Monday, April 14, 2008

Rap at the Opera!


On Saturday, I was on the Place de la Bastille when I suddenly heard "noise" (OK, music!) coming from the steps of the Opera. Nothing like a bel canto aria, but... something that sounded more like rap. You know me... I grabbed my camera and started shooting. It looked more like the set of a video clip to me than an actual performance, but what I can tell you for sure is that the refrain went "trop vénère" which means "Très énervé" (very upset/angry) in slang. I'll let you know if this band becomes famous. PS: before you ask, the blurry effect is 100% natural!

60 comments:

  1. This is definitely a photo you'd like to "hear" as well as see. What is the name of the band?

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  2. Amazing energy coming from this photo Eric! Yes do tell us the group's name, if you know it, so we can keep a look out for a video. Maybe we'll see you in the background!

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  3. I once saw/heard a musician on the steps of the Bastille Opera doing a good impersonation of Jimi Hendrix on guitar. I guess that spot can be saturated with music inside and out (along with the sound of skate boards on the traffic island).

    This photo is another one of those, "Feel like I'm right there in Paris," experiences. Thanks.

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  4. Oh yeah! So energetic! I love the blur, the purple, the hot pink! Woohoo!

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  5. Eric you did it again. Great photo, fantastic natural effect!!!

    I feel like I'm in the photo, moving along... I don't know what this music sounds like but I'm ready to jump off the sofa and start dancing on my living room floor!

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  6. This looks like a film still. aReally captured what "live" music, good or bad is all about. Perhaps "you tube" stars already.The girl's outfit is just so fabulous.

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  7. I want those jeans. They wouldn't fit me but i still want them. Looks like a fish-eye lens, Eric, but i believe you! lol. A great, lively shot.

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  8. Lynn had a pair of hot pink corduroy pants in the 80s, which I wore with a lime green Izod sweater. I STILL cringe when I think of that outfit! I don't think I could pull off the pink pants look today. This guy (gal?) looks fairly modern though.

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  9. You wore my pants, Katie? I don't recall that at all. LOL !

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  10. Oops Lynn, I meant to write that I had a pair of pants like that! I really should look at what I type before I hit send. But maybe you had that same pair of pants too!!

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  11. Lynn, you are shameless. I believe Katie worn pants in the 80's.

    I don't think that is a woman. I think he's a man. Because his hands are big. His physique looks masculine to me.

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  12. Good shot! You had me worried there for a minute. I thought the Opera Garnier had decided to do away with traditional stuff and started featuring 50 cents or something.

    Rap is not all bad, though. I surprised some kids once by showing them the (very) few rap artists I have in my iPod. I guess they didn't know someone "like me" could appreciate the early stuff of Eminem ;)

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  13. I had fire engine red pants once (shocking for a tomato, I know) That was a long time ago, though, before I started looking like one. Ahem. (Hint: The pants matched my disco /platform multicolor shoes). WTF were we thinking, with these colors, uh? ;)

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  14. lol i laughed Katie at your forgetting the 'I' he he.Well i have to inform you that only 4 years ago i had a fab pair of trousers in pink candy stripe oh yes. I loved them. They unfortunately shrank in the wash though - it wasn't the chocolate i eat - so i gave them to a friend whose hips annoyingly seemed to fit them better, despite the biscuits i soon and bitterly forced upon her.

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  15. I had some pink and white striped pants too (I called them my crazy pants).

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  16. This Rap singer, DIAM, is popular in Paris right now -- I think she is adorable. Here is a link to her hit music video, La Bouteille.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU3FLXATG4A&feature=related

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  17. This Rap singer, DIAM, is popular in Paris right now -- I think she is adorable. Here is a link to her hit music video, La Bouteille.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU3FLXATG4A&feature=related

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  18. I don't know why it did that twice. Sorry. I think my computer froze and I thought it didn't go through.

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  19. I love the way this picture is clear with the blurry edges! People try all sorts of things to get this effect and you do it naturally! Congrats on another great photo!

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  20. The B&W posters in the background really caught my eye-interesting.Also taking the picture in this way & focusing on the audience-we get to see what the rappers saw. Very cool. Very nice!

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  21. Oh my god, Eric, I hope your aunt is all right.

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  22. There is no doubt the picture is fantastic and Lynn's hot skinny's add to the overall effect.
    But isn't it typical of Rappers to come up with this act right on the door stops of the Opera? Can't they be more original and less aggressive?

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  23. So, you were in the Opera at the Bastille which places you up on the steps I presume. I'm sure they caught you on camera so it would be cool to find out who they are.

    Petrea, you know I thought of you when I saw those hot pink trousers. Maybe they were singing your song!

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  24. This looks like a lensbaby shot. Good pic!

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  25. Michael, you'd be the first person in a long time to think of me when seeing hot pink trousers.

    I did have some pretty fine white bell-bottoms once. The bells were so wide we called them "elephant bells." I was stylin'.

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  26. Nice "petit rap de l'opéra"
    ;)
    Karine

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  27. LOL Petrea!! he he. I had bell-bottoms too, oh the name even; brings back memories. Flares, but hey do you remember Oxford Bags too? Or was that a British thing. These were new in that they flared from the thighs, not just the knees. Mine had a loud plaid print and a turn-up at the hem. Yes i know you're all screaming with laughter now but believe me at the time, I was 'hip'. LOL. There's obviously quite a few of us old style-leaders on here, grooving through our psychadelic memories today. Er... man.

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  28. I'm really afraid of where this "bell-bottom" discussion may end up. Should I be hiding?

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  29. Oh dear Eric,

    I can't find the link to Zurich Daily Blog....did you remove it? It's not classified under 'Europe'...or am I looking in the wrong place?

    Can anyone tell me?

