There were so many phenomenal, world-building women artists coming out of Canada in the late 80s. Mylène Farmer, Dalbello, Jane Siberry, and Mary Margaret O'Hara immediately come to mind.
Did they ever produce bad music in Canada? 😁 I'm starting to think they didn't!
All great names, by the way. Lisa Dalbello is a particular favorite of mine. I've got some fantastic 12-inch versions of her songs in the collection. She'll definitely be getting an episode of her own further down the line!
Yeah, something in the water in Canada was making everyone crazy talented. I also seem to remember Mylene was a huge inspiration to the biggest Japanese visual kei band of all time, Malice Mizer. So she single-handedly sparked vkei's obsession with French imagery. I'll be excited to see a Dalbello post, definitely.
Mylène's albums were never officially released in the UK or the US, yet every one of them received an official release in Japan. She must have built a considerable following there. That sounds like a fascinating story in itself. 😁
My ponderings on this subject tend to head in the same direction as yours. The main reason for not crossing over (like Celine) is that she knows who she is and what she wants to do. I don't get the sense that global fame and what that entails is on her wish list. Quite the opposite in fact as she seems to relish anonymity.
"Giorgino" was a disaster, but it scratched an itch for both Laurent and Mylène. After that, Mylène seems to have found that she preferred creating short music films and huge live shows to taking direction as an actress. Being put on the back burner by Laurent for the movie probably had a lot to do with the future direction of her career too. Tellingly - Laurent's name is nowhere to be found in the "Nevermore" credits and remerciments save for the songs that he composed.
Timing is a big deal too. I live in the USA and discovered her at an FNAC in Brussels during a business trip when "Anamorphosée" was being promoted. I looked for her in my local record stores but found nothing. Johnny, Edith, and Celine's "D'eux" - yes, but Mylène? Elle ne existe pas. It wasn't until streaming services started offering unlimited streaming and downloads that I was able to explore the rest of the rest of her discography and discover her videos.
And "Yes!" on her Frenchness. I've listened to the English versions of her early hits ("My Mum Is Wrong", "Bad Girl", "My Soul Is Slashed"), and they don't do justice to the lyrics of the originals. French is a much better language for playing with words and sounds than English. I'm glad she stayed true to her self by making English an exception that is done mainly via bilingual duets.
A side note about Canada - I discovered the "Canadian Madonna" during the same trip that I discovered Mylène. Her name is Mitsou, and she's actually more like Cyndi Lauper than M. She is another artist who eschewed the international pop scene. She released a single compilation album in Europe and it didn't catch on. She continued to do songs in French and English in Canada until ~2005 before moving on to become a radio personality. Like Mylène and unlike Celine, she had little interest in global stardom. And like Mylène, she's not known for having the huge voice that Quebecois use as their primary metric for deciding who can and cannot sing. French-speaking Canada has never taken a big enough interest in Mylène for her to take her shows there.
I largely agree, Robert. On the question of fame, though, I got the impression it was actually the other way around. I think international success was very much on her wishlist, and certainly on that of her record company, but she wasn't prepared to embrace the machinery that came with it. She genuinely seemed to value her anonymity.
Knowing the French record company a little from my own time working there, and having had the pleasure of sitting in meetings with the CEO of Universal France, with whom she had an excellent relationship, I'm convinced they would have loved to see her become an international star. But the phenomenal success of Désenchantée also made her virtually untouchable. She had earned the right to do things her own way.
Giorgino was a disaster in every sense of the word. Laurent wanted to become a film director, not just a record producer, so when he finally got his chance and the film failed so spectacularly, it effectively closed that door. It took him more than ten years before he was able to direct another feature, and on a much smaller scale than the Giorgino project. You're absolutely right, though, that the film was one of the reasons they worked less closely together afterwards.
I don't know her more recent work all that well. The last album I really spent time with was Interstellaires in 2015. You've reminded me that I should catch up on the more recent albums. And I don't know Mitsou at all, so I'm definitely going to check her out. Thanks for the recommendation!
Thanks for reading and for taking the time to comment, Robert. It's very much appreciated. Hope you have a great start to the week!
Fortunate enough to have been aware of Mylene Farmer since I picked up a copy of L'Autre in the early nineties. I believe I got mine secondhand from one of the Record and Tape Exchanges in London, probably an unwanted freebie dumped by a music journo or Polydor employee as she meant zilch here in the UK. I know I'd already read Francis Farmer's harrowing autobiography Will There Really Be A Morning by then, so perhaps I sensed the connection in the name. I would certainly have been attracted by that striking cover art with the raven.
