Music
to Listen to in Your Citroën Automobile
Change Log:
Original article on Linuxslate.com - May 2010
Additions/Spelling - June 2010
Additions/Format/Spelling/Non-Working links removed - Sept 2010
Additions/Spelling/Edits - Feb 2012
Moved to Carcynic.com - March 2012
Additions - April 2012
Additions - November 2012
Additons - Feb 2013
Citroen Songs
When
considering a used Citroen for
purchase, buyers and
mechanics will
typically listen for the periodic click of the hydraulic
pressure
regulator.
But there's got to be something better to listen to while
riding around
in your personal bit of French history (or French state of
the art for
those in countries where your government does not interfere
with your to right to purchase new
Citroens).
References to particular
automobiles in music, and in fact entire
songs about certain cars are pretty common, and our favorite
French
techno-marvels are no exception. What follows is a list of
music that
is somehow related to Citroen automobiles.
Songs
are listed by: Artist - Album - Song, but are in no
particular order.
Links are provided to purchase some of the referenced
music
on
Amazon.com. I
receive no profit from linking to Amazon. I
choose Amazon because they sell music in standard,
unencrypted (DRM free) format that is compatible with most
devices, and does not restrict fair use of purchased music.
Grace
Jones - Slave to the Rhythm - Slave to the Rhythm
Listen to a Sample/Buy on Amazon.com MP3 Music Downloads
Grace Jones appeared in a 1980's TV advertisement for the Citroen CX, and video from the ad is included in the music video for this song. It is said that Grace Jones' hair style was supposed to look like the aerodynamic shape of the CX. Be warned - The ad and the video is… Well… it's Grace Jones… if you don't like it, don't watch it. Some have suggested that the TV ad may have actually reduced sales of the Citroen CX.
Jane Child - Jane Child - DS 21
Listen to a Sample/Buy on Amazon.com MP3 Music Downloads
Jane
Child owns (or
did own) at least
one US version DS 21. The car is featured in photographs on
her
official website. She wrote the song DS 21 about, or even
for… her
car. Jane Child is a brilliant song writer and keyboardist.
Strongly recommended especially if you have not heard her
work
before.
Listen
to a Sample/Buy on
Amazon.com MP3 Music Downloads
This
is the music from the revolutionary Dancing Robot TV ad for
the Citroen
C4. Even thought the Citroen C4 is not available in
North
America,
the ad garnered worldwide attention, and prompted not only
several
follow-ons from Citroen as we will see below, but also
several parodies and even a real
"rebuttal" ad from Chevrolet.
The Egg -
David Waxman pres. Ultra Electro
- Walking Away (Tocadisco Remix)
Listen to a Sample/Buy on Amazon.com MP3 Music Downloads
Song
Heard on the Citroen C4 "Skating Robot" follow-on advert.
Note:
Links to
videos on Citroen UK websites that were previously on this
page have
stopped working. It looks like Citroen moved some of
the videos
to different websites. These websites now either
attempted to do a
reverse DNS lookup (likely to see if you are in the UK or
not,) or
require a password. Am I naive if I think this was
partially due
to this website?
Luke Dzierzek - One Day/Echo - Echo
Listen
to a Sample/Buy
on Amazon.com MP3 Music Downloads
Yet
another C4 Transformers ad, and more
electronica/techno/what-ever-you-call-it music. This
one Shows a C4
converting into a robot
while traveling along a bridge. It runs past
some bicyclists who don't seem particularly alarmed by
the event.
MC Lita - Club remake of Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gee's
OK,
one
last Citroen C4 Transformers ad. I feel I have to
include it
for completeness. Interestingly, the ad is set in
New York city,
and a voice over says "100% New York" even though the car
is not
available to us here in the 'States. This remake of
the Bee Gee's
song
does not
seem to be available on Amazon.com.
DATA -
One in a Million EP - One in a Million
Listen to a Sample/Buy on Amazon.com MP3 Music Downloads
Citroen is bringing back the "DS" name, in a car they are advertising as "Anti-Retro". Several dozen CGI Citroen DS3's do some CGI synchronized driving to "One in a Million" by DATA in this ad.
Richard
Wagner - Wagner: Great Overtures - Ride Of The
Valkyries
Listen to a Sample/Buy on Amazon.com MP3 Music Downloads
Yes, that
Wagner. No trendy Club/Electronic mixes here.
Citroen is seriously out for a piece of BMW's market with
the C5, and
that
means serious music. The ad portrays a driver
that
apparently can have anything German he wants, including the
bar maid, but is content to just
look at his C5. If
your musical tastes require tunes that are a
little more
up with the times than something from a decomposing
composer, there are
several heavy metal remakes for your speaker-immolating
pleasure. Follow this
Amazon
search link as a start to finding some of them.
