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"Dégénération" (English: "Degeneration") is a 2008 song by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. It was the first single from her seventh studio album '' Point de Suture'', and was released first digitally and on radio in June 2008, then in a CD in August 2008. The song marked an important musical change in the singer's career. Despite cold critical and public reception, the single achieved success, peaking at number one in France on both physical and digital sales charts.


Background and release

On 21 May, Thierry Suc, one of Farmer's producers, announced that the first single from the album would be "Dégénération" and that it would be released on radio on 19 June 2008. On 7 June 2008, a 30-second music clip was leaked to the Internet as well as the official cover art. On 14 June, the whole song was available to the Internet. At the time, as the origins of this song were, however, unclear, it had thus led many to believe that this leaked song was actually a remix due to its lack of lyrics. Surprisingly, on the night from 13 to 14 June, the e-compil site, the official platform for downloading of
Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
, proposed, for a few hours only, to legally download the song, probably by mistake. On 16 June, "Dégénération" was aired for the first time on Radio Jeune Reims, at 8:20 pm, although it was announced that
NRJ NRJ (NRJ is an acronym read as Nouvelle Radio Jeune, or ''énergie'' in French, pronounced , literally "energy") is a private French radio station created by Jean-Paul Baudecroux and Max Guazzini in June 1981, and was widely popularized than ...
should have the exclusivity of the first broadcast, on 19 June, at 7:00 am. According to the French newspaper ''
Le Parisien ''Le Parisien'' (; French for "The Parisian") is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris and its suburbs. It is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, better known as LVMH. Histor ...
'', the DJ Martin Solveig participated in one of the song remixes. As scheduled, on 19 June, several radio stations broadcast "Dégénération", including
NRJ NRJ (NRJ is an acronym read as Nouvelle Radio Jeune, or ''énergie'' in French, pronounced , literally "energy") is a private French radio station created by Jean-Paul Baudecroux and Max Guazzini in June 1981, and was widely popularized than ...
, Delta FM and RTL. The song was then also available digitally on musicMe, virginmega.fr and iTunes, but only one version. A few days later, an unofficial CDR promo (unknown remix) of "Dégénération" was circulated and received attention from high-profile DJs. Finally, it was announced that the song would be released as a physical single on 18 August. On 4 July, certain French radio stations began to broadcast the radio edit version of the remix produced by Martin Solveig. On the occasion of the single release, Farmer formed for the first time a partnership with a mobile phone company. So, the SFR subscribers received two
SMS Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...
announcing first when the song would be available digitally on its site, then when the three excerpts of the music video would be broadcast on its site. On 11 July, the newspaper ''Info Music Hebdo'' said that the CD single would be released in a limited edition (50,000 copies) and that the CD maxi would contain remixes by Tomer G and Manhattan Clique who had previously worked with Farmer for " Slipping Away (Crier la vie)". In early September,
TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is par ...
promoted the song airing some excerpts between the programmes and the fully music video in the night.


Lyrics, music and title

The song has an electro and techno-sexy feel and the lyrics play with sonorities, including
alliteration Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as a literary device. A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers". Alliteration is used poetically in various ...
s. The only natural instruments audible in the song are piano and percussion; all others are effects. According to ''Discordance.fr'', "Dégénération" is "an unstructured song, not a summer hit with an easy approach", and its music is "hypnotic". It can be assimilated to "
Psychiatric Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial psyc ...
", "La Ronde triste" or "
Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...
" because of "its short text and its rather dub". The song "amounts to a couplet repeated in buckle, a spoken bridge, and many
choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...
s". The text "remains partially incomprehensible without reading official lyrics". The electronic sound has a "more metallic rhythmic" than Farmer's previous singles and constitutes "a remarkable artistic experiment". Psychologist Hugues Royer said that the message of the song is to "shake the boredom to find again the desire", to "promote sex therapy" to "reset the appetite for life". Interviewed by Claire Chazal in the
news broadcasting News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or televi ...
of 31 August, 8:00 pm, on
TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is par ...
, Farmer explained that the title of the song was a reference to " Désenchantée", her 1991 number-one hit, in which the word "génération" is mentioned. On the cover of the various formats, Farmer is shown naked from the back. She has a green
jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole gro ...
prayer beads Prayer beads are a form of beadwork used to count the repetitions of prayers, chants, or mantras by members of various religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto, Umbanda, Islam, Sikhism, the Baháʼí Faith, and some Christian denominatio ...
around the neck that goes from the back to the buttocks and ends with a G-string-shaped cross and has in her back an enormous scar whose threads form the letters IY'H which mean in
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: "With God's will". Farmer's position on the cover resembles the subject of
Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each ...
's 1924 painting ''Le Violon d'Ingres'', as well as that on the cover of her single " L'Histoire d'une fée, c'est...".


