Melody Nelson's adventures in rap

Throughout the holidays, let's see how a song can have new life, and sometimes even many new lives. Today, the foreign destiny of the songs from a legendary album by Serge Gainsbourg.

Story of Melody Nelson. The blue pouch with the photo of Jane Birkin. These seven songs which in twenty-seven minutes tell the story of the meeting of a mature man with a London teenager, their romantic passion and then the death of Melody.

There is not a fan of Serge Gainsbourg who does not revere this LP from 1971 which has the historical paradox of being often described as “the best album of his career” and yet having been a scathing commercial failure – barely 20,000 copies sold at the time…

In this episode of These songs that come backyou hear excerpts from:

Serge Gainsbourg, Ballade de Melody Nelson, 1971

Placebo, The Ballad of Melody Nelson, 2006

Michael Stipe, The private mansion, 2006

Serge Gainsbourg, A Melody, 1971

De La Soul, Not Over Till The Fat Lady Plays The Demo, 1991

Serge Gainsbourg, The Forgotten, 1961

De La Soul, Talkin’ Bout Hey Love, 1991

Serge Gainsbourg, Cargo culte, 1971

Massive Attack (Portishead Experience Mix), Karmacoma, 1995

Mirwais, V.I. (The Last Words She Said Before Leaving), 2001

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