Sparks

[sutin]

Sherlock Holmes is probably my least favourite song on that album, or on side one of that album at the very least.

[prelektric]

Sherlock Holmes is probably my least favourite song on that album, or on side one of that album at the very least.

Oh well, never mind!

This just makes me want to cry.

"It's the break in the song
When I should say something special
But the pressure is on and I can't make up nothing special
Not when I'm with you

When I'm with you
I never feel like garbage when I'm with you
I almost feel normal when I'm with you, with you, with you
When I'm with you"

That is a fucking lyric. Hugely relatable. The music is great too obvs.

If doesn't have to be about a spouse/wife/husband - it could be about a dear friend too.

Terminal Jive is quite underrated to be honest.

[sutin]

I love Young Girls off Terminal Jive. Russell's falsetto at the end is the sound of heaven. A lot of people get a bit skeeved out by that song's lyrics but I just think they're funny.

"They live at home
They don't have cars
I have a home, I have a car
They like that, they like that"

Come on, that's hilarious!!

[PaulTMA]

I only know Jack Antonoff from The Sparks Brothers, what's objectional about him?

Can't put my finger on it.  Just get the vibe he needs a good glassin'

[IsavedLatin]

Also very jealous that you're seeing them this weekend! Where are you seeing them, if you don't mind me asking?

I went to see them in Vilnius last night! This was the last show of the tour -- I swayed in part by that, and also the fact that it was a Saturday night (just a bit easier logistically around work than a midweek visit).

There was a fantastic moment during "So May We Start" that I think really helped to set the tone for the evening. They started perfectly respectably, with Russell looking and sounding engaged with the music; he was moving to the beat, but equally there was nothing too showy going on. Then, just going into a chorus Russell leapt out quite athletically at the audience and went bounding about the stage for the rest of the song. I was standing in the second row and, for a split second, when he did that initial leap it felt like he was about to land on us, which was alarming and electrifying and caused a fair bit of the audience to start pogoing with abandon (which in turn caused Ron to grin throughout most of the rest of the song).

So, yeah, Russell is some advert for going to the gym regularly; he's got 40 years on me and lepping about all over the place constantly, as well as (for my money) very convincingly hitting the high notes throughout.

I'd have been happy to hear more from the band, who were very good and handled the different musical eras really well. Giving them more airtime might also have been a bit fairer on Russell; not that he seemed at all bothered by overwork, but I did think that he barely had a chance to catch his breath at any point.

I found the ending of the set, where they said a few words and took bows, very emotional; less so perhaps with Russell, who throughout had been a pretty professional frontman (and his closing remarks were fairly standard stuff: thanks so much for being such a great crowd; we're sad to finish the tour but so happy that we had such a great last show with you, Vilnius, etc.), but I felt Ron really wore his heart on his sleeve and he seemed to have been truly moved by the crowd reaction. A charming thing happened: I discovered in my short trip that the Lithuanian for thank you is ačiū, or "ah-choo", and at the end of the main set, the audience started chanting "ah-choo, ah-choo, ah-choo". I was amused to think that maybe this was a very particular and unusually popular request for that song from Propaganda (I love it personally and would have been delighted to hear it in the encore!), but clearly it was a vote of thanks and love -- and that, I think, really landed with the Mael boys.

Re: specific songs, I enjoyed "Shopping Mall of Love" enormously for a chance for some business with Ron; I marvelled at Russell doing the vocal on "Wonder Girl" so well 50+ years after its first recording; "Lawnmower" was an absolute triumph; I found myself thinking about @wosl's comment earlier in this thread about the "normal brother/weird brother" distinction on "The Rhythm Thief", gleefully thinking during Russell's tour de force "they're both bananas!"; I finally saw something of what everyone has been getting at with the hypnotic comment about "My Baby's Taking Me Home" (the album version of which does nothing for me). I did feel that the closer, "All That", is some terrible old shite, but that my goodness they earnt the right given that it was an unbroken run of GREATS up to that point ("My Baby's Taking Me Home", "No. 1 Song" and "This Town", then first encore with "Suburban Homeboy").

I am pleased that I got into their photo at the end of the night: no one who isn't me would pick me out of it what with wearing a mask and being basically three pixels wide, but that's fine.

(I am very late saying it but I too love the @Brian Freeze extended artistic universe of Sparks portraiture.)

[flotemysost]

Fab write-up @IsavedLatin, and how awesome that you took a trip to Vilnius!

Interesting to read everyone's accounts of the variations in setlists across the different dates. I agree, All That always felt like one of the more underwhelming album tracks for me too, though seeing it performed live (and at that point in the show) it definitely took on some new emotional weight.

