Et moi je t'aime un peu plus fort

the ever-so-cute Coeur De Pirate

I've been meaning to blog this post for quite a while, because it's a nice little study in remixing. I remember I was browsing hypem.com like I usually do, all the way back in February, when I stumbled on "Comme Des Enfants (Le Matos Andy Carmichael Mix)" by an artist named Coeur De Pirate. It had a long song name, and a strange French-sounding artist, so I quickly filed it under "over-remixed Euro trash." I also remember though that it had an inordinately high number of "loved"s for the popular list, so I figured I'd give it a spin.

What followed was a slow, dark and brooding rendition of heartbreak, set to a bopping synth and dancefloor ready thump. I understand my fair share of French, but I really didn't pay attention to the lyrics, as the soundscape was more than enough to hold my attention for the numerous listens I gave the song over the weeks.

Then - and this is where the specifics get cloudy - one of my best friends and I began to talk about the song or the artist; the exact nature escapes me. But we were driving along one day, and I was playing the remix, and she somewhat jokingly/somewhat seriously said "what the fuck is this shit?" (she's endearingly vulgar). I explained it was Coeur De Pirate, and she replied with "oh hell no it isn't, this is some techno, crazy, stupid shit," then grabbed her phone and played the original version of "Comme Des Enfants." It was light-hearted, bubbly, piano-driven and a pop song in every sense of the phrase, a drastic contrast to the remix I was so enamoured by.

Once I saw this side of Coeur De Pirate, I was instantly struck. As it happens, I work at an office where we're only allowed on cbc.ca in terms of outside internet access, relegating me to listening to podcasts from CBC Radio 3, an all-indie, all-Canadian institution I've somehow been blind to for the last 4 years (ignore the fact I picked up a cool poster they came up with when the site first launched, that then somehow managed to stay up in my room for years without me actually visiting the site). Anyways, before I get off track, it turns out they play Coeur De Pirate, and that she's a bonafide Canadian songstress. Go figure.

Back to the music itself though, I mentioned this was a nice little study of the remix. A lot of remixes just add some drums, some synth, re-arrange some words, and voila, a cheap retake on something that probably wasn't even that great to begin with. I'm not gonna try to guess why this remix made it so big based on the singer herself and any perceived popularity, but musically, it's genius in the way it takes the original and reconstructs it, while retaining virtually only the lyrics themselves.

There's maybe an ode to the piano of the original in the build-up of the remix, but from there on out, it's one extended, dark tilt on an otherwise joyous-sounding song. I say sounding because translated, this song approximates to a love-triangle (somehow explained well-enough by my aforementioned non-French-speaking, Coeur-De-Pirate-loving friend), and CDP being stuck in the middle of it all.

"But he loves me still, and my love for you grows a little bit stronger" is roughly what the chorus amounts to. The jumpy and happy nature of the original does nothing to capture that spirit, but strangely the remix does it perfectly. In my limited experience, I have to say that's one of the few instances in which a remix (not a cover mind you) does a better job of conveying the message of a song than the actual original.

Now for all my talking, it's still up to you to listen and decide for yourselves. You can have it one of two ways: take my path, and hear the remix first, then be surprised by the original; or listen to the original and be envelloped by the immenseness of the remix afterwards.

You can only choose one. Someone tell that to Coeur De Pirate though.

Original: Comme Des Enfants - Coeur De Pirate

Remix: Comme Des Enfants (Le Matos Andy Carmichael Remix) - Coeur De Pirate