Country : France Label : Wagram Genres and styles : Chanson francophone / Pop Year : 2024

Philippe Katerine – Zouzou (Top Albums 2024)

· by Michel Labrecque

Music seduces us for different reasons. Here, I’d like to thank Philippe Katerine for reducing my international political angst with this playful, self-deprecating, unpretentious but oh-so-effective offering.

With the election of Donald Trump and the rightward turn that is becoming generalized in our societies, I anguish and rage. While I understand that the elites have failed and deserve to be punished, I find it hard to understand how individualism and every man for himself can solve everything. Not to mention the use of immigrants as scapegoats for all our problems…

In this context, Philippe Katerine and his Zouzou did me a world of good. He’d already made me howl with laughter at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics last summer. With Zouzou, which refers to the name of his dog, we enter the world of a 56-year-old man, who reflects on the life he has left with a great deal of humor. The song “Que deviens-tu?” is addressed to his penis, which is no longer what it used to be…to music by Bach. In “Comme disait ma petite Soeur,” he concludes: “When there’s no solution, there’s no problem. But at the same time, he manages to evoke the world’s problems, such as climate change and gentrification. A conscious, mocking, and assertive sense of humor. When he talks about his paunch, many aging men, like me, will recognize themselves. Younger men, you’re in for a treat. And what about “Nu,” the song played at the Olympic Games: “When you’re naked, you can’t fight a war”. Not bad… 

Musically, this album doesn’t reinvent music, but there’s a lot of creativity in the arrangements. “Sous la Couette” features a lovely guitar solo. Philippe Katerine also makes room for his daughter, Edie, who seems to have a lot of vocal potential. Basically, this is an album that reflects the anxious yet humorous daily life of a French citizen who knows how to tell the zeitgeist.

Merci Philippe! My tensiometer, which measures my blood pressure, is infinitely grateful to you. What if people on the right listened to you as well?

Latest 360 Content

FIRE! Orchestra at FIMAV: Power Trio Meets Canadian Community of Avant-Garde Players

FIRE! Orchestra at FIMAV: Power Trio Meets Canadian Community of Avant-Garde Players

Blondshell – If You Asked For a Picture

Blondshell – If You Asked For a Picture

Hitting a Fever Pitch at the Ribbon Skirt LP Launch 

Hitting a Fever Pitch at the Ribbon Skirt LP Launch 

Wu-Tang Clan & Mathematics – Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman.

Wu-Tang Clan & Mathematics – Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman.

Dalit Hadass Warshaw, Boston Modern Orchestra Project / Gil Rose – Sirens

Dalit Hadass Warshaw, Boston Modern Orchestra Project / Gil Rose – Sirens

Howard Shore/Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France – Shore : Anthology

Howard Shore/Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France – Shore : Anthology

Quatuor Diotima – Boulez : Livre pour quatuor

Quatuor Diotima – Boulez : Livre pour quatuor

LMNL – Rainbow

LMNL – Rainbow

Strat Andriotis – Exits

Strat Andriotis – Exits

Richard Reed Parry – The Actor

Richard Reed Parry – The Actor

Tamara Stefanovich – Organised Delirium

Tamara Stefanovich – Organised Delirium

Galan Trio – Embrace

Galan Trio – Embrace

Jack Van Zandt – A Chaos of Light and Motion

Jack Van Zandt – A Chaos of Light and Motion

Tommy Crane – Reality Curated: Live at Ursa

Tommy Crane – Reality Curated: Live at Ursa

Thomas DeLio – Anti-paysage

Thomas DeLio – Anti-paysage

No Hay Banda – Steven Kazuo Takasugi : Il Teatro Rosso

No Hay Banda – Steven Kazuo Takasugi : Il Teatro Rosso

Vancouver Contemporary Orchestra; Vancouver Chamber Choir – Christopher Tyler Nickel : Mass; Te Deum

Vancouver Contemporary Orchestra; Vancouver Chamber Choir – Christopher Tyler Nickel : Mass; Te Deum

Hypercube – The Force for Good

Hypercube – The Force for Good

PUP – Who Will Look After the Dogs?

PUP – Who Will Look After the Dogs?

Duo AYA – Cycles

Duo AYA – Cycles

Papillon Social Club – Dur de la feuille

Papillon Social Club – Dur de la feuille

Coalescent Quartet – The Wall Between Us

Coalescent Quartet – The Wall Between Us

Samuel Bonnet Trio – Live in Harmony

Samuel Bonnet Trio – Live in Harmony

Subscribe to our newsletter