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DoublePlusGood

Feb 25, 2021 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

With Lizbot

A Tribute to Françoise Cactus of Stereo Total

Françoise Cactus, singer and multi-instrumentalist of Stereo Total and Die Lolitas, passed away last week at the age of 56 after a music career spanning over three decades.

Her music was irreverent, danceable lo-fi yéyé pop, and her stage shows always a lot of fun.

I came back to this band frequently over the past 25 years. They are a staple in my house, and have inspired many a spontaneous kitchen dance party.

I am going to play some of my favorites from their 11 album career during the first two hours of my show today.

5:02 PM		Stereo Total C'est la mort Oh Ah ! Peace95 1995 “It’s Death” From their 1995 debut album
5:05 PM		Stereo Total Hungry! (US Version) Do the Bambi Disko B 2005 7th album “Mousse au chocolat, Rumbaba Pfirsich Melba, Stracciatella Papayas, Luftschokolade Ananas, Zuckerwatte”
5:08 PM		Stereo Total Relax Baby Be Cool Serge Gainsbourg Paris <> Berlin Disko-B 2007 Serge Gainsbourg cover. 8th album
5:11 PM		Stereo Total Plötzlich ist alles anders My Melody Bungalow 1999 “Suddenly everything is different” 4th studio album. the album title is also a play on the name of a San-Rio Japanese plush rabbit character.
5:13 PM		Stereo Total Patty Hearst Paris <> Berlin Disko-B 2007 “Princess and terrorist Patty Hearst Lover and killer Patty Hearst College girl and guerilla”
5:16 PM		Stereo Total Schön Von Hinten Monokini Bungalow 1997 2nd studio album
5:19 PM		Stereo Total Get Down Tonight Oh Ah ! Peace95 1995 K.C. & The Sunshine Band cover
5:21 PM		Stereo Total Moi Je Joue Musique Automatique Bobsled 2001 5th studio album song title translation: “I Play”
5:23 PM		Stereo Total Automatic Music Musique Automatique Bobsled Records
5:26 PM		Stereo Total Touche-Moi Juke-Box Alarm Bungalow 1998 3rd album.
5:28 PM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
5:32 PM		Stereo Total Movie star Oh Ah ! Peace95 1995
5:34 PM		Stereo Total Partymädchen Gefoltert Stereo Total Do the Bambi Disko-B 2005
5:36 PM		Stereo Total Push It Oh Ah ! Peace95 1995 Salt n’ Pepa cover
5:37 PM		Stereo Total Tas de tôle Do the Bambi Disko-B 2005
5:40 PM		Stereo Total Elles te Bottent, Mes Bottes? Baby Ouh! Disko B 2005 “Do they kick you, my boots?”
5:42 PM		Stereo Total Holiday Innn Juke-Box Alarm Bungalow 1998 3rd album
5:45 PM		Stereo Total Nouvelle Vague Juke-Box Alarm Bungalow 1998
5:47 PM		Stereo Total Je suis une poupée Musique Automatique Stereo Total 2001 “I am a Doll”
5:49 PM		Stereo Total Nationale 7 Musique Automatique Bobsled 2001
5:51 PM		Stereo Total I Am Naked (US Version) Do the Bambi Disko-B 2005
5:54 PM		Stereo Total Wir Tanzen Im 4-eck Musique Automatique Stereo Total 2001 “we dance in the four corners”
5:56 PM		Stereo Total Ich Weiss Nicht Mehr Genau Musique Automatique Stereo Total 2001
5:58 PM		Stereo Total L'amour à 3 Party Anticonformiste Stereo Total 2007
6:01 PM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
6:05 PM		Stereo Total Je rêve encore de toi Carte postale de Montréal Stereo Total 2019 “I still dream of you”
6:08 PM		Stereo Total Exakt Neutral Musique Automatique Stereo Total 2001
