les histoires d'a

Die Romantik will play their last show of the year this friday november 30th at Soundfix in Williamburg, they will go on at 9pm. Listen to their recent interview and live show on PRI here... and come to the show this week!

I just came across a very interesting article on Serge Gainsbourg written in Vanity Fair's november issue. The piece focuses on his apartment on rue de Verneuil, which has been kept intact since his death in 1991, thanks to his daughter Charlotte. Charlotte has been trying for years to turn the apartment into a museum, a fantastic idea if you ask me, but one that the french government (and probably the neighbors) have been somewhat resisting.
The outside of the 5 bis rue de Verneuil is already a piece of art in itself. Long before Serge died, fans had started coming from all over the world to see where their hero lived and to leave messages and graffitis on the bare walls. I read that it amused and greatly flattered Serge. After his passing, hundreds of people continued to come regularly to write their own messages. The wall became a stunning mosaic of words, stencils and colors. In the article, Charlotte mentions that seven years ago, the neighbors were so appalled by the graffitis on their street that they decided to paint it overnight... thankfully, the fans came right back to re-decorate the wall with their special words to Serge.
For the last 10 years or so, every time i go home to Paris, i make it a point to go rue de Verneuil to look at the wall, observe its evolution, take pictures and read the new messages. I've actually never written on it myself, but i love going there. It's become a personal ritual of sorts. I find going to cemeteries depressing, in fact i've never been to Cimetiere Montparnasse where Serge is buried, but going to Serge's house has always been a really touching and somewhat uplifting experience. In the short film Adam made this past summer in Paris, you can see me walking by the apartment, looking in, wondering what it's like inside. I took this picture of the wall sometime in 2000, and if you do a google/flickr search for rue de Verneuil, you can find countless of photos taken by visitors. Needless to say, i really really hope Charlotte succeeds in opening the doors of rue de Verneuil to the public.

5 bis rue de Verneuil - Summer 2007

And in sad news today, Fred Chichin, one half of the famous eccentric french pop-rock band Les Rita Mitsouko died today at 53. You can regularly hear Les Rita Mitsouko on my EVR show... i'll certainly be playing them next week.

1986's The No Comprendo is one Les Rita Mitsouko's favorite albums of mine.