Confession: a large part of the reason I learned French in the first place is because singing along to these songs is just so darn fun. From the yé-yé girls to the stylish rockers, some of the best pop music came out of France in the 1960s. So put on some blue and red or your prettiest pastels, ingest a box of macarons, and pretend you are in a Sofia Coppola commercial or a Godard movie.
Hello, you. June’s theme will be LONGING. Unlike more-acute forms of desire like desperation or need, longing is a sweet ache—more pining for something than dying for it. It’s nostalgia, homesickness, boredom, a persistent feeling of lack, dreaming of escape/the future. It’s summer: summer homes & cottages, stuffy summer bedrooms, sun-bleached memories of summers past. The shadow of September that hangs over June. It’s secret hangouts, crushes, unrequited love. Send what you’ve got here, and thanks. ♥
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Too bad I take spanish…
Log in to replyCan you guys do a list of Bollywood songs?
A bollywood playlist would be sooo cool!
Log in to replyagreed!
Log in to replyI second or third that! As long as it includes Jaan Pehechaan Ho
Log in to replyWhat are your favourite Bollywood songs?
Log in to replyNimboda Nimboda is a good Bollywood song. You can listen to it here:
Log in to replyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcAcm6aTdMc&feature=related
I actually did a dance to this song in a Bollywood dance class before. Also, the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack has some good East Indian/Bollywood songs on it.
my favorite bollywood songs are by lata mangeshkar, but a true fav is jimmy jimmy aaja by parvati khan and typewriter tip tip tip by shankar jaikishan<3
Log in to replyAlors on Danse by Stromae is really good…
Log in to replyBut it’s not sung by a fille!
Log in to replyi totally agree with that.
Log in to replyI’m freaking out! I’ve been really into France Gall lately … which is weird, because I usually listen to riot grrrl and folk punk. The dance in the Cet air-là video is so great: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DimWaNc5bGA
Log in to replyAngry girl covers in French are the best. See Thee Headcoatees’ “Ca plane pour moi” for a prime example.
Log in to replyThis is an awesome playlist!! Just out of curiosity have you guys ever Carla Bruni, or La couer de Pirate (they’re my favorite french artists) :)
Log in to replyOMG Coeur de Pirate is the best!!
Log in to reply(I found her via Canadian TV, hahah.)
Carla Bruni! I love that woman. Singing, acting, and being the First Lady of France? She made it like no big deal. Also, “Quelqu’un m’a dit” is great.
Log in to replymy favorite french song is Rue St Vincent, it’s so beautiful.
Log in to replyShameless self-promotion… But I do an online radio show with all Spanish and French language indie pop. It’s at 10am-12pm EST every Friday!
Log in to replyGo to WNYU.org to listen!
(and if you’re ever in need of a Spanish/French playlist, I got ya covered)
Yay! First time I actually know more than a few songs on a Rookie playlist! I feel so cool. :)
Log in to replyOops i think la coeur de pirate is fremch canadian :)
Log in to replyWords can not describe my love for France Gall. Arcade Fire did a killer cover with LCD Soundsystem of Poupee de Cire Poupee de Son that is just as good as the original if not better.
Log in to replyI love that cover! Arcade Fire is one of my favourite bands.
(Here’s the link, in case anybody wants to hear it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=752bW5cjXzw)
Log in to replySylvie Vartan is my favorite :) so happy to know french right now!
Log in to replyaw, no jacqueline taïeb? still, brilliant playlist. there is a special place in my heart for old-school french pop. thank you, Rookie! ♥
Log in to replyI guess they’re for little kids but I like Ilona Mitrecey songs a lot.
Log in to replyJ’adore votre playlist :) C’est bonne musique pour étudier et écriver pour la classe français. Merci beaucoup. Vous êtes des filles qui sont magnifique!
Log in to replyMain non, c’est nos lectrices qui sont vraiment magnifiques ;)
Log in to replyThis is soooooo awesome.
FRANCOISE HARDY!!!!
Little&Trivial
Log in to replyMay I recommend Pink Martini? I particularly like “Je ne veux pas travailler”. The soundtracks of Xavier Dolan’s movie “Les Amours Imaginaires” (also known as Heartbeats) are pretty nice too :)
Log in to replyWonderful playlist! I love “Moi je joue” most, thanks to Sofia Coppola!
http://fashioninpepperland.blogspot.com
Log in to replyToo bad you’re missing ca plane pour moi, really French linguistics at it’s peak.
Log in to replyThis is no means a definitive list, just a few of my favourites from the vast number of songs out there. I’d love to hear about other people’s picks!
Log in to replyYES ANNA!!!
Log in to replyWow, french songs !
I love all the songs of your list.
Do you know Sheila ? She’s another singer of the 1960′s. I love her songs (L’école est finie, Papa t’es plus dans l’coup, L’heure de la sortie…
And there was a girl band called Les Parisiennes, I like them too.
Les yé-yé c’était trop génial !
