Sparks - C ou D

Great, witty, camp as tits wry pop from a band who have made some of the finest records ever made. There's a cheap 'best of' available including all their greatest hits and misses - essential purchase before you go to the gig.

Sparks - C ou D

yup.

classic, btw

Sparks - C ou D

Kimono My House, Propoganda and Indiscreet all have great songs on them mostly by Ron Mael and all have some lemons too (eg pineapple, a song by Russell)

There's a brilliant Sparks Best Of available from Fopp for about £3 or £5 - well worth checking out. Unremixed, too.

Actually full rerecordings rather than remixes, to be pedantic.

(Ron Mael)

See, the writing's on the wall
You bought the girl a wall
Complete with matching ball-point pen
You can breathe another day
Secure in knowing she won't break you (yet)

Something for the girl with everything
Have another sweet my dear
Don't try to talk my dear
Your tiny little mouth is full
Here's a flavour you ain't tried
You shouldn't try to talk, your mouth is full

Something for the girl with everything
Three wise men are here
Three wise men are here
Bearing gifts to aid amnesia
She knows everything
She knows everything
She knew you way back when you weren't yourself

Here's a really pretty car
I hope it takes you far
I hope it takes you fast and far
Wow, the engine's really loud
Nobody's gonna hear a thing you say

Something for the girl with everything
Three wise men are here
Three wise men are here
Where should they leave these imported gimmicks
Leave them anywhere
Anywhere
Make sure that there's a clear path to the door

Something for the girl with everything
Something for the girl with everything
Something for the girl with everything
Something for the girl with everything
Three wise men are here
Three wise men are here
Three wise men are here
Three wise men are here

Here's a partridge in a tree,
A gardener for the tree
Complete with ornithologist
Careful, careful with that crate
You wouldn't want to dent Sinatra, no

Something for the girl who has got everything,
Yes everything
Hey, come out and say hello
Before our friends all go
But say no more than just hello
Ah, the little girl is shy
You see of late she's been quite speechless, very speechless
She's got everything

what's the latest album like ?

and why all those changes of style and demograph ? what of their large later (and earlier) less celabrated back catalog ? ie not glib search/destroy (yes or no or try this) answers, more _why_ ? how ? huh ?

(and how about photos from their earlier careers as clidd underwear models)

they're one of those outfits with their own quite different career mythology -- less groupies and drugs, probably very interesting in other ways

I wish someone would remix "Monster of Love" and crank the drums.

Bought this for three quid in HMV - they've got loads, snap 'em up, kids!

Can't intellectualise the already weightily, flouncily intellectual - just buy the above or Kimono My House, c'mon, it's only just more than a pint. Worth it for "Beat The Clock" and the other Moroder collabs alone.

I love "Pineapple" btw.

and JS are opening for Sparks in Central Park this summer!

Re the question: I like some of their songs, but not that many. When they're on, they're a breed apart, but I certainly can't listen to a side all the way through.

"Nicotina"

Not every cigarette is a dead, dead thing
Some have a mind and try to be other things
Pushed in the pack, they crave some Virginia air
Softly, they pray to someone, but life ain't fair

They're born to lose
They're born to fill
The lungs of Jack
The lungs of Jill
And like I said
Life just isn't fair

Nicotina, Nicotina, Nicotina is her name

Once in a while a cigarette has a name
N-I-C-O-T-I-N-A, that's her name
She had a tiny voice, and she sang all day
She was a cigarette, but she loved to play

Nicotina, Nicotina, Nicotina is her name

A man with a cough
Stepped to the machine
Dropped coins in the slot
The end of a dream

He ripped the pack and coughed, and then coughed again
Popped out a cigarette, and we're near the end
She screamed and screamed but so much was filtered out
Now Nicotina's only a tiny cloud

Nicotina's gone, but life goes on though
Nicotina's gone, but life goes on though
Nicotina's gone, but life goes on and on and on and on and on
Nicotina, Nicotina, Nicotina was her name

An acquaintance, Michelle who helps run Marc Almond's website, has a slew of enjoyable photos from the recent London show up here:

http://www.beyondthedarkroom.co.uk/

Click on 'Stage' and then follow the links.

I say the early 80s version of Whassup and he scretches his chin, tells me in his late thirties, and he's worried that he isn't married yet. "Am I weird or something?" he asks.

I was happy to let Sean in SF know about their show tonight via chat -- he got all excited because he didn't know about that beforehand, and is at the venue now! Hope he has a good time.

A fine disc, that, as you can see here.

and if not, b) am th only one who thinks there is no such person as Noel and the song is just Russell singing in a low voice then sped up? Even the picture of "noel" on the label is questionable...I swear it could be Russell!

Also, 'We Are The Clash'. That's quite good too. I swear this band can never step a foot wrong.

I don't know if 'We are the Clash' has been discussed already but it's from a recent issue of Uncut, part of the Clash-tribute cover cd, and so it's very nu-Sparks. Big clean sharp sound and well worth hearing. 'Dancing is dangerous' is set to be my big 'weekend song' for the next few months, I can tell. Really, everyone should hear this - interested parties should email me.

