Anthony's Analyses of Alizée's songs

[Marka]

Originally Posted by Corsaire

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I will not deny that MF developed a certain talent and that she worked hard to get where she is, but people should give LB some credit; he basically gave her a career and a persona and she ran with it. Let me put it this way: I am pretty certain that if my grandpa had been coached and molded by LB, he would have been an international superstar.

Originally Posted by lapinschous

Well, It's a matter of choice and disbelief, if one doesn't want to hear Mylène's obvious writing style and Laurent's pervertish hidden game in the lyrics, then yeah just understand the songs as a fairytale with everything coming from the pink wonderland of an innocent child.

But that would be missing out the whole interest and spiceness that make the two first albums so unique.

Well, I am first and foremost a fan of LB, his music and his universe (based on what I have seen in early MF videoclips, Giorgino and Alizée videos). I agree that he should be given much more credit for MF and Alizée success.
Yes, there are some things in his works which disgust me, but in most cases I have nothing against his provocative style, therefore I am not against references to sex in Alizée's songs... you never know, many people are raised with the idea that masturbation is bad and perhaps they will change their mind when they find out what is hidden in the JEAM song.

At first I didn't care much about LB's videos, I prefered Jacques Tati's movies (whose character Mr Hulot inspired Mr Bean), specially the movie Playtime (it is considered by many as being the best movie of all times), which can be described as anarchistic comedy which gives the viewer maximum freedom. You can watch it over and over again and you still discover something new every time you watch it - the whole movie demands that you are very observant, you actually create humorous scenes out of what you see on the screen instead of them simply being served to you (as is the case in normal comedies).

Find more about Playtime on Wikipedia

I started watching LB's videos only after I became familiar with Jacques Tati's style and because of that I judge LB's works differently from how I would judge them if I haven't been in contact with complex, demanding but beautiful artistic universes before.
In my opinion, LB's universe is much more than just sex, mind control, ... I don't really know how to explain this, but if I look at his works from the distance, the way he presents these "bad and ugly" themes, I see them as something from what you can learn to be a better human, to be more aware of your own nature and the way you approach the world. Well, that is my approach and viewpoint, I always seek to enrich myself with something new, and for me there is infinitely more behind Laurent's provocative style than just vulgarity and ugliness.

But I don't know, perhaps I myself am even "worse" than LB and because of that I don't see much problems in ugliness he portrays in his works? And I have nothing against sexuality in his works (and MF's works also), for me it is natural.

For example, see this scene from the Giorgino movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KWSII5QBcM. At first I see only very ugly scenes, everything is depressing, bad, awful... but if I think about it, I can find references to our society, people who go against the flow, ... this whole movie is in my opinion about the society in general (and its delusions), about people who are different, who are childs in their hart, who are in asylum, and they are represented as the only "sane" and good people in the world. ...

Therefore, I think that our quest for more deeper meanings in Alizée's first two albums is far from stupid. Yes, MCE and Gourmandises are far from being "clean", there are many references to themes that are perceived ugly by the society, but that is in my opinion exactly the point. Even if you call LB pervert, he knows what he is doing and what lies beneath his provocative style and the themes he discusses. In my opinion, he is a much more positive person than much of us are ready to admit.

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Btw, isn't Alizée's brother gay? If that is so, can it be, that Mon Maquis is about how Alizée accepts him?

[lapinschous]

Originally Posted by Matevz91

Yes, there are some things in his works which disgust me, but in most cases I have nothing against his provocative style, therefore I am not against references to sex in Alizée's songs..

Even if you call LB pervert, he knows what he is doing and what lies beneath his provocative style and the themes he discusses. In my opinion, he is a much more positive person than much of us are ready to admit.

I perfectly agree with you, It's Laurent Boutonnat's perversion and psychotic mind that makes up all of his charms and cloaks his work with that fascinating omnipresent mistery ... Just look at Désenchantée , Sans Contrefaçon or the movie Giorgino (probably his best film) to notice how unique his filming style and scenarios are..

[Marka]

Originally Posted by lapinschous

I perfectly agree with you, It's Laurent Boutonnat's perversion and psychotic mind that makes up all of his charms and cloaks his work with that fascinating omnipresent mistery ... Just look at Désenchantée , Sans Contrefaçon or the movie Giorgino (probably his best film) to notice how unique his filming style and scenarios are..

Well, thats his style, his way of expression. He uses synthé instruments in his music all the time, thus transfering this very mistery into his music. If you ask me, in Gourmandises he achieved the perfect mix between this mistery (dark) and the persona Alizée played so well (which is why I think MF and LB chosed Alizée in the first place, because she complemented the mistery and darkness of the universe she was about to become part of with her own positive character).
I am sure that some die hard Alizée_is_a_flower_that_got_used_by_MF_LB believers will want to burn me for what I am going to say now, but whenever I hear Alizée (or Lolita), I associate her with the Veni Vidi Vici and Mon Maquis Alizée. And yes, I love her recent works, I love UEDS, ACDLA, Psychédélices, but the Gourmandises (and also MCE) Alizée represents the perfect mixture of mistery, depth of ones emotions, metaphysics... the best one can get from the LB's and MF's worlds, mixed with this beautiful Corsican angel.
This is for me art - having ones own universe. LB's universe looks dangerous, ugly, but for me it really isn't. For me, LB's universe is all about being a child in your hart, being aware of your nature, being a deep person with his own morality, metaphysics and world outlook. That, at least for me, lies beneath LB's provocative style, and that is what attracts me to his works.

Does Alizée have her own unique universe at the moment, which would be comparable in its depth to LB's universe? I don't think so, as far as I have seen. If she wants to sing about her ex-husband and other comparable things like that (which I, forgive me, perceive as shallow), that is OK with me. I will continue to seek pleasure, ideas and depth in her music, but whenever someone will mention Alizée to me, I will wander in my mind to the Gourmandises (and MCE) Alizée, because that is where the real beauty and depth lies. At least for me.

That is, until Alizée comes up with universe of her own...

[Corsaire]

For those who might be interested in discussing LB’s work, and more specifically the movie Giorgino, have a look at this thread:

http://alizeeamerica.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7335