One guy gets almost all the girls.
That is, if the women make music and go near New York. Renaud Monfourny snapped Fiona Apple two months ago to herald her 'Extraordinary Machine'.
I snapped up the album at the FNAC, when there on other business, not expecting it yet. Fiona's latest is among reviews to come by year-end and the CD where she ends a three-year silence for everybody isn't scheduled for European release until Monday.
But I struck twice lucky. FNAC card-holding members take note: through Tuesday October 11, the store's offered a 15 percent across-the-board CD price discount.
I didn't know until I produced my FNAC card at the check-out, they've kept it relatively quiet, so it's a good job huge queues and what wise people say about me and money stopped me running back.
 Apart from Fiona Apple -- others please forgive a tip-off that won't be of use to everyone -- the news may help those with tight budgets in France (I don't know about other countries where there are FNACs).
If you regularly buy at the FNAC -- which is a cross between the likes of the Virgin megastore chain and a culture club where membership adds a batch of bonuses -- it pays to become a member; you can join on the spot, but it may take guts to face the queues likely this weekend, once the word gets round, at the desks usually just inside the store entrances before the shopping floors.
As for Amazon (my practice on CD links is a footnote on the log home page), I've linked to the imminent import version at Amazon UK, but there's a cheaper one also up for pre-order in the same store.
That's just to remind people less accustomed to Amazon -- and the high standards that keep the place going -- to should shop around: the best deal is not always the "official" one.
Renaud is Paris-based to my surprise, must get a lot of air miles since he takes many good shots of women singers featured here, if they're also in New York, for 'Les Inrocks' (Fr).
That weekly's music pages put it on a par with the three or four pure music magazines, mostly monthlies, in French I've decided are really good, out of dozens.
I hoped to find Renaud has a web site of his own, he doesn't, but many of his pictures are online. His way with women and other musicians often breaks the mould, catching them more naturally than routine group and "mugshots".
Raman rocks! And that's just for starters
Susheela Raman broke the mould last night in Paris: she is back on the top of her form.
That's advance notice of a full concert and album review over the weekend. I was at the FNAC since there's no rush for a write-up when she's just started a tour including songs from one reason I went. Going by the concert, nobody will be disappointed.
As you'll hear at greater length, Susheela indeed did go back to her roots. I've heard why and am very glad she did and took her man with her. Really, do catch them if you can!
By one of those touches of serendipity that often come to me with music, if not synchronicity this time, another magazine, 'Vibrations', in French but from Switzerland, this month focuses on Indian music, with an interesting sampler CD with a DVD about no less than an Indian percussionist in Mali
Yes, tasty!
So for weekend plans here: Susheela and I'm not yet sure what else, if anything, since getting back individually to people whose mails still await replies is the other indoor priority.
What, no sex tonight?
I nearly forgot.
That picture could mislead French-speakers, the full verb at the top, dépêchons, is a weekly "let's hurry on" series of new briefs.
Cut short, it doesn't mean "let's go sinning": that would be péchons.
"Let's go fishing", with a different accent, takes patience. If I were you, after a week like the last one here, I'd count your lucky stars.
12:59:07 AM link 
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