Here is the track list for "Hello Young Lovers":

"Dick Around"
"Perfume"
"The Very Next Fight"
"(Baby Baby) Can I Invade Your Country?"
"Rock, Rock, Rock"
"Metaphor"
"Waterproof"
"Here Kitty"
"There's No Such Thing As Aliens"
"When I Sit Down To Play the Organ at the Notre Dame Cathedral"

I love this record already.

That reminds me of the Scott Walker line (well, Jacques Brel in translation via Scott Walker):

A ring on every finger
A finger in every country

ihttp://www.noblepr.co.uk/Press_Releases/gut/images/sparks/ss1_sml.jpg

For the tour, looks like they'll be doing the Li'l Beethoven thing where the concert will have the first half be the new album in its entirety.

The drummer's purty.

I'm just listening to Profile again and I'm just amazed at how every song could be some other band's entire career (and probably was once that band heard these guys). "Angst in My Pants" is so damn perfect, hilarity and melancholy poised *just* right.

You are correct, Ned.

SPARKS will be the subject of a special BBC Radio 2 documentary, 'This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us – The Story Of Sparks', to be aired on January 20th at 8pm, the show covers the duo's 35-year career and featured interviews with the band as well as with producer GIORGIO MORODER and will include the band’s first-ever demo plus unreleased studio and live recordings.

Somebody encode and distribute this, please!

Ned, did you get you a copy of that? I can YSI it if you didn't.

1. Fa La Fa Lee
2. Girl from Germany
3. Beaver O'Lindy
4. Whippings and Apologies
5. This Town Ain't Big Enough For the Both of Us
6. Amateur Hour
7. Talent is an Asset
8. Propaganda/At Home, At Work, At Play
9. BC
10. Something for the Girl with Everything
11. Beat the Clock
12. My Other Voice
13. The No. 1 Song in Heaven
14. Just Because You Love Me
15. Tips for Teens
17. Angst in My Pants
18. Eaten By the Monster of Love
19. Cool Places
20. Music that You can Dance To

So it's just my fave, not some definitive thing. Thus, no I Predict, which always kinda annoyed me. And how do you not include ALL of Kimono My House?

Some problems, the transition from Something for the Girl with Everything to Beat the Clock is odd, and I couldn't solve it because I didn't have the albums that came out in there (I think Introducing and Indescreet?) and even if I did, I don't know if there's anything "transitional" to get to the Moroder produced stuff. What might work would be to not be chronological, because the early 80s Mack produced stuff is electronic rock/new wave in ways that would make a good transition between the glam and the italo-disco.

Anyway, check out those songs and if you can't get into them, have your brain checked.

01 - This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us
02 - The Louvre
03 - Reinforcements
04 - Don't Leave Me Alone With Her
05 - Moon Over Kentucky
06 - Achoo
07 - Thanks But No Thanks
08 - Girl From Germany
09 - How are you getting home
10 - Bon Voyage
11 - Amateur Hour
12 - Thank God It's Not Christmas
13 - Here In Heaven
14 - Hospitality on parade
15 - Hasta Mañana Monsieur
16 - angst in my pants
17 - The Number One Song In Heaven
18 - Young Girls
19 - sherlock holmes
20 - hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil
21 - Rock, Rock, Rock
22 - I Married Myself

you could do this all day

-- scotstvo (arrib...), January 26th, 2007.

I need a YSI, please! I can't find this online anywhere (maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places).

I don't really care much for them beyond the first five albums, but I love those.

Are these guys really supposed to be straight? Because if they are, they're like the gayest straight band ever. (And I mean that in a good sense.)

Copying from the Exotic Creatures thread:

---

BIG NEWS! From me.

Please check out the new issue of Arthur, which has as the cover as you can see...

http://www.arthurmag.com/magpie/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/a29cover.jpg

And! That 20 album discography mentioned on the cover? I'm the author.

Please go here to download the PDFs and/or order copies.

Nice!

Thanks! The article was written some time back but the timing was perfect for running it, especially given the concert series.

I do love these characters. Caption:

"After their triumphant concert, Ron and Russell were sad at the thought of leaving London and all their wonderful fans."

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/255559_10150997031411865_257838520_n.jpg

I'm really hoping that the current "Brothers Only" live lineup = cheaper to tour = will tour the US.

new pic = awesome

So classic. What else do we have remotely like them?

and how do I get that 20 album pdf?

(I met them, you know, back in '75...)

http://www.arthurmag.com/2011/03/12/at-home-at-work-at-play-a-listener%E2%80%99s-guide-to-sparks%E2%80%99-first-20-albums-by-ned-raggett-arthur-no-29may-2008/

thanks!

So classic. What else do we have remotely like them?

Andrew W.K.!!!!!

Ron Mael walked up to me backstage at the Whiskey one time and looks all fretful, but, for a moment, doesn't say anything.
I say the early 80s version of Whassup and he scretches his chin, tells me in his late thirties, and he's worried that he isn't married yet. "Am I weird or something?" he asks.

― Ian Grey (Ian_G), Friday, 9 April 2004 19:17 (8 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The only reply I can imagine woudld be the face that says "O Rlly?"

Because, that sounds like someone that's kept his 'other life' completely secret, successfully.

yeah we know stunningly little about these guys. have they ever been married?

Other than their complete lack of rock'n'roll behavior, we don't even learn that much about their personal lives in any of their biographies.

Maybe they're spies or somethin?

