Post by davidhr on Dec 14, 2021 8:30:55 GMT -5
A light week, publicly, for Lara as the holidays approach. Lara’s ’team’ placed a post repeating the offer that they’ve had available for a few weeks of a discount on her latest album, the Lockdown Sessions. It appeared on both her FB and Instagram sites, at
www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=486787049472260
and
with the caption, “With Christmas approaching, we propose for you an exceptional and exclusive offer concerning the CDs and vinyls of "LockDown Sessions" to be discovered on the website www.larafabian.com
The Team.
As we already knew, and as indicated, the offer is a 25% discount on those versions of her new album through December 31st.
And then yesterday, she placed the following short video segment on those sites, at
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/videos/486556112795547
and
with the caption, “Stay Tuned for a Dec. 16th meeting on the social networks, we have something to celebrate! #LockdownSessions
It will be interesting to see what that is!
As you probably remember, the Lockdown Sessions are what she has called an ‘experimental album’, using her voice more as an instrument with repetitive lyrics. In several recent interviews, however, she has stopped emphasizing the experimental nature of the work, perhaps fearing that it was discouraging listeners. And in fact, IMHO, it is actually more like a progression from her recent albums, where the mood or beat comes to the fore. It’s definitely not an ‘unfinished' album, but a professionally completed work, with the added bonus that her daughter Lou gets to sing (nicely) on several of the tracks.
In Star Academie news, the Lara Fabian est ton autre FB site, posted the following link to a promotion video, available at
www.facebook.com/larafabiantonautre/videos/247818594102266/
It notes that the final auditions will be seen on TVA from Jan. 10-13 at 1930 (Quebec time) and that Lara will be present, which we knew from last week’s ‘Lara the Ring Fabian’s' youtube video discussing it.
Every now and then it’s interesting to check in and see how Lara is doing on iTunes around the world. Invariably whatever (generally obscure) country is listening to Lara, it’s almost always her self-titled English album, or, if it’s a single, Je t’aime or Je suis malade. On this occasion, however, there were two new album entries - Camouflage, #99 in Albania, and Nue, #135 in the Republic of the Congo. It’s hard to appreciate how far reaching Lara’s music is, especially since it does not get noticed in the world (i.e., English) press…
If you’re wondering how Lara’s book is faring in sales, a logical place to look would be amazon.ca, and they have the following statistics (https://www.amazon.ca/Je-passe-table-Lara-Fabian/dp/2764813481):
Best Sellers Rank: #1,668 in Books
#6 in Culinary Biographies & Memoirs
#21 in Actor Biographies
#21 in Entertainer
Note that this is a French language book and the listing is for all of Canada, so it’s actually pretty impressive…
Which leads naturally into the next extract from “Je passe a table”…
------------------------------------------
Third story: Between two lands
Meeting in secret in the Forest park
Three years after mom and dad's wedding, I show my face by overcoming difficult circumstances. You know the story of my birth.
The door of my Brussels grandparents still hasn't opened...
In hiding from mom and grandpa, both deeply hurt, dad regularly walks with me not far from my grandma's house.
She sees me, silently reconnects with her son and, moved, meets me. Grandma Marie and I fell in love at first sight. We look like two drops of water.
Some time later, my mom discovers the mysterious walks that dad and I take.
Her instinct is infallible.
One day, no sooner had Dad and I walked through the door of our little apartment to see Grandma Marie on the sly, than Mom sneaks on the bus, draped in her dignity, and joins us in this park where she is sure we will see each other.
My grandmother falls under Louisa's spell...
Until her death, every Wednesday afternoon that the good Lord will make, mom will go to do her hair and cuddle her.
Mamy Marie will make us filter coffee, too light for an Italian, and will serve us delicious cookies, in a nice tin box.
Sicily, my early childhood every winter
It is about the same time that every winter, and for more than six months every year, we go to Sicily. In winter, the chimney sweeps can't take care of the maintenance of the boilers and the chimney fires. We moved in with my other grandmother, Nonna Anna, surrounded by her sisters and family for almost seven years.
