5 artists you must listen to and add to your playlist!

 Hey Charlie, long time no see (lol)

Soooooo, spotify wrapped just dropped and I wanted to do a blog on 5 artists I discovered this year (and last year) that made my playlist more “original”!

The 5 artists I'm going to present to you today are bands and solo artists. Some of you may know  them, some of you may not but it doesn’t hurt to discover or rediscover new music :)

LET’S GET STARTED I GUESS!

(ps: I will share the artists spotify link and some song that i think you should give a listen)

Elephanz:  

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2CD8tl357w6zYA3XYuOJPO?si=shHgSE8dTFOERFz79MpfMA

Elephanz is a French pop/rock group from Nantes, consisting of Jonathan Verleysen (Guitar and Vocals), Maxime Verleysen (Keyboard and Vocals), Clement Plaza-Illand (Drums), and Thibaud Vanhooland (Bass).

I rediscovered Elephanz a few months ago when I was humming the tune of their song “Stereo” which is REALLY catchy!!!! But since then, I discovered some other songs from the album “Time for a change” like “Elizabeth”, “walk on my dream” and “je n’ai jamais” (and of course STEREO!) The band is really good in my opinion, the tune of each song is different and unique in their own way! 

Songs I mentioned link:

Stereo:https://open.spotify.com/track/0BSAoLiwvKwwwu4V2F1LU5?si=100933d4dd9f4f06         Time for a change: https://open.spotify.com/track/7MmSp3kPyFr4Kw89ajXLjy?si=e8f3af2e1ba44da4     Elizabeth: https://open.spotify.com/track/7wIF3ujkGF6QmR9SI36G0J?si=3cd822f7bb09495a       Je n’ai jamais: https://open.spotify.com/track/2FMwC1jzFF77cw1C63u8SY?si=5f64803ae66e4d40       Walk on my dream: https://open.spotify.com/track/5Y6XZoKBB9nxOskmAFCdhm?si=33454184640b46db                                        album: https://open.spotify.com/album/3K8Abtwl5IQnqjWXbPYMlq?si=eqk-Vpp4RImFN0439SbV3Q  

Jack Stauber: 

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1yNIb413Bmfs2ZBVuPp9kC?si=a_UMZ1TlQVyBzLg2y-IQLQ

Jack Stauber is a folksy, vintage musician who lives in Erie, Pennsylvania. He is a college graduate, majoring in junior marketing and minoring in studio arts. While music is what he does most, he also animates and makes surreal and comedic shorts on his YouTube channel.

I have been listening to Jack Stauber for a loooong A time and I still can’t get over how his music is just so satisfying to listen to! You might know his song “Buttercup” or “Oh klahoma” from tik tok but there are way more song that are better than those ones. “Dead weight” and/or “Pad thai” are really good too! He also has another artist account with more short songs than long ones but they are worth a try. To give you ideas, my favorite songs from Jack Stauber’s micropop (his other artist account) are “Two time”, “Cheese” and “There’s something happening”. What I like about his music is that it sounds childish, the tune is always weird (in a good way) and the lyrics are….. WEIRDLY AWESOME!

Songs I mentioned link:

Buttercup: https://open.spotify.com/track/2mlGPkAx4kwF8Df0GlScsC?si=d2ad6f9411484cad                 Oh klahoma: https://open.spotify.com/track/6SZwj6cjc8JQbkrr8cbIUn?si=b4f4273424644b8f                  Dead weight: https://open.spotify.com/track/5yhQS5ce3WebABcdngULA8?si=42a4d4fcc1ea4e58         Pad thai: https://open.spotify.com/track/5vSUfg2FWq02DIeNqLZUDJ?si=1714f540bbe8419b                 Two time: https://open.spotify.com/track/7JTGwb6ug0z15F5roNLE0s?si=fc9a435ead9e4b8a                Cheese: https://open.spotify.com/track/0qeFBSpgOZYIHvl65QuOjc?si=d8559da712b54849                   There’s something happening: https://open.spotify.com/track/5Q7X2ddA5TjbfYe5FM3WZQ?si=d5b7a93a57af43d7                                                                                                                                Jack Stauber’s micropop: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1yNIb413Bmfs2ZBVuPp9kC?si=au8OHWikRJaqTTrGeIZ3Dw                  

Polyphia: 

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4vGrte8FDu062Ntj0RsPiZ?si=VpqC0STvTNaRWy03vY-qlg

Hailing from the quiet suburbs of Plano, Texas, progressive rock outfit, Polyphia, are anything but mild-mannered. With a distinctly thought-out and well-orchestrated sound, the quartet pummels out blistering blast beats, and an onslaught of guitar shreds that blends, seamlessly, with melodic grooves and a humble intensity that never wears on the ear.