Sacha Di Manolo - Ride On / Side Of Your Life - (Single) - Ride On
Listen to a Sample/Buy on Amazon.com MP3 Music Downloads
Most of the song is used as the music for the very cool Citroen 90th anniversary advertisement. Clips from various Citroen ads and historic footage is shown in time with the music. Worth watching just for the way the music and the video is made to work together, even if you have no interest in automobiles of any kind. The very first part of the song, where a voice says "'It cost me a lot" is not included in the ad. Search YouTube for this, and some of the other videos mentioned on this page. Specific links are not included due to the fact that YouTube content frequently changes, and some material may have copyright issues.
Luscious Jackson - Greatest Hits -
Naked Eye
Listen to a Sample/Buy on
Amazon.com MP3 Music Downloads
A Black Citroen CX Prestige appears at the beginning and end of the music video for this alternative music.
Air - Virgin Suicides - Dirty Trip
Listen to a Sample/Buy on Amazon.com MP3 Music Downloads
This song is playing as the Citroen C6 is introduced during it's review by the British show Top Gear. Sort of mellow chill electronic music by the French group Air. The effect of the music, and some artistic photography really work well to introduce this striking car in the Top Gear episode.
Kelly Obsourne - One Word - One Word
Listen to a Sample/Buy on Amazon.com MP3 Music Downloads
Kelly
Osbourne takes
a ride in an 1960's DS or ID19 for the video for "One
Word".
Another one of my personal favorites, and when I have to buy
new
speakers, this song may well be the reason. Say what
you want
about the Osbournes, but if Kelly's talent were on trial,
I'd submit
this song and video as evidence.
Pendulum
- Immersion - Witchcraft
Listen to a Sample/Buy on Amazon.co.uk Music Downloads
The Official FIA World Rally Championship Game for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 will be released shortly, and this music accompanies an ad for the game. (Follow the Games Link from the FIA WRC Official page.) WRC, the Game, and thus the advert for the game feature the Citroen WRC cars prominently. I owned an older version of the game for PS2, and it did not have the quality or realism of GT4, so I would not recommend this game over GT5 without trying it, but I do like the music. It's Intense, Musical Electronica that's really hard not to like even if this sort of thing isn't what you normally listen to. The newest album, "Immersion" is not available yet on the US Amazon MP3 Downloads Store. You can buy the CD Single, or get the MP3 alblum on the official Pendulum US web store, or buy from the Amazon UK Download Store.
Yello -
- Mean Monday
Not available on Amazon Music Downloads. Allegedly available on iTunes.
Please note - Songs purchased on iTunes may not play on, or may be more difficult to move to devices other than those made by Apple.
This is the first I have heard of Yello, and I must say that the only thing impressive about this song/video is the early DS or ID that is featured throughout the video-- Well, OK, I guess Melanie Oertig's not bad to look at either, -- but as far as the music and lyrics are concerned, the fact that I cannot buy it in a format that will play on my devices really does not bother me that much. The director must have liked the Citroen too, as there are lots of cool shots, including a final scene of it lowering it's suspension. Recommendations: Put Melanie in a Stop Smoking program -- Nix the band -- Keep the Citroen.
Kosheen
- Kokopelli - Avalanche
Listen
to a Sample/Buy on
Amazon.co.uk Music Downloads
This song was featured in a video of Citroen Junior WRC driver Thierry Neuville training in Finland for the 2012 Rally Sweden. The video was featured on Best of Rally Live. The song is so awesome, and the winter wonderland scenery so surreal that not much editing was needed to produce an incredible Audio/Visual sensation. (It was a Subaru they were using for practice, not the Citroen DS3 WRC, but hey, it's still Citroen Related.)
Calvin
Harris - Feel So Close - Feel So Close
Listen to a
Sample/Buy on
Amazon.com Music Downloads
The song Feel So Close by Calvin
Harris
was featured during the Paris Auto show this year when
Citroen used the
song during an attempt to create a "Flash Mob" at their
display.
