As we heard of the untimely death of singer Lux Interior, legendary leader of The Cramps, let’s also pay respect to his surviving partner, guitarist Poison Ivy Rorschach.

I have been a Cramps for more than 25 years (!) and can quite clearly remember the only time I saw them perform right here in Montreal, where my sister almost passed out during the show! I guess Lux’s microphone swallowing antics were too much for her? Candy del Mar and Nick Knox were members at that point. An unbelievable night. The enclosed photograph is from around that time.

“Unique” is one of many words that can describe them and their musical material, sometimes referred to as “psychobilly”. Many members gravitated around the group’s lineup since 1973, but the core duo of Lux Interior and Poison Ivy was of course the main driving force. To say that The Cramps influence me and the creation of the Cult Sirens universe is pure evidence. For some reason the Smell of Female live album will remain a personal favorite.
(Photo by Steve Double)

When I was searching for an image for yesterday’s post, I came across this dazzling visual featuring The Pussycat Dolls on the WWE website. Seems that the Dolls and the Divas are getting along and who am I to complain? I could make a stupid and useless pun about catfights but I prefer to restrain myself.

Interestingly and not at all surprising coming from me, all my favorite female singers share at least a common characteristic: they’re all very theatrical in their live performances. Of course, this pleases my own tastes, as I can get quickly bored by immobile performers. Monica Naranjo, Marie Carmen and now Mylène Farmer all have tremendous stage presence and their shows aren’t mere standing-behind-the-microphone affairs. In the case of Mylène, her own aura has always been a mystifying one, as she created an unique universe around herself.

Mylène Gautier was born on September 12, 1961, in Pierrefonds, Québec, Canada, a suburb of Montréal. Her parents were of French origins and all the family moved back to France some years later. Many people in Québec still think of her as a French-Canadian who has snubbed her roots in taking a typical French accent, not knowing that her parents were actually French people from France. Ladies and gentlemen reading this, don’t confuse the French from Québec with the French from France!

As a teen, Mylène began living in Paris and started modeling, while studying acting. In 1984, she was choosen in a casting call to be the voice for a new song, Maman a tort, which turned out to be a big hit that year. Mylène Farmer was thusly born, her new name paying respect to troubled actress Frances Farmer. 1986 saw the release of her first album, Cendres de lune, which produced the mega-hit, Libertine. The videoclip for the latter song was quite a visual delight, almost a short film in itself, the kind of project that she would become famous for (can I mention the frequent nudity and sometimes surprinsing violence in these productions? yes I can, as they were more often than not censored for television viewing). Also, she became a redhead, another quite unique visual choice in the world of popular singers. Already an aura of sensuality and dark eroticism was born.

Between 1986 and 1992, Mylène began an imposing reign on the European charts, becoming the first female singer to get Diamond Record status. In 1988, she would win at the World Music Awards and the Victoires de la Musique. Even with techno-pop or dance rythms, Mylène’s music has always proposed lyrics about sex, death, religion… not just mindless words. The quality of her videoclips began to make her well-known in the USA, as well, and many European countries. In 1991, an obsessed fan willing to meet her actually killed by gunshot Mylène’s receptionist at her music company office and then committed suicide. From the start, she had not been trusting of the media, but from that point on, she chose to continue expressing herself in her songs and films, giving only one interview per album release.

In 1989, even while being extremely shy, Mylène proposed her first concerts, elaborate shows with an American showmanship twist that was not in vogue for France performers, not counting Johnny Halliday. Elaborate choregraphies and costumes were on the menu, with sets emphasizing the theatrical feel. Remember that still today, French musical television shows still used badly out of date lip-sinc techniques that borders on the embarrassing.

In 1994, Mylène made her film debut in Giorgino, directed by Laurent Boutonnat, her collaborator for the videos. It was a complete box-office and critical disaster, considered as a bad three-hours clip. Reedited, the film was recently released for home viewing. Mylène moved to California in 1995 to find more inspiration, a move that resulted in the album Anamorphosée, recorded in L.A. and considered her best work. Another gigantic tour followed, from which the resulting live album is still considered the best-selling one in France for a show. A third tour in 1999 even reached Moscow and St.Petersburg.