Ngl, I discovered this band about a week ago (week ago) thanks to my guitar teacher who is working on playing their song “G.O.A.T” and told me I was going to learn it too! WTH PASS!!! (ps: if you listen to this song you will understand why i want to cut off my fingers lol). The song I mentioned is only instrumental and IT IS AMAAAAZING!!!! (listen to it with earphones) The guitar duet is to die for and the bass and drum duet is OMG. Tbh, I don’t usually listen to this kind of music but Polyphia is really good and now I am listening to their album “New levels new devils” which is a masterpiece! 

Songs I mentioned link:

G.O.A.T: https://open.spotify.com/track/0maCwhZTO3PybhSiQcsjAf?si=b3dc6a4b74bf407f                    Album: New levels new devils: https://open.spotify.com/album/1JYk1k73qSbXCCCciopZH7?si=crhT5fjxR7yvY3LAYTmYmw 

Madvilian: 

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2aoFQUeHD1U7pL098lRsDU?si=NjkxhNNxRSWB9APa85t8sQ

Madvillain was an American hip-hop duo consisting of two MCs and producers, MF DOOM and Madlib. Their debut album Madvillainy was met with wide critical acclaim for its unique approach.

A friend of mine introduced me to Madvilian because we love old rappers. And the fact that I listen to this everyday means that this is a really good duo!!!! When I listen to “Fancy clown”, “All caps” and “curls” I feel like I’m in New York just walking in the street, the main character level is like a publicity for coca cola type main character (I’m a bit too dramatic haha). But my fav is probably “Meat grinder”, I don’t have the words to describe this song! Well for now I only listened to their album “Madvillainy” but I’m going to listen to the other albums really soon! 

Songs I mentioned link:

Curls: https://open.spotify.com/track/0V3nTTKA24XKCayp8igU4l?si=74df076f45f14653                          Fancy clown: https://open.spotify.com/track/1YgDGKyKhFlimPw3mLavPG?si=d088bfcf7b3f4740      All caps: https://open.spotify.com/track/21O0XXPEWPtePt5RMY93Ob?si=859d9b49c66d4a02           Rhinestone cowboy: https://open.spotify.com/track/1IM5em8ceA9Ukorn9xf19w?si=9385844f17954057 

Madvillainy: https://open.spotify.com/album/19bQiwEKhXUBJWY6oV3KZk?si=lyRnEOlxTYyJN56vB_iQrg 

Rejjie Snow: 

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3lLHpTOJ11tWiUNGYN14gt?si=oqpMR2vyQXqxD2xzvSZxzg

Alexander Anyaegbunam (born June 27, 1993), better known by his stage name Rejjie Snow, is an Irish rapper and record producer from Dublin.

And lastly, the man who made my summer, Rejjie Snow! I literally don’t know how to describe his music…. It's different from the other artists I mentioned and so creative and unique that you listen to his music as if it was a movie. For example, my favorite album “Dear Annie '' I listened to at least 2 times per day during the summer (when I was doing my OIB reading haha). His new album is also really good, it’s called “Baw baw black sheep” and if you listen to it, he did a song with MF DOOM (one of the artists in madvillain). My favorite song from Rejjie snow are down below!