This thread is just consistently heartwarming and life-affirming. Lovely stuff.

[IsavedLatin]

Fab write-up @IsavedLatin, and how awesome that you took a trip to Vilnius!

I can recommend Vilnius even without Sparks being there!

[dazed_and_bemused]

Fab write-up @IsavedLatin, and how awesome that you took a trip to Vilnius!

Interesting to read everyone's accounts of the variations in setlists across the different dates. I agree, All That always felt like one of the more underwhelming album tracks for me too, though seeing it performed live (and at that point in the show) it definitely took on some new emotional weight.

This thread is just consistently heartwarming and life-affirming. Lovely stuff.


[/quot

Fab write-up @IsavedLatin, and how awesome that you took a trip to Vilnius!

Interesting to read everyone's accounts of the variations in setlists across the different dates. I agree, All That always felt like one of the more underwhelming album tracks for me too, though seeing it performed live (and at that point in the show) it definitely took on some new emotional weight.

This thread is just consistently heartwarming and life-affirming. Lovely stuff.

Whereas I saw them in London and was genuinely afraid that I, an emotionless old man, might have a tear or two to "All That". It was a magnificent show regardless.

[IsavedLatin]

I have bought the DVD to try and eke the Sparks fun out a bit longer, now that the high of my Baltic trip is starting to wear off.

One of the loveliest extras on the Blu-ray of the documentary, is the reunion of Ron, Russ and Todd Rundgren.

I'm obviously a total newbie and so you can completely ignore me, but I found this a bit excruciating to watch -- all I could feel was that if they'd given Rundgren some heads-up that this would happen, it would have given him a chance to gen up on their activities in the last 47 years. As it was, he clearly hadn't a breeze about much of their recent activity, resulting in a woefully one-sided and awkward a conversation (even though, I hope I've made this clear, I find the Maels completely and utterly adorable).

MUCH better were the deleted scenes; not so much the further talking heads stuff which I could really live without, but I found absolutely enchanting the bits with the lads talking to camera out and about in the Pacific Palisades locale they grew up in, telling us about a studio and a little flat they lived in in 70s London, a small bit of music from them filmed at the location of their first UK gig, and accompanying them on a lengthy mooch around a Japanese record store -- just more opportunity to hang out with them, basically, but all of it the stuff that I found myself wanting MOAR of from the film proper.

Hanging on to the live concert film that's also part of the DVD, to try and make it last.

[prelektric]

I'm obviously a total newbie and so you can completely ignore me, but I found this a bit excruciating to watch -- all I could feel was that if they'd given Rundgren some heads-up that this would happen, it would have given him a chance to gen up on their activities in the last 47 years. As it was, he clearly hadn't a breeze about much of their recent activity, resulting in a woefully one-sided and awkward a conversation (even though, I hope I've made this clear, I find the Maels completely and utterly adorable).

Admittedly, it was awkward, and Edgar absolutely acknowledges that, (the BFI Q&A with Edgar on YouTube is a must - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTosziSzWaE) but someone had to, because neither party would have done it otherwise. It was rather off the cuff, and there was very little notice of it, because they just all happened to be there at the same time for a brief period during production.

I've even had unexpected, awkward "This Is Your Life" shit happen to me (although that was 25 years difference rather than 47). I'd like to think that after that, as happened to me, they'd have went on to communicate a little bit more. The Maels are clearly not great at keeping in touch with people, and while I can empathise with that, not sure 47 years is acceptable. But, I think it was still worth it, perhaps it kicked off some regular comms between them and Todd again. (Maybe).

Of course, (now I've seen the rest of the extras) the stuff of them wandering around their places and us just "hanging out" with them is by far the best extra stuff. I love Ron and Russ. Genuinely. It was this stuff (and the concert of course) that I bothered to buy the Blu-Ray for.

So love your review of your time in Vilnius - fabulous stuff, thanks for sharing!

[sutin]

I've even had unexpected, awkward "This Is Your Life" shit happen to me (although that was 25 years difference rather than 47). I'd like to think that after that, as happened to me, they'd have went on to communicate a little bit more. The Maels are clearly not great at keeping in touch with people, and while I can empathise with that, not sure 47 years is acceptable. But, I think it was still worth it, perhaps it kicked off some regular comms between them and Todd again. (Maybe).

They recorded a single with Rundgren shortly after The Sparks Brothers meeting.

[DrGreggles]

As much as I hate people filming at gigs, this is nice.

[prelektric]

As much as I hate people filming at gigs, this is nice.