They just know how to stay low key. (Met 'em briefly a couple of times, know a variety of people who know them -- again, they just know how to stay low key.)

Actually this is a timely revival, they've just fired up an official YouTube channel -- plenty of their videos have long been around but now there's a proper central location. And a lot of them are absolutely great!

http://www.youtube.com/SparksOfficialVideo

Nice rendition of Sherlock Holmes from their recent show at Bush Hall:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFIqVkyHAtQ

Sparks official channel –––– yes!!!!!

forgot how much I love "tips for teens"

Any idea if they're working on a new album at all? I can't believe it's already been four years since Exotic Creatures.

this is a timely top, i listened to sparks on my commute in this morning. it just felt like a sparks day.

Well they did the Seduction of Ingmar Bergman project so more like two years -- probably something up their sleeve here soon.

I can't remember where I heard this but my favorite quote about that soundtrack was "I really admire Sparks four-decade long quest to sell as few albums as possible"

It's actually quite good!

Oh yeah I forgot that soundtrack even came out, didn't do a lot for me really. The three albums before that are all so good, really excited to see what they come back with.

Yeah I'm still listening to Hello Young Lovers six years later now, next to Kimono I think it's almost definitely their best album, there's nothing like it

Exotic Creatures was definitely very good, but IMO outside of "Lighten Up, Morissey" it didn't quite hit those same highs

Lighten Up though was probably the best single of the year, if it was a single, that 3rd extended chorus is one of the all time great Sparks moments

Yeah I totally agree with that, Exotic is a really solid album but not in the same league as Hello Young Lovers or Lil' Beethoven which both just blew me away at the time. They would both be in my top five Sparks albums, which would probably look like this these days,

1. Propaganda
2. No. 1 In Heaven
3. Kimono My House
4. Hello Young Lovers
5. Lil' Beethoven

Oooh... fun!

Lessee:
1. Propaganda
2. Indiscreet
3. Hello Young Lovers
4. Lil Beethoven
5. No.1 in Heaven

And just because they have so many great albums..

6. Indiscreet
7. A Woofer In Tweeting's Clothing
8. Angst In My Pants
9. Exotic Creatures Of The Deep
10. Sparks

Yeah! Your 6-10 are still albums most groups would kill to make.

Mines:
6. Kimono My House
7. Exotic Creatures of the Deep
8. Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing
9. Seduction of Ingmar Bergman
10. Angst In My Pants

After this, it gets a lil muddier.
All their albums have SOME dope shit on them though.

Yeah I think they are the band with the most great albums. Apart from the ones I listed I really rate Outer Space and Gratuitous Sax too. The rest are mostly mixed but do contain some great moments. Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat is probably my least favourit album of thiers but it still has A Song That Sings Itself which is stunning.

Surprised to see Seduction of Ingmar Bergman in your list, I only played it the once but don't remember much about it.

Re: Song Thaat Sings Itself... YES.

Even Big Beat has a bunch of songs I like!
As Seduction goes, it hit me hard after a few listens. Thought it was minor myself at first, but that may just be because it wasn't rly treated like a new Sparks album when it came out. Love it now.Some very catchy stuff on there.

I'm surprised to find out that people don't like Big Beat. I'm not big on the production but I like the feel of it - like Sparks does the Cars (though the Cars wouldn't come around for a few years)

My top 5 would probably be Kimono, Hello Young Lovers, Propaganda, No. 1 in Heaven, and Li'l Beethoven, in some order, honorable mention to the s/t and Big Beat

I'll have to give Seduction another listen at some point.

Big Beat just doesn't have that many memorable songs on it, the only one I usually put on playlists/compilations would be I Bought The Mississippi River. I think the other problem is the albums it followed, such an amazing run of albums then Big Beat just sounded flat in comparison. That one and Introducing aren't bad albums just quite forgettable.

'Indiscreet' is the masterpiece for me, I've listened to it a zillion times. I will have to check out the more recent once; I did listen to 'Hello Young Lovers' and there were some genius moments though nothing compares to the early stuff for me....the first 5 + 'Number 1 in Heaven' are just INFALLIBLE.

Indiscreet would make my top five records by anyone ever. There are at least 4 or 5 others that are legitimately great.

I am apparently the only person that doesn't like Lil' Beethoven. I keep going back to it, hoping this will be the time it finally clicks...nothing yet. It's weird because there's no other band that I love so much with an album as universally revered as this that just doesn't resonate with me at all.

I was like that about Lil, like also I was like that re: Paul's Boutique.

but hey

That one definitely took a while to fully appreciate. It's definitely the most atypical Sparks album and outside of "Ugly Guys with Beautiful Girls" it doesn't really have that Sparks sound the way the following two albums did.

As for Big Beat and Introducing - you gotta love "Occupation", right? I dunno I feel both albums are let down a bit by the production but they're both pretty good. I was surprised by how much I wound up liking Introducing Sparks after being thoroughly confused on the first listen

Introducing's best incarnation was the live performance that was part of the 21 x 21 series in London a few years back. They could seriously swap out that performance for the studio recording and everyone would think it's one of the best albums ever.

so where's the 21-disc box set capturing all this? (only half-joking, btw)

There were rumors of a DVD set but so far nothing...