Songs I mentioned link:

23: https://open.spotify.com/track/1r3M82sqImOu3AUwRdELRT?si=bc3824c64dde4baa                       Pink lemonade: https://open.spotify.com/track/1cW5n4h9HWNM5B7UV4bPOE?si=a1c46c16f8d9483d  Olga (1984): https://open.spotify.com/track/5pVm3hoYZFdi1an6PMWgu5?si=525a1b5981d24d3a        The rain: https://open.spotify.com/track/3Wd8PQCOqQ9vili1NpCjxx?si=be2fc48551c14d92 Album: Dear Annie: https://open.spotify.com/album/6AT38pwdn5wky7LxE4KLUn?si=LcO02iI-TWu_n_sM2VwvEw                   Other album: Baw baw black sheep: https://open.spotify.com/album/5z8u1Ja4BZTlcYxi6FyT1k?si=1Bpv76GyTbydzYGr_WaA4g 

 Well, I hope you enjoyed my blog and that you will listen to the artists I recommended! Please tell me if you liked any artists I mentioned and don’t hesitate to suggest some songs and/or artists you discovered or like in the comments :)

The OIB rite of passage we all went through

 Hey Charlie ,

Today, I am not talking directly to you, (sorry but if I always talk to you in my blog articles, other people will be jealous and will discover our relationship...  and... it is supposed to stay secret!).

Today I am talking to all OIB students (especially the secondes who are quickly going to experience it) about THE rite of passage of the 'Option Internationale du Baccalauréat' cult... sorry section ^^*

                                                       THE POSTER AND VIDEO TASK 

I know some of you are going to be frightened...... You are right ! It will be a long, dangerous and painful experience. But before you start looking like this :

                                                             

I am going to give you, in my biggest generosity and exclusively, my precious advices for this task. Here is a list of dos and don'ts if you want to survive to your meeting with "Poster and Video Task" The Terrible :      

    1- Don't under-estimate its power. Indeed, this is your first task (let's hope not the last ;)) so it is the first impression her Lordship Mrs.C will have on you. BUT you can easily use this power at your advantage, it is a very good way to improve OIB average!

    2- Do express your creativity! You don't need to be Picasso to make a good poster, just to be creative and original (you don't have to worry about that, if you are concerned by this post it means you are weird enough for having integrated OIB). You have carte blanche, you can easily stand out and produce a really good poster. 

    3- Don't be too perfectionnist. I know it is good to always want to do well, but unfortunately it is impossible. In OIB and at school more generally, professors do not expect  you or your work to be perfect (otherwise even I, queen of the world wouldn't be at school, writing this articlen in permanence as I live too far from school to go home during my 3 hour break). Don't be too demanding of yourself, it won't have any poqitive impact on your work but the opposite!

    4- Don't be stressed. If you get stressed (and I know what I am talking about, I developped asthma because of anxiety and anguish) you won't give the best of yourself and worst, you won't enjoy it! Also, don't forget you'll be filmmed and getting stressed is not the best for your image. I look like this before all my tests and I know it's not beautiful to see : 

                   

    5- Do enjoy it! I am not saying that just to to reassure you, I really mean it. Let's be honnest, it is one of the most funny task you will have to do. It is true that is takes time but I prefer to spend time drawing a poster, filming myself and bonding with people who will suffer enjoy OIB with me for the 3 next years than stay for decades in front of my white sheet looking for a thesis statement! You can not imagine how many times me and my group restarted our video because we were laughing out loud!

    6- Don't be ashamed to ask for help. It is true talking with premières or terminales can be impressive as we already survived enjoyed at least 1 year of OIB, but don't worry, we aren't going to eat you (not yet). We went through this task and still are alive, so you can do the same, and even better thanks to this article ; ). If you have any question, doubt or just if you want to talk to wonderful and brilliant people come and talk to us! $

    7- last but not least Do (please) comment this article if you liked it and if you found it useful. I promise I'll find time in my really busy timetable (school-homework-eating) to read all your comment. 

 

Thank you for reading this article until the end. If you have been able to support my grammar mistakes and my not-funny-at-all small jokes, it means you are able to success your task.

Inès LOUCIF aka ILRDM       

A fascinating list of my favourite female singers

Hello everyone !
Let's be less technical today and talk about everyone's favourite topic : music. I am around 100% sure none of the singers I will mention are the one whose picture Mr Leah wants to get rid of, but I will take up any occasion to talk about artists I love.

