, tu l’as pris en retour…

A un moment où je t’en demandais encore tant.

Every day, our top 666 songs of alltime countdown gets one step closer to #1. Wednesday’s song is #392;

Telephone – Cendrillon

The title is French for “Cinderella.” This uncharacteristically quiet ballad from the 1982 Dure Limite lp was a huge hit for the French rockers, electric piano glimmering evilly behind Louis Bertignac’s elegaic lead guitar as frontman Jean-Louis Aubert matter-of-factly narrates her descent into drug abuse and death in the back of an ambulance. The link in the title above is the album version; here’s a tasty live take.

Conflans, février 2006. Dans mes souvenirs, un excellent concert (ça n’engage que moi). C’est amusant ce télescopage d’images supperposées. Tantôt labeur, tantôt paillettes, ce blog part vraiment dans tous les sens.

Every day, our top 666 songs of alltime countdown gets one step closer to #1. Friday’s is #544:

Telephone – Telephomme

By far the best cut on the French rockers’ 1977 debut, it’s far closer to the Boomtown Rats than the amped-up second-rate Chuck Berry stuff on the rest of the album. The song’s theme (and the pun of its title) deal with the frustration about being unable to communicate. Louis Bertignac’s long, screaming guitar solo is amazing. Here’s a download…

Concert de Jean-Louis Aubert à la maison de la culture de Nevers le 25 février 2006. Concert dans une salle, assis… mouep déjà que je ne suis pas grand fan, alors passer un concert assis…

La musique commence, personne sur scène, les gens se retournent, Jean Louis Aubert arrive en descendant les escaliers. L’entrée est agréable je trouve, il est là au milieux du public ! Le concert se passe, les gens se lèvent pour les morceaux les plus entraînants, beaucoup de reprises de téléphone, dont tout le monde connait les paroles (un autre monde, ça c’est vraiment toi, le jour s’est levé, New York avec toi, cendrillon…).