I discovered this today:
There is a song by French hip hop artist Disiz Le Peste called “J’Pete les Plombs.”
‘J’Pète Les Plombs’ means, literally, “I pop the lead,” which is French slang for “I am blowing a fuse,” since the element of the old style fuses was made of lead, and was designed to burn out before a surge of current gets into the house and burns up all the wires and/or the whole house. It’s something that some French people say meaning “I am about to lose my mind,” and it is also the title of the current Disiz la Peste album, probably the best French hip hop record of 2005.
here is the video for ‘J’Pete Les Plombs,’ which you will notice is a parody of the film ‘Falling Down.’
I was writing to a friend in the UK today and explaining the phrase “J’Pete Les Plombs” and that’s how I ran across this. (Thanks, Google!)
Big ol’ fascinating world, isn’t it?
Actually (pushes glasses up and clears throat so voice can sound more nasally) J’pete des plombs was on 2001’s Le Poisson Rouge a fine album, to be sure, but not when compared to Disiz’s latest effort Les Histoires Extra-Ordinaires de Jeune Banlieue.
Guess what else? He’s an actor, too.
Go look him up on myspace
Oh, and here are the lyrics for the curious and those whose Français est tres mal.
great expression