Add To Our New Spotify Playlist: French Café

A blast to the past! Remember when it was safe to travel? When we could lounge in a French café with a cappuccino? Even make awkward eye contact while people-watching?

Those were the good old days….

This week, let’s reminisce about a time when sitting in a café was as simple as it could get. There is no reason why we can’t bring the ambience of classic French music and the smell of coffee beans back to our own homes. So, to help recreate that lovely feeling for our Jetset readers, I have curated a second #TravelFromHome playlist exclusively for you all called “French Café”. For this playlist, I encourage everybody to add their own songs! Just give the playlist a follow and add any songs that you think might enhance the French café experience.

The city of Paris alone has over 12,000 cafés that harbor daily social life for Parisians and travelers alike. Tables and chairs spread out onto sidewalks where customers often chat and drink for hours. Some people even prefer to sit by themselves just to observe life around them. In the day and age of quarantine, however, this type of exposed socialization is unheard of; but, thanks to technology, intimate social experiences can still occur at the click of a button. The French café experience should never be rushed, so take your time, listen to the playlist, drink your cup of coffee, and call up a couple of friends.

The playlist starts off with French icon, Edith Piaf, the national chanteuse (female singer) of France. She is widely known for her romantic ballads such as “La vie en rose” and “Non, je ne regrette rien” : two very dramatic yet powerful songs. Another notable mention from the playlist is Françoise Hardy, an iconic French singer-songwriter and early pioneer of the 1960s yé-yé movement that sparked a youthful free spirit wave in post-war France. Françoise takes a more playful spin on the classic love ballad genre with songs such as “Le temps de l’amour” and “Tous les garçons et les filles”. I first experienced the innocence and joy of “Le temps de l’amour” while watching the Wes Anderson movie, “Moonrise Kingdom”, during a scene where the main characters, Suzy and Sam, danced on the beach in only their underwear. This sweet song reminds me to live and love in the moment with no fear for the future, a relevant lesson during today’s extremely uncertain times.

The classics that commence our “French Café” playlist have a towering influence on today’s Parisian indie scene. Bands like “La Femme” and “Juniore” perform with the same romantic singing and guitar voicing as the classic yé-yé artists but with some electronic and indie rock twists. These bands are just the beginning of the new and exciting French indie-rock scene. Once this quarantine is over, I hope to hear even more of their sounds at hip cafés around town.

If there are any other songs that embody the essence of a relaxing, romantic, and modern French café, please, feel free to add them here!

Rester en sécurité et en bonne santé (Stay safe and healthy!)