Yé-Yé Of The Day: Les 409

Hot on the heels of my last post, here's another heart-stopping group of kids from 60's Québec: Les 409. When it comes to tambourine, I always say that more is more, and these two songs prove that thesis beautifully.

Dig "They Say," a stompin' R&B original, and "Born In Chicago," their stompin' R&B cover (made famous by The Paul Butterfield Blues Band).

It's worth mentioning that "They Say" mentions (albeit in English) long hair several times. For some reason, des cheveux longs are a constantly recurring theme in French-language music from the sixties. Even more so than in the U.S. and U.K., the squares in France couldn't get over how crazy long the kids were letting their hair grow! There is a whole subgenre of French yé-yé/beat songs about the stylish androgyny embraced by those damn kids (most famously "Fille Ou Garçon" by Stone, "Comme Un Garçon" by Sylvie Vartan, and "Est-ce Que Un Garçon Ou Est-ce Que Une Fille?" by Les Cavemen). Other oft-mentioned fashion trends included des chemises à fleur (flowered shirts) and mini-jupes (miniskirts).

P.S. I know that hardly anyone reads this blog, so if you know someone else who is into this sort of thing, please spread the love. I don't know what that Fluxblog guy has that I don't besides consistent daily posts...oh wait, he has boring indie mp3's and an annoying flash image. Nothing against him, really; I just wish that Drugburn wasn't languishing in obscurity.