I'm listening to Introducing Sparks right now and "Big Surprise" just cut into "Baby Blue Sedan" by Modest Mouse after 50 seconds, then to some crappy later-day ELP tune after 20 more, my iPod is seriously acting weird

I don't mean the track skipped, I mean this is what the track is now

the song was "Better Days". then it cut into one second of "Me! I Disconnect From You" by Gary Numan. wtf is going on here

hidden message from yr iPod, it seems.

lol it just cut in more Black Moon-era ELP and then some Uriah Heep , what are you trying to tell me

ok now "Over the Summer" got mixed into "Foil" by Autechre. I'm done with this.

Heads up, new album fully announced for September, Hippopotamus. Song titles:

1. Probably Nothing
2. Missionary Position
3. Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me)
4. Scandinavian Design
5. Giddy Giddy
6. What The Hell Is It This Time?
7. Unaware
8. Hippopotamus
9. Bummer
10. I Wish You Were Fun
11. So Tell Me Mrs. Lincoln Aside From That How Was The Play?
12. When You're A French Director
13. The Amazing Mr. Repeat
14. A Little Bit Like Fun
15. Life With The Macbeths

They played some new songs tonight in Glasgow for the 6 Music Festival -- here's the title track:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/e368gw/videos/p04x13b3#p04xylv0

And here's "What The Hell Is It This Time?" via an audience member:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMa-0eaZQUo&t=193s

Album preorder page, etc. etc

https://sparks.tmstor.es/

The single is pretty good!

They've done this thing so many times now where the opening line of a song is so, so corny, I think "OK, they've finally lost it," but they consistently spin this stuff into gold. Unreal.

Almost fifty years on and they just still have that indefinable 'it' in that regard. Spectacular.

The backing band is mostly made up of the guys from Mini Mansions, which is Queens of the Stone Age bassist Michael Shuman's side project.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc8b8_qhvSY

there's a fairly detailed 5-star review up on RYM already that's pretty hilarious (and obviously fake)

We get another mash up with Sparks re-imagining New Orders "Love Triangle" as "Stitch Me Up, Patch Me Down" (Peter Hook garnering a co-writing credit), before we get seriously operatic with a gazillion Russells chorusing "When The Fat Lady Sings (I Can't Get Laid)" as our lover boys sexual anguish builds up to derail our Diva's onstage performance. A certain Katherine Jenkins, for freaks sake. Sparks then go Japanese heavy in a manner only really PiL have been able to do, ("Ease" from Album) again Dean Menta's crashing chords against some outstanding Asian wooden drums playing (synth) from Ron in "Geisha Boy, Geisha Girl (I MILFed Your Mama)" then its a colossal, uplifting instrumental that could have been borrowed from Classical Chill. Ron's weaving a Stravinsky ballet with some subtle percussion, leading to an outstanding guitar solo, "(D)Air To Behold" one of Sparks's loveliest pieces for some time. We finish with a couple of slower numbers "The Man Who Put The "E" Into Whiskey" mourning a lovers breakdown late in a bar (the obvious successor to "T*ts") and "I Mourn You" a soul wrenching struggle concerning the death of ??? It remains unclear.

I can't believe the name of Track #11

Jim O'Rourke singing karaoke of Sparks lmao https://youtu.be/h_yuTYi4xpM?t=22m55s

And we got new single/video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC0rzv1j8Zc

its already stuck in my head

Man, that sounds like Sparks.

I don't really like that at all. It doesn't have the same charm as anything from Lil' Beethoven or Hello Young Lovers. I hope there's better to come from them.

That was a great track and you're high.

American tour dates announced, shows on sale Friday

🇺🇸 U S A✨
Get ready! Ron and Russell are finally bringing the Sparks Hippopotamus Tour home this October!

Tickets on sale this Friday. pic.twitter.com/amtXWwTAwH

— SPARKS (@sparksofficial) July 25, 2017

(And hint, tickets actually on sale now -- MISSIONARYPOSITION is the code. See you at the 7 pm SF show...)

thanks for the tip!

Second NYC show added, IIRC. Also, new interviews abounding -- good one in the Quietus:

http://thequietus.com/articles/23002-sparks-interview-2

Which has this detail:

The way you ended up working with Giorgio Moroder was thanks to...

Russell: ...a lie. As is our wont.

Ron: It wasn’t the first time and won't be the last.

Russell: We’d been doing an interview in LA with a German journalist and she said, “What’s next for you guys?” And we said, “Oh, we’re going to be working with Giorgio Moroder on our new album” and we hadn’t even made any contact with him. It was something we wanted to do. She said, “Oh really, that’s great, Giorgio is my good friend”. We went, like, “Oh shit”. We owned up and said, “We haven’t actually approached him but we would like to work with Giorgio” so she said she would introduce us. No one knew what that album was going to be like. There was an intimidation factor because he was knowledgeable about electronics; at that time we didn’t have any knowledge of that - we’ve since learned. And the other thing was he was used to working with Donna Summer who’s this great singer, so it was intimidating for someone like me coming from a band world with these stylistic eccentricities. In the end, he really embraced it and we think [No.1 in Heaven] was a really special record.

And re Morrissey:

It is true that you used to always communicate by fax?

