Difficulty: Beginner
France
In the tradition of the great Jacques Cousteau, two young Frenchmen have been crisscrossing the world’s oceans documenting their most marvelous encounters in a book. But the book is not just an ode to the beauty of the deep; it is a warning about the impact humans have had on this largely unknown world.
Difficulty: Beginner
Senegal
Amadou and Mariam share singing duties with co-producer Manu Chao on a song with themes of migration and dislocation.
Difficulty: Beginner
France
Born and raised in the Pyrenees region of southern France, Cali was an aspiring rugby player before attending a U2 concert at the age of 17.
Difficulty: Beginner
France
Like old cheese and old wine, old wood is in high demand when it comes to building new chalets. A modern cabin built of ancient wood provides the perfect balance of the old and the new.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Nuits Blanches, French ambiance, old movies and nouvel art make Paris by night even more exciting.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
Babylon Circus, a ska band from Lyon, sings in this song about romantic regrets, missed cues, and lost opportunities. “J’aurais bien voulu” could well be translated as “Woulda, coulda, shoulda.”
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Hipsters all over the world are surely mourning the loss of their favorite instant-nostalgia art medium: the Polaroid. With the recent closing of the last two remaining Polaroid factories in the U.S., it looks like that familiar and much-loved “ch-click-whrrr” sound will soon become a thing of the past. Polaroid has plans to soon launch products suited to the digital era. But can anything ever compare to the one and only original? Only time will tell.
Difficulty: Beginner
Senegal
Amadou and Mariam reference a number of West African musical instruments, like djembes, dununs, balans, and tamas, in “Beaux dimanches”—a song about Sundays in Bamako.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
Dahlia formed in 1999 in the province of Brittany in northwest France as a collaboration between guitarist Guillaume Fresneau and cellist Armel Talarmain.
Difficulty: Beginner
France
Celebrated French rapper Disiz La Peste (Dis Is The Plague) began his acting career in Dans tes rêves (In Your Dreams), a film that relates the story of a young rapper trying to make his way in the music industry.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
This newspaper, called “The Sapper’s Candle” (a “sapper” is traditionally a military man who disarms mines), only comes out on the leap year. But how can a periodical published only on February twenty-ninth be financially sound? Maybe it’s true: less is more.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Rock and roll, garage, hard-core, street punk — from Black Flag to Agnostic Front to Crisis, Frustration isn’t just a sentiment, it’s a way of life! With Frustration, “Your life will be sadder, but it’ll be more lucid.”
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Canada
Ever heard of a pleurotte mushroom? Lacking as we are in mushroom expertise, neither had we—until we visited the kitchen of Les Héritiers, that is! What’s better than getting to watch a scrumptious dish of pleurottes, brie, escargots, and garlic, all together in a puffed pastry, be prepared before your eyes? Getting to eat it, of course!
Difficulty: Intermediate
Canada
Annie shows off her skills as a chanteuse, her sharp wit, and her penchant for penning clever lyrics in this rockin’ number from her band Ma blonde est une chanteuse. See if you can count how many of Annie’s personae you catch a glimpse of, and how many of her Annie-mated wordplays you follow in this fun video. Beware: the song is seriously catchy and may leave you wanting more!
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Canada
From dreams to reality, putting forth “a little bit of energy each day,” Annie Chartrand, a vocalist who debuted singing behind her bathroom door, burst onto the music scene in 2006. Here is an interview with the singer of Ma blonde est une chanteuse [My Girlfriend Is a Singer]—a group that's actually part of a love story…
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