I will start by admitting that I actually do not listen to many female artists. I usually have a preference for masculine voices, and I don't even know why - I guess they just feel nicer in my ears. But it absolutely does not mean I cannot appreciate a good feminine singing voice; actually, since I am a little picky, I would tend to say my choices are the right ones, at least to my taste.
Let's go ahead a make a list, even though I do not really want this article to look like a "TOP 5 BEST FEMALE SINGERS"... It will be easier to everyone involved, won't it ? 

1. Amy Lee

Some of you might know her. Lots of you might not recognize her if I do not mention the name of her famous band, Evanescence.
Yes, this is the singer I chose to mention first. Judging merely by my appearance, I do not know if everybody can tell that Evanescence used to be my favourite band - it was for about 5 years, and while my taste in music has now evolved, I still love me some of that emo feeling.
Amy Lee is an amazing singer. She has a beautiful voice, and what else could I say ? She sounds amazing, and I love Evanescence's style of hardrock clashing with her worthy-of-opera voice. My loving Evanescence was not just about being an edgy teenager who could not listen to the same bands the other kids did, it was also about falling in love with a music style, a singing voice, and a poetic choice of lyrics.
However old I get, however much her music may change throughout the years, Amy Lee will always hold a special place in my heart. (And seriously, she looks and is super cool !)

Evanescence - My Heart is Broken
12 years old me might not have chosen to illustrate Amy Lee with this song, but I thought it was an accurate representation of what I just explained.

2. Poppy

Poppy, aka That Poppy before she lost her contract with whomever, maybe Vevo, is my current voice-crush. Do other people get that ? I do not have a crush on the artist, but I fall for their singing voice and I could as well be in love. I would marry their voice. Have kids with their voice. Grow old with their voice, and die a peaceful death, knowing I spent my life beside the love of my life.
... Other people do not get that ? Oh. Okay. Anyway, it has not been that long since I discovered Poppy, but I immediatly knew that her songs were going to go right in my playlist and never get out of it.
Poppy looks like the stereotypical blonde and cute singer, but in her music videos and videos on her own Youtube channel, plays a, let's say... creepy character, who is somewhere right between innocent and satanic. This whole character-thing is very interesting and quite funny, but it is actually not the reason I like her.
The songs, darn it. The voice ! So young, and yet so talented. I find her lyrics original and beautiful, but the most important thing is that her music makes me feel nice. I really like it, and it is a peaceful and beautiful pause in the middle of my usual playlist that is made mostly of electro-remixes and hardrock.
What made me fall in love with her voice were the acoustic versions of her songs. They feel so much more natural, and with a softer music, it really makes her amazing singing skills pop.
Basically, Poppy is my a e s t h e t i c. And who does not like some pastel anyway ?

That Poppy - Lowlife (acoustic)
This one is definitely my favourite. If you want to really check out her singing skills, I'd recommend the acoustic version of "Everybody wants to be Poppy". Another good song that does not have an acoustic version is "Computer Boy" (and I feel like this one does not need one).

3. Meghan Trainor

Yep, that Meghan Trainor. I am not kidding.
Now, she is not a singer to whom I can feel as attached as I feel attached to Amy Lee or Poppy, whatever the reasons. But there is nothing much to tell - I also discovered her songs recently, and found them really catchy and interesting. Her songs are feminist and treat topics that are not often put into song, but they also have a nice beat, and her voice goes well with her style. While I could not listen to her songs all the time, because I guess they would get redundant with time, they are actually very nice to listen to when I am searching for inspiration, or even when I am feeling a bit down and need some courage. I'm feeling untouchable, untouchable.
It's just that there's something about her songs that makes me feel strong. I am thankful artists like her exist, and will never understand the constant hatred she faces. I guess feminism is a wrong thing.

Meghan Trainor - NO
This one is the catchiest and the one with which I feel the most like singing along. But her most famous song is "All About That Bass". Which I actually feel like singing along with. Maybe I should have mentioned that her songs make me sing like an idiot when they're at the radio in stores or when I'm drawing ?

