My descent into insanity
 

I realise that what I'm about to say, or at least something very similar, has been posted here before on various occasions by different people. While I don't particularly want to repeat what has been said previously, I do need to tell someone about this as a means of dealing with my emotions.

It all concerns what has happened to me since I discovered Alizée just over four weeks ago. It was a Saturday evening, and I was browsing Youtube. Thinking back, I believe I was watching a video of Madonna's Like a Prayer, and Alizée's La Isla Bonita came up as one of the suggested videos. I should mention that I had vaguely heard of Alizée before (I knew she was a French singer), but I'd never watched her or heard any of her music. Out of curiosity, I clicked on the LIB video. Wow. I saw a beautiful girl, with a great voice, singing a wonderful song. This, though, in itself, was insufficient to induce any particular emotions, and if I'd stopped there and turned the computer off or whatever, I wouldn't be writing this now.

Of course, I didn't stop there though. My interest had been piqued, and I clicked on one of her J'en Ai Marre performances, and that was pretty much the point of no return. Hook, line and sinker. About 3 hours later, I surfaced, having watched and re-watched various performances (mainly JEAM, JPVA, ML and ACC). Her incredible physical beauty, (especially the face, eyes and smile), together with her voice and the great music, captivated me.

Over the next week, I spent all of my free time on Youtube, drinking in as much Alizée as I could. Of course, it wasn't long before I came across En Concert, which just blew me away. I realised how amazing it would have been to have been there and see her perform live. However, I also noticed something else. Upon reading the comments on the videos I watched, I found that I was unhappy with the crude, lewd and disrespectful things that some people had posted (I would hesitate to use such a strong word as "angry", but you know what I mean). I realised that my feelings for Alizée ran deeper than I had previously imagined.

Thus driven away from the YT comments sections (cesspit of the internet?), I put something like "Alizée discussion" into Google, and I ended up on this forum. Lurking here, and going through a lot of the threads, I was driven deeper into Alizée madness...the amazing things that people here have to say about her, for example her personality and so on. Of course I also came across mention of Stars a Domicile 2003 :blink::wub:, which I checked out, and have since watched many times. (By the way, does anyone know of any videos of this with English subtitles? There don't seem to be any on YT, and the various links I've found seem to be dead/return the 404 error. Also the FunTV interview with subtitles). I also found Un Reve's post about meeting her (just to clarify, I realise this isn't going to happen to me; I know I've got more chance of winning the lottery than I have of meeting and talking to Alizée, and I don't even play the lottery, but I certainly have my dreams/fantasies...).

Alizée is now on my mind pretty well 24/7: she's the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I think of before I go to sleep at night (not really sleeping that well though). This isn't a problem as such: I still go to work and so on, and I'm single and will be so indefinitely (for reasons I won't go into here), so the issue of comparing other women to Alizée doesn't arise. However, in the last four weeks I have:

Gone past my stop on the train (twice) because I was daydreaming about Alizée;
Gone to bed every night hoping to dream about her (vain hope so far);
Learnt what limerence is (read the Wikipedia article; I should point out that I don't expect reciprocity from her; I might be insane, but I'm not completely deluded);
Gone to bed hugging a pillow imagining it was Alizée:wub::wub::eek:;
Got sleep deprived because I'm staying up until stupid o'clock in the morning on the computer, then not sleeping when I do go to bed.

On the upside, I have noticed an improvement in my mood; I feel happier and more cheerful with Alizée in my life, so it's not all bad.

Sorry for the long post (is anyone out there still reading?), but I had to get some of this stuff out, and I know everyone on here will understand where I'm coming from. I'm still trying to sort out my emotions around all this, and venting some stuff here is cathartic for me.

Right, I'm off now to get my daily dosage of you know who...

Sounds like you have a textbook case of being bitten by the Lili bug! :D

The effect she has on people is funny, isn't it? I had a similar introduction to Alizée myself: one night I stumbled across a performance of J'en Ai Marre, and I just couldn't get it out of my head. The next day I felt compelled to watch it again... and again, and again. Never before nor after has an artist ever captivated me like this. There sure is something special about Alizée. :wub:

There is, of course, no cure for this madness. You can only help manage it through proper daily dosage of Alizée music and videos. The upside is that there is no happier affliction on Earth! :D

As for Stars a Domicile, I don't know of any subtitled versions of the 2003 episode, but there is a subtitled version of the 2001 episode (the end had me in tears!).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLzVphUyWl4

Yes, a path many have taken to end up here. Very similar in some ways to my own, especially the mood improvement.

