SOUNDTRACK: BILAL HASSANI-“Roi” (France, Eurovision Entry, 2019).
I was going to be done with Eurovision, but then I read this graphic novel. And since it was called Paris 2119, it seemed worth tying it to the 2019 French Eurovision entry.
This song is a remarkably powerful ballad sung in both English and French. It opens with a quiet piano melody as Bilal sings
I am me
And I know I will always be
Je suis free oui, j’invente ma vie
Ne me demandez pas qui je suis
The pre chorus turns minor
You put me in a box, want me to be like you
Je suis pas dans les codes, ça dérange beaucoup
At the end of the day you cannot change me, boo!
Alors laisse-moi m’envoler
but the chorus swells.
I’m not rich but I’m shining bright
I can see my kingdom now
Quand je rêve, je suis un roi
I like the restraint Bilal shows in the chorus, downplaying potential soaring notes with dramatic effect The second time through the song is bigger, but again, they are downplaying their singing until they comes to the last line
Moi je les cala pas, you can never remove my crown
When they show off what a powerful voice they have by holding that “crown” for an extended note.
The first listen through I thought the song was okay, but a second listen revealed quite a great song. I am pretty surprised this came all the way down in 16th place.
[READ: May 27, 2021] Paris 2119
I saw this book at work and wanted to read it. The cover was quite dramatic. This book was written by Zep and translated by Mike Kennedy.
The story is quite simple. Possibly too simple. But its very compelling.
The book opens on Tristan Keys as he heads into the Metro. He is scanned by a face recognition drone. The subway is virtually empty asides from tourists, junkies and woman who looks like she is totally zombied out. She sits next to Tristan and drools.
He arrives at his girlfriend Kloé’s apartment–she is very glamorous. They have sex and discuss the possibility of having a baby. But Kloé dismisses it saying that was how babies were born before–not anymore. But maybe one day they can request a reproduction visa.
Kloé prepares to leave. She is off to Beijing to meet with clients. She tells him to be careful while she’s gone. His latest text post has his boss calling him in for a talk about his future as a writer.
When Kloé leaves she climbs in the Transcore machine–a teleportation device that everyone uses. Tristan will be walking–he says he’ll never get in one of those contraptions. (more…)
