L'Âme-stram-gram
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| “L'Âme-stram-gram” | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by Mylène Farmer from the album Innamoramento |
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| Released | March 9, 1999 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Format | CD single CD maxi 12" maxi Digital download (since 2005) |
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| Recorded | 1999, France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Pop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 5:16 (single version) 4:24 (album version) |
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| Label | Polydor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Text : Mylène Farmer Music : Laurent Boutonnat |
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| Producer | Laurent Boutonnat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Certification | Silver France, 1999 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mylène Farmer singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"L'Âme-stram-gram" is a 1999 song recorded by the French artist Mylène Farmer. The song was released as the first single from Farmer's fifth studio album Innamoramento on March 9, 1999.
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[edit] Background and writing
In January 1999, Farmer was no longer appeared on television for more than a year and a half, after the release of the singles from the album Live à Bercy. At that time, rumours announced the singer's return would be imminent, with a very rhythmic single named "The Small World" and a new album whose name would be "Mes Moires". These forecasts were proved wrong ; but as early as February, the radio station NRJ aired the new Farmer's single, which in fact named "L'Âme-stram-gram". According to some fans, this song, with very techno dancing accents, seemed to show a singer's change of registry musical.[1]
Promotional envelopes (some sealed, others not) were released in limited edition on March 2 and 6 and contain, in addition to the CD single, the song's lyrics written by Farmer.[2] There is a spelling mistake in the word "immiscer" and a deletion.[3]
The song is available in its studio version on Innamoramento and Les Mots, in a live version with Hispanic accents on Mylenium Tour and in a remixed version ('full intention ultra mix') by Michael Gray and Jon Pearn on RemixeS.
[edit] Lyrics and music
"L'Âme-stram-gram", whose text was written in Milan, is a "techno ballad" dealing with sex, childhood and psychoanalysis. With this song, Farmer "abandons the Slavonic and American universes to be interested in Asia".[4]
It contains numerous erotic puns :[5] "J'ouïs tout ce que tu confesses / Et l'essaim scande l'ivresse", "J'ouïs tout ce que tu susurres / L'essaim bat la mesure", "Immisce et glisse l'abdomen / Dans l'orifice à moi", "L'âme-stram-gram, pique-moi dans l'âme / Bourrée bourrée de nœuds mâles / L'âme-stram-gram pique dames". The associtations of sonorities allow to hear, or at least to refer, to the orgasm, the female organs ( "cunt", "buttock", "breast") and the sexual penetration.[6]
The song also refers to "a childhood rhyme (a song recited by children to point out a person at random from a group) and the psychoanalysis with the theme of the sofa and the "Oedipus complex" identified by Sigmund Freud". The voice is also "quite subdued in order to make it more heavenly, the music used more synthesizers and bass guitar than the previous album".[7]
[edit] Music video
The video, which lasts 7:50, was conducted with great pomp. It was filmed in Beijing by Ching Siu Tung for five days and four nights. Like most other of Farmer's videos, it is a Requiem Publishing and Stuffed Monkey production. The screenplay, written by the singer, is based on a Chinese legend and the film series A Chinese Ghost Story made by Tung.[8] There is also a shorter version (4:42) of this music video.[9]
The staging was extremely careful and the images were very aesthetic. It was shot with a huge budget of 400,000 euros (900,000 euros according to another source[10]). This costliness is mainly because of the construction of scenery (a reconstruction of the Great Wall of China) and digital special effects. Despite the very cold temperatures during the shooting, Farmer was not wearing a T-shirt under her costume and also directed most of the stunts. Valérie Bony, a dancer of Farmer's tours, played this one's body double when the latter was showed from her back.[11]
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The video features two twin sisters, played by Farmer, and several Chinese bandits. Initially, the two sisters are dressed in blue veils and play together in a veiled coloured decor. But numerous knights arrive and begin to prosecute the two sisters. Suddenly, the latters derive their long tongue, which, in contact, produce a power making drop the soldiers from their horses. Nevertheless, the robbers managed to stun one of the two sisters and to capture another. They bring her in an immense stable where some people are tortured. Then the second sister, exhausted, comes in order to rescue her sister, but makes a fatal fall in climbing the long staircase leading to the stable. Her soul leaves her body and reach the sky. The sister still alive and the soul then derive their long tongue, a fire falls on their enemies, and they escape from the stable. While it starts to snow, they play in the airs under the full moon ; however, in the early morning, the soul disappears in the sky. Her sister, desperate, thinks back to the good times spent with her and decides to throw herself from the top of the Great Wall of China in order to be eternally with her in Paradise. The video ends with credits.[12]
According to an analysis, the video illustrates the idea of "a myth overtaken by reality" : indeed, "the image of a serene life enshrined in the completeness, came to be overtaken by the harsh reality. This fantasy can exist and be realised only outside reality".[13]
[edit] TV and chart performances
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In 1999, Farmer performed the song in three TV shows : Les Années tubes (April 2, TF1), Hit Machine (April 17, M6), Tapis rouge (April 24, France 2). On these occasions, she had a new hairstyle while loops, but that was short-lived.[14] The choreography created by Farmer was performed with two dancers.
