Yes, this is graffiti, but it's not just any graffiti… I took this photo at 5bis rue de Verneuil in the 7th arrondissement which happens to be the former home of Serge Gainsbourg, a very famous French singer who died in March 1991. His fans contributed all of this graffiti (see this stunning video to watch the evolution over the past 5 years). Serge Gainsbourg was very talented, but he was also an alcoholic and alcohol, sometimes, made him say stupid things to say the least… A movie about his life is released today which is why he is in the news a lot.
I have been waiting for this and so has Phx! The first time I stumbled on this place I was shocked to say the least. Kinda like it now.
ReplyDeleteThis graffiti is as colorful as was his personality. Look forward to the film.
ReplyDeleteWow, it changed a lot compared to when I took some photos some months ago (see link here)...
ReplyDeleteYou can also check this (BBC article) in English if you don't know him...
ReplyDeleteThe movie looks very good. I love biopics. Can't say the same about Gainesbourg's music.
ReplyDeleteThe Whitney Houston thing is hilarious. I bet she had a fit afterwards, but probably laughs at it now.
He was really big in France huh!
ReplyDeleteI remember the Birkin bag and Charlotte Gainsbourg everytime I hear his name.
I hope they release the film here. Good thing I was looking at the trailer in an empty office. lol. I was introduced to Gainsbourg's music in the late 70s by a Frenchman. Still have the album. His daughter Charlotte is a good actress and looks like the quintessential French woman - at least in my 1960s fantasies.
ReplyDeleteThe graffiti is OK. I have seen way better.
ReplyDeleteMerci for the links.
Yeah, I remember when Serge Gainsbourg said that stuff to Whitney. He wouldn't keep his hands off of her. I think she wasn't even 21 years old yet. He was definitely creepy.
"...and alcohol, sometimes, made him say stupid things...." Well, I don't think alcohol "made" him say anything. That is like saying "guns make you kill". I am one of those people who believe that "people kill" and they sometimes use guns to do it. I only liked Serge Gainsbourg when he was young -- see his old music clips on YouTube. He digressed with age. I think he turned into what they call "a dirty old man". And it was reflected in his songs and music. A complete turn off for me. Some of his songs when they come on the radio, I turn down the volume until it's over. They are really depressing. I don't think he respected women at all.
So now we all know that Lois thinks Serge Gainsbourg was sick. Yes, I really couldn't stand him, Yuck. And Whitney was way too sweet to him. As soon as he touched her with his grubby hands, I think she should have walked.
@Coltrane_lives, "Look forward to the film." Speaking of films, I was watching the French film classic "Elevator to the Gallows" (1957) I have seen this film twice. It has a modern feel, and the Miles Davis score is clean, clear and very-very hip. A well crafted film noire of 1950's Paris. I thought of you when I was watching it since you are so into jazz. Actually, the music is so great, anyone I think would like it.
ReplyDeleteI abhor graffiti but for Serge, maybe it's fitting. His home is a trip! I love the posters of him around Paris now. I'll post one soon.
ReplyDeleteV
PS I miss Paris, Eric. :(
The graffiti certainly isn't my taste, but I like the idea behind it and the fact that the family has embraced it and that the city of Paris allows it.
ReplyDeleteVanity Fair has an interesting article here: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/11/gainsbourg200711
that really was an incredible video!
ReplyDelete& how cool that someone thought to make a video of the graffiti over time.
Neat angle on this shot Eric!
That graffiti video is certainly very cool and the intent behind all the graffiti is sweet even if it does look a little over the top. I wonder if Gainsbourg would have liked it? Probably.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that Gainsbourg would show up THAT drunk on stage! Michel Drucker almost forgot to introduce Eddie Mitchell at the end, that was so funny!! Great, great clip, I love it.
Did this clip actually air live?!!
This looks like an interesting movie, which I will definitely see. I wonder how much of his life is actually revealed since Charlotte Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin are alive and probably don't want the whole world to know their private lives?
ReplyDeleteSo I just looked at the wikipedia briefly and it looked like he descended in the abyss in the 80's. That makes sense to me, then. I remember him pre-80's for his body of work in the 60's/70's as a kind of a colorful, excentric, non-conformist sort of artistic genius.
ReplyDeleteRemember, when you look at his work, you gotta put it in context. Back then, in France at least (although I think in the US, too) it was all about the sexual revolution, etc. Now it's a little different, and especially here in the US.
Soixante-neuf, anné érotique ...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa8UvK7Z_AM
:)
You are right, Cali!I love the pix AND the video link. The wall certainly looks different from my pictures taken 2 years ago.
