[78-L] New blog devoted to 78rpm records

[Michael Biel]

On 1/28/2012 4:54 PM, Malcolm Rockwell wrote:
> O god, another punster. This time in French!!
> Mal
>
> *******
>
> On 1/28/2012 11:39 AM, Thomas HENRY wrote:
>> Yes, the common sense is that 78s were made of bakelite, but my blog's
>> name is also a reference to a famous French song by Serge Gainsbourg
>> mentioning "seins de bakelite" (breasts of bakelite), "ceints de
>> bakelite" (my blog's name, pronounced in the same way) meaning
>> "surrounded by bakelite". OK, this reference is hardly understandable
>> outside of France...
It might be a good idea to put this explanation of the origin of the 
name and the pun in your "about" page, along with a statement that 78s 
were mostly made of SHELLAC.   Of all of the common plastics, Bakelite 
is the least likely to be used for making records, partially because of 
how it has to be moulded, but also because it is not re-meltable.

But the idea of breasts of bakelite in a Serge Gainsbourg song is 
interesting.  What does he mean?  Is he complaining about hard 
implants?   One source in Englisn by Jerome Viger-Kohler said "'Tes 
petits sens de bakelite me surexcitent'.  I just have to say I love the 
word 'Bakelite'. Since I am a kid (my parents used to listen to 
Gainsbourg a lot), I think 'Bakelite' sounds very sexy. It sounds like 
Kryptonite with love power!"  Since Superman LOSES his power with 
Kryptonite, this also is a strange image.  But looking at a translation 
of the whole song it seems that he is singing about girls "Twenty years, 
eighteen, seventeen years on the edge" who excite him with "Your small 
breasts bakelite Fluttering".   Sounds like the image of Jane Birkin!

By the way, your blog is interesting, and I have put in comments on your 
two recent Soviet records.

Mike Biel mbiel at mbiel.com


>>
>> 2012/1/28 David Breneman<david_breneman at yahoo.com>:
>>> From: Thomas HENRY<thomashenry81 at gmail.com>
>>>
>>>
>>>> I'm a new member in this list. I created a few months ago the blog
>>>> "Ceints de bakelite" devoted to my 78rpm records collection.
>>> Are 78s popularly believed to be made of Bakelite in France?
>>> As you probably know, many Americans thought they were made
>>> of wax.