Spotify Playlist
We always encourage our students who are en pause* with their French to stay in touch with it in some way. It's such a shame to completely lose contact with the language when life gets busy, so flicking through a French magazine, watching the French news, even cooking a French recipe are all great ways to garder la main*.
Some would suggest even buying French makeup is a way to stay in touch - a position I wholeheartedly endorse.
One of our students, Anna Vella, avocate* by day and I suspect part-time DJ by night, has put together this fantastic Spotify playlist, which is keeping her French on a slow burn as she takes a well-earned break from her studies.
Merci Anna et à bientôt, j'espère*.
Where do you find your French music?
It’s surprisingly everywhere. French radio apps are fantastic – but Spotify is also a great black hole to get lost in.
Are theRE any special memories attached to any of the songs on your playlist?
I was the prime demographic for Sex and the City when it was originally released. Re-watching the final episode, An American Girl in Paris (Part Deux) a few years ago contributed to my motivation to start learning French, and the MC Solar song “La Belle Et Le Bad Boy” is synonymous with that episode. On our very last gathering as part of last year’s Paris Summer School, I was swapping information with another student as to French songs we recommended or had discovered on the trip and that one came up (I tried to pretend that I hadn’t Shazamed it directly from the television….). It was an Australian Girl in Paris (Part Trois) moment for me.
Who is your all-time favourite French artist?
Daft Punk (and their spin-off Stardust) are pretty hard to go past. I feel like they were pioneers of the house/electronic/dance/synthpop sound in the early to mid-1990’s (and some of their “music videos” were wild). It was hard to go past Daft Punk, a $2 Fire Engine and a dance floor at the time. They have stayed on the scene and continue to chart. And I appreciate their sustained effort to dress like robots. Also, Petit Biscuit is a different speed but wonderful – he is only 20 and in 2018 he did a set at Coachella.
What is the song on the list that best represents France for you?
“Tout va bien” by Orelsan. I heard it in a taxi on the way home after a night out in Paris last year during the summer school – I was full of delicious food and wine and had been laughing all night and it was raining and I was giving directions in French and I was watching the muted city lights go past. It was magical. And the lyrics to that song make no sense. Je kiffe!
Go to track when I'm…
Sad: Night Trouble, Petit Biscuit
Tired: La Fin Du Monde, Ludo Pin Facing
Getting up on a Monday morning: 40%, Aya Nakamura
In need of motivation: Da Funk, Daft Punk
*taking a break | *keep your hand in | *lawyer | *Thank you, Anna, and see you soon, I hope