Russell: Yes, we did. We have all the fading messages which we’ve kept. By fax and in giant letters, and even more recently - several months back - on my doorstep. I didn’t hear him. I was working at home, and I go outside and there’s an album propped up against the door and it’s a Morrissey album with the Ameba Records sticker still on it which had just been purchased there obviously, and it had been inscripted by Morrissey saying “Russell, you have to record ‘Windy Day’” - which was a demo we made in the Kimono My House period that was recently released in a repackaging of Kimono with various tracks that were demos at the time. And he said that, and it was just left there, and he was gone in the wind. He didn’t want to speak, so there’s this odd relationship from a distance. It’s intriguing and nice.

funny, I just listened to Introducing Sparks for the first time in a while yesterday. I agree with them on that album and Big Beat - good songs, execution maybe not so good. Big Beat sounds like it was recorded in a closet. funny he should mention "Goofing Off"...that's one of my favorite Sparks tunes. also love "Occupation", it reminds me of a couple songs my 2 year old likes

la lala la lala la la la la
la lala la lala la la la la
la lala la lala la la la la

also wanna point out that Big Beat is the one time where the lyrics seem to go from funny to downright cruel in a few spots. well that and "Tips for Teens". Sparks sorta get a pass on this but I kinda wonder what the fallout would be if someone wrote a song like "Throw Her Away And Get a New One" today

You read that story about the guy with six 'pre-interview' dates at almost the same time the other day? If anything that song is now a documentary.

"Don't Shoot Me" is in the ads for the Get Shorty tv show and got me to revisit Whomp That Sucker. So thanks, Get Shorty tv show.

listened to ONE random track from the new Scooter album and guess who it is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DksxoFhm-os

you probably shouldn't listen to this

well that was fucking nuts

Blocked in my country due to copyright reasons.

The new album definitely needs cutting down a little bit, but there's some great stuff here. I Wish You Were Fun and So Tell Me Miss Lincoln Aside From That How Was The Play? are my current favourites.

Okay, it's out:

https://sparks.lnk.to/hippopotamusFA

this is their funniest album in a long time, isn't it? kinda feels like the sharp sense of humor that went wayward sometime around Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat is back. some real great tunes too. I don't think it needs to be cut down...every song on this seems pretty good to me!

Yeah, I was thinking you'd have to go back to the '80s to find the last Sparks album that was this overtly fun/funny. At the same time some of the last album's more melancholy side is there too -- feel like they've really perfected that balance.

Livestream of their Berlin show happening now:

https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/078567-001-A/berlin-live-sparks/

Oooooh, thank you!

ok I'm dying at the video for "missionary position"

Btw I find the idea that they haven't been funny since the 80s bizarre. Good morning, lighten up morrissey, collaborations don't work

I hard a rumour that the collaboration didn't work and that they fell out with Franz

Well hope various American posters caught the NYC/California shows. Saw the early show last night here in SF; fantastic as ever. They're doing two nights in Tokyo in a couple of days should anyone be over there.

You can listen today, 3pm ET

https://wfmu.org/2017/10/23/sparks-live-on-wfmu-plus-interview-with-ron-and-russell-mael-airing-on-brian-turners-show-on-oct-31st-3pm-6pm/

every day i find myself with any of a half dozen of the new tracks in my head and i haven't even listening to the album that much.

Btw I find the idea that they haven't been funny since the 80s bizarre. Good morning, lighten up morrissey, collaborations don't work

― good art is orange; great art is teal (wins)

agree, see also "Let The Monkey Drive"

Same

I think every song on it is good. It actually reminds me more of Indiscreet than anything, where each song seems to be in it's own world. But I find it even better than that album, because yeah, nearly song is so stupidly catchy, and only the title track is actively irritating. I've gone back to it a lot, it's very much the sort of album I wished Exotic Creatures was.

My 2-year old daughter is obsessed with the title track so I've been hearing it daily for the past few weeks.

Good interview and live "Missionary Position":

https://www.kcrw.com/news-culture/shows/bookworm/sparks-part-i

Oh nice, I'd missed they'd done another interview with him (had done one some years back).

Holy shit I need this immediately.

http://www.indiewire.com/2018/06/edgar-wright-documentary-rock-band-sparks-1201977373/

Oh yeah, he mentioned it a few weeks ago during his appearance on the R U Talkin' R.E.M. RE: ME? podcast.

I vaguely remember news of him filming the London concert but had missed the documentary news. What a good thing to see this week, honestly.

He said on R U Talkin' R.E.M. re: Me? (last week's episode) that he hasn't done anything on it apart from filming the London show, and there's no timeframe as yet.

Yes, thank you:

https://www.facebook.com/sparksofficial/photos/a.161269161864/10156502326196865/?type=3&theater

NO 1 IN HEAVEN・40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION ✨

Originally released March 2nd 1979, Sparks are celebrating the 40th anniversary of No 1 In Heaven with a specially remastered and curated double color vinyl and CD release. This edition features new sleeve notes written by Ron & Russell and remastered bonus tracks, which include original and rare album Peter Cook radio promo spots.

Out March 1st 2019 on Lil' Beethoven Records.