6:11 PM		Stereo Total Ta voix au téléphone Paris <> Berlin Disko-B 2007 “Your voice on the phone”
6:14 PM		Stereo Total Partir ou mourir N My Melody Stereo Total 1999
6:17 PM		Stereo Total Und Wer Wird Sich Um Mich Kummern? Stereo Total Monokini Stereo Total 1997 “And who will take care of me?”
6:19 PM		Stereo Total L'appareil à sous Monokini Stereo Total 1997
6:21 PM		Stereo Total Supergirl Monokini Stereo Total 1997
6:24 PM		Stereo Total Kleptomane Musique Automatique 2001
6:26 PM		Stereo Total Lunatique Monokini Stereo Total 1997
6:29 PM		Stereo Total Jaloux De Mon Succès Cactus Versus Brezel Staatsakt Rec. GmbH 2012 9th studio album
6:31 PM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
6:33 PM		Stereo Total I Love You, Ono Chica/Toshi/Hajime My Melody Stereo Total 1999 Cover of the Japanese band Plastics from their 1980 debut, Welcome Plastics
6:36 PM		Stereo Total Johnny Oh Ah ! Peace95 1995 Brezel Göring on lead vocal for this one
6:39 PM		Stereo Total Ich liebe dich, Alexander My Melody 1999
6:40 PM		Stereo Total Für Immer 16 Stereo Total Party Anticonformiste “Forever 16”
6:42 PM		Stereo Total Cafétéria Idéale Cactus Versus Brezel Kill Rock Stars 2013
6:45 PM		Stereo Total Tout le monde se fout des fleurs My Melody Stereo Total 1999 “everyone does not care about the flowers”
6:48 PM		Stereo Total Ma radio Musique Automatique Stereo Total 2001
6:50 PM		Stereo Total Cosmonaute Monokini Stereo Total 1997
6:53 PM		Stereo Total Das erste mal Do the Bambi
6:57 PM		Stereo Total Lady Dandy Baby Ouh! Disko B 2010 I think Françoise is the “lady dandy” in this song!
6:59 PM		Stereo Total Grand Prix Eurovision Monokini Stereo Total 1997
7:04 PM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
7:04 PM		The New Rotary Connection I Am the Black Gold of the Sun Hey, Love THIS MARKS THE END OF THE FRANÇOISE CACTUS TRIBUTE
7:09 PM		Terry Riley Celestial Valley Shri Camel Sony Classical 1980
7:21 PM		Cheer-Accident Absence Moving Backwards Absence Moving Backwards 2020
7:25 PM		Tiziano Popoli Svelf Tiziano Popoli N Burn the Night / Bruciare la Notte: Original Recordings, 1983–1989 RVNG Intl. / Freedom To Spend 2020
7:28 PM		Wau Wau Collectif Salamaleikoum Wau Wau Collectif N Yaral Sa Doom Sahel Sounds 2021
7:32 PM		La Chica Drink N La Loba Zamora Label 2020
7:35 PM		Nahawa Doumbia Blonda Yirini Nahawa Doumbia N Kanawa Awesome Tapes From Africa 2020
7:38 PM		Mark Feldman Maniac Mark Feldman N Sounding Point Intakt Records 2021
7:42 PM		Fazi Bataglia Fragile Fazi Bataglia N Immovable Motion hidden nexus tapes 2021
7:49 PM		Mamman Sani Gosi N Sahel Sounds Label Sampler 3 Sahel Sounds 2021
7:53 PM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
7:55 PM		Larry Lewis Salsa Verde African By-Pass Numero Group 1985

Chat is archived.

🤖 is here. Let the tribute commence

From Stereo Total’s debut, “C’est la Mort,” it’s death

Ill have the croque monsieur

@Brian D- Ha! There are more food me coming NOW

Good night Mme Carrot

I have wprb to thank for knowing stereo total

Hmm sad circumstances to hear but a bit of irony for me as esoterica played my film Soundtrack request today : lolita ya-ya / never had heard the ye-ye genre/ rip :(

So maybe foods in this song!- Lots of ideas more dinner...or mostly dessert. This would be a good companion piece to THe Sugarcubes’ Eat the Menu!