4. Lene Nystrøm

"Now who the heck is that", right ? Well, let me tell you. You know her most popular hit. I know you do. Don't lie. I know you have listened to Barbie Girl by Aqua at least once.
Lene Nystrøm is the lead singer of the band Aqua. Why am I listing the singer of the most innocent and cute song in the world, you ask ?
Well, because Lene is actually far from innocent. Even Barbie Girl, as most of you might not know, is actually very satyrical and even lewd sometimes. She has sung a lot of other songs, some of them looking as innocent as her most famous one, but lots of them being straight-up about sexuality.
She has the cute and high-pitched voice of an angel, but also some guts. Aqua's songs are very pop-ey (pop-ey... poppy... let's not get lost in all that) and catchy, and I love to listen to them while I am working or walking. The so-called lewdness of their (and her, since she has also released solo albums) songs is always well handled and feels in its place.
Now this might not be as justified as the others, but I really love this band, and I am super happy that the Youtube mix for Aqua has so many of the good songs in it and only turns into a mix of Eminem and Justin Bieber with a bit of Aqua's oldest songs every now and then after about a hundred songs. 

Aqua - Dirty Little Pop SongThis is a good example of their catchiest songs. If you want to listen to something she sung solo that I can mention on this blog without being censored, I'd recommend "Bite You" (just search "Lene - Bite You" and you'll find it on Youtube).

5. Adele

Okay, not Hello. I did not like Hello.
Adele is the first "recent" singer I admitted to like when I was still an edgy teenager. Am I still an edgy teenager ? I can't be. My tastes in music are too broad.
While her songs, compared to one another, might feel a little repetitive, I feel there is something beautiful about them. Adele is a contemporary artist with a very beautiful voice and original songs that differ greatly from what might seem more commercial.
Their songs have always been very inspiring to me when it came to music, and especially singing. Her beautiful voice and the effects she always makes are a great example of what someone can do with their voice, and I am thankful that there are still world-famous artists who actually know how to sing.

 Adele - Set Fire To The Rain
I'm out of witty comments. I think most of Adele's songs are, or used to be very famous anyway - and that's just what she deserves !

And that is it.
Those who know me might have accepted different types of singers coming from an article about my favourites, but as I said, my favourites are usually men, who, I guess, sing more electro-remixes and hardrock music.
My tastes in music are actually very wide, and I am always happy to discover new good artists, whether they write good lyrics, have a beautiful voice, or a talent for catchy songs - I feel like any style can be beautiful as long as it is well made.


So, did you know all of these singers ? Do you like them too ? Do not hesitate to tell me in the comments, I would be happy to hear your opinion (or trivia if you have some ! Though if it is about Evanescence or Poppy, I might very well know it already. ♥)

Eurovision 2017

Hello everyone !
This year's edition of the Eurovision, that took place in Ukraine, just ended. Like, right now. It ended, I took a quick shower, and there I am typing an article about it.
Because I'm trash. And if you want some trivia, I started watching the Eurovision two years ago, and literaly fell in love. Well, I mean, back then I might have been baited by Conchita Wurst who had quite the amazing beard, but I actually loved the show, for no particular reason. I guess it's just enjoyable.

Anyway, since I know for sure most of you did not watch the show, I am going to make a little summary, or commentary of how it went. Well, I should warn you of these details, because they are going to be the directive lines of this article : first, know that the main reason I watch the Eurovision is to see good-looking men. Because it is the primary asset of the show. You might have found that out from my commentary anyway... And also, I'm basing it on the Tweets I posted as I watched, so mostly screaming and a lot of sass. You might be better off watching the actual show it you want to perfectly understand its depth - but I promise I will help you a little bit if you are too lazy to do that.

Alright, as I started watching the show, I was very worried about who the presenters were going to be. Of course, I am talking about the Ukrainian presenters, since everybody knows our French presenters are always the absolute worst, and I always watch the show directly on the Eurovision official website. This year again, if you really want to know, my mom sent me a text complaining that they were terrible as always. Anyway, I was affraid this year's main presenter would be last year's winner, whom I still resent for winning instead of the Australian singer - not that I have anything against her, but her talent as a commentator could never equal my dear, dear, dear Måns Zelmerlöw's, Swedish winner from two years ago. But I was pleasantly surprised to actually meet three good-looking young men.

Their names are absolutely impossible to remember. Except for the one in the middle, he's Alex.

