SONG OF THE DAY (#157)

'the operation' by charlotte gainsbourg

so what do you do when you're the daughter of two of france's biggest music icons? if you're charlotte gainsbourg (daughter of jane birkin and serge gainsbourg) you release an terrific album, '5:55,' when you're taking a break from your day job as an actress.

now, even if you didn't know it was jane's and serge's daughter, upon first listen you'd probably find yourself thinking, 'sounds like it could be a serge gainsbourg song.' it's introspective, sexy, jazzy, smoky, breathy and sultry. but since dear old dad left us in 1991, you do what any self-respecting french singer should do if you want to write an album: you get hometown heroes, air, to write your album. in fact, when i first 'the operation,' i thought to myself, 'self, this sounds like an air song!' my predictive powers are astonishing (i'm kidding, of course). and if that weren't enough, you get jarvis cocker (pulp) to help out, too.

here's hoping charlotte takes more breaks from her acting career and makes more records. if they're as good as '5:55,' they well be more than welcome additions to the gainsbourg canon.

��� charlotte gainsbourg: the operation
��� charlotte gainsbourg: the songs we sing
��� charlotte gainsbourg: jamais