The Small Miracle of Bongarant
Chapels, memory, and the strange history of color
Coming soon
This is Now We Live Here, a brand new site by Keith Christiansen that's just getting started. Things will be up and running here shortly, but you can subscribe in the meantime if you'd like to stay up to date and receive emails when new content
Peaches on the Pavement, Apples in the Grass
Notes on fruit, neighbors, and the habit of ignoring what’s right in front of us
What the Fuck is Chanson, Anyway?
How France’s most poetic genre turns heartbreak into performance—and why it still sounds familiar if you grew up on soul and sad ballads.
Associations, Calendars, and the Rhythm of French Life
September in France: The Season of Sign-Ups
From Ballads to Trap: Six Decades of French #1 Singles
From orchestral ballads to trap beats, what France was listening to tells you as much about the culture as the charts themselves
Subscribers! Quick Video + A Question for You
I may have a lot of ideas (and maybe not enough names for them)
Now What? The Geography of Smell
From French markets to New York delis—how scent carries belonging and loss
Making Do, French Style
A chicken carcass, a couple of carrots, and a pot of lentils can be dinner if you let them.
Mutant Disco -The Other Side of the Mirrorball
Cristina’s bizarre bilingual disco debut wasn’t just satire—it was the only disco song made by a member of the Velvet Underground.
Sundays at the French Market (and an Easy Tomato Pistou Salad)
the slow rituals rewiring my weekends
Songs I Brought With Me, Songs I Found Here
A look back through my own writing on French music—from NYC to Marseille rap to lost and found disco crates