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Many songs by artists representing poetic and intellectual rock are melancholic in nature, or rebellious, or a reflection on existence. Poets such as Baudelaire and Rimbaud were a major source of inspiration.
Representatives of this style include Serge Gainsbourg, Alain Bashung, Renaud, Noir Désir, Matthieu Chedid, and – more recently – BB Brunes and Feu! Chatterton. The first three are discussed in this post, the other four in the next one.
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg (1928–1991) is regarded as a classic provocateur-chansonnier whose songs are almost all a varied combination of classic melodic chanson, rock, jazz and reggae. From the 1970s onwards, the proportion of rock in his oeuvre increased significantly. His songs are often emotional, controversial, political and erotic in tone, and above all beautifully worded. He wrote around 550 songs, which have been covered frequently.
A classic example of one such song is ‘Je t’aime…moi non plus’, featuring Jane Birkin (1969), and the more artistic ‘Valse de Melody Nelson’ (1971, here 1988).
Gainsbourg’s debut album ‘Du chant à la une!’ (1958) won awards, but critics were negative and commercially it was a failure. Listen to the track ‘Le poinconneur de lilas’ here.
Success was not long in coming with the single ‘à la bouche’ , from the film of the same name (1960), and a string of hits for artists including Juliette Gréco (‘La Javanaise’, 1962), Brigitte Bardot, Petula Clark and France Gall. During a brief romantic relationship, he wrote the erotic and cynical ‘Je t’aime…moi non plus’ and the song ‘Bonny and Clyde’ especially for Brigitte Bardot. At the insistence of her then-husband, Gunter Sachs, Bardot asked Gainsbourg not to release the song ‘Je t’aime’, to which the singer agreed. Shortly afterwards, he wrote ‘’te dire for Françoise Hardy (1968, recorded in 1971), which became one of Hardy’s signature songs. In the late 1960s, Gainsbourg began a relationship with Jane Birkin and their version of ‘Je t’aime…’ became a global hit, although it was boycotted in various places. Watch and listen to this famous song here.
The record company wanted more songs of this kind, but Serge Gainsbourg preferred to take a more artistic direction. This resulted in the concept album ‘de Melody Nelson’ (1971), the story of the teenager Melody Nelson after the ‘narrator’ had run her over with his Rolls-Royce. The album’s music is driven by a funky electric guitar and bass, the singer’s partly spoken vocals, complemented by romantic string and choral arrangements. AllMusic critic Jason Ankeny described the album as “perhaps [Gainsbourg’s] most coherent and perfectly realised studio album… alternately fascinating and repulsive, hilarious and grim, but never boring”. The album has inspired many composers in and outside France and later also contributed to the development of trip hop.
In 1975, Gainsbourg released the album ‘Rock around the bunker’, steeped in ‘black’ humour, in a 1950s rock ‘n’ roll style based on Serge’s experiences as a Jewish child in occupied France. Here is the track ‘Boulevard en liberté’.
In the years that followed, Gainsbourg developed an affinity for reggae. This made him the first Western artist to record an album in Jamaica: ‘Aux armes et caetera’. Listen to ‘Brigade des stubs’ from this album. Later, a further controversy arose when Gainsbourg sang the Marseillaise in reggae style.
After reggae, Gainsbourg discovered electronic music. On the album ‘Love on the Boat’ (1984), he sings the track ‘Lemon Incest’ alongside his daughter Charlotte. This song refers to his alleged fantasy of making love to his daughter.
In 1991, Serge Gainsbourg died of a heart attack, having smoked five packets of unfiltered Gitanes a day throughout his life. Musically, he achieved legendary status.
