Français what you see

Living in Madrid, I have noticed that English is seen to be the ‘cool’ language. If you want have your finger on the pulse of the plaza, then you need to have the admirable ability to sporadically thrust English terms into your day-to-day chit chat. It goes without saying that technology has a huge influence on this linguistic invasion (email, internet, fax, etc. are all acceptable terms in Spanish), but you do find that many other terms are used incorrectly – someone is called a ‘freaky’ rather than a ‘freak’ and a service is known as ‘alto standing’ which means ‘high level’ – no surprise then that Spanish came bottom of the league in an EU survey in 2006 with a mere 22% classing themselves as able to speak English fluently.

Are the Brits any better? Don’t be daft. The Anglophonic inability to speak a foreign language is matched only by the colossal arrogance of many Brits abroad who expect to be spoken to in English wherever they go. Yet paradoxically foreign languages have penetrated the upper echelons of the English language. Open any high-brow newspaper and they will talk condescendingly of Schadenfreude, cause célèbres, and aficionados. Indeed, don’t even bother reading anything by those patronising pricks at The Economist unless you have four foreign-language dictionaries at hand.

Anyway, the point is that musicians have adopted this trend too, believing that dropping some foreign lingo in their tunes will give them that extra kick in the cool category. Madonna famously apologized in 5 languages for kidnapping African children at the beginning of Sorry, Kylie famously told the French nation in this song that she wasn’t aware of the reasons for which at the age of 68 she still looks like Dick van Dyke’s daughter from 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang', and Dublin’s finest diva and philanthropic cockbag Bono showed the Hispanic world what a penis-face he was (as if anyone else was in doubt) by failing to count beyond three in Spanish at the start of this dreadful track.

Fortunately some bands have taken the foreign influence in the correct manner. Step forward the eloquently named Au Revoir Simone whose brilliant new album Still Night, Still Light is so warm-hearted and affectionate, you will feel like your head is being gently stroked by a group of Egyptian slave-ladies at a pyramid-period party.

This is the opening track:

Au Revoir Simone – Another Likely Story