Available for pre-order → store.allsparks.com

Sounds like this might actually finally be happening: https://variety.com/2019/film/global/marion-cotillard-leos-caraxs-annette-1203215774/

Still great:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Givls9BUhc

saw that single pop up on RYM and wondered if it was an environmentalist tune

take the word "fuck" out of the title and this could be the Pet Shop Boys

"We are the world" for the Greta age

Am I the only who thinks the opening lines sound a bit like the chorus in "Across the Universe", harmonically?

Sparks' new album A STEADY DRIP, DRIP, DRIP is released May 15th, 2020 ✨

Check out all the different editions of the album & pre-order your copy → https://t.co/pGZJKQ6OVg pic.twitter.com/LuyO06pn8g

— SPARKS (@sparksofficial) January 27, 2020

not sure if that picture disc is awesome or an eyesore but I'll probably grab it regardless

An awesome eyesore.

oof the shipping puts this over fifty bucks, I guess I'm out

currently listening to the 3-disc version of Gratuitous Sax, this is kind of an odd album get the megaexpanded reissue treatment but it's pretty fun. there's basically an entire CD's worth of demos that were never properly recorded.

Because of my Franz Ferdinand fandom (and their FFS collaboration, which I own a copy of on CD) and Ned's continual championing of the band, I own a copy of New Music for Amnesiacs: The Essential Collection and my goodness is it a good one. Think I should get their Moroder album next because I love Moroder already, then work my way through their '70s oeuvre before making my way through the '80s. Though I kinda already loved "Eaten by the Monster of Love" because of how much I love the music from the movie Valley Girl and I've known about "Cool Places" ever since I was a young teenager since it was on the first CD release I ever owned (Classic MTV Class of 1983).

My intro to Sparks was in the 70's movie "Rollercoaster", about a cop tracking down a psychopath intent on planting bombs on rollercoasters across the USA. Sparks was the band playing during the inaugural ride on the faster/tallest coaster which was opening at Magic Mountain. They sure had the look and feel of a typical hard rock band of the era. Imagine my surprise when I finally heard Kimono My House!

http://graphikdesigns.free.fr/sparks-rollercoaster-movie/rollercoaster-movie-mael.jpg

haha wow

In retrospect this was a memorable sequence. The viewer wasn't sure if there was a bomb planted on the Great American Revolution (the name of the rollercoaster, this was 1976 after all) or not, and the camera POV kept going back and forth between the screaming riders and Ron Mael's glowering countenance. Every so often a flash pot would explode on the Sparks stage, to unsettling effect. It was pretty tense, actually!

New single! Though apparently not the first single from the new album, because Please Don't Fuck Up My World is going to be on there too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkEAhNJC-zE

awesome song! terrible production!

yeah it sounds like a compressed MP3. you can hear it in the drums

great song, does all the things they do well

Love these guys so much. New album is GREAT.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DA95FFBJNs

i watched the video for Lawnmower yesterday and I've been walking around singing it ever since

I like the new album a lot. like the last one it doesn't quite have the high points of Hello Young Lovers or Exotic Creatures but it's a much more consistent album. the singles aren't really any better or worse than the album tracks. as a whole it reminds me of Indiscreet, every track is its own thing and there are a lot of unexpectedly emotional moments. every time I listen to it I like it more

Pacific Standard Time -> Stravinsky's Only Hit -> Left Out in the Cold...what a great stretch

Been waiting for this news to break!

✨EXCITING NEWS!!✨@edgarwright's long-awaited documentary THE SPARKS BROTHERS will get its premiere at the 2021 @sundancefest!! 🎬#Sundance #TheSparksBrothers pic.twitter.com/Tit2GCAMjl

— SPARKS (@sparksofficial) December 15, 2020

Yes!!!

Okay, reminder that the Sparks documentary is live later today via Sundance -- go here:

https://fpg.festival.sundance.org/film-info/5fd11d4063d6771d15c3a5f8

3 pm Pacific, 6 pm Eastern, 11 pm UK.

Three hours to go, can’t wait!

ysi?

Just kiddin. I hope there will be a DVD.

Awesome and a half. Waiting on the Q&A.

What a ride! I know there was a point where Edgar Wright was having trouble whittling down a 3-hour version of it. Hope that version sees the light of day eventually. Even if it’s just more footage of Ron and Russell going about their daily routine — all that stuff was delightful.

Yeah that sense of regularity of habit immediately made me think of Gilbert and George.

Edgar may have to extend the documentary a bit

🤫#newsparksalbum pic.twitter.com/lyKC5ufzE7

— SPARKS (@sparksofficial) April 7, 2021

new song with Todd Rundgren (!) who is imitating Klaus Nomi (??)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVxnnyvpqr0

Trailer for Leos Carax’s ANNETTE, featuring a script/music by the Brothers Mael

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On4v1gNJkrE

The Sparks Brothers is out in cinemas in multiple countries now*, and for a mere $75 you can pre-order the soundtrack, shipping sometime in the next 12 months, and featuring a few exclusive recordings: https://waxworkrecords.com/products/the-sparks-brothers

*and totally rules. way too short. Wright compared the 2hr 15 runtime this week to Billie Eilish having a 2hr 30 doco out when she's 18, but if one Beatles album can have its theatrical doco turned into a 6-hour series, Sparks could at least get six hours for 15 albums.

This is true.

I streamed it earlier this year, but it feels it would be a perfect summer crowded-on-a-weekend arthouse movie.

