Anthony's Analyses of Alizée's songs

[Corsaire]

Originally Posted by lapinschous

Now that is bloody interesting! Do you have more on that?

Jerome Dahan (LB collaborator of the time) has discussed this issue. The trick of using a 15 year old to sing sexual and controversial songs was in LB and JD plans before Alizée was even born. They actually dropped the idea because of legal complications. This text is also interesting because it does confirm what I have always maintained on this forum, MF was timid, fragile and had no particular vision or obvious talent (besides looking psychotic) before LB made her the artist we know today.

http://jodel.saint.marc.free.fr/jeromedahan.htm

[Euphoria]

Anyone who is remotely a fan of Mylene already knows these things. She wouldn't even perform live for many years because of stage fright, there are photos of her backstage at her first concert where she could barely manage to pull herself together to go on stage.

Have you not seen the videos of her concerts where she gets so emotional during ballads that she's practically bawling on stage? Although I could hardly say LB or Jerome Dahan made her what she is today, she's had a very long career and started following her own vision not long after she joined with them.

[Corsaire]

I guess my point is not so much that she was timid and fragile; the more specific point is that MF had no particular talent for showbiz and that she had no vision of her own. JD attested to that and I would say that all evidence point to the fact that MF was basically LB’s puppet. Every single trick that was used to create the MF concept came from LB’s universe and he was at it from a very early age. All the topics that were exploited by him before he even met MF were reused to create the persona.

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.

[Wizard]

Originally Posted by Euphoria

So what's your point? No one really disagreed that some of her songs were blatantly sexual. God, no wonder Americans can't stand French people.

WOW! I am new here, (albeit, a long-time lurker!), and I'm catching up on all things Alizée. I have a long to go- LOL!

This is certainly quite a topic- very enlightening. I understand Alizée's lyrics to some extent and suspected that there might be more than a simple literal translation. Now I know! Euphoria's point though might be right on target, as it pertains to our own hang ups on sexual matters here in the US. If Alizée were to tour here, and sing in English- it would be interesting to see how Americans received her.

[lapinschous]

Originally Posted by Corsaire

Jerome Dahan (LB collaborator of the time) has discussed this issue. The trick of using a 15 year old to sing sexual and controversial songs was in LB and JD plans before Alizée was even born. They actually dropped the idea because of legal complications. This text is also interesting because it does confirm what I have always maintained on this forum, MF was timid, fragile and had no particular vision or obvious talent (besides looking psychotic) before LB made her the artist we know today.

http://jodel.saint.marc.free.fr/jeromedahan.htm

I see now, so there really was a strong wish from LB and JD to pack as much innocence and candor in the girl that would be chosen to sing their ambiguous songs... That's really a copy paste of France Gall's collaboration with Gainsbourg, but in a more perverse sense, in the way that would shape the singer's reputation according to the lyrics of their songs , with no turning back. That's why Mylène sticks to her original style while France Gall and Alizée managed with difficulty to diverge from their imposed sexual symbolism and shape their public image more like their true selves.

[Melle Katherine]

Well... here's my opinion.

Alizée herself said in an interview that "Moi... Lolita" was not related to the Nabokov story, I mean directly. Maybe the book inspired Myléne, but nothing more.

"Mon Maquis" is about Corsica, Alizée's room, and her brother.

"L'Alizé"... it's about the growing up and yes, a little about sexuality too. But not nymphomania... Come on...

"Gourmandises" I think it's about the first kisses, first love, and the "sexual appetite".

"A contre-courant" Masturbtion everywhere! I can not accept this. This song is about two lovers who grew up far from each other, and about the (sexual) tension between them. But it does not mean automatically that there's masturbation too...

"J'ai pas vingt ans" My favourite song... it doesn't mean that play with the boys like they would be toys. No, just when you're 18-19 years old it is not necessary to get attached and marrying the first boy you love...

"Lui ou toi" Nothing else just she can't choose between 2 boys.

What else... don't know. That's all.

[Finnishguy]

Originally Posted by Melle Katherine

Well... here's my opinion.

Alizée herself said in an interview that "Moi... Lolita" was not related to the Nabokov story, I mean directly. Maybe the book inspired Myléne, but nothing more.

"Mon Maquis" is about Corsica, Alizée's room, and her brother.

"L'Alizé"... it's about the growing up and yes, a little about sexuality too. But not nymphomania... Come on...

"Gourmandises" I think it's about the first kisses, first love, and the "sexual appetite".

"A contre-courant" Masturbtion everywhere! I can not accept this. This song is about two lovers who grew up far from each other, and about the (sexual) tension between them. But it does not mean automatically that there's masturbation too...

"J'ai pas vingt ans" My favourite song... it doesn't mean that play with the boys like they would be toys. No, just when you're 18-19 years old it is not necessary to get attached and marrying the first boy you love...

"Lui ou toi" Nothing else just she can't choose between 2 boys.

What else... don't know. That's all.

I agree this. Ofc there's many many things no one of us can know perfectly but the main points.

Maybe, over the years when people little by little changed their opinion, they are thinking it too "deeply".

[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.

[Melle Katherine]

Oh I read about Myléne yesterday... This is a crazy woman. Okay, she's talented and write very nice lyrics but what she's doing on the stage... Sextonik & vibrators..
Btw I'm glad because I found one of her albums, called "Anamorphosée" from 1995 and I like it very much. This rocky sounding... that's my style! But I haven't translated the lyrics only "Comme j'ai mal"'s because I have already known it in summer.
She's very...daring.

Of couse I like the lyrics which were written for Alizée by her too, even they have sexual meaning, but I think Jean Fauque's lyrics were also great. At least I realized that I adore the album "Psychédélices" too, and the lyrics too. The newer songs are also great, Alizée still has double-meaning songs.

[lapinschous]

Originally Posted by Melle Katherine

The newer songs are also great, Alizée still has double-meaning songs.

Mmm, yeah maybe, but from what I heard from ACDLA, DMS or MC , the lyrics became a loot softer in the latest album ^^ She doesn't want to shock anyone I guess