French Folk Music Does It For Me

I just cannot get enough of the French. Their films, their food, their adorable music-making citizens. These are some of my favorites lately.

This cover of Outkast's "Hey Ya" by the folk band Cocoon is cute as hell. Yes, I admit that I am easily won over by French musicians. I am also a sucker for folk music, and covers, and Outkast, so this essentially combines all of my favorite things. Cocoon is a two-piece band and their latest album "My Friends All Died in a Plane Crash" is much more uplifting than its morbid title would suggest. This band brings it - theyv'e got ukeleles, some tamborine, guitar, and really gorgeous vocals. Their Outkast cover is quality, but check out their Myspace for some equally charming originals here. (RIYL: duets, Elliott Smith, folk, my taste in music, cute shit)

SoKo is a French singer and actress I have been listening to for quite some time now. She initially got her start when a director asked her if she could sing on-screen. SoKo has a certain real-ness about her that is ridiculously appealing. The songs she writes are very genuine - and they keep getting better. Her song "I Will Never Love You More" is both unique and amusing. She sings "I will never love you more than singing in the shower. I will never love you more than my Mac computer." and basically the entire song goes like that. But it's good. Really. Her other songs include "I Think I'm Pregnant" - which I should not even have to describe lyrically. She hasn't put out a full album yet but you can check out the songs from her EP here. If one song puts you off, keep listening! They all sound a bit diffrrent.