Tag: alizee

‘Engines of Survival’ by Larissa Kelly

Larissa Kelly on Jeopardy!

Jeopardy! fan-favorite Larissa Kelly will return for the Tournament of Champions, airing March 11-24. Meanwhile, here’s a surprise from Larissa. A piece of speculative fiction she has written, called “Engines of Survival,” that you will find at Strange Horizons Fiction:

http://www.strangehorizons.com/2008/20081222/engines-f.shtml

Now that Sarah Palin’s star has faded (although I doubt permanently), Larissa is once again the #1 reason — ahead of Alizée! — why people find this blog, so take note that she has included an e-mail address. There’s no reason to assume this isn’t really Larissa, and you have to promise me that if you write to Larissa you will be civil, respectful and well-behaved! And remember, boys, she’s married. “For all of you youngsters,” as Ed Sullivan used to say, I should explain that “Sorry Boys, She’s Married” is a play on a famous moment in Beatles history.

Sorry Girls, He's Married

UK3

My post last night about French pop star Alizée elicited a comment from Joachim Mairböck in Germany Austria. (Google translation into English of his blog is here.) Joachim pointed out a YouTube link from Studio 100 UK.

I had talked about Studio 100’s ambitions of expansion beyond Belgium and the Netherlands, yet I’m disappointed that even as they were promoting K3’s tenth anniversary they were auditioning for an English-speaking K3, to be called UK3.

In September, Studio 100 posted a video of Wir3 from Germany with an English overdub. The caption reads “Basic version of U.K audition pop song. Learn the words and the basic dance moves to increase your chance of being chosen. Good luck. Best Regards Peteer”. As often happens, YouTube got the shape of the image wrong, so I’ve corrected it here.

[flv:http://s3.amazonaws.com/dogratcom/Video/K3/UK3HEYMAMAH.flv 448 268]

Then, just a week ago, Studio 100 posted the results of that audition, with this caption — “Emily, Lauren and Tahnee, 2 days after meeting for the first time ever, create a decent music video in less than 4 hours. Amazing!”

[flv:http://s3.amazonaws.com/dogratcom/Video/K3/UK3demo.flv 512 288]

Well, there it is. The house that K3 built moves on. Karen, Kathleen, and Kristel are now all 30 and over, and it’s time for younger women, who are native English speakers. UK3 looks like just another fabricated fluff girl group, and I couldn’t be less interested. Again I say it’s the people, not the package. Studio 100 got lucky with K3, who were already together before Studio 100 found them. Less than six months ago I didn’t know K3 existed, and now it’s disconcerting to contemplate that they may be getting closer to the end of their run.

Alizée in French and English

All of my K3 posts combined haven’t equaled the online hits to my single mention of Alizée three months ago. Five years ago, Alizée had a mega hit with “J’en ai Marre!” or, in English, “I’m Fed Up!” Is it French vs. Flemish that makes Alizée so popular compared to K3, or is it the way she dishes up sex so shamelessly, yet sweetly? And what is the significance of the cute sailor’s collar and the fanny fish?

I haven’t done a lot of background reading about Alizée, and I’ve watched only a few videos of her doing other songs, but I have to say that Alizée in “J’en ai Marre!” is unforgettable if not sensational, and the song itself is an excellent piece of pop penmanship and production. This performance in French is from Top of the Pops.

K3 found success in going for the kid’s market, and Alizée also took a crack at it, albeit in a more modest costume.

[flv:http://s3.amazonaws.com/dogratcom/Video/K3/AlizeeDisney.flv 480 360]

And if you’re thinking the song would be better in English, here’s another appearance from Top of the Pops.

[flv:http://s3.amazonaws.com/dogratcom/Video/K3/AlizeeEnglish.flv 480 360]

I think it loses a lot in English, so it’s just as well that’s an abbreviated take of the song. The charm just isn’t the same, leading me to wonder if K3’s appeal for me as an American would suffer if their songs were in English?

The introduction to this live performance of “J’en ai Marre!” demonstrates how effectively a simple, well-constructed song can pull in an audience.

Alizée — French Family Entertainment

Petula Clark always sounds a bit amused that the French called her “sexy Pet.” But, then, what do the French know about what’s sexy?

If you’ve never heard of Alizée, you might be in for a bit of shock, because this is what passes for family entertainment in France. But I’ve never watched So You Think You Can Dance, so what do I know? Maybe it would be considered mainstream in America too.

Here is French superstar Alizée, five years ago, age eighteen. Computer gamer types will recognize this from the World of Warcraft. It was the basis for the Night Elf Dance.