Alain Bashung
Alain Bashung (1947–2009) was a singer, songwriter, composer and actor. He recorded 12 studio albums. His star began to rise in the 1980s, despite having produced a number of records prior to that, such as the albums ‘Roman photo’and ‘Roulette russe’. During this period, he occasionally produced songs for others, such as Dick Rivers. His success came with the songs ‘d’amour’ and ‘’ ’ (1980), ‘Gaby oh Gaby’ (1981) and ‘SOS Amor’ (1984), and the albums ‘de l’amour’ and ‘’ ’ (1980), ‘ Osez Joséphine ’ (1991), featuring the title track alongside the hit ‘Madame rêve’, and ‘Confessions publiques’ (1995), featuring the hit ‘Ma petite entreprise’. In the 1980s, he became one of France’s most successful and acclaimed singers. Despite personal setbacks (depression, divorce), he further cemented his reputation with the album ‘Fantaisie militaire’ (1998) and the single ‘La nuit je mens’. You can watch and listen to them here.
Alain Bashing had previously released experimental ‘black’ albums but had met with little success: ‘Play blessure’, in collaboration with Serge Gainsbourg (1982), ‘ ,‘Figure imposée’ ’ (1983) and ‘Novice’ (1989). In 2002, he tried again with ‘L’imprudence’, in which he used electronics as well as strings. The album was, in his own words, inspired by old black-and-white films. The ‘speech-singing’ is undoubtedly borrowed from Gainsbourg, with whom he had previously collaborated. This time, the album was well received. Listen here to the track ‘Tel’ (2003 performance).
In 2008, he released his final album: ‘Bleu parole’, which he concludes with a cover of Gérard Manset’s ‘Il voyage en solitaire’. By then, he had been diagnosed with lung cancer, and he passed away on 14 March 2014.
In 2010, the French edition of Rolling Stone magazine included the albums ‘Osez Joséphine’ and ‘Fantaisie Militaire’ at numbers 2 and 9 respectively in its list of ‘100 Essential French Rock Albums’. Four other albums featured further down the list.
Renaud
Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan (1952 – ) is a politically engaged French singer-songwriter, born and raised in Paris. He grew up in an intellectual milieu; Maoism fascinated him more than his school subjects. During the occupation of the Sorbonne, he began writing and singing songs. Together with a friend who played the accordion, he became a street musician. His ambition to become an actor came to nothing. Later, however, he did appear in a number of films. He was invited to record an album and gradually gained a certain degree of fame and renown. A further 25 albums were to follow, with a combined circulation of 20 million.
Several of his songs are considered French ‘classics’: ‘Dès que le vent soufflera’, ‘Mistral gagnant’, ‘béton ’ and ‘Morgane detoi’. These four songs span several decades of his artistic life. Listen to the first song here:
His songs deal with both light-hearted and serious themes, alternating between humour, emotion and social criticism. He calls himself a “chanteur énervant” (annoying singer). In many songs, he criticises the petty bourgeoisie and the right-wing tendencies of the average Frenchman.
Between 1995 and 2000 From 2000 onwards, his career stalled, mainly due to depression and excessive alcohol consumption. However, he managed to overcome this through trial and error.
Renaud wrote the song ‘Manhattan-Kaboul’, from the album ‘Boucan d’enfer’ (2002), in the aftermath of the attacks of 11 September 2001 and the war in Afghanistan. Here, he sings it alongside Axelle Red. Together, they portray two victims of this violence. The song is primarily about the suffering experienced by civilians as a result of political decisions, particularly when these are made on religious grounds. The song was very successful in France and Belgium. Listen to it and watch it here:
Critics regard his successful album ‘Rouge sang’ (featuring tracks such as ‘song’ and ‘J’ai retrouvé ma flingie’ (2006) as a kind of rebirth. His cynicism has given way to social commitment. Between 2010 and 2014, Renaud relapsed into alcoholism. He continued to enjoy success, but now mainly through reissues of partly unpublished older work such as ‘Les introuvables’ (2012) and ‘La Bande à Renaud’, an album on which 15 artists perform covers of Renaud’s work.
Once again, he overcomes his alcoholism and releases a new album, partly dedicated to the victims of the attack on Charlie Hebdo (2015). In 2016, a new album follows, titled Renaud. You can listen to the ‘Debout here’
In the years that followed, new albums and concerts followed one after another, interspersed on several occasions by renewed treatment for his alcoholism. His latest album is due to be released in early 2026, which, according to him, will include, among other tracks, ‘La plus belle chanson d’amour’.
