Je t'aime

July 16, 2023 11:48 PM

Jane Birkin, actor and activist, died yesterday 16 July 2023 at her home in Paris. For anglophones of a certain age, her 1969 song with Serge Gainsbourg was a powerful incentive to learn some French. Tributes from President Macron "Parce qu’elle incarnait la liberté, qu’elle chantait les plus beaux mots de notre langue, Jane Birkin était une icône française" and many others. Chapeaux!
posted by BobTheScientist (21 comments total)

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Alexis Petridis of the Guardian wrote a good appreciation of Jane Birkin, Je T’Aime … Moi Non Plus was the succès de scandale of 1969 – but Jane Birkin’s music was far more than that. Excerpt:

You might have expected her musical career to end with Gainsbourg’s death – Birkin had never made a record without his involvement – but instead it flourished, thanks to a combination of albums on which she re-recorded Gainsbourg’s songs, and collections of original material, of which 2008’s marvellously understated Enfants d’Hiver may be the best. She benefitted from Gainsbourg’s posthumous discovery in non-Francophone countries during the 90s, which rightly transformed him from being viewed derisively – a one-hit wonder, the author of a solitary smutty novelty smash who Private Eye satirised as Serge Forward – into a hugely influential figure who subsequently left his mark on everyone from Massive Attack to the Arctic Monkeys. As Gainsbourg’s oeuvre began attracting fresh attention, so did Birkin, both as a style icon and a singer. You can get a sense of the kind of regard she became belatedly held in by the guest artists attracted to her 2004 album Rendez-Vous, who ranged from Bryan Ferry to acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter Feist. The latter turned up again on Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited, a collection of English-language covers of Gainsbourg’s songs that saw Birkin collaborating with Franz Ferdinand.

posted by Kattullus at 1:15 AM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

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posted by brundlefly at 2:49 AM on July 17, 2023

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posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 4:24 AM on July 17, 2023

Recounting how she designed the bag
posted by BWA at 4:25 AM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

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The 1978 Death on the Nile is currently free on YouTube (and various other services). It's one of Birkin's smaller roles, but easily accessible at the moment.
posted by the primroses were over at 4:52 AM on July 17, 2023

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posted by JoeXIII007 at 5:15 AM on July 17, 2023

My favourite collection of Gainsbourg's music is in a live recording by Birkin, Arabesque. She sets them to north african traditional music, and the result is wonderful.
posted by vincebowdren at 6:08 AM on July 17, 2023 [4 favorites]

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posted by gentlyepigrams at 7:05 AM on July 17, 2023

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posted by Fuchsoid at 8:07 AM on July 17, 2023

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posted by The Bellman at 8:22 AM on July 17, 2023

Jane B



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posted by philip-random at 9:17 AM on July 17, 2023

Ditto that Arabesque reco. My first musical exposure to Ms. Birkin. Then traced backwards to her work with Gainsbourg.

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posted by the sobsister at 10:57 AM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

Docteur Faust. Still early Birkin and… odd but mesmerizing. The man is actor Paul Meurisse.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 3:21 PM on July 17, 2023

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posted by detachd at 7:42 PM on July 17, 2023

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posted by Katjusa Roquette at 6:32 AM on July 18, 2023

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posted by filtergik at 7:27 AM on July 18, 2023

What an icon! And a legit nice person, too.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:00 AM on July 18, 2023

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posted by Buntix at 6:00 AM on July 19, 2023

Jane Birkin et Charlotte Gainsbourg à Monaco
posted by Buntix at 4:49 PM on July 19, 2023

44 minutes with Jane & Charlotte going deep An Evening with Jane Birkin & Charlotte Gainsbourg
posted by Buntix at 7:07 PM on July 21, 2023

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Charlotte Gainsbourg's directorial debut was 2021's Jane by Charlotte, a docu-drama exploring their relationship. Trailer. IndieWire interview. DVD from Vinegar Syndrome.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 6:00 PM on July 23, 2023