Mylene Farmer music and videos

Discover Mylene Farmer's music and videos! Mylene Farmer is one of the most enigmatic French singer. Since her debut, Mylene Farmer has been secretive. Her music and videos constructed her sulphuric image and helped her build the myth she is today. In December 2010 Mylene Farmer released her latest album "Bleu Noir". After 25 years of career she still make the news with her music and videos. Meet Mylene Farmer, my all time favorite French singer!

Creating her sulphuric image

Mylene farmer's videos have nothing to envy to any one, not even Michael Jackson's Thriller. Her music videos are short movie gems. Everyone of them tells and amazing story, with great images, movie-like quality. It is her trademark since her first album. As an exemple, in 1988, "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" video cost 4 Million French Franc (850 000US$). She enrolled 600 French soldiers. The video is an 18 minute movie.

Some of them are raunchy and help in making her the icon and goddess she is today. I remember in the 1980's "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" and "Libertine" videos were not censored in Quebec (were I used to live) but were only aired after 11pm. Everyone wanted to see it. So as a young "entrepreneur" teen, I started dubbing them on video tapes and dealing them at my school.

A more recent video, "Je te rends ton amour" (I am giving back your love) was not even aired in France. She had to change it, because even here in was consider too bloody and blasphemous and the TV channels did not want to air it. She made a softer version and made the original version available on tape.

She also had censored some of her lyrics before. In "Libertine", she wanted to sing "Je suis libertine, je suis une putain" (I am libertine, I am a whore) but of course that, even in Europe, would have not been aired. So she changed it to "Je suis libertine, je suis une catin" (I am libertine, I am a doll). Catin in French both means a doll and also is a nicer word for prostitute. She did also auto-censored herself on "C'est une belle journe". The original lyrics were "C'est une belle journe je vais me tuer" (It's a beautiful day, I am going to kill myself). She changed "je vais me tuer" for "je vais me coucher" (I am going to sleep). She wanted to protect those more fragile people

She is a gay icon for various reason of course, including her style and extravagant shows and videos. But other reason also influence the way she became one. Including her absolute secrecy over he personal life and sexual orientation and her music and videos.

It started with her first ever single, back in 1984 "Maman a tort" (Mommy is wrong). The culprit lyrics?

"J'aime l'infirmiere maman" (I am in love with the nurse, mommy). She told in different interviews that yes it could be seen as sapphic love, but also as a normal occurrence for young girls to love any one who takes care of them.

Then it was follow by the very controversial and sulphuric "Libertine" video where she interacts with other courtesan.

Followed yet by another hit "Sans contrefacon" (Without any artifice):

"Dis maman, pourquoi je suis pas un garcon?" (tell me mommy, why am I not a boy?)

"Puisqu'il faut choisir, A mots doux je peux le dire, Sans contrefacon je suis un garcon" (Since we must make a choice, I can say, without any artifice, I am a boy). And "Tour a tour on me chasse De vos frequentations", "Je me fous bien des qu'en dira-t-on Je suis cameleon" (One after the other you are dropping me. I don't care about rumors, I am chameleon). She also mention in the lyrics "Le chevalier d'Eon", a French diplomat (born in 1731) who lived half his life as a woman.

In the early 1990's she start playing on her boyish style. In 1996 she once again played on her ambiguous sexuality, when on prime time TV she kissed one of her female dancer while performing "L' Instant X".

And recently, Degeneration, was more or less an ode to love, whatever form it takes.

Willingly or not, she became THE French gay icon.

The Brothers Grimm and Luis Bunuel

This is one of her "movie like" video: long and with a story. Set in Russia, an evil tsarina, upon being informed that a peasant girl named Tristana is fairer than her, ask for her servant monk to kill her and bring her skin.

Edgar Allan Poe

Writer Edgar Allan Poe and French gothic poet Charles Baudelaire are two characters that inspired Mylene Farmer's early work. She paid tribute to both in these songs "L'Horloge" and "Allan"

Charles Baudelaire

L' Horloge (The clock ) from the poetry book "Flowers of evil" by french poet Charles Baudelaire.

