The Berlin duo STEREO TOTAL has created a colourful and fascinating universe. Oscillating between the essential punk rock, disco and electro garage chanson and genious diletantism, the songs dazzle us for an instant (most of them not for longer than two minutes), leaving us stunned by their intensity.
At the beginning of this ever-expanding musical universe (pleasantly enough!): a woman, a man, and an inexhaustible, sparkling imagination. Françoise Cactus, (who was born Van Hove in Burgundy and has chosen Berlin as her home for something like a generation now) a writer, local diva, who has performed, among other things, as drummer and singer of the "Lolitas" in the eighties. Then there is Brezel Göring, an inexplicable mixture of the hyperspeedy "Grand Duduche" and the elegant, unobtrusive crooner, with a soft voice and a lively rhythm. Bent over his synthesizer, happy as a young boy, he reminds one of the hallucinated inventor Géo Trouve-tout.
To sum up STEREO TOTAL's short history, which began with the single "allo j'écoute", let us list the different elements characteristic of their musical art: a minimalistic production (in a positive sense), meaning a home-made-trash-garage-sound crossed with underground, authentic as well as amateurish, ironic as well as effective, pop as well as...political. An untiring creative energy, as if it could never suffice, "Oh, but you haven't heard this one!" and wop! here we go again, hardly leaving time to draw a deep breath. A brilliant sense of composition as well as for covering other's material, whatever the source, combined with an excessive love for French chanson (the main weak spot being an evident admiration for the master Gainsbourg). A mystery of words resulting from the French-German/ male-female bilingualism, words in which accents are merrily blended and become more and more exotic from album to album (Japanese, Turkish, Spanish, English). And finally, an explicit and surprising sensitivity for electronic effects and a thrilling beat. A gift of pop music and its everlasting history.
The unexpected combination of two traditions - French chanson and German electronica (which not only relates to Kraftwerk, but also to the uniquely German sound of "Neue Deutsche Welle", popular in the eighties, and the emergence of electrogroove, a sound which has flourished over the past ten years in numerous clubs in Berlin is again at its best, enchanting its listeners.
Just as the German audience adores Françoise Cactus charming French pronunciation of the German lyrics, her French collection of texts, poetic and playful, solemn and cheeky, anarchistic and light, makes her the most unknown composer and singer of French chansons - and it is high time that she be discovered. Fragile and irresistible, she stands behind her tiny drum kit and hammers the songs to a sequence in a devilish rhythm. In a matter of seconds she passes from a romantic ballad (No! Do not listen! It's a sad song!) to pure and simple rock, animating Brezel Göring (as well as the crowd) to leap. Indefatigable accomplice and perfect entertainer, Brezel Göring is at her side, stepping on the gas, his fingers working the knobs of his machine or the cords of his rectangular guitar.
Partir Ou Mourir
Stereo Total Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On roule tout le jour
Au soleil, sous la pluie
Tout droit et sans détour
Tout droit toujours tout droit
La peur nous donne des ailes
On ne sait pas où on va
Ni vu ni connu
Dans cette ville d'enfer
On ne reviendra plus
Jamais jamais, les jeux sont faits
Partir ou mourir
Partir see'est mourir un peu
Vous voulez rire? Ça saute aux yeux
Ça ne vaut pas un clou
Rester see'est mourir beaucoup
Partir ou mourir ...
On a le feu au cul
Les flics nous poursuivent
Les décus, les cocus,
Les copines agressives
Les copains vexés
Les inconnus furieux
Les familles outrées
Victimes de nos jeux
see'est partir ou mourir
Maintenant ou jamais
On a exagéré, j'dois dire
Qu'on les a tous roulés
Partir ou mourir
Partir see'est mourir un peu
Vous voulez rire? Ça saute aux yeux
Ça ne vaut pas un clou
Rester see'est mourir beaucoup
Partir ou mourir ...
On a le diable aux trousses
Et tous ces hurluberlus
(Cette fois on a la frousse)
Ont juré "On les tue"
Ils veulent nous flinguer
Nous faire la peau
Ah non ce n'est pas gai
Nous faire un gros trou dans le dos
Partir ou mourir
Partir see'est mourir un peu
Vous voulez rire? Ça saute aux yeux
Ça ne vaut pas un clou
Rester see'est mourir beaucoup
Partir ou mourir ...
The lyrics of Stereo Total's song "Partir Ou Mourir" talk about the desperate and reckless actions of the singers as they literally ride through life, never deviating from their path, and taking risks that could lead to their death. The constant repetition of the phrase "Tout droit toujours tout droit" (Straight ahead) is an indication of their determination to keep going, even when they don't know where they're headed. The mention of fear giving them wings is interesting as it implies that the singers are not fearless but instead are pushed forward by their fears.
The line "Ni vu ni connu/Dans cette ville d'enfer/On ne reviendra plus/Jamais jamais, les jeux sont faits" (Unseen and unknown/in this city of hell/we will not return/never, never, the games are done) paints a picture of the singers as criminals or outlaws who have committed an act so severe that they can never return to the place they were before, and they must continue to move forward to avoid capture or retribution.
The chorus of the song "Partir ou mourir" (Leave or die) is a reminder that the singers are constantly faced with the choice of staying put, which could result in their death, or leaving to find safety elsewhere, even if it means they have to sacrifice a part of themselves to do so. The line "Rester c'est mourir beaucoup" (To stay is to die a lot) is a poignant reminder that sometimes, leaving behind what we know is the only way to survive.
Line by Line Meaning
On roule toute la nuit
We drive all night long
On roule tout le jour
We drive all day long
Au soleil, sous la pluie
Rain or shine, we keep going
Tout droit et sans détour
Straight ahead, without any detour
Tout droit toujours tout droit
We keep going straight ahead
La peur nous donne des ailes
Fear gives us wings
On ne sait pas où on va
We don't know where we're heading
Mais on l'a échappé belle
But we narrowly escaped danger
Ni vu ni connu
Without being seen or recognized
Dans cette ville d'enfer
In this crazy city
On ne reviendra plus
We won't come back again
Jamais jamais, les jeux sont faits
Never, never again, the die is cast
Partir ou mourir
Leave or die
Partir see'est mourir un peu
Leaving means dying a little
Vous voulez rire? Ça saute aux yeux
You want to laugh? It's obvious
Ça ne vaut pas un clou
Staying is worthless
Rester see'est mourir beaucoup
Staying means dying a lot
On a le feu au cul
We're being chased by the cops
Les flics nous poursuivent
The cops are after us
Les décus, les cocus,
The disappointed, the betrayed
Les copines agressives
The aggressive girlfriends
Les copains vexés
The upset buddies
Les inconnus furieux
The furious strangers
Les familles outrées
The outraged families
Victimes de nos jeux
Victims of our games
See'est partir ou mourir
It's leaving or dying
Maintenant ou jamais
Now or never
On a exagéré, j'dois dire
I have to admit, we went too far
Qu'on les a tous roulés
We tricked them all
On a le diable aux trousses
We have the devil on our heels
Et tous ces hurluberlus
And all these crazy people
(Cette fois on a la frousse)
(This time we're scared)
Ont juré "On les tue"
Have sworn "We'll kill them"
Ils veulent nous flinguer
They want to shoot us
Nous faire la peau
To get rid of us
Ah non ce n'est pas gai
Oh no, this is not funny
Nous faire un gros trou dans le dos
To make a big hole in our backs
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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