Log in to replyI might! Aside from the more famous names, most of the French pop singers I know through different compilations (the Ultrachicks series, Pop A Paris, etc. To those looking to get into more French music, these cds are good places to start and might be available at the library – that’s where I tend to get them!). Anyway, what I’m getting at is, I tend to know just a few songs from a lot of these artists. I’ll make sure to check her out though, thanks!
Log in to replyYou know what? I have been intending to get into french music for a loooooong time now (so i can impress my french class with my almost native accent and so on). This playlist is mon sauveur. Kidding, I used google translate… I think I’d better get listening!
http://rosiesayrelax.blogspot.com/
Log in to replySo nice! I’m in my first year of French in school and it’s fun listening to these songs and picking out words I know. Plus, the songs are so pretty, even if I don’t know what they’re singing most of the time : )
Log in to replyJ’adore, only rookie would do something like this!!
I’m half french so i called my mom in and she freaked out cuz she grew up in France in the 60′s and 70′s and used to dance around her room to these songs on the radio in her room!!
Log in to replyI love french pop music! La Fermeture Eclaire by Delphine and Marie Douceur Marie Colere (aka Paint it Black with totally different lyrics) by Marie Laforet are awesome songs.
On a completely unrelated note, and I only mention it because of the french-ness, OSS 117: Lost in Rio is a really funny movie
http://sub-urbangrrrl.blogspot.com/
Log in to replyLove this!!! I was looking for a song for a uni project and C’est la mode is perfect!
Log in to replyj’adore la musique francaise!
Log in to replyd’une québecoise
This is perfect!
Log in to replyAw, this is so cute, these songs are from my childhood. I live France (Paris exactly) and I really find adorable how some foreigners are kind of fascinated by french things, mostly music and literature, because I have the same fascination for british stuff.
Log in to replyJealous of your city!
To be honest the REAL reason I learned French is because I grew up in Ottawa (the capital of Canada, where French is one of the official languages), right near the Quebec border. It’s funny how different France-French and Canadian-French are so different from each other! I thought I had a good grasp on the language but when I went to Paris when I was 16 I had such a hard time communicating!
I totally get what you mean about foreigners obsessing with your countries. There are so many places that I crush on and want to learn everything about, and yet I get confused when my non-Canadian friends say the same things about my own country!
Log in to replyI understand what you mean about differences between Canadian/France french, I really like Xavier Dolan’s movies, but I have to watch them with subtitles because french from quebec is too difficult for me.
Log in to replyTrop bien que vous ayez fait une liste avec des chansons françaises!
Log in to replyEt c’est même meilleur que j’ai tant des auditrices!
(pardon my grammar, it’s been a while since I’ve been in a French classroom)
Log in to replyIl manque Marie Laforêt ! J’adore sa voix et sa chanson Les Vendanges et sa reprise de Paint It Black ! Bisous, désolé de pas bien parler anglais, je vous aime d’amour.
Log in to replyTHIS IS LITERALLY THE BEST PLAYLIST EVER. je l’aime beaucoup!!
Log in to replyah c’est magnifique!
grinandbearitzine.blogspot.com
Log in to replyI feel so cool being french right now!
If you like french music you should check out some more recent stuff like Brigitte, or even french rap (90′s style)
Anyway, this is awesome!
Log in to replyThe only thing better than good french music? Really bad french music with equally hilarious music videos
Log in to replyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xkwVYCww1M&ob=av3n
Quelle hilarant! Even though I can’t work out if the comments are sarcastic or not…
Log in to replyJ’adore les chansons sur le playlist. Ils sont très mignon!!!!!
Log in to replyJe suis dans le classe de francais à l’ecole.
(pardonner ma grammaire mauvaise)
i’m french and i can say that your song selection is perfect! love rookie
Log in to replykisses from france
Anna Karina! Je l’adore!
Log in to replyso cannot wait to listen to this <3
Log in to replyWhere’s Elle Me Dit by Mika?
Log in to replyOh, Rookie, you give us so much joy.
I’ve become a huge Sylvie Vartan fan after your interview with Elle Fanning, then there was Francoise Hardy’s song in “Moonrise Kingdom” trailer (though it was on Tavi’s blog, not on Rookie, now that I think about it) and now this! My new appreciation for French 60′s music is all thanks to you and I don’t know how could have ever thought I’m complete without it (which is funny, because I’m more of a classic rock kind of girl).
Anyway, thanks so much for being inspiring. Hope I don’t sound like a creep.
Log in to replyWaa, maintenant je suis vraiment contente d’être française et de comprendre toutes les paroles (:
Log in to replyI think I’m in love. c’est genial!
Log in to replyThis is perfect, like almost all of you other perfect people here I adore french music!
Here’s a song i’ve been listening to all day long, c’est magnifique:
Log in to replyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGSJ9VgpXMg&feature=related
One of my favorite french songs to sing along to is the Champs-Elysee by Joe Dassin that is played on the end of the film The Darjeeling Limited! So catchy and cute!