 Of course, even three of them could never equal one Måns, but it is better than nothing.

So, now, to the actual singing :
The first singer whose voice actually struck me was Poland's. She had a great voice - now, her song was average. I think she was the second one to sing, but anyway, I already wanted her, if not to win, to be high enough in the final ranking. Then it was the Belarusian duo, that struck me because I actually strongly disliked their song and performance, and wanted them to lose.
Eh, I never said I would be nice, did I ?
The next cute guy was the Austrian singer. He was just so cute. I immediatly wanted him to win. Forget Poland. Austria is what this show is about.
Then, they brought a gorilla on stage.

In case you couldn't tell, on the left there is a gorilla, and on the right an Italian singer.

And I have absolutely no complaint.
Moldova brought in an epic sax- (guy) -ophonist, and a beautiful violonist. Azerbaijan, a man with a horse mask. At this point I complained a little bit, because it jumpscared me. I was not paying enough attention to the person sitting on top of a ladder, so of course it is entirely my fault.
But before they brought the horse, Portugal had had its time to shine. Its singer's performance was particularly interesting - beautiful song, really, something very artistic. I thought it was really beautiful and I would have payed the guy to sing me some lullabies, but I also thought he would never win the Eurovision, since it is mostly about pop songs, or anything that makes one want to dance and sing along.
Then they brought in the 17 years old Australian singer. Now there's one guy I can legally fantasize about. Too cute, seriously, too cute. And a nice song and voice, with that.
The Spanish singer had his charm too. His song, though, was not so great - but I did find it very catchy. Not too bad, finally.
After half of the singers had been on stage, the presenters decided to give us a little pause, by showing us a little video they had filmed with a person in particular...

                                                                                       Måns Zelmerlöw, aka my only will to live left

I gasped. And almost chocked. Just wanted you to know that. I even sent my mom a text saying "THERE'S MANS !!!!". Because my mom knows what I'm about.
I didn't really follow the UK's singer's performance because I was still thinking about the video I had just seen and under a lot of adrenaline. But from what I remember, she had a pretty nice voice.
Then the Romanian duo arrived, and of course, when you think of Romania, the first thing you think of is yodeling. Thus, their song was called "Yodel it", and the girl did yodel. Pretty good.
I think she just wanted to use her talent at yodeling in a way or another.

Singers sang, and while they were all good singers, I have to say Belgium had the most remarkable voice. She beat Poland at that.
A random good-looking singer showed up and I hadn't payed attention to his nationality at first, but I was not surprised to find out he was Swedish. That is also why I announced my future husband is going to be a Swedish man.
But I immediatly contradicted myself as the Bulgarian singer showed up. Another 17 years old singer, just too cute for this world, and with an amazing deep voice. Seriously, if he is searching for a girl his age with a nice French accent, he can just comment this article and ask for my address.

And last but not least, we got to hear our French singer ! From her introduction video, I saw she played on a ahamaY piano. Interesting brand. Sure sounds artsy. Anyway, her singing actually was not so bad, even though it was not the best, it was pleasantly surprising. I mean, last year's singer was alright too, but France is infamous for its bad Eurovision singers. I have still not completely healed from the "Moustache" song from two years ago. The music being a bad remix of Papaoutai. I'm sure you can guess how I feel about bad remixes of Stromae songs being used for a song about wanting to have a mustache.

And there, everyone had sung ! We got to wait for a little for the results, and listen to last year's singer again, who sadly hadn't turned Australian in the meantime. And then...
Spain lost with 0 points from each country, and only 5 points from people who had voted via their phones. That's sad.
Aaaand, Bulgaria won, and everyone was very happy, and the en-

DAMMIT.

Portugal won, alright. I was pretty upset at first because I really wanted Bulgaria or Belgium to win, but in the end, I think it is actually a good thing Portugal won. His song was really good, and it is always amazing when things change a little bit from usual. It shows that Eurovision is not just about what music will sound the most like the others, but actually about what song will win our hearts.
You really should listen to his performance, that you can probably already find on Youtube. It's a really pretty song that I thought could belong in a Disney - also, his reaction to winning was absolutely adorable.

Congratulations, Portugal ! I hope you will have good-looking presenters next year. Please invite Måns too. 

