Wednesday 16 November 2016

My bestest most favouritest songs ever ever - part 4

I've been waiting a while to post this favourite song, and now the time is right! As suggested by fellow blogger Swiss Adam from Bagging Area in an excellent recent post, with all the unbelievable crap that's going on around us politically and socially, we can at least resist by sharing some - to paraphrase SA (thanks!)  - 'up' tunes, songs to raise the spirit and put a smile on the face, etc.  Well, this one always puts a smile on my face - hopefully yours too.

It was actually the first song I'd ever heard by Nouvelle Vague, thanks to a friend who has inspired and delighted by sharing their musical taste with me via compilation tapes and CDs for many years.  Ten years ago, not long after the release of NV's Bande À Part album, a CD arrived which included this one, nestled alongside tracks by the Butthole Surfers, Favourite Sons, Saint Etienne, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, .... see what I mean? I was inspired and delighted indeed.

'Dance With Me' has to be not only one of my bestest most favouritest songs ever ever but also one of the sexiest.  I mean proper (improper?) sexy: dirty kinky dark (insert your personal predilection here) sexy.

Let's dance little stranger
Show me secret sins
Love can be like bondage
Seduce me once again

Ohhhhhh!  (that's me, not the song lyric)

Credit must go to Lords of the New Church of course for writing it in the first place, but to me their original sounds like the Ramones channeling Duran Duran - nothing against that idea, in fact it could be quite interesting -  but once you've heard it stripped back and sung in a female French accent there really is no turning back.

To top it all, some clever person has worked out that it fits one of my bestest most favouritest scenes ever ever in the Jean-Luc Godard nouvelle vague film, 'Bande À Part', where Anna Karina dances between Claude Brasseur and Sami Frey (a scene which influenced the dance scene with Uma Thurman and John Travolta in Pulp Fiction).   With Nouvelle Vague as its new soundtrack, the circle is so neatly completed. Perfect.


(In the spirit of Swiss Adam's suggestion)
 Fuck fascism, dance with me!

(Thanks also to TheRobster at Is This The Life? whose post prompted me to listen to some NV again!)

19 comments:

  1. I remember that one, excellent cover. The vocal fits well with Bande à part clip.
    Their cover of Making Plans for Nigel is good too, and again, so different from the original by XTC. As with any cover band, a chance to also (re)discover the originals.

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    1. Hi Chris, yes I agree, and there have been some NV versions where I didn't know the original first and checked them out on the strength of their cover - always interesting.

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  2. Good one. I haven't listened to this record in ages. Must dig it out. I like the idea of posting feel good tunes to counter the gloom too. I might have to do ten of those soon...

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    1. Hi Rol and thanks for coming by. I reckon we could really do with one of your top tens for this very purpose...look forward to it!

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  3. Loved every word of this post. In the spirit of CC's weekly Dylan duel, this is a cover that tops the original by a wide margin. Thanks to our little community, we are all rediscovering the charms of NV.

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    1. Thanks Brian - and what a lovely little community to be part of, I feel lucky. It's interesting too - yes, as in CC's Dylan series as you say! - how often a cover can be better than the original.
      I know this has never been a music blog as such but right now music seems more than ever to provide a much needed escape from grim reality!

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  4. Pretty good track, I would say, 'love is like Bondage'
    very 40 shades!
    tie me down with silk ties I'm ready for your love!

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    1. Nice to see you again Old Pa. I see this is right up your street!

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  5. I love that song and I adore Nouvelle Vague.

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  6. We may be of a similar age C but you have much cooler musical tastes to me! Love this one though and love the clip you shared. I am learning a lot via this virtual world and have found myself in the music blogging world by accident really just because writing about memories invariably means we write about the music that went along with the memory.

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    1. Oh no, not cooler, just different at times, which makes reading each other's blogs all the more interesting :-)
      I agree about the memories and music, they are very much a part of what we remember and the lives we've led; I love the way your blog combines the two.

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  7. Just caught up here- thanks for the name checking etc. Love the Nouvelle Vague tune. Trying to keep the ffld theme going.

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    1. Thanks SA - you started something with the ffld theme.

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  9. I only have Nouvelle Vague's first album and I probably haven't played that in 8 or 9 years, but hearing this little gem has made me wonder how I allowed them to drift off my radar.

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    1. I know what you mean about the radar. So many songs so little time - glad you enjoyed this one!

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  10. Hi C I have gone and done it. My book is out, give me your email and I will send you a copy. You TS and SB have made it all worth while. Send to starrieyed@hotmail.com

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    1. That's great Old Pa! I'll email you shortly, thanks.

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