I first found this band in the mid-90s at the long-defunct Space Boy Music on South Street

Hi Mark! Yup, yé-yé is great!

Theremin joining in!

This is a Serge Gainsbourg cover

They had some basic rules for this band- one was sing in many different languages, but mostly French & German. I will play some English versions of their songs tonight, like this one. She also sang in Spanish and Japanese.

This Serge Gainsbourg cover sounds a little like The Fall's 'Totally Wired' too. I guess a lot of songs have this same 1-4-5 progression... Maybe this is like a response to 'Totally Wired'!

Another rule of Françoise and her music partner, Brezel Göring, was to play only instruments that are easy to learn and cheap! I don’t know about the theremin in the last song being “easy” to learn...I tried and failed to play one years ago, though mine was from a really basic kit!

If u have shazam / check out the pic that comes up to these / sure looks like the mustache sparks brother :)

Hi Teresa! 👋

Head bobbing loving this ST set!

Hello Lizbot!💗 Hello Mark!💗

@Brian- Yay!

@Teresa- I never thought about that WRT Totally wired, and I listen to both ST and The Fall a lot,

@Teresa-... (continued, posted early)...but I think you’re right!

Hello Brian!💗

hello!

Hello teresa! Who can you translate / this is fantastic !

Good old Patty Hearst. I’m glad John Waters and Stereo Total cut her a break and gave her another way to exist in cultural memory!

Haha lizbot ur too young to know patty & the sla / changed her name to tania while kidnapped captivity

She was actually pretty funny in John Waters’ “Cecil B. Demented”... as the mom of a teenaged kidnapping victim turned revolutionary!

"Plötzlich ist alles anders" means "Suddenly Everything is Different". I'll get to work on the full translation if you'd like...

@Mark- I know about Tania! There are so many docs about her

Haha I have the Shazam’s lyrics for all these / my latin language background doing me no good :(

Love both versions of this one such a beautiful Melody

@Teresa- excellent! Thanks! Your translation skills will come in very handy today! I wrote some prob not very accurate google translations in some of my notes

@Brian D- I know, right!

Schön Von Hinten = beautiful from behind

OMG Mark -- I forgot that she changed her name during her captivity! Patty Hearst made such an impression on me as an 8 year old -- I think that's when she was abducted... We kids all followed the news about her and the SLA with horror and great fascination.

@Dave- Yeah! The lyrics are not as dirty as the title would suggest!

And now a K.C. & The Sunshine Band cover! I prefer this to the original

Yes i too remember as a youngster watching things unfold on the one of our 3 networks national news / probably abc was my preferred!

grainy footage as she took part in bank robbery while holding an automatic weapon

@Mark- Such a crazy story. I think it’s fair to assume she suffered from Stockholm Syndrome to some extent

But who really knows?!

It’s crazy that a Getty teen was ALSO kidnapped in the 70s!

Haha yeah Stockholm syndrome only came about during that era / maybe bader meinhof caused it

I watched that Getty kidnapping movie on a plane. Not a movie I’d necessarily seek out, but good plane-viewing movie. One of Christopher Plummer’s last movies

Yeah the controvesy on Getty as I recall the father was very reluctant to pay ransom

Young Getty was backer of kenneth anger:)

This is the first one I ever heard by them

Yeah, or rather the granddad, John Paul Getty

I love Fireworks by K Anger!

I think they actually sent one of his ears becuz of non ransom payment

yeah, they cut off the kid’s ear. Hard to watch that part of the film

Kinda like big lebowski!

That was such a common kidnapping ransom scheme in Mexico City for a while, that I saw a short documentary several years ago about a doctor who’s well known for reconstructing ears there

Do u know the actress who got little toe severed in big lebowski?

This has gotten grim!

