Welcome to the Diane Dufresne web site You'll notice that the english section of our web site does not necessarily offer translations of the documentation found in the opening sections. I mean, can you imagine the workload ?!? Rather, we've decided to offer you original english material. Either known reviews and texts found in the anglophone press (please send any missing clipping !) or never before published essays analyzing DD's work. We hope you enjoy the material and invite you to visit our french section to engage in a creative dialogue with the fans, the editors and, of course, Diane herself... using the language of your choice. "RETROSPECTIVE" DIANE DUFRESNE'S DIANE DUFRESNE A SHORT CRITICAL STUDY OF A PERFORMER'S PERSONA by Johanne Larue FORWARD (June 1996) "Well you don't know what you've gotten yourself into !" Whether this is my conscience speaking or a warning to you, dear Internet surfer, I'm not quite sure... but here I am and it's too late to turn back. Nor, I believe, would I want to. When Diane Dufresne beckons, one answers ! What you're about to read is a collection of informal essays which I wrote over the years, in the form of long letters or little makeshift booklets, to several of my English-Canadian and American friends. Their purpose being, of course, to explain the DD phenomenon... in my broken english. Always the annoying but passionate instructor (I've been teaching Film Studies at Concordia University, in Montreal, for the past 11 years), I'm afraid the lessons were, at times, unsolicited (sorry guys !) but I've also managed to make a few converts with whom I've since shared my addiction. The same might now apply to you. I do not pretend knowing everything there is to know about Diane Dufresne. I do not even know her intimately. The way I've always approached criticism, that is "the art of understanding art and communicating its beauty", has been to develop a rapport with the art object. To reduce an artist's work to its biographical content can, I believe, be quite misleading and always rather stifling. Creations have a way of escaping their creator's control. They come from them, yes, but they also exist outside of them. They not only reflect their maker's imagination but also the physical and sociological context in which they were created and, possibly, the invisible and more mysterious workings of the collective unconscious. Writing to members of the press, the journalist, author and one-time biographer of Diane Dufresne, André Ducharme, said: "Spy on her a little less, look at her a little better." (my translation). Easier said than done, I guess. Not only because the media, as we know it, breeds mediocrity and feeds on sensationalism but also, more poignantly, because it has always been difficult to separate the creator from its creation, when one and the other share the same frame, the same body. It's easy to abstract the novelist from her of his novel, the sculptor from the sculpture, the filmmaker from the film because they are indeed separate entities. But what of actors ? They embody their work. They are its vessel. The same is true of performance artists and authoristic singers like Diane Dufresne. How do we tell the canvas from the woman ? The answer to that is what I propose we find together. Not to alienate Diane Dufresne from her work and rob her (or any of her accomplices) of any authorship, but simply "to look at her a little better." The spectator takes an active part in the making of art. She or he reconstructs the images and sounds thrown at the World and finds meaning in, or makes sense of, what is often instinctive work. It's what I call, when it's done with special flair, the delirium of interpretation. The spectator as poet. Diane Dufresne sometimes sings "On fait tous du show business" ("We're all in show business" / "We all make-believe"). Well, let's prove her right. DD's DD Summer 1986 Chère Carole, Here are 3 very important reasons why you should read my little anthology on Diane Dufresne. 1. Consider it as a French/Quebecois tutorial lesson. As your loving teacher, I urge you to sink your teeth in the material. You'll not only learn everyday-language-in-Montreal, but also how to impress your friends with new ways to insult them, love them and "poetrycize" them in french. As a bonus, you'll also learn about our history and society. 2. This paper is also addressed to the connoisseur of the Performance Arts. I'd like you to tell me if I do have something going with this embryo of criticism on Dufresne. (I haven't read any historical/theoretical textbooks yet to help me in my work. What you'll read are only some of my personal thoughts on the performer. Though I've started to seriously think about Dufresne a year ago, this is the first extensive -but informal- writing I've done on her.) So follow your nose but don't expect a masterpiece. 