The most intriguing event in this week's Paris concert listings takes place tonight at our favourite live venue, La Fleche d'Or.

Lebanese Underground Party is a night of bands and DJs from the Lebanon, on the Lebanese Underground independent record label. Acts include rock bands Scrambled Eggs, Bamby And The Dogs, Domingo and Lumi, hip hop from Rayess Bek and DJ sets from Jade and Cocosuma.

There's no fundraising or overt political agenda to the night - just a celebration of Lebanese acts and the surprisingly active Beirut scene.

There are close historical and cultural links between France and Lebanon. The Middle Eastern state was a French protectorate between the two world wars, proclaiming its independence in 1943 while France was under Nazi occupation. Lebanon's judicial and educational systems are based on the French models, and French is one of the most popular school languages.

Until the start of the civil war in 1975 (chronicled definitively by Robert Fisk in 'Pity The Nation'), Beirut was known as the Paris of the East, such was its beauty and glamour. Today, like Belfast, it's trying to shake off its war-torn image - though recent violence has once again pulled the rug from under Beirut's reconstruction.

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Is it July again already? This year's Tour de France (which Jules mentioned a short time ago) has just begun... in London, on one of the Tour's regular showcase starts in foreign countries (including Dublin in 1998).

This weekend, France's sporting news centred on the British capital - although ultimately with a lack of French success. Apart from the Tour, at Wimbledon Richard Gasquet and Marion Bartoli exceeded pre-tournament expectations before both losing on Saturday. In the French media poor Marion's heroic march to the final has been eclipsed by the Tour circus in London - just as Amelie Mauresmo's victory last year was overshadowed by the World Cup Final.

Now that London is only two and a half hours by train from Paris, there's a real sense of the two capitals being closer together. French TV news now carries regular reports from London - not just recent headlines like the Blair/Brown transition or the foiled terrorist attacks, but also comparative reports on the cost of living, stories of French people in Britain, the adventures of Arsenal (now minus Thierry Henry but still with a large French contingent), new UK-side developments (there's considerable interest here in London's congestion charges) and the occasional 'and finally' story (for example, Damien Hirst's diamond-skull).

These days French people regularly zip over to London on the Eurostar - and many stay there. While the UK capital's rent prices are notoriously high, salaries in London are also higher than the heavily-taxed French pay packet. From this end of the tunnel, London often seems like the brighter light.

Coming in the other direction, London and its rock mythology have always exerted huge influence on the Paris music scene. Serge Gainsbourg recorded his greatest works in Swinging London. The Clash inspired every '80s French band to mix punk and reggae - usually with awful results (apart from Mano Negra, who were fantastic). And today The Libertines are the unlikely idols for the new wave of English-singing Paris bands.

As for le grand boucle ('the great loop', as the French call the Tour), it has perhaps lost a lot of its prestige and interest for many French people - not because of the omnipresent drugs scandals but simply because there hasn't been a credible French challenger in years (and no home champion since Bernard Hinault in 1985). That's hardly going to change this year - the local hope is national champion Christophe Moreau, who's probably too at 36 (to put that in context, retired 7-time winner Lance Armstrong is 35 this year).

Still, for anyone who remembers Stephen Roche collapsing on La Plagne in 1987 or Greg Lemond trumping Laurent Fignon by 8 seconds in 1989, the Tour is undeniably a great spectacle and something quintessentially French. In 2005 your blogger was across from the Eiffel Tower and watched Armstrong et al (within touching distance from us) coast leisurely into Paris before the final sprint up the Champs-Elysées. Last year the Tour even went through our suburb - though in a multicoloured blur that makes you understand how French painters invented impressionism.

To celebrate the great race, here's some, em, German electronica - Kraftwerk's 'Tour De France':

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Cluas Verdict: 3 out of 10

Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo and Raphael star in : The Postman always brings shite.

There comes a time in the life of every music hack when, if he’s doing his job correctly, an outraged punter will be provoked into making the observation that they wouldn’t be at all surprised to discover that the writer of the offending piece was not at the gig at all. I am reminded of this when the envelope containing "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Music From The Motion Picture", lands on the mat, and spend much of the next week wondering if it would be possible to do the review without having it defile my CD player.

But my responsibility to Cluas readers weighs heavily upon me, so listen to it I do, and, to be fair, I am pleasantly surprised. But only in the sense that it could have been worse. Of the 14 tracks, 10 sound like Sum 41 doing Green Day covers – In other words perfectly suited to the job of accompanying Leonardo and chums on their pizza fuelled adventures but not necessarily the kind of stuff you’ll find yourself revisiting. The odd ones out are two instrumental pieces, a cover of Ram Jam’s Black Betty and a tune by some one or thing called Pepper which sounds like something that Elvis Costello could knock out in less time than it takes to play.

Not turtle crap then, but I wouldn’t advise you shell out for it all the same.

Michael O'Hara

More ...

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If you're going to Oxegen and you'd like a bit of le French touch (as the French themselves refer to it), there's a veritable Ferrero-Rocher-pyramid of Gallic dance and electronica on offer.

On Saturday afternoon, Justice are on the Dance Stage at 5:00, performing from their excellent debut album (the one with the crucifix as a title). They really should be on your list of must-see acts. Warning: Justice make the queasiest, squelchiest sounds around, so don't visit the chipper van just before seeing them.

