Daily Jam - Comme

Here's a gentle, gorgeous track from the lovely and wonderful Francoise Hardy.  Listen to "Comme" below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Brûlure

I need something pretty this morning.  Something warm.  Something peaceful.  Here's Francoise Hardy with "Brûlure," our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Il Est Trop Loin

“Cause Doris Day could never make me cheer up quite the way those French girls always do.”

I open with a lyric from the great Neil Hannon and his baroque pop band The Divine Comedy because he’s really onto something. There is a certain mystique surrounding French women that pervades so many aspects of our pop culture, and I am certainly not immune to the allure. Whether it’s the smoking, cool, and flirty aloofness of the women portrayed in any number of French New Wave films, the pouty and detached chic of the country’s fashionistas, or the throngs of yé-yé girls making music over the last half century, I am so there. And I have been smitten with original yé-yé girl Françoise Hardy for the better part of 20 years.

With a range of material spanning decades, and in different languages, it can be a tad daunting to dive into the musical works of Mlle. Hardy. As a fan, even I haven’t been able to traverse everything, but I always seem to be able to stumble across something I’ve never heard before…and that new (to me) song tends to become my obsession for a while. In 2017, i found myself looping “Il Est Trop Loin,” from the artist’s 1967 album Ma Jeunesse Fout L’Camp, and it may be my favorite thing that Françoise Hardy ever recorded. The song, which loosely translates to “It Is Too Far,” is a reworking of Peter, Paul, and Mary’s “Sorrow,” itself a reworking of the traditional American folk song “Man of Constant Sorrow,” originally penned by Dick Burnett. Featuring Hardy’s almost mournful vocals laid over a plucked electric guitar, a minimal tambourine beat, and a rising wave of soft strings and choir voices, “Il Est Trop Loin” sounds like the psych-tinged lament of a lonely soul, the world hanging heavy. It’s a wonderful interpretation of a song that’s now over a century old.

Those French girls will continue to cheer me up, to amaze me.

Listen below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Jeanne

Oh how my heart beats for Francoise Hardy, French chanteuse of the 1960’s, former pop music and fashion icon, the Yeh-Yeh girl from Paris. Her impressive early catalog trades in folk, pop, British Beat, and a slew of other genres and influences sung in French, English, German, Italian, and more over the course of dozens of albums. Funny that I had no idea who she was until listening to fellow Frenchmen Air and their collaborative effort with Hardy called “Jeanne,” which appeared as a B-side on the single to “Sexy Boy” in 1998. The song is spacey, and haunting, and gorgeous, and it sent me on a path to discover the further works of Mlle Hardy, as well as the many other wonderful artists contributing to the 60’s French pop scene.

I’ve had a soft spot for French music ever since.

I’ve written at length in the past about songs and albums that can transport you back to a particular time in your life, a nostalgia trip in audio pill form. “Jeanne” is certainly one of those songs for me. Just hearing the wistful acoustic guitar, the soothing tones of the synthesizer, and Hardy’s ghostly vocals takes me back to my freshman year of college. The song paints such a vivid picture of that time in my mind’s eye, that a whole sea of memories, feelings, stories, and emotions can come flooding into my head, leaving me wading through the history of a teenage version of myself, who to some degree, does not exist anymore. It causes a homesick kind of feeling. It makes me feel all too mortal. What if we could remember what we thought the future would be like? This song haunts me.

Check it out below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam (Covers Week) - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow

I love Francoise Hardy, and pretty much have ever since first hearing her on an Air B-side 25 years ago.  Here's her cover of The Shirelles' "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam (Covers Week) - There But for Fortune

Perennial favorite around these parts, Francoise Hardy, takes on folk singer Phil Ochs's "There But for Fortune," our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Till the Morning Comes

I don't know about the rest of you, but i just feel exhausted today.  So here's the wonderful Francoise Hardy covering Neil Young's "Till the Morning Comes," our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam (Covers Week 2) - Suzanne

For our Daily Jam today, Francoise Hardy (one of my favorites) covers Leonard Cohen (another one of my favorites).  Check out her beautiful French language version of "Suzanne" below.

Daily Jam - Voila

It seems like i've spent the last 25 years discovering the music of Francoise Hardy, first hearing of her long, long ago when she appeared on a track by Blur.  And then providing vocals on a B-side for Air (which happens to be one of my all time favorite songs).  So i gradually began finding her stuff, listening to a track or album here or there.  And i loved it all.  Then in 2011, Alex Zhang Hungtai, under his Dirty Beaches moniker sampled Hardy's "Voila" for his great track "Lord Knows Best."  I was completely and utterly hooked after that, clamoring for any and all of the music Hardy has lent her lovely voice to.  Listen to the transcendent "Voila" below, our Daily Jam.

Living Hour covers Françoise Hardy

Evoking or covering Françoise Hardy is one of the fastest ways to my heart.  And so we have Canadian shoegaze band Living Hour and their absolute dream of a cover of Hardy's "Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles."  Listen below, and be on the lookout for the band's upcoming covers EP, "Lovely, Lonely: A Collection of Covers for Hollow Hearts" due next month.  I'll also now be seeking the band out during SXSW.  Hooray!

Francoise Hardy

I am a HUGE fan of Francoise Hardy, her decades long career of French (and a bunch of other languages too) pop and folk music finding its way into my regular audio habits and never failing to make me smile.  It's simple, and honest, and beautiful, and should be required listening for everybody.  So, it's pretty awesome that her first five albums are getting the remaster/reissue treatment from the damn near infallible Light in the Attic.  The vinyl editions come out in January, and you can get more info here.  In the meanwhile, listen to "Quel Mal y a-t-il a Ca," a French language cover of Patsy Cline's "When I Get Through with You," from 1965's "L'Amitie" below.

Air and Francoise Hardy- Jeanne

Today sucked.  I'm exhausted.  I'm moody.  And there's still more to do.  So, here's one of my favorite songs of all time.  Way back in 1997, French duo Air teamed with living legend Francoise Hardy for a track called "Jeanne."  The song appeared on the single to the band's "Sexy Boy" on Astralwerks.  It's smooth, and sexy, and trippy, and mournful, and beautiful, and it led me to discover the work of the lovely Mlle. Hardy.  Listen below and enjoy your evening.