Despite being an undisputed heavy in the intellectual rock category, Alain Bashung has never been one to take himself seriously - like Lacan, he has a fondness for lightening up his often tortuous lyrics with apparently simplistic puns. Aided and abetted by wordsmith cronies Bergman and Fauque, he has signed a handful of modern French masterpieces, songs so musically sophisticated and rich it takes time to fully take them in. We are only beginning to discover just how much of a mark Bashung has left on the last two decades.