I found these vids for you on YT with English subtitles embedded in the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ypKOeDsNjk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJsxw0wi8mQ

Enjoy your new journey! Don't hesitate to post any questions or observations you have about the world of Alizée, there are many members here with extensive knowledge of everything Alizée.


Edit

I found a subtitle file that goes along with this video...
I had to split into two parts to attach it here, and also I had to rename it .txt instead of .srt .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nWy02l-UBw

If you don't know how to download the video from YT and play it on your PC with the subtitles file it's not too difficult to do, I can write up instructions if necesary.

Hey Djr654;
I just got back from vacation and have a ton of stuff to do including getting ready for another blizzard when there's not enough room to put the snow we already have.

So I can only post a few quick things here and will get back later with more.

Here is a site that provides a pretty good history of Alizée, especially the early years;
http://vdb.alizee.cz/downloads.php

In going through the history, you will find that for each performance, if a video was made, a key word will be highlighted in some way. But you will also find a lot of those links are dead. Even so, most are still out there and the best place to find them are the DC++ hub. A hub for sharing files. There is a thread in this forum about it and how to join it.

http://alizeeamerica.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5956

Why don't you let us know about your computer and your internet connection. You will need a large hard drive just for all the Alizée stuff that's out there.

If you don't have a good set up, sometime ago I made up a dvd with 3 videos on it, her two appearances in Stars a Domicile (2001 & 2003 - both have English subtitles) and her appearance at the 2000 music awards. You have seen the M6 music awards??????????? She was nominated for the French revelation of the year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1jMLHK2hKI

Just another great moment that made us fall even more in love with her. As with your having trouble finding SAD 2003 with subtitles; you too will probably have trouble finding the M6 show with subtitles but it's out there: I'm sure somewhere in the dc hub.

There is a thread in this forum for looking for different videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1jMLHK2hKI

If you have trouble finding the SAD (Stars a Domicile) 2003 video and/or downloading it, let me know and I will send the dvd to you. I also still have a few autographed cds of her.

There is something else you will like to see if you like that show is Jessica (the girl Alizée surprised) wrote 2 letters after that. one was after the initial experience of meeting Alizée; the second was when she went to see Alizée at the Olympia theater I believe it was for the actual show.

http://alizeeamerica.com/forums/show...jessica+letter

I have the feeling you have just touched the tip of a very big and very beautiful iceberg. Feel free to ask any questions in here you might have.

I think there are two different English subtitles for the Stars a Domicile 2003 video:

1) Stars a Domicile 2003-08-23 (TheLarch), it's (.rar) file 6,41 KB

and

2) Stars a Domicile 2003-08-23 (JohnDoe), it's (.rar) file 7,00 KB

If there is a need I could try to upload both of these two subtitles here in this thread.

I'm not sure but it seems to me that none of them fits the above-mentioned video in the post #3 by Ray4AJ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nWy02l-UBw

This is because both the subtitles are approximately 20 minutes in length (I think), while this youtube video is 25:32 min in length.
So, what you need to do is that you need to download the video from youtube to your computer, and then start the video in e.g. VLC player, and start one of these subtitles. However, the subtitle will not match the video because the difference is about 5 minutes in length, as I mentioned! This discrepancy can be adjusted in the VLC player there at one of its menus, so that the subtitle starts with a delay that you need, in this case it could be a delay of about 5 minutes or so. Then it could work well.

It works perfectly for me.

Thelarch file begins with:

Which corresponds to the moment when the woman interviewer starts talking to the audience after the first minute of show intro.

The last subtitle is

Which happens in that video at 20:28 at the end of the interview. The rest of the video is the JPVA performance.

I guess they didn't do any subs after the song.


The JohnDoe file must correspond to a different video file that cut out the first minute of intro.