ReplyDeleteOccasionally, I will see the stencil someone made of Jane and Serge, on various walls around Paris. I'm sure they will be busy with more, now that the movie is out.
Lois...I agree that Miles' score for "Elevator to the Gallows" is fantastic. As a matter of fact, though I enjoyed the film, I enjoyed Miles' soundtrack even more. Merci~ Coltrane.
ReplyDeleteKnew what this was right away, Eric! Still spent a long time enjoying (or cringing at, in the case of the Whitney Houston video) your links. I agree with Lois—he kind of detiorated and became un vieux sale. We ran in the same circles in the '60s and were neighbors. At the time, I loved him but hated her (Jane, that is). Looking back, I was probably just envious of her. Foolish me!
ReplyDeleteBTW, I never ever saw him without a cigarette!
ReplyDelete@alexa. I don't think anyone did. Probably smoked in the shower, too. ;)
ReplyDeleteSo what does this do to the property value, I wonder? In this case, it probably raises it. I take it the family still lives there, so it probably doesn't matter. Just musing.
ReplyDeleteI'd have been shocked if I didn't know the back story. I like your tipsy angle, Eric ~ very fitting. ;)
ReplyDeleteTomate, LOL!
I think Gainsbourg was much more than just a singer! He was a great composer and poet! And even if he turned "different" in the last years (Gainsbourg turned to Gainsbarre), his art remains ;-)
ReplyDeleteHowever, as far as I know, this last part of his life is not shown in the movie.
@Petrea: I don't think anybody lives in this house. It is still owned by the family. They had a project to make it a museum, but apparently, it's not that easy...
Thanks, Thib.
ReplyDeleteGreat shot.
ReplyDeleteYes Lois - Gainsbourg was a fantastic poet and singer who definitely turned into a dirty old man - except he also was a dirty young man.
ReplyDeleteAs a woman I've always felt there was something extremely unpleasant about him, even though I'd never seen the Whitney Houston incident before. Too much alcohol and drug abuse, yuk.
The movie trailer actually looks really good....tooo bad it'll take 10 months to find it here in the local second run indy movie theater! I couldn't get the grafitti movie to work though....
ReplyDeleteThe Whitney clip though was hilarious...in a non PC way of course!
Sean
@Nathalie... You made me laugh just now "except he also was a dirty young man." I'm still laughing. Touché
ReplyDelete@Thib... "this last part of his life is not shown in the movie."
There is a lot of material to put into a film just focusing on Gainsbourg's early years.
@Coltrane... You already saw the film -- I thought so. The music is awesome!
@Alexa... "he kind of deteriorated and became un vieux sale." When I was writing my comment I thought of you. I said to myself, Alexa is going to agree with me. You and I "ran in the same circles". It's like I've always known you.
@Monica... "He was really big in France huh!" You are so cute -- what a baby! You make me laugh. Now I really feel old.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET ERIC. :) Having fun I hope.
I read somewhere once that as a boy Gainsbourg had to wear one of those little Jewish stars on his clothes. And that he had a tough childhood. I was listening to a stand-up comedian last week, and the comedian was Jewish. The comedian said "Jews and Blacks have a lot in common. The Blacks like to sing the blues and the Jews like to whine." I thought that was funny, and so true.
ReplyDeleteAmazing graffiti! Happy Birthday Eric!
ReplyDeleteSuperb video, super well found, I concur too!!!
ReplyDeleteIn the Gainsbourg family, my favorite is his daughter Charlotte and ... I must admit, her husband Yvan Attal! Something clever and strong. I like their couple. Charlotte has changed a lot from her beginnings and I think she owes many things to him and to her love for him. Kind of a mentor and lover.
Funny how the comments are really passionate, one way or the other.
ReplyDeleteGainsbourg to me is like the Arc de Triomphe. He's a huge icon, or monument in French culture, like him or not.
Tomate Farcie
@Lois - You and I were watching Elevator to the Gallows at the same time!! I never heard of it before this weekend. It was, like, crazy, man! Lots of chic Parisians. Lots of nice twists. Lots of groovy music. What's not to love?!
ReplyDeleteI loved the grafitti video! How did they do that? Did they have to photoshop alot of the lower levels that were covered?
Eric il est minuit quatre à la montre de mon ordi et ta photo pour le grand jour n'est pas encore parue ? Mais que fait le birthday boy ???
ReplyDeleteIL arrive, il arrive !!
ReplyDeleteEnfin! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI echo some of the comments above. To certain longtemps admirers of France and French film, Gainsbourg pere is just a footnote to Charlotte Gainsbourg, one of a few so so beautifully French actresses.
ReplyDeleteSigh.
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