The bells! The bells! Our fellow 'Soundings'-lovers will be supporting Nada Surf on their upcoming European tour, starting with three April concerts in France.

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Welcome to the world of Mylène Farmer, the reclusive Quebec singer and 'French Madonna' who's France's biggest female pop star. Her music is bland and forgettable but she does her best to make up for it (banned videos, explicit lyrics, deranged fans). Here's a song you won't be hearing on Irish radio anytime soon: a not-too-bad single called 'F*** Them All'. All this smut and swearing is really unlike us, you know.

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Photos and other visual work by the iconic US rocker feature in a new exhibition at the Fondation Cartier in Paris. Smith will also perform at the centre as part of a concert series to complement the stuff on the walls - Kevin Shields will make a contribution.

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My lovely horse: Your blogger loves Paris in the springtime (and all year round), but we're also dreaming of the French countryside. Here's the song that's making us dream: 'Paris De Loin' by Poney Express.

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The French electronica legend is performing his classic 'Oxygène' album at the National Concert Hall in Dublin tonight and tomorrow night. Here's a video for a piece of music you should recognise.

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The annual alt-music get-together takes place in this week. French acts appearing in Austin include Digitalism and Herman Dune [Are you sure about this? - Ed.]. Okay, so the Frenchness of many of the Gallic contingent is questionable. Ironically, one of the genuine French acts playing in Texas is The Rodeo - watch 'I'm Rude'.

Victoire huge-o: Justice, Yael Naim, Feist (!) and Vanessa Paradis were among the winners at France's annual music award show. But look: there's Daft Punk! In the audience! Nominated for a prize! And wearing rubber headgear! What'll they say and do if they win? You can watch for yourself - along with a fantastic live performance from Keren Ann.

Tough times in Paris for some of our compatriots. Unperturbed by the bad vibes, up pops a Waterford singer-songer for a support slot in the French capital this Sunday. Here's Declan de Barra singing 'Throw Your Arms Around Me on Irish television.

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The ultra-hip but slightly bizarre Parisian electro idol has really gone and done it - he's just been announced as France's entry for Eurovision 2008. But can he possibly beat 'la dinde irlandaise'?

The celebrated French video-maker has to date made three promos for Irish acts. His work for Energy Orchard and Hothouse Flowers can be put down to on-the-job training, perhaps. However, here's a fairly impressive video for Sinead O'Connor's 'Fire On Babylon'.

A bout de souffle: Marking a decade since their much-loved debut album, Air will release a deluxe edition of 'Moon Safari' on 31 March. It still sounds wonderful - take a trip to the moon (and 1998) with the video for 'Sexy Boy'.

It goes "WAAAAOOOOUUUW, WAH-WAOUW-WOW, WOW-WOW-WAOUH, WAH-WAOUH..." and you pull your best rock-god air-guitar poses. Watch Gary Moore and Phil Lynott, real-deal rock gods, perform their famous duet live in the 1980s.

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The best of times: A new series of concerts sees acts from the UK capital playing in the French capital, and vice versa. Could the same concept work for an Irish city?

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The French electro DJ/remixer is one of the first names revealed from the annual Trinners shindig. Watch the dog-heavy video for 'Poney Part 1'.

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...not seen at all in Paris by your blogger. We're sorry we missed his appearance in the French capital last weekend, especially since we hear the RSAG live show is very impressive. You can find out for yourself if you're heading to the Childline Rocks concert on 28 February.

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The award-winning French singer/strange-sound-maker is back! At last! Two new songs from her forthcoming 'Music Hole' album are now available on her website. To prepare you for an eventual Irish concert (you hope), watch her performing her biggest hit a capella. Shy and quiet she isn't.

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Le Irish Touch from a Dublin dancefloor duo. Watch the video by Kelly Goeller from NYU School Of Arts for 'We Don't Speak French', which features in the Hot Press series of collaborations.

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Charlie McCreevy, EU Commissioner, gave the European music industry the perfect Valentine's gift: the extension of performers' copyright from 50 to 95 years. French record companies are mightily relieved.

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Ballet-go-backwards: An erstwhile electro-lounge act find a new singer and start making lovely indie-folk-pop in the English style. We approve. Cocosuma's 'We'll Drive Home Backwards' features the single 'Cinders', with a video featuring two ballet legends hard at it.

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The day of love in the city of romance. Trust a rugby-following Irishman to be cynical about it; here's The Divine Comedy.

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Our rugby team was narrowly beaten by the French yesterday, but that was nothing to the thrashing their song gave ours. The world's most famous national anthem: what else should we have expected when it even beat down the Nazis in 'Casablanca'?

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A little green man of grass, carrying your drumkit home. On a strange subconscious level, what better soundtrack than a recently-dropped Irish band?

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The French cabaret-pop chanteuse's wonderful 2006 album 'A L'Autre Bout Du Monde' finally gets released in Ireland on 11 February.

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Wish you would hear: The first great French album of 2008 is 'Ghost Days' by a Floyd-referencing, Drake/Smith influenced singer-songer. Watch the bittersweet single 'Everything Else', with its cracking opening couplet and Wanderly Wagon video.

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From a hidden corner of the DC attic, here's the video for Neil Hannon's French version of one of his biggest hits, reworked as a duet with French actress Valérie Lemercier.

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