A 2001 Best Of compilation was also a gigantic best-seller and included a duo with singer Seal. She received an honorary award at the Victoires de la Musique as the ultimate female artist of the last twenty years. 2005 saw the release of her sixth album, Avant que l’ombre… which resulted in another successful series of concert. Her stage was so big that it was impossible to take it on tour, so she sold out thirteen consecutive shows at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in January 2006. Of course, the resulting DVD is still the best-selling show sold in France in that format. A new album is expected later this year, with live performances planned for September 2009. Talk about early planning!

Even with all that success, critics have always been lukewarm towards Mylène. All recognize her unique artistry and the quality of her work, but seem to reproach her for her big commercial success (?) and her tendency to run her stage shows à l‘américaine. Of course, her unavailability towards the media is always perceived as a negative factor. Many consider her a caring and phenomenal creative spirit, others see her as arrogant and cold… I personally picture her as a Madonna-like phenomenon, surely not in the ability to manipulate her entourage, but for the will to reinvent herself and the gift of always being in the spotlight in her own way.

And of course, there’s the voice. Sometimes piercing, but more often than not an amazing mix of high whispers than any rival couldn‘t even reproduce. You either like it or hate it. I just adore it.

I’m currently re-watching the second season of what in my view is the best recent French-speaking series from Québec, Les Invincibles. This all turns around four guys making a mutual pact of finally living life as they want it, with no emotional attachments, with the ultimate objective of enjoying a carefree bachelor existence in purely thrill-seeking fashion. Of course, this means having sex with lots of women, with a rule that states that these relations can’t not go past a time-limit of two weeks. As you can guess, everything falls apart in unexpected twists and turns.

In the second season, the same guys are involved in another scheme, this time a Rally of Happiness, when they must fix themselves a personal objective to be resolved in a period of three months. If all four can successfully manage it, it’s a trip to Punta Cana for all! Once again, the results will be surprising, hilarious and sometimes touching.

One of the main characters is a comic book fan, having created a super-hero team based on his personality and those of his three friends, Les Invincibles. So, they are frequent parallels between his fiction and real-life turmoils. And what turmoils they are! Example: have you ever faked moving to a new apartment?

This excellent series is cleverly scripted, brilliantly played and filmed in true innovative fashion, with a lot of references and tributes to past cult movies. So what does this have to do with Kim Bingham? And first of all, who is she?

Well, she’s a Canadian singer-songwriter, who debuted on the Montreal indie scene in the ska band Me Mom and Morgentaler (Dr. Henry Morgentaler being a defender of the rights to abortion in Canada), which is still considered an unique and colorful live act. She pursued another phase of her career in 1999 under the name Mudgirl and she was a guest at the Lilith Fair U.S. tour. A prolific songwriter, Kim has always been at ease with her Montreal roots, as she can compose and perform in both English and French. She also played with Nelly Furtado and David Usher.

Her involvement with Les Invincibles is as composer-performer. This turned out to being cast as a musician in the series itself, in a too-brief and curiously silent role as guitarist Melanie, band mate of one of the main male character. Her powerful title track for the series won a Gémeaux Award and can’t get out of your brain after the very first listening. There’s a soundtrack for the series, where Kim expertly does amazing covers with material from Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello and even the Ramones! She has recently been part of a tour of Canadian entertainers in Kandahar, to visit our country’s troops stationed in Afghanistan. Watch out in 2009 for the third season of Les Invincibles! And please keep on eye on Kim Bingham’s career! Her pleasant and precise voice is pure joy.
Kim photo by Sabrina Usher

1989 was an important year for me. I can almost say that it was a lucky year, as I turned 25 and the day of my birth is indeed 25. Above all, I met the person that would become my wife (15 years of wedding bliss this year, you can send cards) and this relationship inspired me to write my most ambitious fiction project to date. The discovery and contribution of a local upcoming Québec singer was also a turning point.

