Germany's Got Talent

[uwe]

"And where are the French rock artists?"

I can think of only a couple myself, none of them superstars:

There's Ange, the French Pink Floyd:



Little Bob Story had their 15 minutes of fame during the late 70ies punk/pub rock craze, but they are still going:




Around the same time Shakin' Street caught some press attention in the UK. Blondie meets The Dicatators (Ross the Boss played with them for a while):



I find Magma's idiosynchratic trance prog pretty amazing, their new album Zess is brilliant (they have even invented their own language which to the unaccustomed ear sounds a bit German), their music gives new meaning to the term "hypnotic":



And then there is always Gong (Johnny Rotten was a fan, Steve Hillage and Alan Holdsworth played with them), which are half-Brit, half-French, proggies too, the French do like prog:



I almost forgot French punk-metal-garcons Trust, whose drummer Nicko McBrain later joined up with another heavy metal outfit ...



In more recent times, ambience music stars Air are probably the most popular French music export, lovely bass playing here:



Of course there is always the helmet wearers of Daft Punk:

[exiledarchangel]

"definetly the WURST act I've seen ", couldn't agree more. Even my colleagues have better sense of humor, well most of the time anyway.

[westen44]

Thanks, Uwe. I ordered a French course recently.  It is fantastic.  I was so pleased, I decided to order a German course from the same company (which hasn't arrived yet.)  But the other day I got to thinking of what French rock I could listen to and couldn't think of any. 

[uwe]

Most French bands sing French, that has hindered international success somewhat, the language of rock'n'roll is of course English.

[westen44]

Most French bands sing French, that has hindered international success somewhat, the language of rock'n'roll is of course English.

A friend and I used to discuss this issue a lot about English being so suitable for rock.  I suspect that English not being her native language made it a little more obvious to her than me.  Because the thing is even if you get fluent in English that doesn't mean you'll necessarily get the cadence, inflections, and rhythm perfect while singing (in English.)

[Dave W]

What a surprisingly slim list for a country that gave us Bach and Beethoven. I imagined the inate musicianship of the nation would have lent itself to a few more hot bands than that. I guess that explains why we felt bad for you guys and gave you David Hasselhoff, or maybe the fact you like the Hoff is why you have so few popular bands.

From the same comedy site that had the Jeff Lynne's dog story:

David Hasselhoff Delivers Litter of Kittens While Stool-Softener Shopping in Germany.

You're welcome.

[uwe]

A friend and I used to discuss this issue a lot about English being so suitable for rock.  I suspect that English not being her native language made it a little more obvious to her than me.  Because the thing is even if you get fluent in English that doesn't mean you'll necessarily get the cadence, inflections, and rhythm perfect while singing (in English.)

Zat hass never held my köuntrymen from ze Scorpions back! No one in Germany thought they would stand a chance on the American market whiff zeir ferry limited Eengleesh, yet you proved us wrong!

[4stringer77]

From the same comedy site that had the Jeff Lynne's dog story:

David Hasselhoff Delivers Litter of Kittens While Stool-Softener Shopping in Germany.

You're welcome.

Funny but a little mean spirited towards a guy who brought down the Berlin wall with his voice.

[westen44]

Zat hass never held my köuntrymen from ze Scorpions back! No one in Germany thought they would stand a chance on the American market whiff zeir ferry limited Eengleesh, yet you proved us wrong!

Klaus Meine has quite a voice--a powerhouse.  It was the perfect fit for the Scorpions.  I immediately noticed it when I heard them for the first time. 

[Basvarken]

The French think the greatest rocker of all time is Johnny Hallyday.

[uwe]

He once had a black guitarist who was called James Marshall Hendrix. No idea what became of him.

[Basvarken]

he smoked too much 

[westen44]

When your band has only been together for a few weeks, opening for someone like that is a pretty good start. 

[ilan]

The interviewer tried - very cautiously- to find out if Bohlen could laugh

Not with these amounts of Botox and Hyaluronic acid in his face, that's for sure.

[Dave W]

Maybe the French haven't had any great rockers but at least Quebec has Men Without Hats.