In the 1970s, the spotlight was on glittering pop duos, singing couples, who were partners in life as well as on stage.1 Was it not possible to harbour illusions and believe in the sexual relation – at least for the duration of a song – while at the same time finding this Shabadabada dubious?2 "Parlez-moi d'amour – what a song!", said Lacan in 1972.3 Uncovering every false note or misstep was a relief: there were failures!
In 1986, the duo Les Rita Mitsouko tore down the old cardboard backdrop with Les Histoires d'A. : Les histoires d'amour finissent mal… En general [L.'s Stories: Love stories end badly… generally], a much more realistic and non-heteronormative version of the sexual non-rapport:
Valérie was bored
In Nicolas' arms
But Nicolas, he
Didn't know it […]
Michel loved Gérard.
And Gérard loved him back so much
That in the end it didn't work out
Les Rita Mitsouko, in their corrosive endeavour, struck even harder with Y'a d'la haine [There's Hate] (1993):
We don't just have love to sell […]
There's hatred […]
There's even a whole lot of it.
L Stories don't go without H.
In Brandt Rhapsodie (2009), Benjamin Biolay sings a duet with Jeanne Cherhal. Through messages exchanged between them, we witness – in fast forward – the journey of a couple, from passionate love to its disintegration.
Her – We need to see each other again […]
Him – I had a wonderful night […] You're beautiful when you're obnoxious […]
Her – You're my man. You're my ideal […]
Him – Darling, there's food in the fridge. I'll be home late […]
Her – I'm pregnant […]
Her – A baguette […] Fifty-litre bin bags […]
Him – Effexor 75 LP, one capsule three times a day. Alprazolam 0.50 mg six times a day […]
Her – I would remind you that you have a son who goes to school every morning,
And who would like to have breakfast with his father, From time to time, hello!
Will we never stop pursuing the sexual non-rapport?4
[1] Maritie and Gilbert Carpentier: very popular artistic producers of French TV pop shows in the years from 1950 to 1990.
[2] The term comes from the gimmick in the song from Claude Lelouch's film Un homme et une femme (1966) – Shabadabada insists that it is dabadabada. It was taken up in politics by Michel Rocard in 1994: "I am inventing parity by launching the 'woman, man' list […] we will call it the 'shabadabada list.'"
[3] Lacan J., The Seminar of Jacques Lacan, Book XX, Encore, ed. J.-A. Miller, trans. B. Fink, New York: Norton, p. 12.
[4] Cf. Wajcman G., "Fenêtre sur couples", La Cause du désir, no. 92, 2016, p. 71. Unpublished in English.
