Serge Gainsbourg was the dirty old man of popular music; a French singer/songwriter and provocateur notorious for his voracious appetite for alcohol, cigarettes, and women, his scandalous, taboo-shattering output made him a legend in Europe but only a cult figure in America, where his lone hit "Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus" stalled on the pop charts... [+] Read More

Serge Gainsbourg was the dirty old man of popular music; a French singer/songwriter and provocateur notorious for his voracious appetite for alcohol, cigarettes, and women, his scandalous, taboo-shattering output made him a legend in Europe but only a cult figure in America, where his lone hit "Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus" stalled on the pop charts -- fittingly enough -- at number 69.

Born Lucien Ginzberg in Paris on April 2, 1928, his parents were Russian Jews who fled to France following the events of the 1917 Bolshevik uprising. After studying art and teaching, he turned to painting before working as a bar pianist on the local cabaret circuit. Soon he was tapped to join the cast of the musical Milord L'Arsoille, where he reluctantly assumed a singing role; self-conscious about his rather homely appearance, Gainsbourg initially wanted only to carve out a niche as a composer and producer, not as a performer.

Still, he made his recording debut in 1958 with the album Du Chant a la Une; while strong efforts like 1961's L'Etonnant Serge Gainsbourg and 1964's Gainsbourg Confidentiel followed, his jazz-inflected solo work performed poorly on the charts, although compositions for vocalists ranging from Petula Clark to Juliette Greco to Dionne Warwick proved much more successful. In the late '60s, he befriended the actress Brigitte Bardot, and later became her lover; with Bardot as his muse, Gainsbourg's lushly arranged music suddenly became erotic and delirious, and together, they performed a series of duets -- including "Bonnie and Clyde," "Harley Davidson," and "Comic Strip" -- celebrating pop culture icons.

Gainsbourg's affair with Bardot was brief, but its effects were irrevocable: after he became involved with constant companion Jane Birkin, they recorded the 1969 duet "Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus," a song he originally penned for Bardot complete with steamy lyrics and explicit heavy breathing. Although banned in many corners of the globe, it reached the top of the charts throughout Europe, and grew in stature to become an underground classic later covered by performers ranging from Donna Summer to Ray Conniff.

Gainsbourg returned in 1971 with Histoire de Melody Nelson, a dark, complex song cycle which signalled his increasing alienation from modern culture: drugs, disease, suicide and misanthropy became thematic fixtures of his work, which grew more esoteric, inflammatory, and outrageous with each passing release. Although Gainsbourg never again reached the commercial success of his late-'60s peak, he remained an imposing and controversial figure throughout Europe, where he was both vilified and celebrated for his shocking behavior, which included burning 500 francs on a live television broadcast and recording a reggae version of the sacred "La Marseillaise."

Gainsbourg also created a furor with the single "Lemon Incest," a duet with his daughter, the actress Charlotte Gainsbourg. In addition, he posed in drag for the cover of 1984's Love on the Beat, a collection of songs about male hustlers, and made sexual advances towards Whitney Houston on a live TV broadcast. Along with his pop music oeuvre, Gainsbourg scored a number of films, and also directed and appeared in a handful of features, most notably 1976's Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus, which starred Birkin and Andy Warhol mainstay Joe Dallesandro. He died on March 2, 1991. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide [-] Hide

This melodic-hardcore band from France was signed to Sub Pop in 1993. Many of the band's albums are available in the U.S.; 1989's Electric Troubles and 1990's Still Hungry were compiled on one disc by Sub Pop, who also released As Happy As Possible in 1993, while 1991's I.A.B.F. is available on Alternative Tentacles. Nineteen Something appeared...

This melodic-hardcore band from France was signed to Sub Pop in 1993. Many of the band's albums are available in the U.S.; 1989's Electric Troubles and 1990's Still Hungry were compiled on one disc by Sub Pop, who also released As Happy As Possible in 1993, while 1991's I.A.B.F. is available on Alternative Tentacles. Nineteen Something appeared on Sub Pop in 1998. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide [-] Hide

You don't need to speak a word of French to understand Histoire de Melody Nelson -- one needs only to look at the front cover (with its nearly pornographic portrait of a half-naked nymphet clutching a rag doll) or hear the lechery virtually dripping from Serge Gainsbourg's sleazily seductive voice to realize that this is the record your mother... [+] Read More

You don't need to speak a word of French to understand Histoire de Melody Nelson -- one needs only to look at the front cover (with its nearly pornographic portrait of a half-naked nymphet clutching a rag doll) or hear the lechery virtually dripping from Serge Gainsbourg's sleazily seductive voice to realize that this is the record your mother always warned you about, a masterpiece of perversion and corruption. A concept record exploring the story of -- and Gainsbourg's lust for -- the titular teen heroine, Histoire de Melody Nelson is arguably his most coherent and perfectly realized studio album, with the lush arrangements which characterize the majority of his work often mixed here with funky rhythm lines which underscore the musky allure of the music. Perhaps best described as a dirty old bastard's attempt to make his own R&B love-man's record along the lines of a Let's Get It On (itself still two years away from release), it's by turns fascinating and repellent, hilarious and grim, but never dull -- which, in Gainsbourg's world, would be the ultimate (and quite possibly the only) sin. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide [-] Hide

With Nineteen Something, Les Thugs continue carrying the torch for the old-school Sub Pop sound -- where their labelmates now fall into categories ranging from chamber-pop to dance music, this French group sticks to the tried-and-true grungy formula of an era gone by, with typically nifty results. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

With Nineteen Something, Les Thugs continue carrying the torch for the old-school Sub Pop sound -- where their labelmates now fall into categories ranging from chamber-pop to dance music, this French group sticks to the tried-and-true grungy formula of an era gone by, with typically nifty results. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Not too many bands from the European continent secure release in the U.S., but this French band (who sing in English), who still remind us somewhat of the super heights of '82-'83 Social Distortion, deserve it, and how. Brought to Seattle to be produced by the right man for the job, Kurt Bloch, their latest LP is even better than previous... [+] Read More

Not too many bands from the European continent secure release in the U.S., but this French band (who sing in English), who still remind us somewhat of the super heights of '82-'83 Social Distortion, deserve it, and how. Brought to Seattle to be produced by the right man for the job, Kurt Bloch, their latest LP is even better than previous efforts, thanks to better developed chord changes, stronger riffs, more patient vocals by leader Eric, and most of all, that forest-thick twin-guitar attack courtesy of Eric and Thierry via Bloch, which, when piled on top of the expert rhythm section of Pierre Yves on bass and Christophe on drums, makes for the hardest-hitting, most powerful punk attack at slower speeds this side of the more manic Sugar and Moving Targets. The edge on this band's four/four sledgehammer-blow assault booms like a 50 pound weight dropped on your head. The songs are long and full, the tempos vary nicely song to song, the intensity never lets up, and the sweat is palpable. The faster songs such as "Harpo's Theme" and "Pa Pa Pa" don't fare as well, since they don't give the band as much chance to flex their awesome muscle, but even these are catchy and exciting enough. And on the more advanced melodies, such as the title track and the almost bubblegum-ish "Horror Toys," they strike gold. These are the only Thugs you should let in your door. ~ Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover, All Music Guide [-] Hide