In 1972, when France was experiencing inflation of 6.2% in the year, Stone and Charden sang “You don’t change, you’re like the price of matches”. It was an oddity of the time, this invariable price of matches – one of the few administered prices in France.
If we go back to 1972, prices had almost doubled since 1958 and the birth of the Fifth Republic, and if we wanted to refer to an idea of reassuring permanence, there was therefore the price of matches. For a baguette, we were around 12 euro cents – but the official definition of the baguette had just changed, the standard having gone to 250 grams instead of 300 grams. And this price, also controlled by the administration, varied a lot – well, always on the rise.
And it is quite easy to find in the resources of the Radio France discotheque evidence of inflation in our country for a few generations. So here is the Malpolis in 2009 but, before listening, here is the Marseilles comic Fortuné Cadet with his century-old puns.
In the second episode of These songs that make the news airing this weekend, you hear excerpts from:
Stone and Charden, The price of matches, 1972
Fortunate Cadet, expensive life, 1920
The Malpolises, More expensive life, 2009
Benab, gloved, 2021
The Alchemists, Acid, 2018
dinosaurs, almost famous, 2018
Jofroi, Mary no longer bakes her bread, 1996
Elise Charon, The Baker, 2006
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Remember: during the summer of 2019, La Playlist de Françoise Hardy was a crossing of the musical baggage of an author, composer and performer considered as the arbiter of the elegance of pop in France.
In July and August 2017, we spent A Summer in Souchon, during which Alain Souchon guided us on a tasty walk through a lifetime of love for song.
All summer 2016, in the company of Vincent Delerm, we wandered around in La Playlist Amoureuse de la Chanson, truant exploration of popular heritage. You can also extend the delicacies of this summer chronicle with the French song lovers dictionary, co-published by Plon and franceinfo.