DOMINIQUE BUXIN INTERVIEW, part 3

Dominique : Perfect. Yes it was the first time we met together. I already saw the Stranglers in London in 1979 or 1980, but I was so shy I couldn't ask to see him at the end of the show. I could have presented myself as some JJ's belgian «partner», but as usual, I kept on being the «man in the shadow». And so the first time I met Jean-Jacques was in this Brussels studio. He was very cool and friendly. JJ didn't act like a pop star, and we didn't act just like fans. It was a team work, and, in my opinion, all the members of the team were on the same level, even if some of them were more famous, like JJ of course.

• ZAS. There's nothing much to say about this one here, because it's an instrumental...
D : Instrumental, yes, but with smashing screams. The meeting of the machine and the animal.

• RENDEZ-VOUS : a new (and very different) version of Logique Polygonale. The lyrics don't seem to change, though.
D : No, they're just the same.

D : When you asked me about books, I forgot George Orwell's « 1984 ». What a shame! This is a book every human beeing should read if he wants to know the reality of the power above us (be carreful when you pay whith your credit card in shops or tollbothes… We are tracked all the time. Big Brother/Web Brother/Money Brother, they are everywhere...). Orwell did understand EVERYTHING. He should have received the Nobel democracy price (if there was one).
The lyrics are a summary of the book. It sounded obvious I should write them in english. Jean-Jacques' voice fits perfectly with the lyrics and the atmosphere of the song.

• KING OF HONG KONG : who's that King of Hong Kong ?
D : Just a play on words with « King Kong »

• NBC GMBH. There was a chorus in the first demos, but it doesn't appear in the final version : Tout Va sauter. I supposed it was a kind of apocalyptic song (NBC = nuclear /bacteriologic / chimic), with a chaotic list of all the things going to explode ?
D : Right. Do you know what GmbH means in german ? « Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung » : limited liability company. You see what I mean ? We're producing dangerous weapons (of massive destruction, like some pinhead would say), playing a dangerous game, and then, one day, everything will be out of control. Et tout peut sauter !
As Rabelais said once : « Science sans conscience n’est que ruine de l’âme ».

• ACTION MAN is a rather political song, in the same mood as Plage Privée. Were you talking about somebody special, or just about a state of mind ?
D : Just a state of mind. You can have a couple of drinks and try to rebuilt the world, but to get really involved in something is much more difficult to do. But sometimes, you can get involved without any reason. This is the second part of the song (« Je prends une carte dans chaque parti »). It's not far from « L’opportuniste », from Jacques Dutronc/ Jacques Lanzmann. Two songs I love very much.

• NIGHT IS COMING ON. Is it a breaking song ? What means "Mens sana dans un corps de salaud" ?
D : A cynical breaking. The song is based on two effects : the « s » and « m » sounds in the first verse, the « f » and « m » sounds in the second verse. There's also a line about Hiroshima (maybe some radioactive fallouts from one song to the other ?). The second effect is based on the expression « mens sana in corpore sano ». I changed it all along the song . « Mens sana /esprit sain dans un corps de salaud » is about a guy going out with a girl, just to have it off, and then running away (« Mens sana dans un corps en solo »).

• LE TEMPS DU SWING. There are many play on words in this one, which is not far from some alain Bashung's songs, I think. Or even Bobby Lapointe.
D : « Avanie et framboise » and « Anastasie, l’ennui m’anesthésie » are two real great songs. Good old Bobby was always the best ! I didn't think about him while I was writing the lyrics, but I like Bobby Lapointe. And Bashung too. Especially, «La nuit, je mens». I guess I must have listened to it maybe 10 times in one evening. Great atmosphère. And a great album with Serge Gainsbourg : Play Blessures. If you need some electricity, this one is for you.
There are many calembours (play on words) in Le Temps Du Swing. It's also about zazous. And who says zazou says Boris Vian !!

JE T'AI TOUJOURS AIMÉE

• This one is almost a JJ' solo song. He's singing, playing bass, producing...

D : I wasn't there when they recorded it, but Roger-Marc told me he just started playing keyboards, and then JJ played some bass. And maybe it was chance, or coincidence, « hasard objectif » (as the surrealists said), but lyrics and music fit really well together.
I wrote this song one sunday morning, in some building in Düren, Germany (West Germany at this time). As soon as I found the basic structure of the song (the very first verse), I knew I had something.
And then, the whole song came very easily. I probably had it in my mind for quite a long time, because, most of the time, I keep the song in my mind, before writing anything. Could be dangerous sometimes, when I knew I had something, but couldn't remind what it was. (« Souviens-toi de m’oublier », like Gainsbourg said).
Most PS fans consider it as one of their favorite songs ever. Dominique A covered it (what a coincidence : Dominique A sings Dominique B). And I saw once on Internet that Noël Akchoté covered it too. But I can't remember where. I'd really like to hear that, 'cause this guy sounds bloody interesting (his Kraftwerk Radioaktivität version was a real atomic bomb !).

• OK, let's go back to 1982. The LP has just been released, and got great reviews. The band goes on tour for the very first time, without you, because you never show up on stage. But I suppose you were around in the great occasions, like the Brussels Plan K for instance ?
D : I wasn't at the Plan K, but I saw them in Gand, in Anvers, and when they opened for the Stranglers, at the Schaerbeek Halles, with Front 242. I just showed up in the background for RDA-RFA, pretending to sing, 'cause I got a terrible voice. I also saw them on various TV shows, mainly in Belgium and France.

• Beside the album, there was a bunch of singles with a couple of unissued tracks : RDA RFA and PARTIES DANCE. (actually, RDA RFA already appeared on the Mother’s Little Helper 12" maxi single). Was RDA RFA about your train journeys between Belgium and Germany ? This song must have been written circa 1980, because there are many different versions in the PS archives.

D : The lyrics were registred at the Sabam in 1982 (28-7-82). Yes, I often took the train between Belgium and Germany and vice versa. This is about the train stations atmospheres : different languages and sounds (verse 1), different lives, destinies (verse 2). With some anecdotes (about Turkish people - there are many of them in Germany-, belgian militiamen, you could see them in those days, and food – Schnell Imbiss is like fast food there - (verses 3 and 4).
It's a moment of life, with words taken from reality, like the german announcement telling the passengers that the train is ready to go.

• DETECTIVE PRIVE
Fire & Water (JJ and Dave Greenfield's LP) is released about one year later, in 1983, featuring an extraordinaire song you wrote : "Détective Privé". It's got a film noir atmosphere that will later appear again in "le Rocker de la CIA". It was your first collaboration with him (before Un Jour Parfait in 1989). Did you offer him some more songs ? It seems there are still many unreleased songs from this album, which is so far not available on CD (just like Polyphonic Size...)

D : Jean-Jacques asked me to write him some lyrics during one of PS studio sessions. I can't exactly remember when... He choosed « Détective Privé » and turned it into a great song. Yes, it's got a real «film noir» atmosphere. I remember I used to read many "Serie Noire" books in those days, especially some James Hadley Chase. Great writer. You should try « No orchids for miss Blandish », for instance (but there are many others). There's always this weird atmosphere, where the «good» isn't so good at all. Tough stuff ! Try it with whiskey (dry !).

Back to Dominique Buxin interview : Part one / Part two