- get bad haircuts, strike ridiculous lothario poses - but they can't resist winking at the audience: "Don't worry, I get the joke." Gainsbourg never flinched; he was authentically cool, and he reveled in tackiness with gusto and confidence. Listening to his tuneful, obscene, witty records, we encounter an original: a musician with the nerve, and the chops, to make great art out of bad taste."