You'd certainly never get Kylie, bless her, ripping off Barry Lyndon or crawling naked across church floors drenched in blood (L'Ame-Stram-Gram)! But then French pop music, like French film, has never shyed away from sex or art, ,which is one of the things I love about it.
L'Autre still remains a favourite, especially Psychiatric, with that John Hurt sample from The Elephant Man and Beyond My Control.
Here's a polished version that reads naturally while keeping your warm, enthusiastic tone:
My favorite film of all time is *Dangerous Liaisons* with Glenn Close and John Malkovich. *Beyond My Control* is based on that film and fits perfectly with Mylène's 18th-century-inspired video adventures.
*L'Autre...* is indeed a fantastic album. In fact, I'd even say *Désenchantée* isn't the best song on it.
I was really looking forward to your reaction, Paul, because I know by now how much you love French music. And you're absolutely right, they do love venturing a little further than everyone else. 😁
Thanks for reading and for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it.
This was incredible, Pe. I immediately asked my husband if he knew her and of course he did 🤣 but I had no idea about her.
What I find really valuable here is that you took the time to explain the cultural peculiarities of your country, which, as we know, go beyond a mere difference in language. The fact that you were exposed, culturally and musically, to two different worlds whilst living in a relatively small country clearly informed your sensitivity to cultural nuances and gave you a rich cultural awareness, all of which shines brightly in your work.
You’re right, Andy. My Belgian upbringing really helped me with the research for the upcoming Canada series. In many ways, Canada feels like a bigger version of Belgium, at least from my perspective. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I love the country so much. 😁
Was your husband a fan as well? Thanks for reading, taking the time to comment, and for the restack. It’s much appreciated. Enjoy the weekend!
Thank you, Pe! And the praise is very well deserved. I asked Stephan whether he was a fan and he said he never was a fan in the true sense of the word but he liked her and used to have at least one of her records. Interestingly, his (straight) brother liked her more 😂 Go figure.
Haha... Mylène is, or was, quite universal. At her concerts you see a large LGBTQ+ contingent, of course, but certainly not only that. It’s a little different with Madonna.
I only became familiar with Farmer when she released the album Interstellaires in 2015. Two of the English-language songs on it were particularly notable. One was a duet with Sting called Stolen Car and another was her remake of Cheap Trick's I Want You to Want Me.
Wow, I had no idea that Interstellaires had brought her greater visibility. I knew the song with Sting, of course, but when I discovered during my research that it had been a dance number one in the US, I was genuinely surprised. I’ve lost touch a little with her more recent material. Did you like the album, Dan?
Thanks for reading and taking the time to react. Have a great weekend!
Well, because I don't know French it was harder for me to get into the songs in that language. However, I did quite like the sound of the overall album and the songs I mentioned.
I checked my database and realized I don't actually have the full album. I only bought four of the tracks. Listening to them again reminded me how much I liked *À Rebours* and *C'est Pas Moi*. I'll have to give the English-language tracks another listen.
Mylene never reached my ears back in the day. I don't know if she could have even if she qualfied as CanCon. The language barrier is big here. Apart from The Box and Mitsou, songs en francais did not really go over outside Quebec. But that was the biggest disco-producing market, which is funny because they also loved prog
I'm in the middle of preparing my August CanCon disco series, and it's turning into a fascinating story. I always thought the existence of two parallel worlds living side by side, without paying too much attention to each other, was something uniquely Belgian. But the more I read, the more I realise it's also a pretty good description of the relationship between French-speaking and English-speaking Canada, especially in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick.
It's probably one of the reasons I find this story so fascinating. 😁
Thanks Pe. I had never heard of her. I love her voice and this Desenchantee song is fabulous. I will be digging in further on this. Production on this track is excellent.
She's got quite a few great albums, Taz. The album that Désenchantée was the lead single from, L'Autre..., is her most successful and a great place to start. Or you could try Interstellaires from 2015. That's the one featuring her duet with Sting, which became a big dance hit in the US.
And yes, Boutonnat's production is absolutely superb.
Thanks for reading, and have a great rest of the week!
This was fantastic Pé! I’d never heard of Mylène Farmer before and neither had my Québécois wife! I’m really excited to read your work on the CanCon influence on dance music.
Thanks, Mark. It remains a mystery to me why even Québec never really got on board with Mylène. My theory is that her sound was simply too European for the North American market.
Is Tina of French-speaking or English-speaking background?
August is going to be CanCon month. It's going to be a big adventure! 😁
There were so many phenomenal, world-building women artists coming out of Canada in the late 80s. Mylène Farmer, Dalbello, Jane Siberry, and Mary Margaret O'Hara immediately come to mind.