In the winter, my father and mother, together with my uncle Fabiano and his wife, cultivate and pick oranges that are sold in many markets, as well as our artisanal olive oil.
My family had a small plot of land on the slopes of Mount Etna with a few olive and citrus trees. The working class modesty of the area I come from has never lacked fruits and vegetables.
As a child, I loved my Sicily, and I must say that this has never changed.
Everything is different there.
The color of the sky. The color of the skin of the people. The color of the clothes.
The color of the fruits. The color of the vegetables. The color of the plates.
The color of moods.
The color of the light.
Over there, it is in Catania, a city located on the Ionian Sea on the eastern coast of my island. Near Etna, the gentle volcano. It is so called because, in spite of its activity, it has never swallowed anyone.
In this city apartment of a 1960s building, the nonna lives on the ground floor, a garden level.
I quickly discover that daily life revolves around what is prepared for meals. During the frugal morning meal, black coffee and minibrioche, we discuss what we will eat for lunch.
At lunch, we talk about what we will cook for dinner. At the end of the evening, we talk about the shopping we will do the next morning for lunch, etc. The rest seems very secondary, if this is only the rest, it is the essential. What really counts. The women, the men and the children of this big family.
It's always a party at the nonna's house as soon as we arrives. For those who are not used to it, it looks like happy battles.
Shouts of joy, when everyone approaches the white tablecloth table, already full of food. Compliments and words of love flow.
Words of love thrown without modesty.
Caresses and kisses full of warmth.
Embraces that never end, because even if we saw each other the day before, we never know what tomorrow holds.
We sit down and the story of each other's day is dense, also confused. Noisy and busy conversations...
Italy in all its splendor...
In all this hubbub, the noona continues to come and go from the kitchen and to place other plates on the table. Brightly colored dishes, filled with peppers, eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, salad with oranges and fennel.
There is never a shortage of homemade bread. Often, there is a whole wheel of goat cheese, put there by a neighbor, because he didn't know what to do with the milk of his sheep...
It was magical, and it is true that less than fifteen of us around this table, we felt a little lonely. So for dad, it always ended with two glasses of water in front of him. One with bicarbonate of soda to digest; the other with effervescent aspirin to make the headaches go away.
-------------------------------------
More details about her early life, a number of which we didn’t know…Wonder whether Lara's Belgian grandfather ever found out about those meetings, and welcomed her and her mother into his family...
For the most interesting picture(s)/video(s) of the week:
From lara_fabian_italia_la_voce, with their December calendar picture
and while we didn’t call it out at the time, they had a very mystical picture some weeks ago, at
From the larafabian_communify Instagram site,
with Lara’s words, “Love is not a sentiment, it is a vibration”.
What is sometimes called, ‘being on the same wavelength’…
And (something different), as posted by Véronique Lerouge on the Les Papillons Blancs FB site,
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10224023319004665
As can be seen, these are covers of past versions of Lara’s magazine ‘Farfallina’, which once upon a time were the (sole) benefit of joining her fan club. The woman who posted this is actually selling these copies for “a reasonable offer”. For those who don’t remember, there once was an active fan club, and for dues paying members, various ‘perks’ were promised. The only one that actually materialized were these magazines which came once every several months. The fan club was eventually turned over to Lara’s father, who relatively quickly decided he didn’t want to do it, and so the whole venture collapsed. But while it existed, these magazines were a real bonus, with news from Lara on what was going on, and various pictures.
Finally, to celebrate the Christmas season, the ‘Lara Fabian est ton autre’ FB site posted a video of the Grand Place [Grand Square] of Brussels, Lara’s home town, Christmas music playing in the background.
www.facebook.com/larafabiantonautre/videos/334758901819305
One can imagine her, growing up, walking through this square during the holiday season, as those in the video are doing.
In the coming week we’ll find out what the surprise will be concerning the Lockdown Sessions. Otherwise, unless Lara plans another holiday special, it would be reasonable to assume her public appearances/news will be minimal. Stay healthy everybody, and have a happy holiday season.
