'Irony' sequel gets record release From Variety MOSCOW Russia s holiday film season starts early this year with Friday s record breaking 1,018 copy release of Irony of Fate Continuation, a hi-tech sequel to a much loved 1975 Soviet classic. The release of the film 10 days before the big New Year holiday Russia s key festive holiday date breaks with tradition and gives the film s producer, the First Channel, a virtually open run. First Channel, which industry observers say is gunning for a $50 million box office with Irony $15 million more...

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Posted Under: Chanson

Siddhartha Mitter From Boston Globe Erol Josu, "Rgleman" Raised in Haiti and now based in the United States, Josu integrates his triple calling as singer, choreographer, and ordained Vodou priest in an exceptional debut that parallels the liturgy of a Vodou ceremony with detours into layered electronics and tender lyrical passages reminiscent of French chanson. Andy Palacio & the Garifuna Collective, "Wtina" The breakout of Garifuna music from Belize was a big story in world music this year; DJ Rekha, "Basement Bhangra" Based...

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CHANSON : SERGE GAINSBOURG From my.opera.com/STEFANfromPARIS/ With its jaunty whistle prominent in the mix and bouncy rhythm, "Tatoue Jeremie" comes off like a sailor song for kids, and it may be the most ebulliently happy song Serge ever recorded. Arguably the best on the disc, "Couleur Cafe" blends the kitchen sink percussion with a forcefully delicate guitar riff, then throws in the effective choir, and shimmies through the song with Serge in a delivery so expressive you can hear the smirk on his face. I guess there is a certain charm to it (not to...

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I hate Celine! ... Or do I? From Globe and Mail RB with the sex and slyness surgically removed, French chanson severed from its wit and soul - and her repertoire as Oprah Winfrey - approved chicken soup for the consumerist soul, a never-ending crescendo of personal affirmation deaf to social conflict and context. If guilty pleasures in pop music are out of date, perhaps the time has come to conceive of a guilty displeasure. Musical subcultures exist because our guts tell us certain kinds of music are for certain kinds of people. And in...

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The woman’s got Seoul From Malaysia Star Asians are reinventing the long-standing European and American tradition of jazz in their own unique, global way. In the chic jazz universe of smoky cafes, for example, a gorgeous young Korean jazz singer stands out as one of the most desirable, applauded artistes of today. Inspired by her love of French chanson and old-time role models like Jacques Brel, Nah quit her job in the fashion industry when she was 27 and moved to France to train in jazz singing in four jazz schools. In trying to...

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Posted Under: Chanson