i found mylene farmer many years ago, in the meditheque of the french institute in bucharest. there were tapes and i copied them together with the accompanying lyrics: un! maman a tort/deux! c’est beau l’amour/trois! l’infirmiere pleure/quatre! j’ai mal. i was smitten!
i have been loosely following her career throughout the years and some of her stuff will definitely be for ever on my list. sometimes, i find myself on youtube, clicking from one song to the next.
she found the impossible balance between being very open and totally hidden at the same time. an elusive way of being a relatable and adored freak. looking every bit the french bourgeois lady and none of the openly enraged and deranged artist, she kept all her transgressions for her lyrics and videos while her private life was in total darkness. she has a wonderfully feminine and vulnerable way of doing all those confessional things in her music and videos, of contrasting all that sex and violence against her angelic voice.
one of france’s best selling artist of all times, she has been for years the visible part of that 2-headed box office topper: mylene farmer/laurent buttonat, a legendary symbiotic collaboration. their work is identifiable and the music is often illustrated by short films as videos with a fascinating universe: full fledged characters in complete, well-defined stories, often with an unspoken moral, with mylene often willingly taking on roles that are not the most likable but possibly the best suited to teach a lesson and to help her deal with her own demons, be it religion, the position of the woman in society or the endless power games of relationships.
recently, mylene announced a new tour: timeless 2013 and about 200,000 tickets were sold on the first day: her shows are epic and sparse. the question is: will i be there?
photo and video credits: google search
