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March 29, 2024, 08:25:41 AM

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Sparks

Started by the science eel, November 23, 2016, 09:57:06 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

DrGreggles

Saving my first cinema visit for this.

Butchers Blind

Watched over the weekend and it's indeed one of the better musical docs with a great amount of care gone into clips and talking heads. Does the job of making a casual observer of the band want to dig deeper.

scarecrow

I thought the talking heads were garbage. Flea was good, but I don't think anyone else said anything particularly interesting or insightful. The great Adam Buxton popping up for two seconds to point out that some of the tracks on Big Beat have outrageous titles - what's the point? Tony Kaprano takes home the prize for being the dullest blowhard.#

Bjork was just on the phone saying something like "Yes, I have listened to Sparks."

Rich Uncle Skeleton

Annette's won best director and best soundtrack at Cannes, they must be over the bloody moon! Not looking forward to being in a cinema but definitely want to see it properly rather than on prime.

batwings

I watched and really enjoyed the doc, even though I was an almost complete Sparks virgin. Along with them being enthused about on Chart Music recently, the Wright film has caused me to start investigating them beyond the singles I remember from childhood. Obsessed with lil' Beethoven already.

sutin

Quote from: batwings on July 19, 2021, 03:24:47 PM
I watched and really enjoyed the doc, even though I was an almost complete Sparks virgin. Along with them being enthused about on Chart Music recently, the Wright film has caused me to start investigating them beyond the singles I remember from childhood. Obsessed with lil' Beethoven already.

You're in for one hell of a ride. Lil' Beethoven is masterpiece.

phantom_power

I think they might be the two greatest human beings on the planet

bakabaka

Confusion, the Jacques Tati film starring Russell and Ron (who presumably would have also written the soundtrack), is now at the top of the list of my favourite films that never got made.

Jittlebags

Interview with Wright, Russel and Ron on Commode and Mayo's Film Review yesterday. Actual review next Friday.

phantom_power

Why is it not mentioned that Russell sang and sort of spoke in an odd European\Germn accent for a lot of their career?

DrGreggles

I'm at the Q&A screening on Thursday - cannot bloody wait.

ajsmith2

Quote from: DrGreggles on July 26, 2021, 09:07:46 AM
I'm at the Q&A screening on Thursday - cannot bloody wait.

Glasgow?

DrGreggles


Custard

How about this for a piss take? 80 knicker to own the soundtrack to the documentary
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B098CZ1LRG/

Admittedly its great music, but are they having a laugh?

sutin

Quote from: Shameless Custard on July 26, 2021, 01:34:30 PM
How about this for a piss take? 80 knicker to own the soundtrack to the documentary
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B098CZ1LRG/

Admittedly its great music, but are they having a laugh?

Sparks are my all time favourite band bar none but i'm not paying £80 for a record with fucking Neil Gaiman on it.

Echo Valley 2-6809

I doubt it comes up in the documentary but I was looking at the inner sleeve/lyrics for Todd Rundgren's second album and it said photographs and design by Ron Mael.
This was 1971, same year as Sparks' debut album produced by Rundgren. Don't know which came first though.

DrGreggles

About to watch the doc.
VERY excited!

Absolutely loved it. It could have been twice as long and wouldn't have dragged. Nice to see the brief clip of
Spoiler alert
Vic and Bob
[close]
and
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Ron's car
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was perfect. Yeah could be argued that many of the talking heads aren't exactly offering huge insight but they zip along so quickly that it doesn't really matter. The more interesting ones are the
Spoiler alert
ex band members
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and other lesser known figures.

The Mollusk

Me and capisco off to see this on Wednesday. Very excited!

Crabwalk

I'm pretty confident that you'll both love it. Much more sincere and emotional than I thought it would be, and extremely funny in places. How could a film featuring this much Ron Mael not be?

Flea is also in my good books for the first time since I was 14, as he
Spoiler alert
rhapsodises over 'Those Mysteries' from Introducing Sparks which is one of the best songs of all time.
[close]

Quote from: soaking wet, mate on August 02, 2021, 11:31:51 AM
Nice to see the brief clip of
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Vic and Bob
[close]

I also don't think there can be many internationally acclaimed feature films that feature two appearances from
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Noel Edmonds
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. Lots of unexpected people pop up in the bountiful archive clips. It's a total blast from that perspective too.

Waking Life

#290
I thought this was fantastic and I'm not an uber fan by any means. I find quite a few Sparks albums to be a bit much (Lil Beethoven aside, I actually think they make a great 'singles' band, although that's the opposite of what the doc was trying to say), but this doc did a great job of distilling their journey. And the talking heads were largely great.

The issue of them
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ditching band members periodically hinted at a slight bit of bad blood
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, although it's not unusual given their singular songwriting. I remember watching the Of Montreal doc a few years back and thought it off that Kevin Barnes had done that a few times, but I think that was more how he went about it.

flotemysost

Saw it this afternoon, and as a new fan - I've only really paid attention to Sparks since last year, after chancing on a link to Self Effacing in this very thread and becoming completely hooked (although the timing couldn't have been better, as delving into their back catalogue has honestly helped keep me sane over the past year) - I was pretty much grinning from ear to ear throughout most of it.