Anyway, I hope you liked this article, even though it is pretty long for a summary. If you did, I encourage you to watch Eurovision next year, it really is a nice show to waste your time on ! And who knows, you might discover many amazing and beautiful artists !

Stromae

Hello everyone !
(Two articles in a row ? Surely I am sick. Oh, well.)

Today I am going to tell you about a French (actually Belgian, but he does speak French, because that's what people do in Belgium) artist that you probably already know : Stromae.

I am going to skip the whole introduction-thing because you might as well find more information about him on Wikipedia.
What I am going to tell you is my amazing and extremely interesting opinion on him as an artist, because I am sure you all always dreamt of me telling you my amazing and extremely interesting opinion on Stromae as an artist.
There goes my longest sentence.

You might know him for his song Papaoutai, released in 2013 and that was a big hit.
Papaoutai was the kind of song I would hear at parties, fairs and amusement parks during the summer, right between "Quand il pète il troue son slip" and "Bella". For reasons unknown, it made me think, back then, that Papaoutai was a very immature song - much unlike the one I associated it with most, "Quand il pète il troue son slip". I never paid attention to the lyrics, and did not want to.
I wasn't very smart a 13-years old.
To cut myself some slack, it is highly possible that the media, and people in general, never gave this song the credit it deserved. It was just another commercial song, and no one really paid attention to its meaning - or if some did, they were not loud enough.

Stromae does not write just "other commercial songs". He pays extreme attention to his lyrics, probably as much to his music, and maybe even more to his music videos.

When I was in 8th grade, my Music teacher made us listen to, and see the video from Formidable. He then asked us what we thought of it - if we liked it, and why.
I, of course, answered that I did not like it, because... because.
What a moron ! 13 years-old me did not have any taste or brains at all.
(Or actually, 13 years-old me might very well have convinced herself that she did not like the song just so she could answer the same as all her other classmates, because she did not want to look like the special snowflake. Still. What the hell, 13 years-old Dana. What. the. hell.)
Not that I think anyone who does not like this song or its clip actually is a moron, but I am one for not paying enough attention to them to realise that I would love them.
Treating a serious topic, just like other songs from the year 2013 such as "Bella" and "Quand il pète il troue son slip", and making his clip a hidden camera, much like a prank, Stromae is original and really an artist.
The top comment on this clip is :





Stromae managed to give exactly the impression he wanted to give. This was an amazing project, and his good acting made it come to life.

We French people are often scared that what will be internationally known as French music is songs from our talented artists such as Maître Gims or Black M (can you believe my mother met him and did not even ask for an autograph ?). But I was pleasantly surprised, in Canada, to hear Alors On Danse on the radio, and even hear my exchange partner, her mother and her sisters singing along !
When later asked about my tastes in music by their mother, I eventually told her that there were not many French singers or bands that I liked (I mean, except for obviously Zaho, my idol) but there still were a few, such as Stromae. She answered that she did not know him, but then I told her (what the hell ?! Are you kidding me ? Do you think I did not hear you singing Alors On Danse with your Canadian accent ? DID I TRAVEL TO ANOTHER TIMELINE AGAIN ?) that she had actually sung one of his songs in the car, and then she remembered. It means that at least his songs are famous to a degree in Canada, even though they might not really know the singer himself.
Then obviously, it is not to forget that most of his songs are subtitled in English, and English comments overcome French ones on his Youtube videos.

Now if anyone still doubts Stromae's quality as an artist, I would like you to watch this video and listen to its song :

The video in itself is obviously an artistic performance, whether you like it or not. Then onto the lyrics : with beautiful and surprising play-on-words, Stromae treats the serious matter of cancer. Forgetting about the music in itself, his words flow like music in themselves, and convey their message very well.
Plus, this is clearly no commercial song. Just listen to the music; do you hear anything like that at parties, or on the radio in stores or the school cafeteria ? And pay attention to the lyrics; do these attract most 12 to 16 years-olds ?
Obviously they do not, or I do not know where you live or where you go to school, but clearly I would move to your place.

