Soundtrack: Masculin, féminin: 15 faits précis
Composer/Artist(s): Chantal Goya
Year: 1966
Genre(s): 60's French Pop (ye ye girl)

DOWNLOAD -- Chantal Goya "15 faits précis" + other ye ye hits!
This is a 20-song compilation, including all six songs from the original score plus others.

Over the past week, I have been staying up late re-watching Masculin Feminin. It's a film that embodies Goddard-esque social sarcasm and political irony, but watching it in the context of 2008 American depression the film holds some odd similarities in my opinion. Although the film could never be re-made given the time and circumstance of 1966 France, the film could be re-imagined, re-examined and played out with a similar aesthetic and placed on any generations' "lost" youth from a multitude of countries under a depressed state. The slick thing with Goddard, is the direction and writing. The style of acting. The realism of these characters and their interactions are what sets nouvelle vague into a genre praised for it's documentary-like drama.



Interestingly, in France the movie was prohibited to persons under 18 — “the very audience it was meant for,” griped Godard — while the Berlin Film Festival named it the year’s best film for young people.



Helping carry a youthful tone and playful "mainstream" appeal to the film in 1966 France, is the fun-filled, pop score of ye ye girl Chantal Goya. Goya stars as the alluring pop-diva girlfriend Madeleine, as we follow the over-confident, always analytical and satirical Paul. Having just served his national duty to the republic, Paul wanders from room to room with an impudence of societal boundaries. In the hypocrisies of Paul's universe is the pop-cultured purity of his Madeleine. Played by Chantal Goya, Madeleine embodies the exuberance of youth. Her music (in the movie and in real life) was the French reaction to British pop, which spawned from American r&B. The musical result is a small, but beloved genre referred to as "ye ye girl" music.

According to an interview, Goddard purposely chose Chantal Goya to play the teeny-bopper role because, not because her beautiful face... For him, her face was “empty” and she completely exemplified “the Pepsi Generation”. Sound familiar? I think even if Goddard's goals were to exploit the youth, he did it in a tasteful way and obviously chose beauty to sell the obsession of SEX while the characters could be talking about anything. My favorite example of this is the nearly ten-minute interview monologue with "MISS19" by her window. Whether its her definition for relevance or what "reactionary" means to her, she really just looks as if she wants to jump off camera and make love to the interviewer.



While the whole film (or era for that matter) captures this energy, I think Chantal's voice, lyrics and wholesome score is the perfect appeal to the film's tone. As I have been getting more into listening to the pop-melodies and mod-enhanced melodies of Chantal Goya, I have also began obsessing over the cute-factor of these babes in the "ye ye girl" movement. Check out THIS page for an entire history, discography and more on the genre. Also, check out this amazing interview with Chantal Goya from 1965, just before the release of Masculin Feminin.



Fast-forward several decades and Chantal Goya moved from 60's sex-icon into...
In the 70's she did awesome motorcycle ads:

And for the last few decades she has been a star in the children's music world.
On a joint tour with Raffi this summer! Also read Five Facts about Chantal Goya.