I've been meaning to write about this album for so long now that it's almost criminal it took me this long. And it's also criminal that this wonderful hommage to the wonderful yé-yé music that is so in vogue again these days has been so overlooked. Let's try and reassess that, shall we?

This isn't Emmanuelle Seigner's first foray into music but I think it's safe to say that this is her official debut as a force to be reckoned with in the current french musical scene. Practically all the tracks are killers and for me the best thing about it is that you feel as if you're listening to something very familiar even though none of the tracks are covers. And I personally couldn't ask for anything more.

I'm going to leave you with a delicious duet between Seigner and her husband, Mr. Roman Polanski himself. And if you happen to be reminded of another very famous french duet, don't feel bad about it. It's all good. Listen then to Qui êtes-vous?.

How can you not love an american girl from California whose love of 60's french pop is such that she releases album after album of old yé-yé covers draped in gloriously retro album jackets? It's practically impossible, isn't it? Well, her name is Elinor Blake, more widely known as April March. Delicious, isn't it?

The song I bring you here today has made her famous by being featured in two movie soundtracks but there's definitely much more to discover from this evergreen chanteuse. Of curious note is the fact that she has worked as an animator in some pretty high profile projects, namely Pee-Wee's Playhouse and the opening credits and video for Madonna's Who's That Girl. Pretty good, huh?

But I'm going to leave you with the french version of Chick Habit, the Gainsbourg penned Laisse Tomber Les Filles, made famous by another very well-known chanteuse - France Gall. See you soon!

To me, it's endlessly amazing how incredibly frenetic and vivacious the Yé-yé scene was. I seem to be able to find a "new" singing girl every month. The amazing thing about that is that the level of quality of the songs is most of the times very high. Infectious pop in all its glory.

Today's fille is one Annie Philippe, which had a brief but nonetheless hit-filled career. She somehow managed to make her mark among much bigger names than her on a market that was over-populated with female singers with arguably better song material than her (yes, I'm talking about Claudine Longet, France Gall and even Zouzou). In fact, her voice register is highly reminiscent of one Ms. Gall and if you're fan of the latter, you're sure to instantly become very fond of the former.

Philippe was very fortunate, though to have one Paul Mauriat as the arranger of most of her songs and this is where most of her appeal lies, as I'm sure that there are plenty of his admirers out there. But enough chatting - listen to one of her greatest hits: C'est La Mode.

Another great compilation of french yé-yé songs, this time focusing on the years between 1968-71 and featuring both female and male singers. Pretty wild stuff in here! And great cover art, too designed by the french Andy Warhol, Guy Peellaert.

One other great thing about this compilation is that all of the tracks were on CD for the first time when this came out. Wonderful public service, don't you think? The music, unsurprisingly, retained the same charm and the same power to affect your senses and move your hips. Oh, and there's plenty of undiscovered gems to get you glued to your computer for hours on end just to know that little bit more about that particular track from that particular artist you just cannot get enough of.

One such example is this, La Drogue, by duo Messieurs Richard de Bordeaux & Daniel Beretta. Fantastic song it is, too. See you soon.

The world of french yé-yé music is seemingly an inexhaustible source of groovy beats, funky melodies and hip girls. This compilation you see on your left - Swinging Mademoiselles - is only one of many you can find out there and it's as good a starting point into that wonderful world of mini-skirts and bob haircuts as any on the market.

The singer I've decided to highlight today is Arlette Zola, a swiss born chanteuse that had a long string of hits and even tried her luck a couple of times on the Eurovision Song contest, always achieving high final chart positions, though never winning. I'm afraid I'm too young to remember seeing her on that ubiquitous TV show, so I guess I'll have to resource myself to some YouTube searching in order to see her perform live.

I leave you for now with one of her biggest hits, Je Suis Folle De Tant T'Aimer, a brisky but daring sounding little number. Enjoy it.

One of her very best albums, Ms. Hardy's Ma Jeunesse Fout Le Camp is an aural delight from beginning to end. Her songs rarely were this tender and fragile and the arrangements as baroque or ornate in their simplicity, if you pardon the paradox.

The thing with Françoise Hardy is that, as her complete discography is yet to surface on CD (some of her albums were never released in that format), sometimes the best choice is to go with compilations. And there are two or three out there that deserve to be in every music lover collection, though incomplete and uneven as they are. But to get a clear picture of how strong she really was as a recording artist in the 60's and 70's, you do need to buy an actual album.