Tara Reid, I think

Haha I know / this is such a life celebration too !!! Gotta change the topic / great music

No tara was bunny / woman nihilist was played by

AmeE Mann

Woman nihilist was def Julianne Moore

Haha prob first time I’m correcting the great lizbot r🤖 / u can fact check - remember pancake scene !

Hrmmm, I’ll have to rewatch! It’s been maybe a year since I watched it last

She also ordrs the lingonberry pancakes / I’m so mad i missed Aimee when she played keswick couple years ago

Aimee Mann also turned up in an early Portlandia season if I remember correctly

@Teresa- I think this song title translates to something like “party girl destroyed”

Or “party-girl tortured” 😬

Yes and Portlandia was reference in earlier chat today / i gotta get that dvd & binge

Salt n’ Pepa! This album was huge in My high school years

This song title cracks me up- “Do they kick you, my boots?”

Holiday Innn- one of my all-time favorite ST songs!

This is great stuff! Love it all!

What a trip around the world 🌎 thanks so much for this tribute / only on This station;)

Yup -- "Tortured Party Girl". Grizzly!😬

@Teresa- Haha, thought so! Grim themes again!

Hi Stephen! 👋 Glad you’re enjoying it!

@Mark- No problem! I love these guys for so many years and thankfully saw them play in states a number of times. I wish I’d gotten to go on my pre-pandemic-planned Germany trip and maybe I would’ve found more ST fans!

About The Nationale 7, for which this song is named, from

...from Wiki “The Route nationale 7, or RN 7, is a trunk road in France between Paris and the border with Italy. It was also known as Route des vacances, Route bleue, and — sarcastically, during the annual rush to the Mediterranean beaches — the Route de la mort.“!!

@Teresa- this translation confuses me for this song, Wir Tanzen Im 4-Eck...we dance the four corners?

aka square

Ahhhhh, Dave- kinda makes sense now!

I thought maybe we dance in all four corners of the room!

Yeah, Dave's right -- square-dancing!

Sorry I'm so late to respond -- I just put some chickens in the oven and I got the chicken-hands!

Teresa- No problem!! 🍗 🤚🏻 🤚🏻 😂

"Ich Weiss Nicht Mehr Genau" -- "I'm No Longer Sure" (i.e.: I used to think I knew something but now, I'm not so sure... )

This song they recorded a French version, an English version AND a German version! I love this song. The English version says something about “love between the three of us is hippieshit, but I don’t care!” 😆

@Teresa- Thank you! Because that one didn’t even translate remotely close to that in google translate and I knew that google had to be wrong- it just said “I no longer know Genau,” not translating Genau- i was pretty sure that wasn’t a proper noun!

So incredibly German isn’t in lizbot 🤖 repertoire:) / thank u Teresa for typical Americans like me who r mono lingual:(

@Mark- Yeah, I admire/aspire to be as multilingual as Françoise Cactus and Brezel Göring!

This song reminds me of “Caroline Says” by Lou Reed. It’s basically the same musically

Shoulda been a pandemic skill attempt By me / I’ve got a lot of Language dummy books I’m so envious of multilingual like so many in this chat r !

@Mark/ Srsly- There are MANY things I wish I’d acomplished during the pandemic, but I realized just treading water and keeping it together (and dealing with home-schooling a middle-schooler) was already more than enough!

Also, my house got less organized and more dirty but 🤷🏻‍♀️

That “Je Rêve Encore De Toi” (I still dream of you) song from just before this one is sort of a cover of Lou Reed’s Caroline Says II, but with lyrics very much changed by Daniel Darc and Bill Pritchard/Taxi Girl

This song, your voice on the phone, is like the music of You Make Me Feel Like Dancing by Leo Sayer!

"Leave or Die"

I knew that one

Good evening! I see that this show totally Stereo Total. Which is good because I'm not terribly familiar with them

The KC Sunshine Band cover was a bit of a mash up with Velvets What Goes On. A bit

@Brian D- Yeah, Partir ou Mourir is one of my all-time favorites!

@Brian D- Hmmm, interesting. I can see what you mean

The lid on my simmering pot was vibrating right in time to last track!