For some months at that time, I had toyed with the idea of writing a rock’n’roll novel about a struggling band, with a most complex female singer, after giving up in creating a comic book version. Over the following months, this eventually evolved to become a fantasy/horror story, to my great surprise, but it all came out in a most logical way. I won’t go into plot details because who knows what could eventually happen to that tale (which was eventually planned as a seven book saga, way before that Potter guy). Yes, I submitted my manuscript to some publishers… twice. One seemed interested but filed for bankruptcy some days after receiving my submission and the other send me the most strict rejection letter ever… that I still have and cherish to this day. Revenge is a dish best served cold, as it is said.

So yes in the mid-eighties, I used to play bass in a punkish band, however being more at ease in writing lyrics than hitting the right note. Mix this with my newfound ladylove and with the discovery of Marie Carmen on the musical scene, and I enjoyed many channels of inspiration. I won’t discuss my sentimental life here, but let’s note that I fell in love with three different women, each on their own different levels: one was my chosen companion to spend the rest of my life, the other a great entertainer and inspiration, and the last a fictional person of my own creation.

Marie Aubut was born on August 24, 1959, in Ste-Foy, Québec, and choose the artistic name of Marie Carmen when deciding to pursue a musical career. She became known in the local Québec musical scene for her participation in popular stage musicals, most notably Starmania and Vis ta vinaigrette. I first saw her at a concert for the Montreal band The Box, where she was backup singer alongside another future successful female Canadian songstress, Sass Jordan (now a judge on Canadian Idol). I immediately adored Marie’s look, mainly her tendency to tuck immaculate white shirts into tight pants/jeans, her admirable cheekbones and her own way to move on stage. Of course, I had no clue of her name on that night.

I didn’t wait for long and was delighted in rediscovering her with the release of her first solo album. Oh the joy: finally a French singing female rocker with a different style, namely a non-bimbo-ish attitude. In fact, Marie was quite theatrical in her singing (too much theatrical for her detractors) and I adored her passion. In her first shows, she used to come on stage wearing a man’s suit, complete with tie, but there was absolutely nothing butch about her.

Indirectly, her mere presence in my favorite entertainers at the time was a great benefit for my writings, namely my main female character who was also a singer, with a more edgy heavy-metal side. I named her Augusta, a tattooed six-foot-three redhead with glowing green Asian eyes, of ferocious beauty and talent, a seemingly direct child of the legendary Medusa. I won’t reveal her secret but you just had to move out of her way. Of course, my novel’s main male character began to behave and talk exactly like I would do, projecting many insecurities and hilarious cynical wit like I supposedly used to do (used to?).

My hormones and feelings were on a roller coaster between Monique, Marie and Augusta, three different and fascinating muses in a life that had been pretty devoid of serious and ever-lasting female excitement. Monique became a fan of Marie, accompanying me to at last seven different concerts over the years… and got pretty soon very jealous of Augusta, whom she pictured as her sentimental rival, to my dismayed chagrin! But she eventually warmed up to my imaginary singer and maybe one day you’ll do too.

Marie Carmen soon became Québec’s most popular and successful singer in the first half of the nineties, producing four studio albums, a live album and a Best Of compilation. The apex was the immense success of her reprise of gloomy French singer Barbara’s mythical L’Aigle noir (curiously a song that supposedly talks about incest!). This was her ultimate reach to stardom. She won countless musical awards and was not shy in declared her love for her fans, which was met with snobbish sniffs by the press. Soon after her fourth (and probably best) studio album, though, and with some difficulties with new management, Marie decided to call it quits, being fed up with showbiz and incessant touring. She actually went to Peru to became a goodwill worker for people in need, a complete career turnabout if there ever was one. She still pops up from time to time on TV, with a notable 2005 appearance in Star Académie, a popular Idol-ish french musical show, effortlessly out-staging the young participants.

