Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Billy, cette chanson est pour toi

Oh Julian Cely...

I wrote about him in early July, and apparently he released a new single in late July that completely passed me by until now. Now, normally a new single from him would be a good thing because I really liked "Pour elle," and I guess it is, but I do have a bit of an issue with it. The song, "Billy," apparently (and I say apparently because I don't speak French) implies that he's gay (which would shock no one), that he's speaking to a friend who's gay (possibly who loves him), or says nothing of the sort, depending on how you look at it. My problem with this? Well, I'm having trouble seeing it as much more than marketing--"well, our big 'for the girls' single 'Pour elle' underperformed...so let's switch to a new market!" or even just counting on the ambiguity to increase publicity.

Oh well, at least we get another pretty cover to look at, even if it's not from a new photoshoot.

In other Julian news, apparently a second album should be out in early 2008 (possibly with a different version of "Billy"--though it's currently available for purchase from legal download sites, that might not be its final version) and could possibly include a more electro style. Despite that "possibly electro" news, his MySpace is featuring three new songs (in addition to "Billy") that don't sound very electro at all. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though, because "Pour Le Présent" is very good--I think I may love it. Sort of light pop-rock, but more just pop. Simple pop, but good pop. I hope I'll get a chance to buy it from somewhere. I think it and the other two have been featured on a TV show he's in, but I'm not sure.

Anyhow, I'm not even sure that "Billy" is that good of a song, and if "Pour elle" and "Tant que tu n'es pas là" couldn't take him beyond "that guy that featured on 'Cargo de nuit'" status, I don't see this doing that either, but because I really want to know if this song reminds someone else of something--every time I hear it, it reminds me of something (at least in parts--could be sampling/interpolation...or nothing), but I can't place it--here it is.

Billy--the other new songs on his MySpace may not show much electro influence, but in comparison to his earlier work, I could see how you could apply that description to this song. It's maybe more minimal and poppy than that description makes it sound, though, and it doesn't have the strong bass that I expect most electro to have (come to think of it, there could be a great remix of this song). It's mid-tempo with a sort of loping feel to it. I can see myself listening to it pretty frequently for a couple of days and then moving on (watch me end up loving it). I think I'd just like it to be more hard-hitting or something, and there are some elements I like that could be played up more to create more drama. Still, I change my mind on things all the time.

As far as I know, the single "Billy" is only available for digital purchase, and then only from sites open only to French customers (though I think it's available on the Asian release of his debut album), but you can buy (the French edition of) his self-titled debut album--which doesn't have it--here (physical). "Pour Le Présent" is very good (and better than "Billy" for me; it's got a stronger melody)--I hope it ends up getting released on the soundtrack or on his new album or something.

Next up: maybe back to Norway.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Frere D'Ame means brother of the soul. He's telling Billy that he loves him like a brother, even though that's not the kind of love Billy wants from him. It's a smooth let-down, saying "Billy, this SONG is for you, this is your love."

Poster Girl said...

Oh, well, I'm sure a SONG will make him feel better. That'll help with the whole unrequited love thing.

Seriously, though, thanks! Google translation made me think that's what it was about, but the few news articles on it mentioned ambiguity--something I didn't really see (in terms of the lyrics, not real life), especially given the whole "Billy je t'aime, pas exactement comme tu voudrais" line--so I figured I had to be missing out on something.

Myfizzypop said...

well Bonjour Julien. Voulez vous couchez avec moi ce sois? Etc etc...

AcerBen said...

yeah that's the interpretation I got too... interesting! But poor Billy :(

Poster Girl said...

Let it never be said that music isn't educational--where would we be without "Lady Marmalade"?

That's got to be it, then. And I know :(

AcerBen said...

thanks for posting this song - I've become hooked on it ! Really nice tune and he has a decent voice. I've downloaded a better quality version off iTunes France (still have a bank account there) so I'll post that on my blog shortly.

Poster Girl said...

No problem! That's what this blog is for :) I hope he ends up doing well enough to put out another album...but (though supposedly there's a video out this season) this song doesn't seem to be doing anything at all yet.

I think I need to travel to a bunch of countries so I can set up iTunes accounts for each of them--there are so many things (usually singles) I'd love to buy that don't get released anywhere else or aren't worth paying import price for physical versions of.