I think was a bit unfair to the French, intentionally in fact, by reviewing the top two albums on Amazon.fr as a sampling of their pop music.
Here are two points that I think are still true, implicit in my comments:
- their music is not dominated by American pop. Ms. Spears does not even exist here. The situation is different of course in the sitcom department.
- their music has a distinctive crooner tradition that has not been integrated into the world's mass-pop milieu.
But when you look at the top of Amazon.com, one finds:
- Norah Jones, #1. I have no idea who this is. Maybe this is in the way that my Dad has no idea who Morrissey is. More likely, this is in the way I have no clue who sings "Lady In Red" (and don't care). Maybe old people flock more than younger people do, so the tops of the charts can often be unpopular, old-people music.
- "Oh Yeah! Aerosmith's Ultimate Hits" (or something). This speaks for itself. If you like it, fine. You're like a Frenchman who likes Renaud the Country Balladeer.
What spurs this concession? The Euronews channel (el cheapo French CNN) does a daily 5 minute "what's new in music" section. And they recommended "Felix Da Housecat". Inconceivable that I would see such a thing on US national TV. "Melange de la 80s, disco, New Wave, electro". Word up!
Look, I don't want to get all Margaret Mead on you. (Though I haven't seen the French having any sex! I think they might have a sexless society...!)
Posted by amol at July 4, 2002 11:58 AM