I didn't really know much at all about the band themselves (either the brothers or the various lineups they've worked with), so it was interesting from that perspective. I've sort of skimmed over much of their 80s output so far, definitely need to remedy that - really enjoyed the bits of
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Whomp That Sucker and Angst In My Pants featured, including the video for I Predict, which I hadn't seen before.
[close]

Fwiw, not that it matters at all obviously, but as a recent fan who wasn't really observing/alive for much of their career, I actually didn't realise until seeing the film that
Spoiler alert
Russ and Ron aren't gay - I'd just sort of assumed they both were, such is the sense of  flamboyant but curated high camp I always got from their performances - maybe that was narrow minded of me, but I love that they were willing to fuck with expectations with such dedication, and the brief discussion of that was quite interesting
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.

Anyway, great stuff, really enjoyed it and I agree with Waking Life it did a great job of condensing an imposing back catalogue into engaging but accessible viewing. As others have said, most of the celeb soundbites add very little, but they're mercifully brief for the most part - the archive stuff was the real treasure for me.

bakabaka

My favourite talking head in this was Jane Wiedlin.
The adoration she had and seems to still have for the brothers shines out and all of the archive film of her makes it look as if she is the happiest person in the world, just to be with them. Russell looked a bit embarrassed about their 'brief relationship', shortly before she says that after not knowing which to go out with, she probably made the wrong choice and should have gone with Ron. I think we can all relate to that.

sutin

Quote from: bakabaka on August 04, 2021, 08:19:54 PM
My favourite talking head in this was Jane Wiedlin.
The adoration she had and seems to still have for the brothers shines out and all of the archive film of her makes it look as if she is the happiest person in the world, just to be with them. Russell looked a bit embarrassed about their 'brief relationship', shortly before she says that after not knowing which to go out with, she probably made the wrong choice and should have gone with Ron. I think we can all relate to that.

Enjoyed their banter on Jane Wiedlin at the q&a on Thursday...

(paraphrasing)
Paphides - Russell, I didn't know you had a thing with Jane Wiedlin. Nice one!
Ron - Well, she has the hots for me now

non capisco

Quote from: Crabwalk on August 03, 2021, 12:04:08 PM
Flea is also in my good books for the first time since I was 14, as he
Spoiler alert
rhapsodises over 'Those Mysteries' from Introducing Sparks which is one of the best songs of all time.
[close]

Agreed. Not quite enough to forgive him for Red Hot Chilli Peppers but good to hear someone bigging up that album, it's fierce underrated by everyone. 'Occupation', fer crying out loud!

Yeah, thoroughly enjoyed this. The sheer amount of archive footage and the way it was put together was manna from heaven for a Sparks nerd, cancelling out some of the more superfluous talking heads. That insane looking gig from the 1974 UK Sparks mania era where there's basically no stage or security and girls were repeatedly piling into Russell. That 'Introducing...' era TV appearance where Ron suddenly goes garrity smashing up chairs, visibly startling the audience and sitting on that one guy's lap. 'Change' on bloody Wogan!

I was at that gig they took the live footage of 'My Baby's Taking Me Home' from and seeing it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up all over again. I cannot wait to see those two live again. And I'm obviously gonna relisten to a ton of Sparks again for the rest of the week so the film did its job in that regard. Never really gave the Franz Ferdinand collaboration much ear-room but that 'Some might find me borderline attractive from afar/But afar is not where I can stay and there you are' lyric that was quoted is...well, devastating.

I'll also say the bit where they come out of the wilderness years with 'When Do I Get To Sing My Way' felt triumphant as fuck. That song is incredible.

The Mollusk

"My Way" really is a magnificent song, maybe top 5 Sparks tunes for me, but seeing it in the context of that point in their career added another layer of poignancy to it. Its a beautiful and soaring synth pop belter, and yet part of me keeps imagining them writing it and having a good chuckle at how cloying and self-pitying it sounds.

Anyway yeah great fuckin film. I was grinning throughout most of it, I just don't know how it's possible to love that band any more than I already do. Ween and Deerhoof are the only two I can think of who're in the same league of sheer explosive joy I feel when listening to them.

sutin

There's simply no other band than make me happy to be alive more than Sparks. They've been my favourite band for 15 years and I doubt anyone will dethrone them at this point. Just fucking perfect, even the less-perfect records give me more joy than the best records of any other artist.

Dirty Boy

I really want to see this obviously, but could you just tell me if there's much on the recording/touring of Lil' Beethoven? At over two hours i'm guessing they don't skip over the 'big' records.


sutin

There's a fair bit on Beethoven, being one of their most important albums. Not much on the recording itself apart from them commenting that they spent over a year working on it (which is a lot for them, they work fast).

Dirty Boy

Thanks. Should get to see this in a couple of weeks anyhoo.