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  30. It does look like everyone is enjoying themselves. Nice shot, Eric.

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  31. Sure, photolicious,
    Ainz has a super blog

    http://zurichdailyphoto.blogspot.com/

    C'était trop facile ! !

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  32. Such a great shot! The blur through the crowd appears to be caused by the sound from the performers.

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  33. Nice picture Eric! In the move!

    I'm not sure that they're going to be famous with such a refrain: "trop vénère". ;)
    They seem to belong to the Tektonik movement :S more than to the Rap movement actually. Maybe it was a joke, something like...a bet? :)

    Girls, so bad that I was born in the 80's, I would have loved sharing your taste for the bell-bottoms (nothing to add Michael? Sure?) and pink pants...
    My generation had some ashamed clothes too, me included. LOL

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  34. The Zurich Daily Photo link Eric posted was actually from a guy named Richard.
    http://zurich.dailyphoto.forthmedia.com/dailyphoto/

    It looks like Ainz might not have posted in a while. Too bad, I like his sense of humor.

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  35. this is wonderful! I like the blur and the bright splash of pink color!

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  36. Great blur.
    Loved the way you putted in your profile that there are friendly parisians! :)
    It's true, it's true ...that they do exist but ...

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  37. You really managed to capture the energy of this performance. Love this shot.

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  38. Cool shot - I can't believe it blurred on its own. I vote that the person in pink pants is a dude. La vie en rose...

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  39. Dude look like a lady . . .

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  40. I too feel that the person is the pink pants is male... they have very masculine hands and appear to be wearing boxer shorts. It makes more of a statement for a male to be wearing bright pink pants than for a woman as well...

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  41. Oh yes..baggy, high waisted pants, bell bottoms, platform shoes, "shag" haircuts, it's all coming back to me now! LOL!

    michael...very slick new photo! ;-)

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  42. It's a dude to me (no breast and no bra mark!).
    This kind of outfits is very popular in France for few months. Mika influence maybe!

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  43. I agree with you : the person in the pink pants is for me a boy! Pink is no more an only girly color !!! But it doesn't suit to every man... What about you Eric : pink pants?? No I don't imagine you with pink pants, do you ? :)

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  44. Yeah, the Mika influence. It looks like it to me too.

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  45. Come on Michael, without your input, the bottom will go out of our bells. We know you had some. In fact, i think i recall some rather small red ones? Does my memory serve me correctly?? he he

    Ok girls i've given in to your request for more men in short shorts. They await you at Cheltenham. tut. Nothing to do with me.....(whistle)

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  46. Anonyme : Nice "petit rap de l'opéra" LOL

    FYI the person in the pink pants is definitely a male.

    The Zurich Daily Photo link is zurich.dailyphoto.forthmedia.com/dailyphoto/index.cfm/2008/4/11/Eiffel-Tower
    (AND it's not the one of AinZ M. Benaut)
    I don't know why he does not show on the portal, we're currently checking.

    Guille "My generation had some ashamed clothes too, me included. LOL" Yeah, kinda I'd like to see what those teenagers who wear baggy pants that unveil their underwear will think when they see photos of themselves in 10 years!!
    As for me, in the 70's (late 70's!) I use to have long hair, I wore grand'pa shirts, Swedish wooden clogs...

    Corinne "What about you Eric : pink pants?? No I don't imagine you with pink pants, do you ? :)"
    Er... No, not really... But I can buy some for the picnic ;)

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  47. LOL Eric !!
    I confirm (for me at least) you needn't buy pink pants for the picnic !! But photos of you in the late 70's, oh yes ... that could be fun!!! ;)

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  48. "But photos of you in the late 70's, oh yes ... that could be fun!!!" Sounds like a good theme day opportunity.

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  49. Hair down to my waist, black Triumph motorcycle. Rock and roll, baby. Bad to the bone. (Er, I did have quite a number of hip-hugger bell bottoms as well...) Whatever. Fashion is circular, style is forever. (Did Grace Kelly say that?)

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  50. Oh goodness Eric we HAVE to see photos of you in the 70s oh please oh pretty please? lol what fun.

    I agree about the baggy trousers showing more than a glimpse of Calvin Kleins. Ew. Why do they do it? Some jeans i saw the other day were so low i swear they were about to fall down. I waited. And waited.

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  51. Eric with long hair???!!! I can't picture that!!!!!!!

    Even if I weren't a baby during the 70's I would NEVER have worn bell bottom pants, I simply can't see any beauty in it. (sauf Michael's bell bottom fo course)

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  52. It's often not until we're older that we see the folly of fashion, Monica. Or maybe I should just say I didn't see the folly of it when I was young. I just wanted to be cool and wear what everyone else was wearing. Everyone was wearing bell-bottoms, so I wore them.

    Now the girls are wearing tight low-riders that show off baggy bellies. Boys wear such baggy pants they're constantly having to pull them up. But hey, it's in style. They have to wear those things just to be cool. Or at least, that's what they think.

    I'm glad I was of the bell-bottom generation.

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  53. Now THIS one, I slightly jealous about! You had to be there. I mean, you had to have the guts to put yourself in the right position to get this shot, and not everyone would have done so - good on ya!

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  54. Petrea I understand. But in bell botom case, I've notice that in some parts of the world it is "back" (because that's the way fashion goes) and I still can't find it attractive!

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  55. This is such an awesome photo, the way it practically pops out at you. I'm amazed. :) By the way, I've been reading this blog for about a month now and I absolutely love it. I hope to go to Paris in a couple years, and this makes me want to go even more!!

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  56. Hehehe first thing that came into my mind when I looked at the pic was: what kind of effect did he use to get the blur? Very nice indeed!

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  57. I like the blog ! au revoir mon frere.

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