Thank you so much. So far this is pretty great, for, as you say, random filming at gigs. Look at Russ go... he's 73 for christ's sake. Inspirational.

[Jockice]

Do they ever do Tips For Teens? I always liked that one.

[non capisco]

Do they ever do Tips For Teens? I always liked that one.

Yep. Back to back with Angst In Your Pants on the most recent tour. To say I was happy with that on the night is an understatement.

[Jockice]

Yep. Back to back with Angst In Your Pants on the most recent tour. To say I was happy with that on the night is an understatement.

Excellent! Cheers.

[chip]

Aw man, what a thread. Sign me right up please.

I was aware of the brothers Mael from my Dad's love of This Town..., and we had a compilation of mostly the synth years knocking about, so I had a fleeting awareness of hits like No.1 Song in Heaven and even the odd lesser-known cut like Young Girls, but my evolving music taste just wasn't ready for the deep dive yet.

Flash forward a few years and I was aware as a budding muso teen of the BBC's censorship of Dick Around in 2006(?), which got me deep into the contemporaneous Hello Young Lovers. Definitely a favourite at the time, and has stuck with me to this day, but I was less enthused for Exotic Creatures... and dropped off entirely after the Bergman thing, which seemed boring.

I did throw some of my disposable student loan into catching them on the Two Hands, One Mouth tour in 2012/3, which was great, but even at the time I felt like it was missing something. Once again, I was not ready to commit to the full embrace.

I don't know what it was, though - I was flicking through music wikipedia the other week, and got into reading about the circumstances surrounding Lil Beethoven, its mission statement essentially, and its intended goal of breaking them out of a creative rut. I had a familiarity with My Baby's Taking Me Home, and had listened to the rest of the album once, maybe, years ago, but it hadn't 'clicked' - until that recent day. I ran through it all again, knowing full well of the context surrounding it, the absolutely brutal satirical angle, and their self-imposed challenges in its creation - and it's truly a masterpiece. A staggering work of art. Since then I've listened to the full Lil Beethoven album daily, fiding a new favourite track every day. How Do I Get to Carnegie Hall? ("PRACTISE, MAN, PRACTISE!!"), Ride Em Cowboy ("RIDE EM!") and Ugly Guys With Beautiful Girls ("UWHA UWHA UWHA UWHA") are some cast-iron faves. I also now can't stop singing My Baby's Taking Me Home on loop for hours at a time.

So, I thought it only right to do the full deep dive. Just got through the first one and I wasn't massively enthused; High C, Fletcher Honorama and (No More) Mr Nice Guys are the first flashes of brilliance (the rest of it gave me some strange lesser-Residents vibes), but I'm very eager to get right into the meaty glam pop years before having the synth wash over me.
The post-2000 work I'm already fairly familiar with; I've still yet to hear the full Exotic Creatures of the Deep or the Steady Drip Drip Drip - I did blast through Hippopotamous before I had the urge to go comprehensive, and yes it's very good. Particular fan of Edith Piaf, and Giddy Giddy, which I don't think I've seen mentioned yet. I Wish You Were Fun is such a delightful little tune, as well - can't stop humming that one. And when THE drums come in on that title track - and the overtly silly lyrics finally locked into place for me - it was absolutely incredible. Everything else I will go chronologically from now.

I've not yet seen the Edgar Wright thing but I will do as soon as is feasible. And yes it's DESTROYING me to only just catch on to the UK tour they wrapped up mere weeks ago - which has also meant that the talk of a possible new album coming soon (and hopefully resulting tour) is going down very pleasantly.

Starting on Woofer now. Nothing is Sacred is like proto-math-rock in parts, love it.

[prelektric]

Aw man, what a thread. Sign me right up please.

...

Aw mate, I know. Welcome aboard. *hugs*

It will be interesting to see how you feel about your journey through this, especially those early 80s albums. They never stood still, but they were always, and utterly recognisably, Sparks. I only found them properly a few months ago, and their music has had a genuinely positive impact on my mental health. I love them dearly.

EDIT: You just made me go and listen to "I Wish You Were Fun" again. Not complaining in the slightest.

I wish you were fun
You've got it all covered 'cept for that
I love how you run
With such a determined look at that
I shouldn't let it faze me at all but I'm just plain old dumb
I wish you were fun

Bit in bold never fails to make me laugh out loud.

(There's another bit later on that I've mentioned previously, that has me in fits too)

[chip]

Having a rollicking good time so far, I must say. Kimono and Propaganda I'd seen hyped up to no end, but crikey. They really are just absolute one-two punches of solid gold. Solid fucking gold!

