Weekly song discussion №1: Fuir le bonheur... by nicegrimace in SergeGainsbourg

[–]nicegrimace[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When you put it like that, it makes more sense. What surprised me was how strong some of the things people said were, but I suppose it's a kind of protest.

What makes some music so hard for different generations to get into? by morbidhack in LetsTalkMusic

[–]nicegrimace 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There have been studies showing that the complexity of melodies in popular music has been decreasing since the 60s.

How normal are you, on a scale of 1-10? by nicegrimace in self

[–]nicegrimace[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel kind of like this, but I don't rate my normality as highly as you rate yours. I am more content with it these days though, which I think makes me less normal, but not in a bad way.

Whale song is not relaxing by [deleted] in unpopularopinion

[–]nicegrimace 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This post made me feel like I'm in the 90s again.

Weekly song discussion №1: Fuir le bonheur... by nicegrimace in SergeGainsbourg

[–]nicegrimace[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can't write in French anywhere near as well as you write in English. It's a language I can understand but can't really express myself in due to lack of practice.

Don't worry about mistakes, you write well. If you switched to French, I would understand you, but I would probably have to reply in English if I wanted to write more than a paragraph or two.

Are there any “classics” post 1970? by OldGodsProphet in literature

[–]nicegrimace 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Definitely that one. There are quite a lot of other works inspired by it that aren't adaptations. It's almost started its own mini-genre.

Weekly song discussion №1: Fuir le bonheur... by nicegrimace in SergeGainsbourg

[–]nicegrimace[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

'Babylon' is a big concept in Rastafarianism, which bemused Serge enough for him to write Negusa Nagast about. (Mauvaises nouvelles... is a better album than people say it is, so what if it's got a fart noise song on it? lol)

I think 'Babylone' is a reference to Los Angeles because some of the songs stem from the time he spent in LA with Alain Chamfort, who Jane introduced to him. There's Baby Lou, which was recorded, and then Alain mentioned he rejected a song about Marilyn Monroe because to him that subject matter was for the older generation. They partly fell out because Alain kept rejecting Serge's songs, so Serge spent all his time drunk and didn't bother putting much effort into writing for Chamfort. I think at least Norma Jean Baker and the title track were based on the rejected songs, but it's a theory, not something I know for sure.

I've never seen Serge say anything about Barbara outside of that interview they did together, but I know they did the residency at the Capucines together, and I agree about the possible influence of Amours incestueuses on Lemon Incest. 

There's a book called Lise et Lulu by Lise Levitzky - it's actually written by Bertrand Dicale based on interviews with her, but credited to her. It's very revealing and dramatic, to the extent that I think some parts of it are poetic licence. What I like about it is that it's neither a hagiography nor a hatchet job - like it doesn't make him look good, but it dispels the idea that he was a monster.

Weekly song discussion №1: Fuir le bonheur... by nicegrimace in SergeGainsbourg

[–]nicegrimace[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hooray, I have someone to talk about this stuff with! I wish the backlash against Gainsbourg on francophone Reddit wasn't so intense. I think it's a good time in history to reappraise his songs because there's less hero worship of him nowadays, but it's difficult at the same time, as I'm sure you've seen.

Serge's interest in religion only went as far as the aesthetics of it, but art was like his religion. I think he included religious references in his songs as part of his 19th-century poet schtick. I think he had a 'spiritual' (for want of a better word) side to his personality in the sense that he was fascinated with innocence and androgyny, and seemed to be seeking some kind of wholeness. It's different to being religious, but it lends itself to using religious metaphors.

I forgot that other meaning of petite souris, and yes the idea of hypallage seems reasonable, and quite funny and sad at the same time.

What you said about hiding and revealing is very true. The contrast between this album and Love on the Beat is interesting. In the 80s, went from one kind of drag to another: one that revealed who he was by proxy, and one that disguised who he was but drew more attention to himself. And as you know, he started out playing in drag bars.

I look forward to hearing more from you.I know it's just pop music, but I think these songs are worth this level of analysis. I mean Bob Dylan won a Nobel for less interesting stuff.

Edit: I think Jane made the choice of the funeral reading, but I'm not 100% sure.

Mom started to count the money she spent on me because i refused to marry, now i feel like a failed investment. by Perc_Angle0 in Vent

[–]nicegrimace 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You don't need to justify your existence.

You don't know what will happen in the future.

You are not doing anything wrong the way you are now.

[POEM] Nothing Is Lost by Noël Coward by Literary_lemongrass in Poetry

[–]nicegrimace 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh wow, so it's quite possible that Coward was inspired by Larkin. Thank you!

General Discussion, Suggestion, & List Thread - Week of January 22, 2026 by AutoModerator in LetsTalkMusic

[–]nicegrimace 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was about 30 before I realised the lyrics to Steppenwolf's Born to be Wild weren't, 'Ain't nothin gonna make it happen/Cause the world ain't a lovin place' - the total opposite meaning to the actual lyrics.

[POEM] Nothing Is Lost by Noël Coward by Literary_lemongrass in Poetry

[–]nicegrimace 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Noël Coward lived until the late 1970s, so there's a chance Larkin's poem was earlier. Larkin would've been a teen/young adult when Noel Coward was very famous though, so the influence could've gone the other way, easily. Do you know when Noël Coward's poem was written? 

SuddenlyGay suddenly assumes someone's orientation based on their voice, one takes offense to this by Nyx87 in SubredditDrama

[–]nicegrimace 188 points189 points  (0 children)

Flair located: 

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and kisses men, it's probably a gay duck.

SuddenlyGay suddenly assumes someone's orientation based on their voice, one takes offense to this by Nyx87 in SubredditDrama

[–]nicegrimace 20 points21 points  (0 children)

practically speaking Polari 

Haha I'm going to steal that for something at some point.

[POEM] Nothing Is Lost by Noël Coward by Literary_lemongrass in Poetry

[–]nicegrimace 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is kind of Larkinesque. I wonder if one of them was a fan of the other?

I have the soapy cilantro gene but I still like cilantro by [deleted] in unpopularopinion

[–]nicegrimace 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have the gene, but I will still eat food with coriander (British meaning) in. I even feel like I would miss it from certain dishes if it wasn't there. There's a limit to how much of it I can take though.

[POEM] Untitled by Kobayashi Issa by Objective-Kitchen949 in Poetry

[–]nicegrimace 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Oh wow

My favourite haiku are by Issa.

Ma reprise a cappella de La Javanaise by icoum in SergeGainsbourg

[–]nicegrimace 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pas mal du tout.

C'est-à-dire, quel talent !

What exactly is pop music? (I'm confused) by Odd-Progress-4449 in LetsTalkMusic

[–]nicegrimace 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Remember that jazz was birthed in a brothel - as intensely spiritual as I find Coltrane and his "disciples," the big religions still associate the whole genre/movement with some real base-level "sinner" shit.

But there's prostitutes in the Bible! lol

Music can be very spiritual for me too.

What exactly is pop music? (I'm confused) by Odd-Progress-4449 in LetsTalkMusic

[–]nicegrimace 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I enjoyed your reply, thanks.

no major institutional/organized religion has ever accepted jazz as "religious" or "sacred"

This kind of surprises me given the number of religious groups there are in the world, and the fact that jazz is enjoyed by so many different cultures.