It was actually quite successful, with a crowd forming and
dancers
dancing around the incredible Citroen Numero 9
prototype. Check
the video, and learn the dance: http://youtu.be/J_7q66SuRx0
Spandau
Ballet - True - True
Listen
to a Sample/Buy on
Amazon.com Music Downloads
(This Much is) True by Spandau Ballet has become the victim of is featured in an advert for the Citroen DS3 Cabrio. In an almost disturbing "dream sequence" an alien baby - or at least a baby with un-humanly long hair - is riding a horse along a beach. Fortunately, it is a law abiding long-haired alien baby, because when it comes to a traffic light, it obediently stops (even without having any reins on the horse). The stop light brings us back to the waking world, where we find that the baby is, in reality, exactly the type of guy you would expect to find listening to Spandau Ballet and day dreaming while he is driving. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcolhXYrOlg
Montmartre - - Hope
Listen
to a Sample/Buy on Google Play
In the lead-up to the Paris Motor Show, Citroen has unvield yet another prototype in their flagship CX/C6 line -- The Citroen CXpirience:
The
song "Hope" by MontMartre provides a pleasant accompaniment
to the awesome setting and videography.
Read
more about the car, find a link to the video, and the
Official Citroen CXpirience page here
near the bottom of the CarCynic.com CX/C6 webpage.
----------------------
Lots More! See
Links Below. (The linked page is the source for some
of the material on this page.)
Citroens in Movies:
In the 3rd Harry Potter
movie -- Harry
Potter and the Prisoner of Azakaban -- a Citroen Xantia is
shown near
the beginning of the movie. In one of my favorite
sequences of
the entire series to date, The Knight Bus picks up Harry
Potter and
delivers him to the Leaky Cauldron (That's in London).
The Knight
Bus seems to be capable of amazing (I suppose I should say
-- magical)
acceleration among other feats. Despite this, upon arriving
in front
of the Leaky Cauldron, the Knight Bus bumps the rear of the
Citroen
Xantia, setting off it's alarm. One can't help but wonder if
the fact
that it is a French car that gets bumped in a British series
is more
than coincidental. Would Ernie (the driver), or
perhaps the
Knight Bus itself, have been more careful approaching a
Vauxhaull or
Jaguar? Reference: Internet Movie Car Data Base
-- See links below.
Comments on the IMCDB specifically identify the vehicle as a
1994
Citroen Xantia 2.0i. The IMCDB has reference to dozens
of other
movies (most French, of course) in which Citroens can be
seen.
There is a famous chase
scene in the
James Bond movie "For Your Eyes Only". James Bond (played
by Roger Moore) drives a Citroen 2CV to escape the bad guys.
Singer
Sheena Easton sang the theme song of the same name.
In
the movie GATTACA, Irene Cassini (Played
by Uma Thurman) drives what is supposed to be (in the
movie), a
futuristic turbine powered car. In actuality, it was a
1960's DS 19
Cabriolet. The music for GATTACA was composed by Michael
Nyman. A
1960's Avanti also stands in for a car of the future in this
film.
Motion Picture Sound Track to "GATTACA", on Amazon Music (Audio CD)
A Citroen DS 21 is seen
regularly in
the CBS TV series "The Mentalist". Music for the show was
written by Blake Neely.
You
can listen to his music on his website.
Celebrity and Musician Citroen Owners:
Carlos Santa is said to have owned at least a couple of Citroen CX's, so I guess it is appropriate to add anything by Carlos Santa to this list.
Carlos
Santana Albums and MP3 Downloads on Amazon Music
The Rolling Stones drummer
Charlie
Watts owned a Citroen SM. To limit it a bit, The SM was
introduced in
1970, so technically one could add Rolling Stones music from
any
album after "Let it Bleed" to this list.
Rolling Stones Albums and MP3 Downloads on Amazon Music
Dr. Theo's Citroen CX website states that the lead singer of the band Pro-Jekt owned a Series 1 Citroen CX, but the name listed does not match any current or ex Pro-Jekt band member according to Wikipedia or anything else I can find. Additionally, it lists Pro-Jekt as an Austrian band, but Wikipedia states that they are from the UK. Never the less, if you like Darkwave/Goth Metal, load them up anyway.
Pro-Jekt on Amazon MP3 Downloads
This article is (c) CarCynic.com 2012.
Wikipedia Page on Citroen
Wikipedia page on gray market cars: Specifically the paragraph on US law.
Jane Child Official Website. A picture of her with her car is here.
1994 Citroën Xantia in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Discussion on IMCDB.org
Here's a Page with Lots more Music Videos that feature Citroens
Dr. Theo's page of facts about the Citroen CX (Click on "Did You Know)
About:
This article originally appeared on CarCynic's sister site, Linuxslate.com.
Linuxslate.com is primarily about portable devices that use (or can use) the free and open source Linux operating system. It also includes reviews of various technology products (even if they do not use Linux), as well as commentary on technology and science related issues. Linuxslate.com is owned and edited by a Citroen owner and enthusiast. You can visit the Linuxslate.com Home Page here.
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