Music video

The music video was shot over two days (9 and 10 June) in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, Czech Republic. Polydor and French magazine '' Paris-Match'' announced that Bruno Aveillan, a director who has directed several television commercials for companies such as Perrier, Louis Vuitton, Orange, Nintendo, Nike and Philips, directed this 4:30 music video. About thirty actors as well as the dancers of Cave Canem troupe feature in it. According to Aveillan, extras perform "a resolutely modern choreography, full of unexpected." In addition, a Phantom camera, ordinarily devoted to the scientific research, was used for the shooting. Patricia Aveillan, Bruno Aveillan's mother, made the dress worn by Farmer in the video and explained in an interview that she was informed just ten days before the shooting. Her daughter and her son-in-law also participated in the shooting. The photographer Claude Gassian attended the shooting of the video. The video shows Farmer lying on an operating table in a laboratory, surrounded by scientists. When the music begins, she wakes up, unties her strips, gets up, and throws blue laser beams from her palms to the doctors and the militaries. Suddenly, they begin to perform choreographied sexual intercourses (men with men, women with women, women with men) which eventually end as an
orgy In modern usage, an orgy is a sex party consisting of at least five members where guests freely engage in open and unrestrained sexual activity or group sex. Swingers' parties do not always conform to this designation, because at many swing ...
, while Farmer goes out of the laboratory. On 26 June, SFR site revealed an excerpt from the music video for "Dégénération". Two other excerpts were broadcast on 1 and 2 July. The video was eventually fully aired on television on 10 July and immediately available on several official websites such as ''TF1.fr'', ''Music SFR'' and ''universalmusic.fr''. In Russia, "MTV Russia" channel aired regularly the music video. This video was generally well received in the media. For example, ''Musique.evous'' said: "Its atmosphere is consistent with the single and the universe of its performer: cold, careful and erotic. (...) The production is impeccable and the greatest attention was paid to lighting, the texture of the bodies and the special effects". Many critics have noticed that the video was "erotic" and "provocative", and some have thought it was inspired by
Luc Besson Luc Paul Maurice Besson (; born 18 March 1959) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed or produced the films ''Subway'' (1985), '' The Big Blue'' (1988), and ''La Femme Nikita'' (1990). Besson is associated with the '' ...
's film ''
The Fifth Element ''The Fifth Element'' is a 1997 English-language French science fiction action film conceived and directed by Luc Besson, as well as co-written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. It stars Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Chris Tucker, and Milla Jov ...
'' (futuristic atmosphere, red hair, body covered with strips) or ''Le Parfum''. Chuberre, 2009, p. 222. According to ''La Meuse'', gay scenes – including two soldiers who kiss and undress each other – would be "a wink to the fascination that Farmer has always exerted on the gay public". Royer said this video is "peppered with special effects worthy of the early career
f Farmer F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hi ...
and conveys a message "which invites its listeners to come out of coma where they languish sex to engage in sexual intercourses without taboo. (...) The singer achieves the challenge of updating of the message of "
Libertine A libertine is a person devoid of most moral principles, a sense of responsibility, or sexual restraints, which they see as unnecessary or undesirable, and is especially someone who ignores or even spurns accepted morals and forms of behaviour o ...
" without giving the feeling of repetition." In January 2009, when the third single from the album was released, it was revealed that the music video for "Dégénération" as well as that of " Si j'avais au moins...", were part of a short film named ''The Farmer Project''. The action takes place in a country in Eastern Europe in the 1950s or 1960s. It begins with Farmer, who portrays a creature with supernatural powers, who is captured by two policemen and studied in a laboratory. At this point, the music video for "Dégénération" starts.