She has been a player in a most important part of my life, in many varying degrees. In a way, she subconsciously helped in consolidating my feelings in regards to love and her presence was invaluable comfort in creating my Augusta character. It’s with sweet melancholy that I think of her from time to time. Of course, I think about my wife all the time. As for Augusta, there’s not a day in the part 20 years that she doesn’t pop in my head, not a single day… her story is yet to be told.

Jully Black’s second album (which was released last October) is pure magic. Isn’t it wonderful to listen to smart music? Mainly known as Canada’s queen of R&B, Jully should be listened to by the entire universe. She has an incredible voice, writes her own material and looks mighty fine. The first track of Revival, DJ Play My Song, is one of the best song I’ve heard in quite a while. There’s also a diabolical and irresistible version of Seven Day Fool, originally sang by Etta James in 1961.

Jully Black has become one of my favorite female singer in a matter of a few minutes! You should be under her spell soon, too…

When reviewing my short list of favorite female singers, there’s a personality trait that remain present in these cherished performers: the theatrical aspect of their live performances. As being a fan of many larger-than-life entertainers or fictional characters, is it really surprising? I’ll propose some names now and then, individuals who may not be as well known in your area than in mine. Some of them are not even popular at large in my region, so don’t despair. Let’s start this new feature with Monica Naranjo.

Geez, Monica… Not only does she used to wear very short skirts and appear frequently quasi-nude in her sensual music videos, but her lungs can back up any challenge, let me tell you. I discovered that unique talent quite by chance, on a boring Saturday night some years ago while flipping channels, as I came upon a Luciano Pavarotti special. It was the Pavarotti & Friends for Cambodia and Tibet show, taped in 2000, now available for my viewing pleasure on a PBS station. I almost immediately saw that gorgeous and dangerous looking creature performing her hit Sobreviviré, of which I had no clue at the time of its title, nor even of her own name. Of course, I dutifully stayed glued to the screen until the end credits for more knowledge. It took mere days to find a copy of her CD Minage at my local HMV’s World Music section and I was hooked.

Monica was born on May 23, 1974, in Figueres, Spain. She quickly began to idolize Italian singer Mina, a hit sensation of the sixties, so her career path was already clear. Our heroine became Miss Cataluña at the age of 14, a local beauty pageant. She released her first album in 1994, which produced at least three big hits. After an acclaimed passage in Mexico, 1996 saw the big success of her second album, which now touched fans in all Latin-speaking countries and communities, selling more than two million copies and solidifying her Diva persona. Associated with a style of Latin Pop and Dance-Pop, Monica turned to more ambitious ventures with 2000’s Minage, an homage to her idol, Mina Mazzini, with whom she performs a duet. This album remains one of my favorite of the last ten years, where the passion oozes out of your speakers and gets imprinted in your brain cells. She’s worldly known for her powerful vocal range, registering many octaves.

Monica has tried to reach a more international fan base by producing an English-speaking album, 2003’s Bad Girls. But for now, this goal has oddly not been attained. Her Greatest Hits collection can also be a good starting point for all of you curious to discover her. Do it! New song material should be available early in 2008.

Monica’s stage shows are elaborate affairs also, with colorful costumes, many dancers and a top-notch band. Sniff around YouTube for her live performances and videos and you’ll know what I mean. Sadly, some appearances on Europeans television specials are in unfortunate lip-sinking mode, but what the hell, you’ll witness Monica strutting her stuff before a seated assembly including retired Spanish ladies and gentlemen trying to keep a straight face before this hip-tossing cat-woman!

Monica took part in some movie projects, a couple of Spanish sex comedies with the translated titles being Killer Housewives and Sex Is Crazy. Her scenes as a prostitute were deleted from Yo puta (or I, Whore) for reasons unknown to me. How about an upcoming horror film, Monica, with you as some sort of succubus witch?

If I only have one message for Monica, well it’s the same that I tried to share with Bianca Beauchamp: please don’t get blonde too often…