Log in to reply“Ohhh, Champs-Elysees…” what i listened to in freshman year in French class ..the teacher i had wanted us to sing along with it!
Log in to replybut she was always doing funny stuff, like suddenly jumping up on the desk to get our attention, as in “Faites Attention, Monique!!” (my selected name in French I)
A comment stating that us, french people are more attracted by -let’s say for example- british indie music made me smile and particularly grabbed my attention.
I’ve spent my hole in Paris, and though I knew a few pop french song, -Laisse tomber les fille is the first on the list- it just seemed too tacky to be given some interest. How much more facinating it was to listen to small bands I couldnt understand a word of what they were saying (because I used to be sooo bad at english) but that had that underground-exotic touch. Even though it meant I would be pissed off because they would not really bother swimming across the channel to give a show -yeah I know the true was probably closer to “they couldn’t afford it”, but sometimes it’s good to blame on other people the fact that you were born 500km too far to be part of that vibe.
So this is what I was thinking of french music in general. There is some great song, but I’m not really interested in, no offense. Then I moved away. To Montreal. And one night I found myself blasting some Brel on my computer. WHAT ??! And I’m actually enjoying it a lot. I had always loved Ne me quitte pas, so why did I wait to be in Canada to listen more song from this amazing singer ? I couldn’t really say, I guess I just wanted to feel french haha.
But anyway it made me realize how stupid my inconscient behaviour was and I’m going to check out this playlist right now
PS: just to give the illusion I’m not talking by myself, try Exactemeny by Vive la fête. It’s recent and Belgian, but its greaat!
Log in to replyi think marry you from bruno mars is good. make me feel so….
http://http://theculunlady.blogspot.com/
Log in to replyYou know, before listening to this playlist and others, I would have said the same things as other french people here…
Log in to replyNow what I listen to habitually: Jeanne Chehral (though, definitely some issues with some songs), Bérurier Noir, Bolchoï (oï), Les Patates Rats (ska), Ferrat, Mylène Farmer, Les Rapaces (rap band), Tchad Unpoe (that’s rap too) and hum. I also like Jean-Jacques Goldman, Barbara and Edith Piaf and most french variety, in fact. Even those mentioned here, though I listened mostly to british bands recently.
And, though some people might mock me, I like Superbus. At least the first albums.
I might know other bands, but think these aren’t really french, like the HushPuppies (just verified on Wikipédia).
I don’t like rapper Keny Arkana, because she says a number of things and then go for an interview on M6 or MTV :(, but I still think she is still a good rapper. Old Indochine, too!
I also like this kind of songs, I had to google it but great fun: http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/3346
I meant now I really like yéyé, and before wouldn’t have thought that the songs I liked there were yéyé or to listen to, and I forgot to mention Olivia Ruiz. My brain is off for I ate too much sugar, sorry.
Log in to replyyay Rollergirl! Love that song
Log in to replyThe Parisian girls of the 60s speak to my soul. I’ve had Françoise Hardy on repeat the last couple weeks — great playlist!!
Log in to replyYeah Girls, it’s funny to see what french music your listen ! It’s so old but so cool ;)
Now we are Yelle, her clips are very fun and her last cd are really great !
I’m French and I love your style girls, I read your articles and I can practice my english ^^
Good luck for your blog Girls !
Pleins de bisous de la France !
Yelle’s Clip :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3jRjm6NOv0&feature=fvst
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAzgp7CCxMc&feature=related
Log in to replyI LOVE YELLE, SHE IS THE BEST
Log in to replyfrancoise hardy…listening to “toutes les garcons et filles de mon age” from a garage-sale-discovered album my mom found (she was always finding quirky stuff for me like that) in my room and daydreaming…brings back great, fun memories
Log in to replyPARFAIT!
Log in to replyThere should be a Kpop music playlist!
Log in to replyGirls Generation!
Log in to replyYou should listen to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiZh-_Jlofk&feature=fvst
Best french song.
Log in to replythank you so much for making this playlist! i am learning french right now, and i wanted to know some music, but i had no idea where to start, this is great for introducing me to some cool french music.
Log in to replyWhen hearing the first song by France Gall, I couldn’t help but think of Zelda. I thought “Doesn’t this song sound slightly familiar to the song played in Termina Field in The Legend of Zelda:Majora’s Mask?”. I played both songs at once. Indeed I was right. I haven’t played that game for years. Back in the good ol’ days of Nintendo 64 when I was the age of like 6, 7 or 8, something around there. But the Zelda songs have still stuck in my mind since. That’s the power of great music and a great game.
Log in to replynow…does anyone know of any Dutch pop music?
Log in to replyThese are so great… Fabienne Delsol’s “vilaines filles mauvais garçons” is great too!
Log in to replyOne of my favorite female French artists is April March. You should really check her out, she’s a badass and so so lovely.
Log in to replylove ye-ye! <333
Log in to replyOmg now I can tell my French teacher I did some homework over the weekend, lol. I fell in love with these songs <3
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