Sans illusion, et sans lendemain

I'm not sure why it is that I always seem to end up relegating French artists to combined posts (except Gregory Lemarchal...and Jonatan Cerrada...and Thierry Amiel), but I'm going to do it again today (in this case, mainly because I don't have that many songs by either of these artists). Pascal Obispo, whose album the first song comes from, has been releasing albums since 1990, though he got involved with music in the 1980's; perhaps more interestingly, his name is an anagram of "Pablo Picasso." The Prototypes (or maybe just Prototypes would be more accurate) are a three person group from France who, though Wikipedia describes their sound as indie rock, seem to have a fondness for electronic-based music, though they definitely have an indie vibe around them.

(Credit for this picture goes to here; thank you!)

Pascal Obsipo and Melissa Mars - 1980--to begin with, thank you to Stylus for introducing me to this song. "1980" is not as poppy as many of the tracks I post. It is also (as is the following song) in French. However, if nothing else, listen to it for the saxophone part. The electronically filtered voices are in sharp contrast to that burst of energy the song gets everytime the saxophone comes in. You can have too much of a good thing--I think the sax breakdown in the middle is a bit much for me--but generally, they're used to great effect (and, if you watch the video, you won't be able to listen to the song without picturing the saxophone players' choreographed gestures). I imagine this song, which clocks in at over five minutes, benefits a lot from a single edit, though.

Prototypes - Un gars fragile--I have so many questions about this song. The Prototypes, from what I've heard, are usually led by a female singer, so did one of the guys in the group step in for this? What on Earth are they saying (I'm pretty sure I can hear "Je suis un gars fragile," which would be "I'm a fragile guy," I think, but that's it; of course, the fact that I don't speak French probably doesn't help, but the singing is pretty rapidfire). What I do know is that this is an electronic-based song that verges on hyperactive and maybe hipster. It would probably be pretty danceable (or lend itself to some interesting YouTube posted dances, anyway). Oh, and it has handclaps, which I'm always a sucker for.

To buy Pascal Obispo's album Les fleurs du bien, go here (physical). To buy the Prototypes' album Tout le monde cherche quelque chose à faire, go here (physical). Alternatively, the Prototypes have put an EP up as a free digital download; you can get it here.

Next up: possibly Jesse McCartney, or another U.S. singer.