EDIT I added those two .rar files here for those so inclined

Yes, you're right, the video works well with the Stars a Domicile 2003-08-23 (TheLarch) subs. :)
I just downloaded the video from YouTube and started it with subtitles in VLC player, works well.
I have not watched it since long time ago.

Just a tip (for those who do not know).
If you want your subtitle launch automatically when you start the video, the name of the video file and the name of the subtitle file must be the same!, and these two files must be in the same folder on your computer.

I'm glad to hear it worked! I was scared because I thought I had checked it earlier. I just watched it again, Alizée is so amazing! Something I noticed this time that I hadn't before was that Alizée wore the dolphin bracelet that Jessica gave here during the JPVA performance. It had to be sliding all around during those moves.

Another moment Djr654 might get a kick out of is when Alizée was singing JPVA, her outfit was a little bit revealing when looked at from behind. Jessica's little brother Alex noticed it and Alex's mother noticed that Alex had noticed it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj-qCwMiHKE

Some might say that Alex had a poor view of the performance since he wasn't facing the stage, but Alex would probably argue that he had the best seat in the house. :D

And he also got to see the best seat in the house. :)

A classical case of Lili bug. I was youtubeing one day and for some reason decided to see Moi Lolita video as i have seen it many times on tv. Watched it, then i stumbled upon L'Alizé video, and it fucking blew my mind. I swear to god, i did not sleep for about 50 hours. I put that video on infinitelooper.com and played it over and over and over. I have this weird habit that when i get exited or sad or feel any other strong emotions i get an urge to clean my room. So i was making a general clean up at 3 am. Then after sleepless night i got to work and listened to that song all day. Came back home started cleaning again and blasting out that song. I things those were the 2 craziest and most amazing days in my life. I think the drug addicts say the the first times are the most amazing and you will never feel it again no matter how many drugs you use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qiq9jnK1ChA

Many thanks for all your replies and help, and for finding those videos and putting them on here; I really appreciate it.

Ray4AJ - yes, would it be possible to please give me some further instructions on how to download that video from Youtube (although I'm sure I can google this part) and play it with those subtitles files?

Scruffydog - Thanks for the pointer to the DC hub. My system's not great; I've only got a laptop, so hard drive is not going to be massive as these things go. I'm not sure of my actual internet connection speed and so on off the top of my head, but hopefully with some extra guidance, I can get the SAD 2003 video. Thanks also for your offer to send me the DVD; that's really kind of you, but hopefully it won't be necessary...

First you're going to need an extension to download YouTube videos. There's a bunch out there, but right now "FastestTube" works pretty good (and is available for various browsers). Once you install it, it will add a download button to the YouTube UI, so just click that and select the highest quality MP4 option and the download will start.

Now since the subtitles are split between two files, you're going to want to merge them to make things easy. Just open both .txt files, and copy the contents of the second part and paste it at the end of the first part. Save and exit. Then create a new folder for the video, and put both the video and subtitles file in the same folder. Give both files the exact same name, but then change the extension on the subtitles file from .txt to .srt.

Once that's done, you'll need something to play the video. VLC is an excellent video player if you don't have it already. When you open the video with VLC, it should automatically load the subtitle file and overlay it on the video. If for whatever reason it doesn't load the subtitles, you can manually load it through the Video list in the top menu.

Hopefully that helps!

One other suggestion for Djr654 and it's not sure he should take it at this point.

A few years back, I put together a video called "Alizée - A video history of her early years.". In it I put together a small clip of just about every performance that was available of hers from 1999 to 2003 and I also included tv shows like SAD 2001 & 2003 and just a few of her interviews. I tried to do it in a chronological order, but I learned later I was off on a few and I missed a few. But it's a prettygood base line to go by to compare to see what's available.

Now my video skills weren't that great back then; there's a lot of interlacing problems and different size aspect ratios. That's something I'd like to correct in the near future. It will also give you a small glimpse of some of the great remixes out there.

But I think you're better off finding these individual videos on your own, then going back and comparing it against this video to see if you might have missed something.

