An Ode to Paris: A Playlist

It was with a heavy heart that I hosted my show this weekend, after a week of horrible events in Bagdad and Beirut, a 7.0 earthquake in Japan on Friday and then this new act of extreme terrorism for the second time in a year in Paris (after the Charlie Hebdo shooting).

I thought I might air a minute of silence on the air and even got the nod from the power-that-be, but then I thought that celebrating Paris would be more fitting, and more apropos. It’s Paris after all. There is only one Paris. The City Of Lights will never leave you indifferent, and will never disappoint you. It’s been the capital of the world for centuries and no other city has had more influence on the world than Paris.

Looking for songs written about Paris, I found hundreds, ranging from traditional music to punk to hip-hop and new wave to jazz and folk and everything in between, sung in both French and English. The earliest song written about Paris I found was written in 1512 (“Voulez ouir les cris de Paris” by Clement Janequin)… Amazing to see what an inspiration the city has been throughout history.

I only picked the few that resonated with me and the few that I’ve known over the years. I hope you will enjoy the selection and I encourage you to seek out the other songs that I did not play. Here it is, an ode to Paris. Bonne ecoute!

KCRW DJ Mathieu Schreyer spins every every late Friday night/early Saturday morning, from midnight to 3am.