Toulouse thrashed Nantes 5-1 last night to win the Coupe de France , their first major trophy in 65 yrs.
A propos de ça … je vous présente , Claude Nougaro avec sa chanson émouvante ‘Toulouse’.
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Continuing the French theme , and in celebration of International Workers’ Day ( known as Fête du Travail here in France ) , here’s a stirring hommage by Jaques Brel to Jean Jaurès , one of France’s most important and revered historical figures. Philosopher , historian and politician , he became the most important figure of the Left in France. He was assassinated in Paris on the eve of WWI because of his opposition to the looming conflict.
Brel’s tribute appeared on his final album , released shortly after his own untimely death. The song is a haunting stripped back affair with a muted accordion the only accompaniment to Brel’s voice and the poignant and persistent refrain ; ‘Pourquoi ont-ils tué Jaurès ?’ (Why did they kill Jaurès ?)
There’s a wonderful video to go along with the song , something of an historical document in itself , and … there’s English subtitles ! … which do a pretty good job of translating the original.
Finally from the man himself ;
“In our narrow, confined existence, we tend to forget the essence of life … All of us, whatever our occupation or class, are equally guilty: the employer is lost in the running of his business; the workers, sunk in the abyss of their misery, raise their heads only to cry in protest; we, the politicians, are lost in daily battles and corridor intrigues. All of us forget that before everything else, we are men, ephemeral beings lost in the immense universe, so full of terrors. We are inclined to neglect the search for the real meaning of life, to ignore the real goals - serenity of the spirit and sublimity of the heart … To reach them - that is the revolution.”
― Jean Jaures
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speaking of French, one of my favorite artists did an album which I quite enjoyed, all in French. Every studio album they do has a different influence.
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Finally got round to reading ‘Good Pop, Bad Pop’ and once again reminded of the genius of…
Makes me cry and he’s still here.
I’ve been catching up on episodes of Rockpalast on WDR (German live music show).
I was rather taken with The Scratch who are a sort of Irish folk-punk band from Dublin. It’s a bit different from your standard fare and probably just gets better with overconsumption of beer.
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Saw Duran Duran live last night. What a show! Every bit as good as advertised.
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Completely 
and their husbands (well I’m closer to 50 than 40 so 
)
Reminds me of when my ex took me to see Aha a few years ago. Now, I quite like their music but the shrieking from women who are old enough to know better got right on my tits.
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Thankfully none of that last night. Tuckered out from singing and dancin…er…swaying the poor dears
Just watched a BBC show on music from Liverpool…wasnt aware of the KLF connection or of WAH…now watching a show on ABBA - is there a band that had so many hits per releases?
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The Beatles? I think Elton John in the same period as ABBA would also be in that range.
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Good shout! I have quite a few of Beatles/ Paul Mcartney songs so i automatically discounted those, some Elton tracks i know but have never gone out of my way to listen to his albums…
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Everything from Tumbleweed Connection to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is solid. And that’s all done in less than five years. Many hits.
If you’ve never given GYBR a listen in its entirety…could be an experience.
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Cheers, i’ll give that a listen!
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There’s been lots of talk in the ‘What’s Happening’ thread about an alternative national anthem which set me thinking , and then I remembered this gem from Aztec Camera and Mick Jones from The Clash.
‘The past is steeped in shame , but tomorrow’s fair game
For a life that’s fit for livin’ … good morning Britain.’
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I’m just curious as to whether there would be any interest in having a separate thread for the Eurovision Song Contest next week?
I realise that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, particularly given that this is primarily a football forum, but I’ve always rather enjoyed the high camp and fundamental silliness of it. Given that it is being held in Liverpool, I thought there may be some interest.
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I have to say I’ve started taking a lot more interest in it since leaving the UK. I used to think it was dog awful but really the standard seems to have greatly improved recently. (Not to suggest there aren’t some absolute howlers still.)
The one thing I do have against it is it’s sooo fucking long … it seems to go on forever , and even if I do make it through all the songs it’s usually the next day before I know who won.
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