Tiersen has been honing his musical aesthetic since he could stand on two legs. He started learning piano at the age of four, taking up violin at the age of six and receiving classical training at musical academies in Rennes, Nantes and Boulogne. Then, at the age of 13, he chose to alter his destiny, breaking his violin into pieces, buying a guitar and forming a rock band.
Yann Tiersen has collaborated with vocal artists like Claire Pichet ("Le phare" and "Rue des cascades"), Elizabeth Fraser ("Les retrouvailles") and Shannon Wright ("Yann Tiersen and Shannon Wright"). Other musicians he has worked with include The Divine Comedy, Noir Désir, Dominique A., Francoiz Breut, Les Têtes Raides, The Married Monk and Sage Francis
Tiersen got a musical education from the city of Rennes' annual Transmusicales festival, seeing acts like Nirvana, Einstürzende Neubaten, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, The Cramps, Television and Suicide. When his band broke up a few years later, instead of hunting for some new musicians, he bought a cheap mixing desk, an eight-track reel, and started recording music solo with a synth, sampler and drum machine, poring over the grooves of old records on the hunt for loops and orchestral strings to plunder.
As it turned out, though, the key to his new approach lay in his own past. "One day I thought, instead of spending days on research and listening to tons of records to find the nearest sound of what I have in mind, why don't I fix this fucking violin and use it?" Through the summer of 1993, Tiersen stayed in his apartment, recording music alone with guitar, violin and accordion, guided not by the classical canon, but by intuition and his vision of "a musical anarchy".
By the end of the summer of 1993, Tiersen had recorded over 40 tracks, which would form the bulk of his first two albums. 1995's La Valse Des Monstres, inspired by Tod Browning's Freaks and Yukio Mishima's The Damask Drum was the second album to be released on Nancy-based label Ici, d'ailleurs. It would be followed six months later by Rue Des Cascades, a collection of short pieces recorded with toy piano, harpsichord, violin, accordion and mandolin. Six years later, the record would find a much larger audience when several tracks, along with a couple of Tiersen originals, would be used on the soundtrack to Jean-Pierre Jeunet's film Amelie (2001).
Tiersen's commercial breakthrough would come earlier, though, and off his own back. 1998's Le Phare (The Light House) was recorded in self-imposed seclusion on the isle of Ouessant, where Tiersen spent two months living in a rented house. At night, he watched the Creach'h, the most powerful lighthouse in Europe, as it illuminated the surrounding scenery. "I was amazed how the rays of lights from the lighthouse revealed some hidden details of the land, how we can rediscover something we have everyday, just in front of us, by a light pointing on it," says Tiersen.
Le Phare went on to sell over 160,000 copies, confirming Tiersen's status as one of the most pioneering and original artists of his generation and commencing a run of successful albums like 2001's L'Absente (featuring orchestral group Synaxis, Lisa Germano and the Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon) and 2005's Les Retrouvailles (with guests Stuart Staples of Tindersticks, Jane Birkin and Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins). In this period, Tiersen also took his music out around the world, playing shows with a full orchestra and an amplified string quartet – a set-up captured on 2002's electrifying live album C'etait ici. And following the box-office success of Amelie, Tiersen's skills as a soundtracker were much in demand, leading to scores for the likes of Wolfgang Becker's tragicomedy Good Bye Lenin! (2003) and Tabarly (2008), a documentary about the French sailor Éric Tabarly, who ate his final meal on Ouessant Island before he meeting a watery end in the Irish sea.
Discography:
La valse des monstres (1995)
Rue des cascades (1996)
Le phare (1998)
Tout est calme (1999)
Black session (1999, radio concert)
L'absente (2001)
Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001, Soundtrack)
C'était ici (2002, Live and Best Of)
Good Bye Lenin! (2003, Soundtrack)
Yann Tiersen and Shannon Wright (2004)
Les Retrouvailles (2005)
On Tour (2006, Live)
Tabarly (2008)
Dust Lane (2010)
The Neighbourhood
Yann Tiersen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I want to be bad
I want to destroy you
I want to move fast
I want the attention
I want all the cash
I want all the ass
Is it too much to ask?
I want to be raw
I want to be ignorant
And I want to know all
I want to die someday
I want to live long
I want what I ask for
And I get what I want
I'm thinking we should ride
To a place that we don't know
To a place where no one has seen us before
I'm thinking, you and I
Better just go with the flow
Last thing that we should do is go slow (Hey! Hey! Hey!)