@Rob from Maryland- Hi! 👋Yes, well the first two hours, and then the last hour will be regular ++Good. Françoise Cactus, one half of Stereo Total, passed away last week

@Brian D- Hahahahaha! As it should be! This is a dinner dance party! 🥘 💃🏿

Hi all! I'm sorry to say had never heard of Francoise Cactus until @Lizbot - I am really enjoying these songs, a lot of fun!

Ya or just the Lou / Sterling VU guitar strum in general

They love to throw in lil quotes and influences

@Lizbot (host), cool beans! I now recall that you said last week that you would do this

We are both enjoying the totally stereo show by the way

@Rob- Yes, she passed away right after I made last week’s show, so I knew I’d be making this Tribute this week.

@Rob- Thanks!

Forgot they covered the Plastics!

I forgot to mention on that last mic break that L'Appareil À Sous is another Serge Gainsbourg cover, made famous by Brigette Bardot!

hi Jim! 👋 yeah, from the 1980 plastics album!

“johnny” has a sort of Spaghetti Western vibe

Yes!

“Cafétéria Idéale“ for Doubleplusgood Dinnertimez

“Ma Radio,” WPRB 📻

Where else in one week would u hear this & jane birkin / serge & Charlotte Gainsbiurg & bridgette fantastic!

Hasing sads....

@Mark- WPRBardot, WPRBirken

Haha I’m afraid to leave my car / don’t wanna miss what’s up coming :)

Au revoir auf wiedersehen Mme Cactus . I swyped Mme Carrot earlier i see. . Ha

Das erste mal = the first time

Just a few more songs to this tribute. I love this one, and the next is “Lady Dandy,” which I think is an apt description of le yéyé Françoise Cactus

If i am a lion what are you Wenn ich ein Löwe bin, was bist du? - A lioness - Eine Löwin If i am a kangaroo what are you Wenn ich ein Känguru bin, was bist du? - A kangaroo? - Eine Kängurette? Do you remember the first time Erinnerst du dich an das erste Mal? - Yes - Ja

Genau!

Stereo Total cover for Liz's birthday 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO8g0xWN3Zw&feature=youtu.be

Finally song of the tribute, then an hour of regular doubleplusgood

What a great set... Blasphemy.. but could it there any consensus on top 10 or so I should get.

Compare the Stereo Total song “Ta voix au téléphone” (your voice on the phone) to this Leo Sayer song, you make me feel like dancing - BONUS: Crazy muppet birds dancing https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wyreul5Cvsw

Thanks so much for furthering my musical education about this remarkable talent, Francoise Cactus.

Hi Don! Thanks! Hrmmmm, Top 10 Stereo Total songs? That’s tricky...I have my favorites. This was top 40 songs or so!

Great tribute Lizbot

@Richard- Hello! You’re welcome! Glad you enjoyed!

@Brian D- Thanks!

Great show, don't know the later stuff at all, wish I caught the beginning.

I’m glad some people discovered her music for the first time tonight! R.I.P. Françoise Cactus’

@Jim- Thanks! Yeah, I should get around to uploading this on MixCloud some day, but I never get around to it!

Now to make dinner to Terry Riley’s Shri Camel!

Here’s my prb PSA: lizbot fabulous show can be reheard on tuesday 3-6am I try at the very least to catch this last hour at 5am / very fun to wake up to :)

And for anyone who missed any part of esoterica fabulous show earlier today she already has it archived on mixcloud!!

@Mark- Thanks!!! Sometimes I am up at that hour and catch myself on air for rebroadcast and am surprised for a moment!

Wish I was listening to this international show at somewhere like iHouse/ thanks for the intro to brutalism last week / spent a bit of time this week figuring what it all about :)

@Mark- Sure! If you do Facebook, there’s a fun group I’m in called Brutalist Concreteposting about brutalist architecture

This has been a chill final hour of the show following the Françoise tribute. Goodnight everyone! See you next week!