And another suggestion I have for you;
Limit your audio exposure to her. You might be in a position when you're not home to listen to her all day long. Resist that temptation. Limit your "listening" to her. It will make your watching her and listening to her at the same time all that much better and I believe reduce the chances of you getting burnt out on her too soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srlhKBUbQjM

Great, thanks for that; I'll have a go on the weekend when I've got more time...

Also thanks Scruffydog for that video and suggestion; what you say makes a lot of sense.

Fellow Fan.........J'en Ai Marre video is infectious. 10 seconds into the vid, she tilts her head and says J'en ris! At that moment we're all held captive. Descent or transfixed? Useless to replace her with imposters ie Jenifer, Yelle, Zaz etc. No one compares. I included her music in a surfing documentary sound track: 'TRADEWINDS' will keep you and the fans posted as we head into the final edit. Gerry

I don't know about Jenifer and Yelle, but I don't consider Zaz as an imposter of Alizée, they are way too different. I think they are both very good, each one in her own style. I prefer Alizée though, I agree that no one compares to her.

Yelle? What?

Yello?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8inB7FAPHc4

If I ever met Alizée in person, this would be the soundtrack in my head. :france:

:D

I envy him and the cameraman who filmed her in Tour de France 2003. :p

Djr654:

Alizee really has brought so much joy in to all of our lives.

I think it is fair to say that if you discover Alizee and an interest develops, there is no chance it can ever be a mild passing interest; you become obsessed.

Especially if, for whatever reason, you are not feeling so great at the time: Alizee becomes this beacon of happiness that you can seemingly always turn to.

I remembered the Moi Lolita video from when it was on English TV back in the early 2000's, then YouTube came along and I searched for it... When I found all the other videos from the early years, I was hooked. I think I watched them over and over again, daily, for a year or just over.

It is interesting that the La Isla Bonita video is what caught your attention. In a way, one of the really great things about that video, is that it CAN accidently end up being linked to Madonna's videos, giving masses of people the chance to stumble upon Alizee.

Enjoy your obsession. We have all taken that descent into insanity at one time or another. :p

That's how I discovered her through the La Isla Bonita video. I thought she was beautiful and had a great voice, but I wasn't impressed at that point because she was singing someone else's song. So I searched to see if she had any songs of her own, and the floodgates opened. The first one I watched was Moi Lolita Amsterdam. That was a jaw dropper. I don't know how many times I watched that video that night. Incredible voice, beauty, charm and poise for such a young girl.

While cruising You Tube, I stumbled onto Alizee's J'en Ai Marre, and that was enough for me. I was a goner. From there I searched out everything Alizee. This had never happened to me before or after.

I've been a fan of a lot of artists, but never obsessed by any of them. Salena Gomez is gorgeous and I think her video "Naturally" is incredible, but no obsession. Hayley Williams of Paramore is another. Very attractive, a wonderful talent: again, no obsession.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_YR...OWSnyX&index=2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZweyIKNwX4

For me Alizee is a two-edged sword. She brings me pleasure, but also torment. It's the pits having a one sided relationship with a woman. It's an unrequited love.

So I adore this woman who doesn't know I exist, and if she did know, she couldn't care less. We don't speak each other's language, we live on opposite sides of the earth, she makes vastly more money than I, there's a dramatic age difference, and our cultural experiences would clash. Even if I had access to her and spoke beautiful French, I wouldn't know how to talk to her. There would be no possibility of anything beyond a distant acquaintanceship.

The whole experience is ludicrous--truly a descent into insanity--and no one is more sensitive to that fact than me, but there it is. Like it or not, I can't get my fill of this woman. On the one hand it would be a relief to be able to walk away from her and never look back, but then I would miss out on all the wonderful experiences she brings me. She adds a quality to my life that I can’t find anywhere else.

I still really am not sure about my relationship for lack of a better word is with her. As much as an incredibly beautiful woman I feel she is, inside and out and as much as I've followed her for 9 years now. I still don't have a good feeling of what it would be like to hang out with her.

I've never been as crazy about the person, as I was the performer. I went to Pistoia and Taormina, to get a better idea of what it must've been like to have seen her perform in these beautiful places. I even broke into the Triage-Lavoir building in Belgium where the ACC video was filmed. I could have easily gone to Ajaccio or Paris where I'm sure I could've found out from members of AF where she lived, but being close to her didn't really mean that much to me as opposed to seeing her on stage.

