Tony time

What I’m trying to do, and I don’t like the jargon, is to ‘square the circle’

21st century rip-off

Round our way, 1950s punishments are still applied for minor infringements of strict social conventions

It’s not easy

I don’t get out much. Neither, of late, do I get here much, which is a constant cause of disappointment and regret, for me at least. I’m always eager to please the audience, so here is another clip of Johnny Hallyday (I might not necessarily be pleasing my audience).

I love this song. It’s a kind of male-oriented, rocky-poppy-disco-y I Will Survive in which Johnny affirms he’s not died from sadness yet, thanking his concrete morale – while conceding he doesn’t know how he’s managed it, and a rhyming confession that “J’ai de nouveaux amis, qui s’apellent le blues et l’ennui” (“I’ve made new friends, called blues and listlessness” – genuine, mouthful-of-tea-spurting, laugh-out-loud funny the first time I heard it).

This live, though mimed (oh, Johnny…), performance is from the very early 1980s I think – check out the hair, the abrupt ending, everything. I love it. And not in a ‘I love it because it’s so bad it’s good’ way, in a genuine way.