Minitel Rose and the first Internet
Oct
7
Written by:
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Back in the 1980s, many French homes had an Internet-style device called Minitel (right). It worked a lot like the web does now, except that instead of blogging about Mylène Farmer and Les Rita Mitsouko, Jacques le Frenchman could only use it for boring old stuff like shopping and train timetables.
Basically, it seems to have been teletext down a phone line. That said, a blogger who grew up in two-channel land without teletext can hardly sneer at the gadgetry of others. (The CLUAS gaffer is a better man for explaining techie stuff.)
Anyway, as happens, French kids of that era have grown up and become ferociously nostalgic for this kind of stuff. So here are Minitel Rose (below left), three lads from Nantes who've named themselves after the aforementioned contraption and make very '80s-sounding electro-pop.
(At this point we can also make all the usual references to le french touch and Daft Punk.)
As if to explain their band name, Minitel Rose's album is called 'The French Machine'. The artwork is a mix of metal perviness and retro-futuristic kitsch, which we find très Paris-nightclub.
The music's quite good. This trio have close links with another French threesome, The Teenagers, who have mixed their track 'Elevator'. Such is the closeness of the two groups that Minitel Rose have covered The Teenagers' track 'Feeling Better' which is simply about loving The Teenagers. (Or perhaps we're missing a joke somewhere.)
Could you love Minitel Rose enough to sing a song about them? Have a listen to tracks on their MySpace page and find out. Here's the video for "Magic Powder":