I've only just got into Serge Gainsbourg. Gasp! This man must be one of the world's most influential musicians, and was responsible for Je t'aime... moi non plus, Bonnie and Clyde and Comic Strip. What's taken me so long? Especially as I visited his grave in Montparnasse Cemetery a few years ago. I always assumed he was an eccentric singer beloved by a few, but when I was the amount of flowers on his grave I realised he was actually an eccentric singer/director/writer beloved by many. My bad.Language has probably been a big barrier, as much of Serge's oeuvre (check me out) is in French. Some people claim they don't listen to the lyrics, but words/language get me all excited. And I've been learning French. I've perpetually been learning French for years now, and I'm getting quite good. Recently I've been able to listen to songs in French and just about understand them. Do I feel smug? Of course I do.
I've been getting well acquainted with Serge and have discovered that Love On The Beat is a fantastic album. Apart from Lemon Incest. That's not a cultural difference - a sexually provocative duet with your 12 year old daughter is just wrong. Don't start telling me it's ambiguous. I know the video makes you feel uncomfortable too.
All this Serge-ing has made me wonder what else I've been missing out on because I've been stuck in my English-speaking world. There's a lot of other worlds out there - French-speaking, German-speaking, Spanish-speaking etc - full of music I haven't yet heard. I might not understand all the lyrics, but does that really matter?
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