My choice and recommendation for all you uninitiated out there is this, Ma Jeunesse Fout Le Camp, a wonderful album in all aspects: singing, playing, arranging, lyrics, you name it. My favorite track though is this one over here: Des Ronds Dans L'Eau. Enjoy.

Chantal Goya was another french yé-yé chanteuse with a somewhat high-profile career in the 60's, though nothing to compare with the likes of Brigitte Bardot's or even Jane Birkin's. However, she did enjoy some exposure and was even cast in Godard's Masculin, Féminin (as you may notice, the french new wave director had a thing or two for popular singers with pretty faces - see below). Later on, she became even more well-known due to her children's TV show and husband Jean-Jacques Debout's composed albums which have reputedly sold over 30 million strong. But let's forget that for a moment and focus on her yé-yé years for a bit.

Infectious pop with an edge sung in a very straightforward way, Goya's 5 singles were enough to put her on the cover of every magazine of her day. It's easy to see why: her music was youth-marketed and her looks were very trendy. She was one of the It girls of her time and Godard even said about her that she was "the Pepsi Generation", which you can take both ways, I suppose. Still, her legacy from those years is strong enough to make people go out and search for her music which, while not being as revolutionary as some of her contemporaries, was still able to make an impression on her listeners and at the end of the day that's what really matters, right?

Model, actress, yé-yé chanteuse, icon, heroin addict. So reads the life of Danièle Ciarlet, better known to the public as Zouzou.

I came to know her through her linkage to french yé-yé pop music as she was continually cited as one of the most prominent female figures of the time and so, as soon as I got the chance to get my hands on this anthology on your left, I wasted no time in finding out if the references were valid. First impressions are generally very good, with Zouzou sounding like a cross between Nico and Françoise Hardy without the existentialism or faux-nihilism of either one. Zouzou is much more straighforward in her delivery and on the messages she puts across with the lyrics. Mind, that's not to say that she can be quickly dismissed as vapid or vague. No. She is definitely not an airhead and her work as an actress is a testimony of that, what with her role in Éric Rohmer's Love in the Afternoon and all. It's just that her music is not as heavy or deep as her contemporaries. But sometimes that's just what you need in life.

As a last note, I should say that I find Zouzou's songs much edgier sounding than France Gall's, for instance. As an example, take a listen to Il Est Parti Comme Il Est Venu.

No prizes for guessing the name of the artist I would be focusing on this post, of course! I told you I had a soft spot for french pop, didn't I? So, deal with it!

If you'd like to only buy a single album by Miss Bardot, make it this one. "Best of" features a fantastic selection of the very best tracks Brigitte has ever recorded and believe me when I say that the very best are here. From the early days to the Gainsbourg days, the hits are there for your listening pleasure. Some complain that she isn't really a singer. I disagree. If the best singers are the ones that know how to give emotion to a lyric, then she is a great one. If she is singing of love lost (and you will find very few songs that deal with this subject because she was much too busy finding new loves instead of mourning over lost ones!) or sunny days, you'll feel it with almost a teenage intensity to it. That was her charm and magic, so it's best to treasure it instead of criticizing it.

You'll see what I mean when you click on the play button below and listen to Moi Je Joue, one of her most infectious songs.

This is it: the motherlode of all France Gall compilations. An Intégrale of all her Philips recordings from 1963 to 68. Not a single one of its 70 plus tracks a clunker. I know, it sounds unbelievable but I assure you it's true. 3 CDs, packaged in a Long Box, the breeziest, cutest, jazzy-est songs you'll ever hear. Essential listening for all aficionados.

On a side note, it also serves as an amazing primer for anyone wishing to dip a toe or two in the fabulous world of french yé-yé. The 60's really were a wild and fast world to live in in France. It's quite amazing the sheer number of female singers that were around at the time if you think about it. To top all that, the songs were not bad at all, quite on the contrary. They still sound as fresh today as the day they were recorded and continue to influence every twee solo singer that you find making records today, even though it has been delegated to the indie scene as it's not considered trendy music. Well, it is in my book, anyway.

I leave you with one of her greatest hits, Les Sucettes, a single penned by none other than Serge Gainsbourg. As you might imagine, it caused quite a commotion once people began to realize what the lyrics were all about...