Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Egad -- Yet Another Paris-Themed Post!!!

Okay, partly because I'm still decompressing from our recent Gallic vacation, and partly because the election is kicking my ass, here's my third favorite rock record ever that references Gay Paree.

From 1980, live in Central Park, please enjoy the incredibly great Willie Nile and his utterly infectious tribute to "Les Champs Elysees."




I went to Versailles
I went to Verdun
I climbed the Eiffel Tower in the midday sun
I saw Notre Dame
I went to the Louvre
Couldn't find nobody there who wanted to groove

Heh.

I should add there's an earlier studio version of this song -- on Willie's deeply disappointing second Arista album -- that is completely sabotaged, as I said in my review in The Magazine Formerly Known as Stereo Review at the time, by an astoundingly gutless piano solo by the usually estimable Paul Shaffer.

This take, however, is all punk energy and endearing sloppiness.

Rock 'n' roll, in other words.

Incidentally, a coveted PowerPop No-Prize will be awarded to the first reader who guesses the identity of my fourth favorite rock song referencing Gay Paree, which I'll be posting tomorrow.

10 comments:

J. Loslo said...

Um, I Love Paris, by Screamin' Jay Hawkins?

Okay, probably not.

steve simels said...

Posted that one last week.
:-)

FD13NYC said...

Mission A Paris by Gruppo Sportivo. Good song, if you don't have it, I'll send it to you. And welcome back, hope you had a nice time.

steve simels said...

Don't know that one. Please send.

And thanks!!!

J. Loslo said...

Dang, I must be having some short term memory loss. How about "Bastille Day," by Rush, or "Down in the Seine" by Style Council, or "Give Paris One More Chance" by Jonathan Richman. Or, better yet, Randy Newman's "Dayton, Ohio 1903" performed by Nilsson?

Shriner said...

"Une Nuit A Paris" by 10cc?

"Crimes of Paris" by EC?

Apart from that, I got nothin...

Anonymous said...

Something by The Left Bank?

Bill Roberts said...

"Jump Jump" by Garland Jeffreys...

MJConroy said...

"Moulin Rouge" by Greg Kihn Band?

10cc "One Night in Paris"!!!

Jerry Lee said...

"In France" by Frank Zappa