3. You should also read this petit recueil because we're friends. That way, if you ever feel lonely in your château de campagne down in the Eastern Townships, you'll still be able to hear me blabber by reading my pattes-de-mouche writing. (I think the French tutorial has already started.) Now, I know you don't know who the heck Diane Dufresne is. But I hope this custom-made anthology will help you understand DD when we'll see her new concert, TOP SECRET, in September. I don't expect you to like Dufresne; it took me about 10 years to let my guard down (it's a long story - one I'll tell you another time). Though it makes me tremendously happy to be able to share her with you -the way we would a nice bottle of wine, Leave Her to Heaven or love secrets- the magic might not manifest itself, my American friend. For one thing, Dufresne has to win you over. Literally. That's the way she operates. I (hope I) can make you understand the phenomenon, but she'll have to conduct the delicate seduction. So relax, get some iced tea, and I hope I won't bore you to hell. "Hell" isn't a very nice word to close with. So here's another one. "Pink-lilies." INTRODUCTION Historically, Diane Dufresne is the first french-speaking (french-singing) female rocker. She's also, let's not mince words, the most respected francophone singer in the world and Quebec's biggest live-performance star. Of course, the international music market being what it is, her commercial popularity doesn't have the physical scope of most American or British pop or rock superstars. When Dufresne sings, one evening at the Olympic Stadium (MAGIE ROSE, 1984) or two at the Montreal Forum (HOLLYWOOD/HALLOWEEN, 1982), can hold the extent of her quebecois public. Nonetheless, you can well imagine the inevitable emotional scope of such a rendez-vous: the public hasn't come to cheer Barbra Streisand, Kate Bush or Bette Midler; the star on the stage is finally one of them. Dufresne has grown up with the Quebecois, and her public with her, united it seems in a similar search for a new cultural identity. Thus a complete understanding of the Dufresne phenomenon has to take into account the notions of intimacy, blood-ties... and courageous affinities (e.g. if a secretary in a busy office admits being a Dufresne fan, she is bound to undergo the "social-disease" treatment: she will be sweetly (patronizingly) teased or down-right ridiculed and will be left standing there, helplessly saying: "But Dufresne is an artist !") It must be said though, that a large portion of DD's following is made up of natural marginals: gays/lesbians, professionals in the liberal arts, other entertainers, actors, art/drama scholars and hopeless intellectual romantics, mostly aged between 27 and 45... but she's also been recognised by the old fogey men from l'Académie française, and children, I've noticed, spontaneously respond to her. Diane Dufresne is first, and foremost, a singer. Her répertoire counts, to date, more than a hundred songs, most of which were written for/and with her. Though she officially co-wrote only one song (note: I remind the reader that I wrote these words in 1986, before DD became her own lyricist), I still say "with her" because of the unusual relationship she develops with writers. The intimacy they share develops into osmosis. The gestation period can take as long as a whole year, during which time "mother" and "surrogate mother" battle it out. Except for one song, all the material included in this anthology comes from her Plamondon period (1972-1984) * (* inserted footnote: Luc Plamondon is the most famous of the post-70 quebecois lyricists. Artistically born with Dufresne in 1972, he has since helped popularize and elevate the quebecois speech pattern and color in francophone songs -both here and in France, which is incredible. He wrote Quebec's first rock-opera (more like a pop-opera) STARMANIA. He is also an emmerdeur, a political loud-mouth, who has fought tremendously hard for the recognition of lyricists and composers and the importance of copyrights. It goes without saying that he is a writer of hits... though mainly for other performers. DD's studio albums don't sell that well; she's a live-performance star. Though she did achieve some commercial success with early 45/singles, I believe she owes it to the catchy melodies François Cousineau, her first composer (1970-77), wrote for Plamondon's lyrics.) As I've already told you, as a vocal performer, Dufresne is much like an actor. Though she starts with abstract types ("The City Girl in Love, in the Process of Liberating Herself," "The Professional Woman dealing with Contemporary Angst," "The Blue-Collar Girlfriend," "The Biker," "The Little-Girl-Lost," "The Crazy-and-Over-the-Top Star," "The Passionate, Total and Tragic Mistress," "The Philosophical Mother Nature," etc....) she develops them over a number of narratives (songs) until they become familiar (but certainly