a bit of Serge.

There are several reasons to this post ; I really like Gainsbourg's works being the first one. But, even though I can be labelled as "fan", I have a selective ear : a lot of Serge's music sounds irrelevant to me. That's why I don't feel like buying his whole discography. Anyway, he was a genius (part of being a genius is to be misunderstood, so my bad for misunderstanding a bit of his production), and still enjoys an incredible aura in France and abroad also.

Another reason is to link you up to this in-depth article I found on the internet : "Gainsbourg, génie du sample ?". This article, supported by useful audio clips, will educate you on Gainsbourg's inspiration, for some, or Gainsbourg's biting for others. As a matter of fact, Gainsbourg got a strong background in classical music, and there is no wonder that he got inspired by those melodies and symphonies that were floating around his childhood house. He ended up adapting classical melodies into his own (pre-)pop music... could you call that biting ? I'm not sure. But I'm open-minded, as sampling still is compatible with innovation to me. There was an addendum to the aforementionned article, for the sole "Gainsbourg Percussions" EP. 

The final reason, for now, is to explain the title of this blog. For those who don't know, "le soleil est rare" are the first words on "Valse de Melody", a track from the classic concept album "Histoire de Melody Nelson".

So, for your sins, you'll get the special treatment, two videos of the song, the first one being the official video, put in motion by Jean-Christophe Averty in 1971, featuring Serge's muse Jane Birkin, and the second one being a "live" playback on a TV set by a magnetic Serge.