Hey @edgarwright — took my son to see Sparks Brothers and later that night he made this… pic.twitter.com/mOUUr4koa5

— Scott Reynolds (@jscottamy) June 26, 2021

Good new story here chatting with R&R, goes into more about the filming of Annette.

https://www.vulture.com/2021/06/sparks-band-interview-the-sparks-brothers-and-annette.html

A typed-up interview with Ron, Russel, and Wright:
https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/edgar-wright-sparks-interview-2021

and a podcast with Edgar interviewing the Maels via Zoom:
https://www.talkhouse.com/edgar-wright-talks-with-ron-and-russell-mael-sparks-on-the-talkhouse-podcast/

(download option under "share")

can anyone speak to the the reasoning behind putting it in multiplexes nationally (i think its on 500 screen?!) seems likea risky move

Did well enough that they will now have a third feature film released this summer, with a Wright-directed full live show from London 2018 premiering at the BFI in four weeks

Adam Buxton is hosting a four-part Sparks Brothers podcast series, presumably featuring more of the interviews not used in the film.

I absolutely need this heist movie.

The cast & crew at the #Annette photocall: Leos Carax, Ron Mael, Marion Cotillard, Russell Mael, Simon Helberg, and Adam Driver #Cannes2021 pic.twitter.com/8tmdpv8qWJ

— Adam Driver UK (@AdamDriverUK) July 6, 2021

And finally on that red carpet at Cannes, after all these decades.

✨#RedSteps ANNETTE by Leos CARAX – Opening film#Cannes2021 #Competition pic.twitter.com/BB4pdWhUUE

— Festival de Cannes (@Festival_Cannes) July 6, 2021

Tour time:

Excited to FINALLY announce that Sparks will be touring in North America in 2022! ✨

🔗: https://t.co/50rd7OquJx

Tickets go on sale Friday, July 16 at 10AM.

Pre-sales:
Sparks Fan Club - Tue, 7/13 at 10AM
Maeling List - Wed, 7/14 at 10AM

(Pre-sales end on Thu, 7/15 at 10PM.) pic.twitter.com/EInWY3TzUp

— SPARKS (@sparksofficial) July 12, 2021

THEY ARE AT BIG EARS!

I think you started the Big Ears thread on the wrong board!

Adam Buxton is hosting a four-part Sparks Brothers podcast series, presumably featuring more of the interviews not used in the film.

turns out that only seven minutes of each seventy-minute episode are posted as podcasts, apologies :(

Frustating as it is that 'Talent Is An Asset' doesn't include the line, "We're his parents (that's parenthetical)", I admire their restraint.

It’s all relative.

Not inaccurate

Hey we saw you from accross the bar and wrote a funny little song about it to provoke rational self-reflection and a critical view of the action on the stage using the methods of episches theatre to mark our contemporary existence. pic.twitter.com/meQwrLsG91

— OK 🆗 🦊 FOX (@0KF0X) September 8, 2021

A lot of fun, this documentary.

Quite right

https://glidemagazine.com/271576/sparks-reissuing-five-post-millenial-releases-on-cd-vinyl/

Sparks are celebrating their post-millennial renaissance with the 21st Century Sparks collection of deluxe reissues, to be released by BMG on CD and vinyl later this spring. Balls (2000), Lil’ Beethoven (2002), and Hello Young Lovers (2006) arrive on Friday, April 29; Exotic Creatures Of The Deep (2008) and The Seduction Of Ingmar Bergman (2009) follow on Friday, May 27.

great news, especially since I just looked up what Li'l Beethoven is selling for and holy fuck. I actually have Hello Young Lovers and the price is absurd even though the record itself doesn't sound great, on account of being over 50 minutes long and all. so the 2xLP should be pretty good.

welp I just played "Here Kitty" seven times in a row

These guys were absolutely terrific at Big Ears.

They don't stop. New movie musical in the works, new Sparks album and world tour in 2023: https://deadline.com/2022/11/sparks-duo-ron-russell-mael-developing-musical-x-crucior-at-focus-1235162734/

new album in the can already? wonder how much stuff out there is completed but waiting due to the vinyl shortage. I heard Todd Rundgren's new album was done for like a year.

Apparently Russell announced it was done at one of their shows in Japan back in August. I'm hoping for an early 2023 release, but we'll see...

Stay tuned — more news soon! ✨ pic.twitter.com/DnKLQWbDpP

— SPARKS (@sparksofficial) November 14, 2022

Nice that a new Sparks album is actually an event.

no one writes funnier horny songs than Sparks. listening to "Let The Monkey Drive" rn and it's really cracking me up

They're just that good.

Exotic Creatures actually has a lot of really funny lyrics. I mean all Sparks albums do but some of them will randomly be really great, like this and Whomp That Sucker. The opening lines to "This is the Renaissance" are so good. the whole song is actually

Seeing them do that whole album at UCLA was a treat, thanks to extra staging as well. Imagine a whole bunch of women dressed as Ron coming out during "She Got Me Pregnant" (with fake baby bumps of course). Ron's looks to them in (fake) confusion were amazing.

Has any other band had such an Indian Summer as them? It’s wonderful they are not only getting the recognition they deserve in the US, but still putting out vital new work—for over two decades!—that can stand beside their best. It’s like of Bowie was putting out consistent Blackstars since 2000.