not naturalistic) characters. She has played them as freaks, clowns, witches, fairies, dolls, vamps, brides-to-be, fragile old women, strippers, science-fiction heroines, the Columbia logo, a Southern belle, Joan of Arc, Diane-chasseresse, a squaw, Quebec's flag, or simply dressed in white while using light and funny pop tunes, rock n'roll, boogie, dixieland, Elvis songs, techno-pop, classical opera, orchestral pop, French love songs, South-American rhythms, and I'm forgetting some... WHY (as she done that) ? BECAUSE, obviously, Diane Dufresne is trying to take over the songs written for her. These surreal collages she conjures up express her creative imagination. She assumes authorship of the material by never interpreting the same song the exact same way twice. From concert to concert, she changes the mise-en-scene in which she interprets the songs. The combination of dress, musical rendition, vocal modulation and overall art design... all under her direction, go through incredible metamorphoses, thus delivering a slightly different subtext each time she performs the material. It should be said, then, that of all her creations, the most famous is herself. I mean her persona. Twenty of her 100+ songs deal directly with this character. To understand what Dufresne is (not whom), one need only read/listen/see these songs being performed. For this anthology, I've chosen 8 out of these 20, while completing the set with 4 songs from the rest of her répertoire. In these, DD paints the portrait of various female performers, all sisters of her own created self. Through my comments and lyrics themselves, I think you'll be able to see how and why Dufresne is both adored and hated for her work and her image as: - an artist with a fellinesque taste for the excessive, both in emotion and representation (DD a. k. a.. "la Diva Dufresne") - Quebec's sole creator/courier of "dreams" (DD a.k.a. "Madame Dufresne") - a funny/violent snotty kid/female rocker with a humanist/feminist purpose as commentator/provocatrice (DD a.k.a. "Diane") ************** (1996 note: Originally, the following texts, written in 1986 and 1990, were made to accompany my friends' audition of actual recordings of DD's performances. Because the Internet does not yet permit extensive or good-quality audio broadcast, I've added descriptions of DD's vocal renditions to compensate. It should also be noted, at this point, that I've not translated all the lyrics of the studied songs. I've chosen to assume that you, the reader, can read some french... which, of course, might not be the case. If there is a demand for a translation, I will oblige in later updated versions of the web site. Just ask.) I. Songs dealing with DD's persona. I.1. LA CHANTEUSE STRAIGHT I.2. HOLLYWOOD FREAK I.3. FELLINI I.4. SUICIDE I.5. DÉLINQUANTE I.6. SURVOLTÉE I.7. ROCKEUSE I.8. ON FAIT TOUS DU SHOW BUSINESS II. Songs that deal with other characters, but have a strong link to her persona. II.1. ALYS EN CINÉMASCOPE (and Somewhere Over the Rainbow) II.2. STRIP-TEASE II.3. LES ADIEUX D'UN SEX SYMBOL II.4. LE PARC BELMOND ************* I.1. LA CHANTEUSE STRAIGHT Lyrics: Luc Plamondon Music: François Cousineau Sung sometimes as a slow, melancholic pop ballad but, most times, as a blues. Recorded on DD's first LP, Tiens-toé ben j'arrive ! (1972) but can also be found on several live albums. My favorite rendition: during a 1985 live TV performance as an homage to Lise Payette, Quebec's version of Barbara Walters (and sometimes politician and soap author). (Ref.: This song has always been Dufresne's calling card. Written very early on in her career, as a blues, it acted (and still acts) as a "beware notice" to virgin audiences. "This is what I am. Take it (me), or leave it (me)." This time, I guess it's addressed to you. Straight: the expression has a double-meaning. First, it's a confession: DD admitting that she's "only" a singer and not a lyricist/composer of songs. But, secondly, it's also an ironic remark. Though she's "only" a singer, DD is far from being the definition of "straight" as in "bland", "unimaginative" and "unobtrusive". Her (at times) ambiguous sexual demeanour also challenges the meaning of the word. Therefore, with this pun, DD both proposes and shelters herself from the idea that she is an original author. The expression has become a running gag with her, the public and the reviewers. Mourir comm' Janis,* dans un motel cheap Loin des spotlights près du soleil: DD is the only singer I know who talked of her death so early on in her career. You'll find that it's a recurring preoccupation in this anthology. Her romantic/tragic exaggerations are part of the design of her persona. *Janis: Joplin has, I think, influenced DD. 1. Like her, she isn't afraid of becoming physically ugly while performing - to get a point, an emotion, a musical note across. 2. Their songs tell of women who have suffered (a trademark of Blues). 