If Stromae is famous it is not because of the way our economy works, or this catchy same tune that all the others use because it works; it is because of what an amazing artist he is, because of his meaningful, beautiful and critical songs and videos.

I hope you liked this short article and are thankful I did not decide to also introduce Stromae as a person. I would be very happy to hear your opinion on him, because of course, as much as I dislike my younger self, I would actually have no problem understanding that some people dislike this kind of music, or art in general, or think that I give Stromae too much credit.
Have a nice day ! (Did you know today was "International Hug Day" ? Being a thug, I decided to write a savage article towards myself !)

Carsten Holler : Decisions

Dear Charlie,

Have you ever heard of Carsten Holler?

He is a Belgium modern artist. He first trained as a scientist before becoming an artist (you can always change your mind, see!). Holler is specialized in creating experiental installations and participative artwork. His last exhibition is called "Decision" and takes place at the Hayward Gallery in London. As I travelled to London this summer (I miss you Summer), I had the chance to visit (I would even say participate to) the exhibition and it was AMAZING!

As you might have guessed, "Decision" is about choices : the visitor has to make choices all through the exhibition, and these choices lead him/her to different installations. The first choice was the entrance door : would you go in A or B ? I chose A and found myself in a dark tunnel that was like a maze. The tunnel was really long (about 5 minutes) and trust me that at the end of it you begin to feel anxious! Then there were different art sculptures like this one :

 What I really liked about this exhibition is that visitors get really involved and discover new things and moreover have fun. Some may say that this is not art but what is art really? Holler has the ability to let the visitor experience new things : I also wore glasses that turned the world upside-down and as the experience took place on a balcony it was even more disturbing! I had to concentrate to walk (almost) properly...or close my eyes but it's a bit like cheating then...There were also all sorts of games that sollicited all your senses and feelings...no you don't dreaming it's me flying! OK, I'm attached. OK, I am circling around a stake. OK, I am wearing a ridiculous blue "armor" but still! Where can you experience flying around a pole? Nowhere really...

To conclude, I would say that Carsten Holler is a great artist who geniously combine art and science and allows the visitors to discover new experiences and have fun but also thinking of how you react and live in this world. If you ever get the chance to visit any of his exhibition, go for it! You will not regret it ! ;-)

  This is how you quit the exhibition...and it's AWESOME!

Bye Charlie! ^^

Tara

Paul McCartney - Out There

Dear Charlie, 

For my first article, I wanted to share with you one of my best memories of this summer. It was just before the summer holidays (and the brevet...) on the 5th of June. As you can read on the title I went to a concert !! It was not any concert, It was a Paul McCartney concert and he is a singer that I am particularly fond of !

At first, we couldn't come because it was way too expensive but luckily we found cheaper tickets on the internet so we couldn't miss this opportunity ! It took place in the Stade Velodrome and there were definitely a lot of people. Surprisingly, there were people from all generations. I even met friends who came all the way from Cannes to see it!

By the way, I didn't mention that I went with four of my best friends so it was even more exciting for me!

And guess who I saw there... My English teacher of course ! Anyway, the show was FANTASTIC! I went a little bit crazy (okay I admit it wasn't just a little bit) and danced the whole night ! "Let It Be" was definitely my favorite song, Paul played the piano and it was so emotional ! During "Hey Jude" we all sang "na na na" really loud (and off key but It was really fun because we didn't care) and also during "Live And Let Die" there were fireworks and fire, I was literally speechless ! 

   

I was so sad when the concert ended because it really was an amazing experience !                                

I hope you liked my article,

Irène :)

Keziah Jones

Hey everybody!

My father and I were talking about the new single Bruno Mars made (Uptown Funk) and we thought it was funny how the old times' taste were coming back. Right after he made me discover some new good music which I now love.
It's very possible that you already heart about it since it is very famous but I'm so fond of this singer that I really wanted to share it with you.

His name is Keziah Jones and he is a Nigerian singer who lived most of his life in London. He was disovered while playing music in the parisians underground in 1991. It is pretty contemporary music but I like the style because it is a fusion of blues and funk music so it gives something really nice to hear.

I post here his most famous single but don't hesitate to listen some other of his songs because, for me, he is worth it. Have fun!!
PS ; I love his outfit on the video