One thing that I've been trying to figure is this - is Ron genuinely pretty much the duo's entire creative force? I'd have thought Russ maybe wrote the lyrics or something, but nah it's really all him (Ron) isn't it? (Not to diminish Russell's skills whatsoever, of course, he's absolutely essential as the voice, and generally the 'face' of the band.)

EDIT: I'll say this - I am so far absolutely not enjoying <b>Indiscreet</b> in the slightest. The hammy orchestral arrangements and annoying tunes all over its first half are just turning me off it entirely. But I also LOVE that each album has its own distinct identity in this way, that I may either love them or hate them. (But I've loved 90% so far so that's phenomenal.)

[Jittlebags]

I found Big Beat and Introducing... hard work on initial listens, but I think you need to approach each album on its own terms. Love both now.  Think my favourite on Indiscreet is The Lady is Lingering. 

In other news, I've had Fun Bunch of Guys as an earworm for the last couple of days....

[DrGreggles]

their music has had a genuinely positive impact on my mental health

Mrs Greggles refers to them as my "happy place".
She's probably right.

[prelektric]

One thing that I've been trying to figure is this - is Ron genuinely pretty much the duo's entire creative force? I'd have thought Russ maybe wrote the lyrics or something, but nah it's really all him (Ron) isn't it? (Not to diminish Russell's skills whatsoever, of course, he's absolutely essential as the voice, and generally the 'face' of the band.)

Tricky question this one... will get back to you tomorrow. Delighted that you're having a good time though! There will be ups and downs, but never dismiss anything out of hand - some of these are a grower.

[Vitamin C]

Have they ever played Carnegie Hall? Not that we want to think about such things, but if they ever decided to bow out gracefully it would be a perfect venue for the last gig. Bit of a bugger to get to, mind.

[Jittlebags]

Just needs a bit of practice...

[The Mollusk]

In other news, I've had Fun Bunch of Guys as an earworm for the last couple of days....

In Outer Space is quite an unsung little gem of an album, I think. Not their best but consistently fun and twinkly electro-pop. "Popularity" is great, such a cute sentiment wrapped up in a quaintly melancholic and longing melody.

[Artie Fufkin]

We finished watching the documentary at the weekend and were surprised by how much our nine year old enjoyed it, so much so that she got her pencils out afterwards.

I wonder why this picture won't show?

[Artie Fufkin]

Anyhow, I've been listening to an album by Walt Disco recently. It's called Unlearning and it has that Sparks vibe to it. It's actually like Bowie singing Sparks songs with Roxy Music.

[prelektric]

One thing that I've been trying to figure is this - is Ron genuinely pretty much the duo's entire creative force? I'd have thought Russ maybe wrote the lyrics or something, but nah it's really all him (Ron) isn't it? (Not to diminish Russell's skills whatsoever, of course, he's absolutely essential as the voice, and generally the 'face' of the band.)

Ok, sorry it's a few days late, but here is my thoughts on that question.

I should declare though that this is my own interpretation, we'll never truly know what's going on with these lads.

Mostly:

• Ron writes the lyrics and music.
• Ron is much more taciturn than Russ, and Ron can't or won't sing, so he has Russ there to bring those lyrics and stories to life. (Ron's entire weird stare schtick is there purely to try and compete with Russ' antics)
• Additionally, I think Russ creates the melody for the lyrics.

(Hmm, that's precisely what you said in a way. But hey, I put it in bullet form - it must be correct!)

That's how I see it. There will be exceptions, but Ron without Russ doesn't really bear thinking about, and of course, vice versa.

They are completely in step with each other, always. What I've found is, after a while, that no matter what the genre they are delving into, that signature is still there. Once you are keyed into it, you'll recognise a Sparks tune a mile off. And perhaps, more importantly, ones that are influenced by them. It's a journey, if you're willing to take it.

[sutin]

Russell wrote a bit in the early days, but not since 1975. Saccarhin & The War, Roger, In My Family and Pineapple are all his. He also, remarkably, wrote the lyrics of Hasta Manana Monsieur, which is one of the all-time funniest Sparks songs IMO.

I read years ago that Ron always encouraged Russell to write more but his attitude was that Ron's the songwriting genius, so what's the point. I'd love to have heard what he might have come up with in later years.

It's also notable the Russell is the tech guy. Production, sequencing, mixing, that's all been him since they went self-sufficent in the late '80s.

[sutin]

I should declare though that this is my own interpretation, we'll never truly know what's going on with these lads.

As far their working methods go, it's all out there. They've never been secretive about work stuff, it's their personal lives they don't talk about.