Did they ever produce bad music in Canada? 😁 I'm starting to think they didn't!
All great names, by the way. Lisa Dalbello is a particular favorite of mine. I've got some fantastic 12-inch versions of her songs in the collection. She'll definitely be getting an episode of her own further down the line!
Yeah, something in the water in Canada was making everyone crazy talented. I also seem to remember Mylene was a huge inspiration to the biggest Japanese visual kei band of all time, Malice Mizer. So she single-handedly sparked vkei's obsession with French imagery. I'll be excited to see a Dalbello post, definitely.
Mylène's albums were never officially released in the UK or the US, yet every one of them received an official release in Japan. She must have built a considerable following there. That sounds like a fascinating story in itself. 😁
My ponderings on this subject tend to head in the same direction as yours. The main reason for not crossing over (like Celine) is that she knows who she is and what she wants to do. I don't get the sense that global fame and what that entails is on her wish list. Quite the opposite in fact as she seems to relish anonymity.
"Giorgino" was a disaster, but it scratched an itch for both Laurent and Mylène. After that, Mylène seems to have found that she preferred creating short music films and huge live shows to taking direction as an actress. Being put on the back burner by Laurent for the movie probably had a lot to do with the future direction of her career too. Tellingly - Laurent's name is nowhere to be found in the "Nevermore" credits and remerciments save for the songs that he composed.
Timing is a big deal too. I live in the USA and discovered her at an FNAC in Brussels during a business trip when "Anamorphosée" was being promoted. I looked for her in my local record stores but found nothing. Johnny, Edith, and Celine's "D'eux" - yes, but Mylène? Elle ne existe pas. It wasn't until streaming services started offering unlimited streaming and downloads that I was able to explore the rest of the rest of her discography and discover her videos.
And "Yes!" on her Frenchness. I've listened to the English versions of her early hits ("My Mum Is Wrong", "Bad Girl", "My Soul Is Slashed"), and they don't do justice to the lyrics of the originals. French is a much better language for playing with words and sounds than English. I'm glad she stayed true to her self by making English an exception that is done mainly via bilingual duets.
A side note about Canada - I discovered the "Canadian Madonna" during the same trip that I discovered Mylène. Her name is Mitsou, and she's actually more like Cyndi Lauper than M. She is another artist who eschewed the international pop scene. She released a single compilation album in Europe and it didn't catch on. She continued to do songs in French and English in Canada until ~2005 before moving on to become a radio personality. Like Mylène and unlike Celine, she had little interest in global stardom. And like Mylène, she's not known for having the huge voice that Quebecois use as their primary metric for deciding who can and cannot sing. French-speaking Canada has never taken a big enough interest in Mylène for her to take her shows there.
I largely agree, Robert. On the question of fame, though, I got the impression it was actually the other way around. I think international success was very much on her wishlist, and certainly on that of her record company, but she wasn't prepared to embrace the machinery that came with it. She genuinely seemed to value her anonymity.
Knowing the French record company a little from my own time working there, and having had the pleasure of sitting in meetings with the CEO of Universal France, with whom she had an excellent relationship, I'm convinced they would have loved to see her become an international star. But the phenomenal success of Désenchantée also made her virtually untouchable. She had earned the right to do things her own way.
Giorgino was a disaster in every sense of the word. Laurent wanted to become a film director, not just a record producer, so when he finally got his chance and the film failed so spectacularly, it effectively closed that door. It took him more than ten years before he was able to direct another feature, and on a much smaller scale than the Giorgino project. You're absolutely right, though, that the film was one of the reasons they worked less closely together afterwards.
I don't know her more recent work all that well. The last album I really spent time with was Interstellaires in 2015. You've reminded me that I should catch up on the more recent albums. And I don't know Mitsou at all, so I'm definitely going to check her out. Thanks for the recommendation!
Thanks for reading and for taking the time to comment, Robert. It's very much appreciated. Hope you have a great start to the week!
Fortunate enough to have been aware of Mylene Farmer since I picked up a copy of L'Autre in the early nineties. I believe I got mine secondhand from one of the Record and Tape Exchanges in London, probably an unwanted freebie dumped by a music journo or Polydor employee as she meant zilch here in the UK. I know I'd already read Francis Farmer's harrowing autobiography Will There Really Be A Morning by then, so perhaps I sensed the connection in the name. I would certainly have been attracted by that striking cover art with the raven.
You'd certainly never get Kylie, bless her, ripping off Barry Lyndon or crawling naked across church floors drenched in blood (L'Ame-Stram-Gram)! But then French pop music, like French film, has never shyed away from sex or art, ,which is one of the things I love about it.
