Theo Hakola from Passion Fodder produced their first LP in 1987 Où veux-tu qu'je r'garde ?. This 6 tracks album shows what would become a Noir Désir trademark: finely crafted lyrics with powerful rock sound.
Noir Désir's second album, Veuillez rendre l'âme (à qui elle appartient), released in 1990, introduced punk rock elements to their sound. This continued with their next album, Tostaky, which contained the successful song Tostaky.
One of the most popular rock groups in France, their success continued with the release of the dance-influenced 666.667 Club, and the remix album One Trip One Noise. Their last album, 2001's Des visages des figures, was a slower, more ambitious affair. This album also contained a collaboration with a fellow francophone Manu Chao. "Des visages, des figures" was the album of the consecration for the group which won the music award (Victoire de la Musique) of the best rock album of year 2002, as well as the award of best clip for "Le Vent nous portera". Although their last album seemed to be the slowest one, the following gigs were huge rock shows where thousands of fans came to see the group.
In 2003, allegedly on a drug binge, Bertrand Cantat slapped his girlfriend, Marie Trintignant during an argument in a hotel room in Lithuania. As she fell, her head hit the bed, and she consequently bled to death. Marie Trintignant was a popular French actress and was working on a movie. A Lithuanian judge sentenced Cantat to 8 years in prison after a jury convicted him of manslaughter. He was sentenced in Lithuania and served his sentence in a prison near Toulouse in France.
In September 2005, an album, En public, which contains highlights of their last tour. They also released a DVD set, Noir Désir en images, which contains various live performances, footage and videos. Special permission was obtained in order to allow the imprisoned Cantat to participate in the development of those.
Noir Désir members have not ruled out the possibility of re-forming once Cantat is released from jail. Cantat was released early on account of good behaviour on October 16th, 2007, but immediately retreated to his house near Bordeaux. At the time, he would not speak to the press regarding his musical future.
In November 2008, two free tracks were released. The band wished to show, with this release, that productive and cathartic, works from Noir Désir still impregnate the French scene with intellectual and emotional abuse.
Teyssot-Gay has stated that the group is currently in the process of composing and recording a new album which he feels should be finished in 2009. However according to a May 14, 2009 article in Le Parisien the album will not be ready until January 2010.
On November 29, 2010 it was announced that guitarist Serge Teyssot-Gay was leaving the band citing "emotional, human and musical differences" with lead singer Cantat.
On November 30, 2010 band's drummer Denis Barthe announced that Noir Désir is disbanded for good and that is useless to let the band live with "artificial respiration".
Alice
Noir Désir Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
De la metamorphose
Elle peut se transformer
Et rien ne s'y oppose
Alice a le don
Alice a le doigt
Qui se perd sur le globe
Et traverse la terre
Alice a le doigt
Alice se frotte
À l'immersion
Et au diadème solaire
Enfin a d'autres visions
Alice se frotte
Allez Alice se frotte
Assise au milieu des ondes
Alice est féconde
À dada sur son monde
Elle envoie ses flèches
À la fin oui tout s'explique
Rêve et mécanique
Le ciel électrique
Des televisions
Alice se regarde
Alanguie sur son plume
Elle a tant flotté dans l'ether
Qu'elle arrive à la lune
Alice veut le meilleur
Alice fait sa nuit
Dans des villes enchantées
Alors elle se réveille au matin
Sur des terres brulées
Alice fait sa nuit
Quand sur ses ailes d'acier
Sans des lits d'inities
Elle sent le point du jour
Elle a fait le tour
Alice se sort de la faille
Et revient a sa taille
Alors le monde entier
Redevient normal
Alice est comme ça
The song Alice by Noir Désir appears to be about a woman named Alice who has extraordinary abilities, perhaps even supernatural ones. She has the gift of metamorphosis and can transform without anything being able to stop her. This ability is often associated with magic and fantasy, so it's possible that this song is a metaphor for the power of the human imagination. Alice can also navigate the world with ease, tracing rivers and crossing continents without a problem. She is curious and adventurous, seeking out new experiences and visions. The lyrics describe her floating in the ether, traveling through enchanted cities, and even going to the moon.
The song seems to be about the power of the human spirit and how it can transcend the limitations of the physical world. Alice is a symbol of the human potential for exploration, transformation, and discovery. She is a metaphor for the creative and curious mind that seeks to understand the mysteries of the universe.
Line by Line Meaning
Alice a le don
Alice has a gift
De la metamorphose
of transformation
Elle peut se transformer
She can change herself
Et rien ne s'y oppose
Without any obstacle
Alice a le don
Alice has a gift
Alice a le doigt
Alice has a finger
Qui se perd sur le globe
That wanders around the world
Elle suit le trace des rivières
Following the path of rivers
Et traverse la terre
Traversing the Earth
Alice a le doigt
Alice has a finger
Alice se frotte
Alice rubs
À l'immersion
Immerging
Et au diadème solaire
And the solar diadem
Enfin a d'autres visions
Finally, to new visions
Alice se frotte
Alice rubs
Allez Alice se frotte
Go Alice rubs
Assise au milieu des ondes
Sitting in the middle of waves
Alice est féconde
Alice is fruitful
À dada sur son monde
Riding on her world
Elle envoie ses flèches
She sends her arrows
À la fin oui tout s'explique
In the end, yes, everything makes sense
Rêve et mécanique
Dream and machine
Le ciel électrique
The electric sky
Des televisions
Of televisions
Alice se regarde
Alice looks at herself
Alanguie sur son plume
Languishing on her feather
Elle a tant flotté dans l'ether
She has floated so much in the ether
Qu'elle arrive à la lune
That she reaches the moon
Alice veut le meilleur
Alice wants the best
Alice fait sa nuit
Alice spends her night
Dans des villes enchantées
In enchanted cities
Alors elle se réveille au matin
Then she wakes up in the morning
Sur des terres brulées
On burnt lands
Alice fait sa nuit
Alice spends her night
Quand sur ses ailes d'acier
When on her steel wings
Sans des lits d'inities
Without initiation beds
Elle sent le point du jour
She senses the break of day
Elle a fait le tour
She has made the tour
Alice se sort de la faille
Alice gets out of the rift
Et revient a sa taille
And comes back to her size
Alors le monde entier
Then the whole world
Redevient normal
Becomes normal again
Alice est comme ça
Alice is like that
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Denis Guy Marc Barthe, Bertrand Lucien Cantat, Jean-paul Roy, Gay Serge Marius Pierre Teyssot
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
F Z
Une des plus belles musiques de Noir Désir, j'ai cette chanson qui m'est remonté des brumes de ma conscience, un bel après-midi d'été où les nuages mettaient en scène un baiser. Magnifique Alice, que ton parcours dure, que ton chemin trouve le nom des coeurs!
gahan101
On sent du Sonic Youth,dedans.
Righer Conq
magnifique
Emmanuel Trautmann
Un peu noisy 100% melodieux
Emmanuel Trautmann
#DaydreamNation
Akira Midori
Alice est comme ça…
Nileju
Alice a le don...
Michaël Materne
...Alice est comme ça!
Yann Ropars
quelqu'un sais qui est alice? j'ai pas envie d'aller sur wiki, je me demande juste...alice a le droit...
Nalysseuh
o/