Jean Michel Jarre's "Music For Supermarkets"

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It's 1983, and Jarre is asked to create music for an art exhibit about supermarkets. After working on the project for a while, he begins to see the work as an art object of its own, a unique entity. He produces one vinyl copy of Music For Supermarkets and sells it at auction in France for 69000 francs. After the auction, Jarre authorizes Radio Luxembourg to play the album, instructing audiences to "pirate me!" Many listeners do so, and subsequent bootleg copies appear.

Backstory out of the way, then. This record is FANTASTIC! It's chock full of wonderfully dated art-pop tropes -- middlebrow minimalism, pompous news-watch synths, vague cod-tribalism, everything all at once. The early '80s in all its creepy Fairlight majesty.

No threads on this yet? Anyone know it?

stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 18 April 2004 05:08 (twenty-two years ago)

mp3s available here: http://www.sensi.org/~ak/jarre/mfs.html

Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 18 April 2004 05:10 (twenty-two years ago)

wow. i think i need to hear this.

mullygrubber (gaz), Sunday, 18 April 2004 05:42 (twenty-two years ago)

jbr: hahaha why am i not surprised that no one is posting to my jarre thread at 2:44 on a saturday night/sunday morning?
ckb: :-)
jbr: maybe i should get a mod to add "anal sex" to the thread title -- 900 new posts by 3am!
ckb: hahahaha

stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 18 April 2004 05:44 (twenty-two years ago)

aw jody.

mullygrubber (gaz), Sunday, 18 April 2004 05:46 (twenty-two years ago)

that was xposted with you, of course.

stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 18 April 2004 05:47 (twenty-two years ago)

the links are broken, damnation.

I've always really wanted to hear this. Did anyone grab copies?

(Jon L), Sunday, 18 April 2004 19:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Wow!!! Broadcast on Radio Luxembourg!!! That means the bootleg will have the classic Luxembourg AM "filter effect" on it for free!!! (I wonder if Daft Punk listened to dance music on Radio Luxembourg before they hit the big time!??!?!)

Old Fart!!! (oldfart_sd), Monday, 19 April 2004 12:48 (twenty-two years ago)

so er....apart from the link, how do we get to hear this? has anyone reissued it? can you buy it?

ambrose (ambrose), Monday, 19 April 2004 13:23 (twenty-two years ago)

if you have slsk, there are some copies floating around there.

stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 19 April 2004 13:56 (twenty-two years ago)


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