Sweet Independence
-
Artist:
Joyeux Quatorze Juillet! Belatedly.In France, July 14th is Bastille Day, which marks a significant event in the French Revolution - the storming of the Bastille prison by citizens of Paris on July 14, 1789. The Bastille was notorious as a jail where the government incarcerated political dissidents. It was such a galvanizing moment in the country's history that July 14th is considered by many to be the French equivalent of our Independence Day.So it’s Sunday the 15th, and I’m a little spent from last night’s festivities here in San Francisco, where the holiday is celebrated with great enthusiasm. There’s a street party downtown amid a cluster of French cafés, bars and restaurants. This year, the DJ team on hand pumped out the usual Euro-disco, techno, and drum-and-bass at ear-splitting volume, including a call-back to Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love†and some Daft Punk - but they also drove the crowd into a full-bore frenzy with Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.â€Although a few other soirees go down (and the monthly Bootie mash-up party was held last night – and was my final, festive stop before greeting the dawn), my favorite diversion on Bastille Day is always the annual Bardot A Go-Go bash overseen by DJ Pink Frankenstein – a Francophile of some repute, with a museum-class collection of French pop songs and videos that fuel the fun. Bardot A Go-Go returned to the local boite the Rickshaw Stop this year, and was the usual gathering of young American neo-Mods, French nationals, and retro-pop music aficionados.As ever, Pink and his colleagues turned the joint into a fab 1960s-era Parisian discotheque. In their honor (and as acknowledgement of my French friends and their magnifique country), I rustled up a vintage video featuring one of my heartthrobs of the ‘60s yé-yé music scene, singer France Gall. She’s captured here in 1964, performing the extremely suggestive “Les Sucettes†– written by French pop-music idol Serge Gainsbourg.Hmmm. The adorable Mlle. Gall sure does love her sweets…
Locating MOG account...
Comments (24)