3. They both share a caustic sense of humour and they both have an incredibly infectious and witch-like laugh. 1. "Because, maybe I've got somethin' to say" 2. "Let them put cotton balls in their ears" 3. Pis = et puis = "and" (in this context) 4. "anyway" (in this context) 5. a quebecois expression meaning "tired of", "sick of" 6. "When it won't make me cry or laugh anymore" N.B. As a general rule, all comas hide a syncopated "e". It's part of the quebecois speech pattern. Also, I've highlighted certain portions of the text which I find particularly revealing about DD. I.2. HOLLYWOOD FREAK Lyrics: Luc Plamondon and Diane Dufresne Music: François Cousineau First recorded on DD's fourth studio album, MAMAN SI TU M'VOYAIS (1977). It's also included on several live albums. Though written and sung in its final version in 1977, as an homage to her mother, the discourse of this song, which points to the magical glamour of Hollywood and what its Dream Factory represents, has been part of DD's persona since 1972. She's always represented the "glamour" option for the public uninterested by the (many) folklore-oriented quebecois pop tunes and performers of the seventies. --For a long time, by listening to our popular music, you would have found it hard to know that the Quebecois also lived in cities. The only time DD used folkloric music, she subverted its cultural references by turning the song into a feminist and urban tale. (The song, RILL POUR RIRE tells of a city-wise woman's humorous attempts to get rid of her uninteresting lover.)-- As early as 1972, before the grandiose and oneiric extravaganzas of her later concerts, DD's "glamour" took the form of a top hat which she wore à la Dietrich while still dressing in jeans. In HOLLYWOOD FREAK, DD confronts the issues of stardom and glamour head-on. Maman, si tu m'voyais Tu s'rais fière de ta fille... : Musically, the opening differs greatly from the rest of the song. It acts as a banner of sorts. DD sings it in a "sing as I talk" fashion while wailing the last syllable into a war-like cry, setting the stage for something we guess will be grand (see the ending). Faut qu'y en aye une qui l'fasse Pis j'donnerai pas ma place ! : "Someone ((feminine conjugation)) has to do it; and I won't give up my spot (my chance) !" This is a particularly daring cry/claim in the context of Quebec's inferiority hang-up. There is a silent law (with roots in our french-canadian catholic upbringing) stating that "we are born to live a modest life" ("On est né pour un p'tit pain"). A very repressive philosophy that has extented to our notion of what showbiz should be like in Quebec: straight, simple, unassuming, unpretentious, modest. All things DD challenges (note the cocky tone of voice when she sings this paragraph). Our performers are often denied the right to think big, to try to rival with the Americans as "manufacturer of dreams". DD, of course, does exactly what she's not supposed to do and is often criticised for her bravado. Here, when she sings of her persona's dream of fame, it is a little girl's fantasy but it is also the "killed in infancy" right to dream of all Quebecois. This, as you'll see, becomes quite clear at the end. Ce jour-là tu pourras dire bye-bye Bye-bye Hochelaga : In passing, it should be noted that DD's mother, the "manufacturer" of this singer's dreams, died when DD was only 12. Though the public might think that the song is a great homage to what must be a proud mom, it's actually a tragic "you'll never know" thank you note. DD's mom never did say goodbye to Hochelaga, the modest neighborhood where DD grew up. The discrepancy between DD's real life and this alternate biography shows how the split between the singer and her persona operates. Faut qu'y en aye une qui l'fasse Pis j'vas l'faire à ta place ! : The ending I've been alluding to. When DD points to the crowd on the last sentence (which, in itself, offers a grammatical twist on the usual chorus), it puts the song into a wider perspective. Though the words still refer to her mother, she now means the public when she sings "I'll do it for you." DD is taking upon herself the Quebecois' timid lust for immortality. I should say here that though DD can sing in english (and does sometimes), she never did try to make it on the US scene. So she isn't claiming her right/her need (our right/our need) to partake of the American Dream per se. She is in fact only promising the public that she'll become a creator and courier of dreams. It's an act of temptation (a sin in itself !): DD playing, honestly I believe, with the repressed, oppressed and hungry imagination of Quebecois. By the light of this finale, one could even venture to say that the mother to whom DD speaks, in this song, can also be taken to mean the "mother country". 1. "black eyes" to be continued... (in our next update of the Diane Dufresne web site)