Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Jane Birkin: The Whateverist

Happy Tuesday!

When I was nattering on about "being exasperated" at my playlists the other day, I was referring to the fact that "The Whateverist" I ended up publishing was not quite what I had planned out with pen and paper (okay, it was a pencil). This is what the original line-up looked like:
1.       L'aquoiboniste - Jane Birkin
2.       Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? - She & Him
3.       My Own Sun - Darkel
4.       Time of the Assassins - Charlotte Gainsbourg
5.       Ghosts - Ladytron
6.       L'Ombre et le Lumiere - Coralie Clemént
7.       Bunny Girl - Darkel
8.       Rococo - Arcade Fire
9.       Shampain - Marina and the Diamonds
10.   Black Sheep - Metric
11.   Not In Love - Crystal Castles (ft. Robert Smith)
12.   Oh No! - Marinia and the Diamonds
13.   Runaway - Ladytron
14.   Beau Fixe - Coralie Clemént

Not too different, but I've grown to like Darkel, Coralie and the others so much that I thought it would be a real loss if I didn't end up sharing them. Heh, but I suppose it gives me an incentive to give each of them their own posts!

Let's start with Jane Birkin:
The song L'aquoiboniste translates as "the whateverist" and was the inspiration for the tone of the playlist. I'd head of Jane Birkin before, her name often mentioned with the likes of Brigitte Bardot, but I discovered her music while searching for Charlotte Gainbourg. Turns out, she's her mom! Listening to Charlotte's music, you can really hear the similarities between her sound and that of her mother's.

One commenter on the video translated the lyrics:
He’s a whateverist
A sad joke maker
Who always say whatever
Whatever
A whateverist
Who doesn’t give a damn and who keeps on
Saying ok but who really means whatever
He’s a whateverist
A sad jokes maker
Who always say whatever
Whatever
A whateverist
Doesn’t need an optician 
To see the shit of the world
Whatever

He’s a whateverist
A sad jokes maker
Who always say whatever
Whatever
A whateverist
Who tells me with a sad look
You, I love you, the others
Are all stupid jerks.
He’s a whateverist
A sad joke maker
Who always says whatever
Whatever
A whateverist
A humble guitarist
Who never plays in tune
Whatever

He’s a whateverist
A sad joke maker
Who always says whatever
Whatever
He’s a whateverist
A little too idealist 
Who keeps on saying in every way
Whatever
He’s a whateverist
A sad joke maker
Who always say whatever
Whatever
A whateverist
A funny indifferent
Who says rightly or wrongly whatever...

Mini-bio: she's an English-born actress and singer who lived in France and is best known as the muse of Serge Gainsbourg. I'd never really given much thought to the "Birkin bag" before, but it was designed for her in 1984 by Hermès. The story goes that during a flight from Paris to London, she pulled out her Hermès datebook from her bag only to have all that papers fall to the floor so she complained to the passenger sitting next to her. Unbeknownst to Jane, that passenger happened to be the chairman of Hermès whom, after hearing her complaint, created the Birkin bag!

Talk about special treatment! XD


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