David
www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=486787049472260
and
http://instagram.com/p/CXOr21xtfhS
with the caption, “With Christmas approaching, we propose for you an exceptional and exclusive offer concerning the CDs and vinyls of "LockDown Sessions" to be discovered on the website www.larafabian.com
The Team.
As we already knew, and as indicated, the offer is a 25% discount on those versions of her new album through December 31st.
And then yesterday, she placed the following short video segment on those sites, at
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/videos/486556112795547
and
http://instagram.com/p/CXbi-ijrdEh
with the caption, “Stay Tuned for a Dec. 16th meeting on the social networks, we have something to celebrate! #LockdownSessions
It will be interesting to see what that is!
As you probably remember, the Lockdown Sessions are what she has called an ‘experimental album’, using her voice more as an instrument with repetitive lyrics. In several recent interviews, however, she has stopped emphasizing the experimental nature of the work, perhaps fearing that it was discouraging listeners. And in fact, IMHO, it is actually more like a progression from her recent albums, where the mood or beat comes to the fore. It’s definitely not an ‘unfinished' album, but a professionally completed work, with the added bonus that her daughter Lou gets to sing (nicely) on several of the tracks.
In Star Academie news, the Lara Fabian est ton autre FB site, posted the following link to a promotion video, available at
www.facebook.com/larafabiantonautre/videos/247818594102266/
It notes that the final auditions will be seen on TVA from Jan. 10-13 at 1930 (Quebec time) and that Lara will be present, which we knew from last week’s ‘Lara the Ring Fabian’s' youtube video discussing it.
Every now and then it’s interesting to check in and see how Lara is doing on iTunes around the world. Invariably whatever (generally obscure) country is listening to Lara, it’s almost always her self-titled English album, or, if it’s a single, Je t’aime or Je suis malade. On this occasion, however, there were two new album entries - Camouflage, #99 in Albania, and Nue, #135 in the Republic of the Congo. It’s hard to appreciate how far reaching Lara’s music is, especially since it does not get noticed in the world (i.e., English) press…
If you’re wondering how Lara’s book is faring in sales, a logical place to look would be amazon.ca, and they have the following statistics (https://www.amazon.ca/Je-passe-table-Lara-Fabian/dp/2764813481):
Best Sellers Rank: #1,668 in Books
#6 in Culinary Biographies & Memoirs
#21 in Actor Biographies
#21 in Entertainer
Note that this is a French language book and the listing is for all of Canada, so it’s actually pretty impressive…
Which leads naturally into the next extract from “Je passe a table”…
------------------------------------------
Third story: Between two lands
Meeting in secret in the Forest park
Three years after mom and dad's wedding, I show my face by overcoming difficult circumstances. You know the story of my birth.
The door of my Brussels grandparents still hasn't opened...
In hiding from mom and grandpa, both deeply hurt, dad regularly walks with me not far from my grandma's house.
She sees me, silently reconnects with her son and, moved, meets me. Grandma Marie and I fell in love at first sight. We look like two drops of water.
Some time later, my mom discovers the mysterious walks that dad and I take.
Her instinct is infallible.
One day, no sooner had Dad and I walked through the door of our little apartment to see Grandma Marie on the sly, than Mom sneaks on the bus, draped in her dignity, and joins us in this park where she is sure we will see each other.
My grandmother falls under Louisa's spell...
Until her death, every Wednesday afternoon that the good Lord will make, mom will go to do her hair and cuddle her.
Mamy Marie will make us filter coffee, too light for an Italian, and will serve us delicious cookies, in a nice tin box.
Sicily, my early childhood every winter
It is about the same time that every winter, and for more than six months every year, we go to Sicily. In winter, the chimney sweeps can't take care of the maintenance of the boilers and the chimney fires. We moved in with my other grandmother, Nonna Anna, surrounded by her sisters and family for almost seven years.
In the winter, my father and mother, together with my uncle Fabiano and his wife, cultivate and pick oranges that are sold in many markets, as well as our artisanal olive oil.
