I'm not sure why I was so surprised to find out that Charlotte Gainsbourg sings. After all, everyone has a record deal these days. At least for five seconds anyway.
But, in truth, Gainsbourg's father is good old Serge-- the famous controversial French singer. Serge Gainsbourg is probably most memorable here in America for his less-than-savory appearance and his encounter with Whitney Houston on a French talk show back in 1986, which during said interview he proceeded to proclaim, on public television, just exactly what he'd have like to do to Whitney. Yeah. (See video below.)
There's no denying that Serge was a bit of a creeper in his day, but he went on to write some of the most inappropriate French love ballads of the twentieth century. Especially whilst dating his English muse, Charlotte's mother-- model and actress, Jane Birkin. The woman was beautiful. How she ended up with Serge, we'll never know.
That said, it's no surprise Charlotte has inherited the musical gene. Her voice is pretty, soft, and lyrical. I can't exactly see her ever breaking the charts, but for those that like that sort of meditative style, she's just perfect.
Her new video for "Time of the Assassins" boasts some weird supernatural "merde"-- if you will. It starts out relatively normal. Unless of course you believe that someone as beautiful as Charlotte should have no reason to be wandering through a forest alone. (Thankfully, I'm guessing, she inherited her mother's genes.) It's about halfway through the video that I start wondering if the spirit of Lennon didn't slip some LSD into Charlotte's wine at dinner last night. Is she going for Lara Croft or Trinity? I'm not sure. (See video below.)
I don't by any means hate the video. In fact, I like the weird. Then again, if your father and mother are Serge and Jane, I guess you'd have to sport a little bit of "the quirk" in you. In any case, if the singing doesn't work out, we all know that Charlotte's got the acting chops to back it up.
-GC
RECOMMENDED: To see Charlotte take on more of the absolutely weird, check out her performance in Antichrist (2009). For a tame Jane, watch her in Zeffirelli's 1996 adaption of Jane Eyre - also featuring a young Anna Paquin (HBO's True Blood). And lastly, if you like Italian cinema, see Charlotte in a film about Italian immigrants at Ellis Island in Nuovomondo (2006).
Charlotte Gainsbourg - "Time of the Assasins":
Source: Pitchfork
Whitney Houston and Serge Gainsbourg Talk Show Incident - 1986 (NOT CENSORED):
Source: Youtube
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