One thing life has taught me is no matter how incredibly beautiful and sexy a woman appears on the outside, that has in many cases nothing to do with what she's like on the inside and I think that's why I've always been in love with the performer as opposed to the person.

In fact, when I first did go to Ajaccio. I went there at a time when she wasn't expected to be there. I went there in 2012 after seeing her in the Les Enfoires show in Lyon. I went to Corsica after everyone including me was expecting her to go back to Paris to be with Jeremy, but she went to Corsica instead and this is when we first found out she and Jeremy had parted company.

But being in Corsica with her there was a strange feeling. I feel even if I saw her and was able to say hello to her, that would be the end of it and I might as well be on the other side of the moon. Being that close and not being in her inner circle would be torture.

At least I work in a job that has enabled me to see her on several occasions. My big regret as far as that is concerned is I didn't learn about her earlier. I could've easily flown over in 2003 for En Concert if I had known, but I wonder what might have happened back then. In December 2003 I might have said, I wont fly over now. I'll wait for a show in the summer of 2004. I would have jumped off a jetbridge if that had happened, so I'm thankful for all the great experiences I've had.

[QUOTE=Scruffydog777;255476]I still really am not sure about my relationship for lack of a better word is with her.

One thing life has taught me is no matter how incredibly beautiful and sexy a woman appears on the outside, that has in many cases nothing to do with what she's like on the inside and I think that's why I've always been in love with the performer as opposed to the person.


Being attracted to a woman that you know you don't know hardly anything about is part of the insanity. We have a peripheral sense of who she is, but we can go a little deeper than her public persona. I think we can say with confidence, Alizee is not a conniving, manipulative person. She appears fundamentally honest and as best she can be, true to herself. To have survived in the entertainment business for 17 years, she must have strength of character. She is an introvert: It’s one of the reasons people have trouble reading her. Despite her worldly experiences and professional successes, she appears to still possess a childlike innocence. She appears unblemished by the world. She is not into drugs and alcohol: sex—it’s hard to say. Beyond that we know nothing about her thought processes: what if anything she thinks about politics, religion, art, literature, history, the USA, love, food, whatever. Her formal education is limited, but her life experiences are formidable. We do know she is very defensive about her privacy, she is close to her family, she likes Nutella, ice cream sundaes, the outdoors, dogs, and she really likes Gregorie.

[QUOTE=Shepherd;255478]Don't forget Bon Bons!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2FZy2nC9B8

Thank you all for this thread topic, and for this site. This is my very first post. I have been secretly obsessed with Alizee for 10 years. I am an older gentlemen, and to me she is like a precious gem that must be cherished and protected. My thoughts of her are obviously one of intense attraction, but in a respectful way. She is attractive in many ways besides the physical.

I never felt this way about anybody I didn't know on a personal level, so I know exactly how Djr feels. Hopefully I can get a chance to tell my story on this site one day soon.

Hi CleverCowboy! Welcome to the forum.

Welcome CleverCowboy!

Welcome to the forum CleverCowboy. I see you said you're an older gentleman and you said you're in your 50s, so you're still a spring chicken compared to me, but we've had members of all ages here. Looking through some of your other posts, don't be afraid of asking about or discussing thing's we've already discussed here. In some cases we might give you a link to where a certain subject is discussed but more likely is we'll want to discuss it again.

Most things are fair game here but there are a few things that are taboo and I'm sure you'll quickly figure that out.

I'm getting ready to go on vacation to Spain next week so I may or may not have time to reply to some of your posts as deeply as I'd like to, but eventually I will.

If you have any questions, please feel free to pm me or I think Ray is available too. It's better to e-mail me through the link in the forum though.

Thank you Scruffydog. I have lurked here for a little bit prior to posting and read many of your posts. I have a good idea of the taboo subjects, and I will not violate them. I am very respectful of women in general, and I have a very high regard for Alizee as a person.

I am just relieved I found a place to discuss her. Nobody in this world knows about my adoration of this woman, and I felt I was going to bust.