My family had a small plot of land on the slopes of Mount Etna with a few olive and citrus trees. The working class modesty of the area I come from has never lacked fruits and vegetables.
As a child, I loved my Sicily, and I must say that this has never changed.
Everything is different there.
The color of the sky. The color of the skin of the people. The color of the clothes.
The color of the fruits. The color of the vegetables. The color of the plates.
The color of moods.
The color of the light.
Over there, it is in Catania, a city located on the Ionian Sea on the eastern coast of my island. Near Etna, the gentle volcano. It is so called because, in spite of its activity, it has never swallowed anyone.
In this city apartment of a 1960s building, the nonna lives on the ground floor, a garden level.
I quickly discover that daily life revolves around what is prepared for meals. During the frugal morning meal, black coffee and minibrioche, we discuss what we will eat for lunch.
At lunch, we talk about what we will cook for dinner. At the end of the evening, we talk about the shopping we will do the next morning for lunch, etc. The rest seems very secondary, if this is only the rest, it is the essential. What really counts. The women, the men and the children of this big family.
It's always a party at the nonna's house as soon as we arrives. For those who are not used to it, it looks like happy battles.
Shouts of joy, when everyone approaches the white tablecloth table, already full of food. Compliments and words of love flow.
Words of love thrown without modesty.
Caresses and kisses full of warmth.
Embraces that never end, because even if we saw each other the day before, we never know what tomorrow holds.
We sit down and the story of each other's day is dense, also confused. Noisy and busy conversations...
Italy in all its splendor...
In all this hubbub, the noona continues to come and go from the kitchen and to place other plates on the table. Brightly colored dishes, filled with peppers, eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, salad with oranges and fennel.
There is never a shortage of homemade bread. Often, there is a whole wheel of goat cheese, put there by a neighbor, because he didn't know what to do with the milk of his sheep...
It was magical, and it is true that less than fifteen of us around this table, we felt a little lonely. So for dad, it always ended with two glasses of water in front of him. One with bicarbonate of soda to digest; the other with effervescent aspirin to make the headaches go away.
-------------------------------------
More details about her early life, a number of which we didn’t know…Wonder whether Lara's Belgian grandfather ever found out about those meetings, and welcomed her and her mother into his family...
For the most interesting picture(s)/video(s) of the week:
From lara_fabian_italia_la_voce, with their December calendar picture
http://instagram.com/p/CW7vZhkI2eX
and while we didn’t call it out at the time, they had a very mystical picture some weeks ago, at
http://instagram.com/p/CUlDqjjI5DX
From the larafabian_communify Instagram site,
http://instagram.com/p/CWyLc2dIUg9
with Lara’s words, “Love is not a sentiment, it is a vibration”.
What is sometimes called, ‘being on the same wavelength’…
And (something different), as posted by Véronique Lerouge on the Les Papillons Blancs FB site,
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10224023319004665
As can be seen, these are covers of past versions of Lara’s magazine ‘Farfallina’, which once upon a time were the (sole) benefit of joining her fan club. The woman who posted this is actually selling these copies for “a reasonable offer”. For those who don’t remember, there once was an active fan club, and for dues paying members, various ‘perks’ were promised. The only one that actually materialized were these magazines which came once every several months. The fan club was eventually turned over to Lara’s father, who relatively quickly decided he didn’t want to do it, and so the whole venture collapsed. But while it existed, these magazines were a real bonus, with news from Lara on what was going on, and various pictures.
Finally, to celebrate the Christmas season, the ‘Lara Fabian est ton autre’ FB site posted a video of the Grand Place [Grand Square] of Brussels, Lara’s home town, Christmas music playing in the background.
www.facebook.com/larafabiantonautre/videos/334758901819305
One can imagine her, growing up, walking through this square during the holiday season, as those in the video are doing.
In the coming week we’ll find out what the surprise will be concerning the Lockdown Sessions. Otherwise, unless Lara plans another holiday special, it would be reasonable to assume her public appearances/news will be minimal. Stay healthy everybody, and have a happy holiday season.
David