L'Autre still remains a favourite, especially Psychiatric, with that John Hurt sample from The Elephant Man and Beyond My Control.
Here's a polished version that reads naturally while keeping your warm, enthusiastic tone:
My favorite film of all time is *Dangerous Liaisons* with Glenn Close and John Malkovich. *Beyond My Control* is based on that film and fits perfectly with Mylène's 18th-century-inspired video adventures.
*L'Autre...* is indeed a fantastic album. In fact, I'd even say *Désenchantée* isn't the best song on it.
I was really looking forward to your reaction, Paul, because I know by now how much you love French music. And you're absolutely right, they do love venturing a little further than everyone else. 😁
Thanks for reading and for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it.
Have a great Sunday!
This was incredible, Pe. I immediately asked my husband if he knew her and of course he did 🤣 but I had no idea about her.
What I find really valuable here is that you took the time to explain the cultural peculiarities of your country, which, as we know, go beyond a mere difference in language. The fact that you were exposed, culturally and musically, to two different worlds whilst living in a relatively small country clearly informed your sensitivity to cultural nuances and gave you a rich cultural awareness, all of which shines brightly in your work.
You’re right, Andy. My Belgian upbringing really helped me with the research for the upcoming Canada series. In many ways, Canada feels like a bigger version of Belgium, at least from my perspective. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I love the country so much. 😁
Was your husband a fan as well? Thanks for reading, taking the time to comment, and for the restack. It’s much appreciated. Enjoy the weekend!
Thank you, Pe! And the praise is very well deserved. I asked Stephan whether he was a fan and he said he never was a fan in the true sense of the word but he liked her and used to have at least one of her records. Interestingly, his (straight) brother liked her more 😂 Go figure.
Haha... Mylène is, or was, quite universal. At her concerts you see a large LGBTQ+ contingent, of course, but certainly not only that. It’s a little different with Madonna.
I only became familiar with Farmer when she released the album Interstellaires in 2015. Two of the English-language songs on it were particularly notable. One was a duet with Sting called Stolen Car and another was her remake of Cheap Trick's I Want You to Want Me.
Wow, I had no idea that Interstellaires had brought her greater visibility. I knew the song with Sting, of course, but when I discovered during my research that it had been a dance number one in the US, I was genuinely surprised. I’ve lost touch a little with her more recent material. Did you like the album, Dan?
Thanks for reading and taking the time to react. Have a great weekend!
Well, because I don't know French it was harder for me to get into the songs in that language. However, I did quite like the sound of the overall album and the songs I mentioned.
I checked my database and realized I don't actually have the full album. I only bought four of the tracks. Listening to them again reminded me how much I liked *À Rebours* and *C'est Pas Moi*. I'll have to give the English-language tracks another listen.
And I need to listen to the French songs!
Something to look forward to at your local IMAX cinema.
https://www.mylene.net/modules/index.php?r=4&z=5618
Thanks for sharing this, Robert. I'm pretty sure the IMAX theatre in Brussels will be showing it, so I'll definitely keep an eye out for it.
I also had no idea there was a new album in the pipeline. That's something else to look forward to. 👍
Mylene never reached my ears back in the day. I don't know if she could have even if she qualfied as CanCon. The language barrier is big here. Apart from The Box and Mitsou, songs en francais did not really go over outside Quebec. But that was the biggest disco-producing market, which is funny because they also loved prog
I'm in the middle of preparing my August CanCon disco series, and it's turning into a fascinating story. I always thought the existence of two parallel worlds living side by side, without paying too much attention to each other, was something uniquely Belgian. But the more I read, the more I realise it's also a pretty good description of the relationship between French-speaking and English-speaking Canada, especially in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick.
It's probably one of the reasons I find this story so fascinating. 😁
Thanks Pe. I had never heard of her. I love her voice and this Desenchantee song is fabulous. I will be digging in further on this. Production on this track is excellent.
She's got quite a few great albums, Taz. The album that Désenchantée was the lead single from, L'Autre..., is her most successful and a great place to start. Or you could try Interstellaires from 2015. That's the one featuring her duet with Sting, which became a big dance hit in the US.
And yes, Boutonnat's production is absolutely superb.
Thanks for reading, and have a great rest of the week!
This was fantastic Pé! I’d never heard of Mylène Farmer before and neither had my Québécois wife! I’m really excited to read your work on the CanCon influence on dance music.
Thanks, Mark. It remains a mystery to me why even Québec never really got on board with Mylène. My theory is that her sound was simply too European for the North American market.
Is Tina of French-speaking or English-speaking background?
August is going to be CanCon month. It's going to be a big adventure! 😁