Later that night, for anyone hoping to sway along to some bland existential swoosh noises, Air will be at the Pet Sounds stage. With luck they'll play lots of oldies from they days when they made essential music.

Sunday's headliners on Stage 2 are Daft Punk, the original of the French-electro-duo species. No news of a new album from the pair, although the DVD of their directorial feature 'Electroma' (premiered at the Cannes festival last year) is coming out this autumn. However, it doesn't feature any Daft Punk music.

I dare you, put one of the bank's 'Please Remove Motorcycle Helmets' signs on the Stage 2 entrance just as Daft Punk are arriving. I double dare you.

Finally, also on Sunday but all on his own, Miami-based hard house DJ Cedric Gervais is on the Dance Stage.

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I was watching both 'Music & Lyrics' and ' End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones' in quick succession recently. In the former, the female pop superstar Cora is seen during one scene wearing a figure hugging, grey Ramones t-shirt and in the latter Richie Ramone is heard complaining that he never got a cut of 'the t-shirt' money during his time on the band. It got me thinking that perhaps the lasting legacy of The Ramones might just be a sartorial look which can be yours for just €24.99 in all good record stores. Along with the "CBGBs" t-shirt that I have seen many an aging Irish music industry guest judge on "You're A Star' wearing around Dublin it seems to be the most popular mass produced garment at present for those who want to be seen expressing their individuality and their belief in a personal freedom. The Ramones were famous for having a 'uniform' that remained as rigid and unchanging as their music and one which Dee Dee railed against but I do wonder from time to time if their onstage look and the logo which is the motif of the t-shirt was the pinnacle of their creativity, whether their lasting influence is not on music but on casual fashion and brand awareness. Hey, I love "Cretin Hop" but maybe it was Gap and not Green Day that learned the most from them. After all, there's no stoppin' the cretins from shoppin'.

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Damien Rice is playing two shows in Paris this week. He's at the Olympia tonight and tomorrow night (4 and 5 July). Support on both nights is by long-time Rice-collaborator Vyvienne Long.

As we've mentioned before, the Newbridge singer-songer is very popular in France, not least of all because he speaks French in interviews (and speaks it very well, we must add). Also, when he's not touring he spends a lot of time here, and as a result he gives the impression of being genuinely relaxed and happy in France - an impression which to French fans gives the lie to the widespread perception of Rice as being humourless and oversensitive.

French music fans, who tend to value lyrics over melody, generally have a soft spot for sensitive and poetic artists, so Damo's love for France is definitely requited.

The Olympia (around the corner from the equally celebrated Opera) is possibly the most prestigious and iconic contemporary music venue in Paris - it's the spiritual home of Jacques Brel and Edith Piaf, both of whom recorded now-legendary live shows here when at their peak. The cavernous hall is famous for the quality of its acoustics, so an emotive singer-songer like Damo should definitely feel at home here.

Rice's two shows this week follow an earlier French tour in March to promote his second album, '9'. From his Paris concert last March, here's Damo singing 'Cannonball':

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One of the joys of traveling in China is that you can pick up CDs and DVDs you won’t get in the capital. Like yesterday evening, on Kunming’s Wen Lin Jie shopping/café area I found a treasure trove of recent releases, including the Kaiser Chief’s latest for RMB10, about a euro. The packaging varies between provinces too. This place had some of the neatest packaging, CD cases in paper casing with nice rounded corners. There’s the mystery of the yellow sticker on CDs. Does that mean they’re the real deal, licensed imports? Technically yes.

So why the different packaging? 

A pleasant high-altitude city in the country’s southwest, not far from the Burmese border, Kunming has a thriving backpacker culture and plenty of cafes for travelers who’ve just buses or flown up from southeast Asia. Fakes CDs abound in Vietnam but tend to be poorly packaged by comparison, using paper photo copies of the original sleeves.

There are certifiably real CDs in the shop. Not as nicely packaged as the other albums, there’s Guns N Roses’ Appetite For Destruction and Coldplay’s Rush Of Blood to the head. Many other, mostly pop and lite classics (Cliff Richard is in that section) come with a “Special For China” label applied.

The choice of real albums in Chinese book store chain, Xinhua, is always curious: a lot of Sting, some Tori Amos, Roxette, and always some U2 – curiously prevalent is the lackluster seller Pop.

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The People of The Year Awards website gives some indication as to what genres they think most people will look to when casting their vote. Amongst the names mentioned are Phil Coulter, Enya, Paul Brady and Ronan Keating, all, well, nearly all, fine musicians in their own right, and all appealing to a very particular demographic, “The Mammy”, or “Female 35-50” as I’m sure she’s known to the marketing department of the awards sponsors. 

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On Sunday 15th July, Dublin will see the first Irish performance of Glen Branca's "Hallucination City: Symphony for 100 Guitars". Below is a taster of what you are likely to hear on the night. Personally, I think it is great but then I also dig Lou Reed's 'Metal Machine Music' and Steve Reich.

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First off, the man who in my opinion is, along with his cousin Jack, one of the two lost fathers of country music, Woody Guthrie.

Now, the man who first tuned me into Woody, the Boss himself, performing a Johnny Cash favourite.

Now, the Man in Black, performing one of his greatest and darkest songs.

Next, a guy who is one of America's greatest songwriters, John Hiatt.

Finally, a guy who became a hero to me at 14 and remains so decades later, Steve Earle.

Until next time; ride hard, die hard, and keep on twangin'

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