(This is the beat that makes your mother cry)
(Hey! Yeah, yeah)
I think that I´m human
I think about God
And I think of the chances
I think that I'm wrong
I think to be thoughtful
I know that I'm not
You think I'm a fake
And I know you're a fraud
I fuck as I need to
I fuck when I want
I'll fuck you with love
Even though it is not
I'll fucking digest you
One kiss at a time
You wish I was yours
And I hope that you're mine
I'm thinking we should ride
To a place that we don't know
To a place where no one has seen us before
I'm thinking you and I
Better just go with the flow
Last thing that we should do is go slow Go fast! Go fast!
(Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!)
(This is the beat that makes your mother cry)
Oh no, no...
Blacker than the white
Everything's white
But it's blacker than I know
And blacker than the white of the snow, yeah
I'm thinking, you and I
No, no, oh no, no
The song "The Neighbourhood" by Yann Tiersen is a complex expression of human desires and contradictions. It begins with the singer stating his conflicting needs and wants, which range from destruction to faithfulness, ignorance to knowledge, and attention to anonymity. These desires are followed by a call for action where he asks to go somewhere new and unknown with a partner, rejecting the idea of going slow and instead affirming the importance of going fast.
As the song goes on, the lyrics reveal an even deeper layer of complexity as the singer acknowledges his human limitations and doubts, including his thoughts about God and his own fallibility. He also seems to acknowledge the hypocrisy of others, as being fake or a fraud, which leads to the suggestive line about how he makes love to others, seemingly showing an ironic compassion despite the hardened and rough exterior that he sometimes portrays. The final lines, "Blacker than the white, everything's white, but it's blacker than I know, and blacker than the white of the snow", seem to reference both the complexities of the human psyche as well as the interplay between dark and light in all aspects of life.
Overall, the song is a lyrical exploration of human contradictions, complexity, and the need to experience life on full throttle.
Line by Line Meaning
I wanna be honest
I want to speak truthfully and sincerely.
I want to be bad
I want to act recklessly and irresponsibly.
I want to destroy you
I want to harm you and bring you down.
I want to move fast
I want to act quickly and impulsively.
I want the attention
I want people to focus on me and what I'm doing.
I want all the cash
I want to have a lot of money.
I want all the ass
I want to have sexual experiences with many partners.
Is it too much to ask?
Am I asking for too much?
I want to be faithful
I want to be loyal and committed to someone.
I want to be raw
I want to be honest and genuine in my interactions.
I want to be ignorant
I want to remain uninformed and disinterested in learning.
And I want to know all
But at the same time, I want to know everything.
I want to die someday
I know that I will eventually pass away.
I want to live long
But I also want to live a long, fulfilling life.
I want what I ask for
I want to receive what I've requested from life.
And I get what I want
I always manage to obtain what I desire.
I'm thinking we should ride
I believe that it would be a good idea for us to go out.
To a place that we don't know
To an unknown location.
To a place where no one has seen us before
Somewhere where we've never been seen by others.
Better just go with the flow
It's best if we don't overthink things and just let things happen.
Last thing that we should do is go slow (Hey! Hey! Hey!)
We should move quickly and spontaneously. (Hey! Hey! Hey!)
(This is the beat that makes your mother cry)
The music has a strong emotional impact on people.
(Hey! Yeah, yeah)
An expression of excitement or enthusiasm.
I think that I´m human
I recognize my own humanity and fallibility.
I think about God
I contemplate the concept of God and spirituality.
And I think of the chances
I consider the opportunities that come my way.
I think that I'm wrong
I believe that I often make mistakes.
I think to be thoughtful
I aim to be considerate and careful.
I know that I'm not
But I also acknowledge that I often fall short of my own expectations.
You think I'm a fake
You believe that I am not genuine or sincere.
And I know you're a fraud
But I also know that you are not honest either.
I fuck as I need to
I engage in sexual activity when I feel the desire to do so.
I fuck when I want
I am in control of my own sexual behavior and decide when to engage in it.
I'll fuck you with love
Even though sex can sometimes be casual, I still approach it with a certain level of care and respect.
Even though it is not
Even though it isn't always reciprocated.
I'll fucking digest you
I will absorb and internalize everything about you.
One kiss at a time
Slowly and deliberately, taking it step by step.
You wish I was yours
You would like to have a more intimate relationship with me.
And I hope that you're mine
And I am also interested in forming a deeper connection with you.
Go fast! Go fast! (Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!)
Encouragement to act quickly and spontaneously. (Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!)
Blacker than the white
Darker than the color white.
Everything's white
Everything is pure and innocent like the color white.
But it's blacker than I know
I am not fully aware of the extent of darkness present.
And blacker than the white of the snow, yeah
Even snow, which is commonly thought of as the epitome of whiteness, can contain darkness.
No, no, oh no, no
An expression of disappointment or frustration.
Contributed by Aria W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.