For the month of January, I’m selecting some of the most memorable and influential songs of the 60’s. While they all hail from the same decade, these are some of my favorite songs of any era. They remind me that the 60’s were so much more than just Woodstock and psychedelic rock. It was a flourishing period for blues, folk, progressive and straight-ahead rock. #31DaysOf60sSongs
It’s interesting which songs resonate with our kids, and which ones don’t. My own children have shown interest in songs from a variety of artists, including Rush, Duran Duran and Keane. But there are just as many songs that they detest. They seem to be drawn to great melodies and lyrics that are easy to understand. They’re turned off by more experimental instrumentation. And certain songs can outright annoy them, like “Laisse Tomber Les Filles”.
“Can you stop playing that annoying song? Let’s listen to something else,” said my 11-year old daughter when she first heard this France Gall classic. The song actually mirrors some of my daughter’s own spunk, but she had no idea as the entire song is sung in French. “Laisse Tomber Les Filles” is a flashback to a rebellious, carefree era. The ye-ye musicality feels like it has one foot in jazz and the other in pop. The brass flourishes flirt with our ears, while the playful percussion is stalwart in its goofiness.
“Laisse tomber les filles. Laisse tomber les filles. Un jour c'est toi qu'on laissera.”