Critical reception


Reviews

"Dégénération" received generally negative reviews from the media and the public. Indeed, many Farmer's fans have criticized the lack of lyrics, and the radio stations have not taken to the song. On 29 July,
Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds ma ...
proposed on its homepage a very critical analysis of "Dégénération", both at the level of music and video. ''Tribu Move'' deemed that this song marked a big musical change in the singer's career. On 18 August, French magazine ''Télé Star'' qualified "Dégénération" as a "failure", "a repetitive single without refrain, which has left perplexed fans of the first hour as well as professional people". It also stressed that the song was "poorly aired on radio due to overall negative feedbacks from listeners". According to ''
Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'', "Dégénération" is characterized by "rather minimalist arrangements and a curtness tone". For ''
Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French Newspaper of recor ...
'', it is a "very commercial single", with a "powerful rhythmic", a "very forward voice", and "imperturbably 'farmerian' lyrics". ''Starac Mag'' deemed the song is "less melodious than armer'sprevious titles, but equally effective". As for ''
Le Point ''Le Point'' () is a French weekly political and news magazine published in Paris. History and profile ''Le Point'' was founded in September 1972 by a group of journalists who had, one year earlier, left the editorial team of '' L'Express'', w ...
'', "Dégénération" is "a repetitive electro pop ongwith naive lyrics full of muddled and mystic
double meaning A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially a ...
s". More positive, Swiss newspaper ''Coopération'' stated: "Make love, not the war: such is the message of this electro-pop hit which eyes up
Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depech ...
".


Chart performance

; France Although it received negative reviews, the single, after just a few hours, climbed to number one on the French singles download chart, very far ahead of the number two in terms of sales. In spite of the lack of substantial promotion, there were 4,998 digital downloads on the three first days. However, the week after, "Dégénération" dropped to number eight with 2,028 downloads, then to number ten with 1,769 downloads, and was only number 25 in its fourth week with 940 downloads. It continued to drop on the chart, but gained 35 places and reached number ten, with 1,450 downloads, when the album was released in late August, but began again to drop rather quickly the weeks after. It fell off the top 50 after 13 weeks. In France, the single went straight to number one on the SNEP chart on 23 August, selling 27,401 units, which was the highest weekly sales of 2008 for a number-one single in France, and it marked return to number-one single since last single " XXL", released in 1995. It dropped to number two the week after with 8,495 sales, then to number five with 4,891 sales. Then it fell off the top ten and totaled 17 weeks in the top 50 and 41 weeks in the top 100, which is to date the singer's longest chart running of a single in this country. The song also reached number ten on the club chart, number 16 on the television airplay chart and number 51 on the airplay chart. ; Other countries On 5 July, "Dégénération", then only available digitally, entered the Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart at number six before dropping quickly and remaining in low positions. However, on 30 August, when the physical formats were released, "Dégénération" jumped directly from number 33 to number one, thus becoming Farmer's third number-one hit in Belgium. It dropped rather quickly the next weeks and remained for a total of 14 weeks in the top 40. The single was first ranked for a sole week on the Swiss Singles Charts, at number 58, on 6 July, thanks to the downloads, but re-entered at number 26 on 23 August when the physical formats were available, then dropped and fell off the chart after six weeks.


Promotion and live performances

The song was never performed on television. It was performed during the 2009 tour Mylène Farmer en tournée, as sixteenth song of the show. Farmer wore a black leather jacket with a golden cross in the back, and her dancers a beige jacket with a black cross in the back. The song was accompanied by a choreography: Farmer appeared standing on a cockroach-shaped chair, while the dancers performed a dynamic modern choreography; she then stood up and walked to a platform which then raised in the airs.


Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of single releases of "Dégénération": * CD single (limited edition – 50,000) * CD maxi / 12" maxi * CD single – Promo / CD single – Promo – Digipack format 12" (collector edition) * CD maxi – Promo * 12" maxi – Promo * CD single – Promo (released in September 2008. Limited edition – 120) * Digital download


Release history


Official versions


Credits and personnel

These are the credits and the personnel as they appear on the back of the single: * Mylène Farmer – lyrics * Laurent Boutonnat – music * Simon Hawk (H&K) – photo * Melikito – art "cicatrice" * Henry Neu – design * Isiaka – editions ; Tomer G sexy club remix * Tomer G at Tomer G Studios for Rave World of Music – remix ; MHC future generation remix club and Manhattan Clique mix * Manhattan Clique – remix, additional production * Philip Larsen – keyboards * Lee Turner – guitar


Charts and sales


Peak positions


Year-end charts


References

* * * * *


Notes


External links


Mylène Farmer — "Dégénération"
All about the song, on ''Mylene.net''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Degeneration 2008 singles Mylène Farmer songs Songs with lyrics by Mylène Farmer Songs with music by Laurent Boutonnat Music videos directed by Bruno Aveillan Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles SNEP Top Singles number-one singles LGBT-related songs 2008 songs