In France, the single went straight to #2, on March 13, 1999. In general, a so high entry foresees from a promising future. At that time, some observers have even anticipated the feat : Mylène Farmer could become the first artist whose every album, in a series of four consecutive, would have produced a number 1 single ("Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" from Ainsi soit je..., "Désenchantée" from L'Autre..., and "XXL" from Anamorphosée).[15] Against all odds, the single kept on dropping the following weeks. It remained for only four weeks in the Top 10, ten weeks in the Top 50, and 16 weeks in the chart.[16] Howerver, the single was certified Silver disc by the French certificator SNEP[17] and ranked number 58 on the Annual Singles Chart.[18]
In Belgian Ultratop 40 Single Chart, the single was listed for 13 weeks from March 20 to June 12. It debuted at number #22 before jumping to its highest position, #9, the week after. Then it fell every week, but very slowly.[19] Thus "L'Âme-stram-gram" was in Belgium the best-selling single from the album Innamoramento, with the longest running and the best peak position. It reached number 53 on the Belgian Annual Singles Chart[20].
[edit] Formats and track listings
A-side :
B-side :
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A-side :
B-side :
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[edit] Versions
- Official versions
| Version | Length | Album | Remixed by | Year | Comment[8] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Album version | 4:24 | Innamoramento, Les Mots | 1999 | See the previous sections | |
| Single version | 4:16 | 1999 | The introduction and the end are slightly shorter. | ||
| Promotional single version | 4:12 | 1999 | The introduction and the end are slightly shorter. | ||
| L.A. instrumental | 4:23 | Laurent Boutonnat | 1999 | ||
| Perky Park pique dames club mix | 6:38 | Perky Park | 1999 | This is a dance and house version. Its introduction has a length of three minutes. Only refrains from the original version are retained. | |
| Perky Park pique d'âme dub mix | 6:52 | Anamorphosée, Les Mots | Perky Park | 1999 | This is a house version in which all lyrics have almost all been removed. Farmer sings only "Âme-stram-gram" and some onomatopoeia. |
| Lady Bee by Lady B's remix | 6:27 | Lady B, aka Bruno Gauthier | 1999 | Only the phrases "L'âme-stram-gram, pique-moi dans l'âme / Bourrée bourrée de nœuds mâles / L'âme-stram-gram pique dames" are included in this version. The cry that Farmer launches at the beginning of "Libertine" can be heard throughout this remix. | |
| Live version (recorded in 2000) | 5:59 | Mylenium Tour | 2000 | The introduction has oriental sonorities. See Mylenium Tour | |
| Full intention sultra mix | 7:57 | RemixeS | Full Intention | 2003 | This dance remix adds many percussions. After a long introduction (about 3:00), Farmer sings all lyrics from the original version. |
- Unofficial mentionable fan remixes[21]
- Doudou's playground mix (9:08)
- Techno mix (8:24)
- DJ Nicuum's extended'âme remix (8:22)
- Chris Teets supra joy club remix (3:50)
- DiGital's loving call inside the body remix (3:59)
[edit] Credits and personnel
- Text : Mylène Farmer
- Music : Laurent Boutonnat
- Editions : Requiem Publishing
- Recording company : Polydor
- Photography : Marino Parisotto Vay
- Design : Henry Neu / Com'N.B
[edit] Charts, certifications, sales
[edit] References
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