Translation is from 1936 by Edna St. Vincent Millay.

The Clock

Terrible Clock! God without mercy; mighty Power!

Saying all day, "Remember! Remember and beware:

There is no arrow of pain but in a tiny hour

Will make thy heart its target, and stick and vibrate there.

"Toward the horizon all too soon and out of sight

Vaporous Pleasure, like a sylphide, floats away;

Each instant swallows up one crumb of that delight

Accorded to each man for all his mortal day."

The Second says, three thousand six hundred times an hour,

"Remember! Look, the wing�d insect Now doth sit

Upon thy vein, and shrilleth, 'I am Nevermore,

And I have sucked thy blood; I am flying away with it!'

"Remember! Souviens-toi! Esto memor! - no tongue

My metal larynx does not speak - O frivolous man,

These minutes, rich in gold, slide past; thou art not young;

Remember! and wash well the gravel in the pan!

"Remember! Time, the player that need not cheat to win,

Makes a strong adversary. Is thy game begun?

Thy game is lost! Day wanes; night waxes. Look within

The gulf, - it still is thirsty. The sands are all but run.

"Soon, soon, the hour will strike, when Hazard, he that showed

A god-like face, when Virtue - thy bride, but still intact -

When even Repentance (oh, last inn along the road!)

Will say to thee, 'Die, coward. It is too late to act.'"

To Greta Garbo

In this 1986 song she pays a tribute to actress Greta Garbo. This title was on the "B" side of her single "Libertine"

To Juliette Greco

"Deshabillez-moi" (undress me) is a re-interpretation of another french classic song. This time, she is paying tribute to legendary french singer Juliette Greco. "Deshabillez-moi" was first released on "Ainsi sois-je" in 1988 and a live version is available on "Avant que l'ombre... A Bercy". This video is from 1988, she is live at Grand Opera.

To David Lynch's Elephant Man

"psychiatric" was released as a "B" side for the 7" single LP "Allan". It's a tribute to David Lynch's movie "Elephant man". Mostly a music piece with very few lyrics. You keep earing John Hurt (the actor playing elephant man) voice in the backgroud: "I'm a human being, I'm not an animal", and Mylene keep singing this mantra "It's easy this time to lose my mind".

Duo with Algerian Rai king Khaled Hadj Brahim. They are doing an amazing re-interpretation of a classic french song called "La poupee qui fait non" (the doll that says no) written in 1966 by Franck Gerald . It is, in my opinion of course, better than the original by Michel Polnareff.

Mylene Farmer with:

Seal (Les Mots)

Jean-Louis Murat (Regrets)

Moby (Slipping away)

She is secretive, she does not give many interviews. This one was one of her best and most interesting I've seen.

To active the English dubbing, click the "CC" button on the bottom right side

In her 25 years career Mylene farmer recorded 8 studio albums.

What's your favorite song? I think that her last amazing album was Anamorphose. I love everything she does of course, but I think that her first 3 albums were her best. What do you think??

What's your favorite Mylene farmer songs?

En concert 1989

Live a Bercy 1997

Mylenium Tour 2000

Avant que l'ombre....a Bercy 2006

No 5 On Tour 2009

Dance remixes 1992

Les mots 2001

Remixes 2003

As you can see, a good proportion comes from her early albums. I guess i am stuck in the 80's. These are the "dance remix versions" available from amazon.

In 1993-94 she worked with her partner Laurent Boutonnat on a movie called "Giorgino". She co-starred with Jeff Dahlgren, Joss Ackland, Louise Fletcher and Frances Barber. The big budget movie (20 000 000$) was a big flop when it came out. It was taken off the screen after less than 3 weeks.

Fans had to wait more than 10 years to see the DVD release, thanks to a very big and vocal fan base. Boutonnat agreed to the release to please Mylene fans.

Not her usual style of video, pretty cute. The song says: it's a beautiful day, I will go to bed.....it was apparently going to be: it's a beautiful day, I will kill myself. But she censored it (or had no choice to do so).