Suede have been making a hell of a second run but then again they had broken up. Sparks had the dry gulch period but after that, it just all kept coming.

I guess Gary Numan comes to mind, as he's got that same pattern of acclaimed and innovative early stuff leading to a decade of mediocre, floundering pop records, only to score an out of nowhere comeback that not only changed his sound but brought in a whole new audience, from which he's never looked back. all his records have been pretty similar since then. idk how true that is for Sparks exactly but I would say all their records from Hello Young Lovers on are kinda the same amalgam of all the elements of the "Sparks" sound, as opposed to the ones before that which were often hyperfocused on a specific thing. obviously not a bad thing, I feel like I enjoy those records even more than the old ones.

Seeing them do that whole album at UCLA was a treat, thanks to extra staging as well. Imagine a whole bunch of women dressed as Ron coming out during "She Got Me Pregnant" (with fake baby bumps of course). Ron's looks to them in (fake) confusion were amazing.

― Ned Raggett, Monday, January 9, 2023 8:40 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

This was amazing and it's really too bad they didn't release a DVD of any of these shows like they did with the previous few tours.

It's the 21 x 21 set of shows in London I'd love to see a full set of; you get a quick montage of snippets in the documentary but that's it (I saw nearly all of them via webcast, probably mentioned way earlier on this thread). The other one I would love is the one-off Guy Maddin staging of The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman; again, we get a clip in the documentary so a full recording must exist. In a weird way, the fact that R&R keep being engaged with trying something new first and foremost is a blessing and maybe a slight curse; while they'll do reissues and things there's very little sense of sustained creative retrospection with them, which is why 21 x 21 was such a thoroughly unique one off.

feels way too big to release even as a DVD set but yes I do wish recordings of all that would come out. I mean this band has a long and storied career spanning four decades at that point and they just played every single one of their songs live, that's basically a fever dream

we get a clip in the documentary so a full recording must exist

If it hasn't been done already, there must be a great thread to be had in "a clip of x artist in x situation is out there, so a full recording must exist"

Of course, the artist(s) themselves not liking how it turned out is almost certainly the answer to why we can't see it. Still, I feel like there are a ton of examples of this.

just want to add another vote for "Let The Monkey Drive" as one of their best/funniest songs

"I think his license has expired"

So good. I just love the inner logic of that song, "Can't fool around while we're driving on the PCH but can't wait until we get to Santa Barbara. What to do, what to do? Oh, of course, we'll let the monkey drive. It is his car, after all."

xps Yeah, it's kind of crazy that they've mounted so many different projects for which no there's no real official documentation: 21x21, the Exotic Creatures full-album performances, that Seduction stage show, Kimono with an orchestra, the Revenge of Two Hands One Mouth tour (with its own unique theme song!)... they and their collaborators clearly put a ton of work into these things that basically just existed for those who were lucky enough to be there at the time.

all their records from Hello Young Lovers on are kinda the same amalgam of all the elements of the "Sparks" sound, as opposed to the ones before that which were often hyperfocused on a specific thing

I'm not familiar yet with all the recent records, but I had this same thought recently listening to Balls and A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip: how the earlier record has songs that feel jammed into arrangements that aren't entirely germane but have to conform to a dance-oriented electronic template. Really, you could say this started with Big Beat, where eclecticism within a given album became a bad word. Each record has to stick to "hard rock"/MOR/Eurodisco/New Wave/Synthpop/dance/"classical" etc.. In the last 20 years, they seem to have the confidence that the Sparks name is selling the record, not their conformation to somebody else's genre that will lead listeners blindfolded to their album.

Signed to Island once again -- that has to feel a little weird, almost literally fifty years later from the first time around -- and new album in May, The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte. Also said something about a big headline show in America in particular.

were they still on In The Red previously? seems like a step up...

Honestly can't remember which one the last album was on, hadn't been on ITR for a while. All the 2000s albums and at least some of the 2010s got reissues on BMG last year, so I half thought they'd be sticking with that but who knows.

BMG for the last couple, I believe.

just got a message that Sparks will be in MILWAUKEE on July 6th, so there's gotta be a big tour announcement soon. really excited to see it.

Yup, announcement is live (scroll down for tour dates)

https://allsparks.com/

that doesn't have any US dates on it that I can see. just sayin if they're coming to Milwaukee then it might be like 25-30 shows

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I'm only seeing five European dates...

Huh, weird. Well here's a tweet with the full array:

#SparksTour2023, let’s go!! ✨

🚨Tickets go on sale Friday, February 3rd @ 10AM local time.

→ https://t.co/F5CioIdbn3

Pre-sales:
Sparks Fan Club - Tue, 1/31 @ 10AM
Maeling List - Wed, 2/1 @ 10AM

The venue for the hometown show in Los Angeles will be announced soon! 👀✨ pic.twitter.com/KdaPKLvZp9

— SPARKS (@sparksofficial) January 30, 2023

I just grabbed an 11th-row ticket for the 850-capacity venue in Boulder and couldn't be more fucking stoked for this show. My first-ever opportunity to see Sparks!!

And the LA date is announced -- they're headlining the Hollywood Bowl on July 16, They Might Be Giants as openers.

Info on that:

Series subscriptions are available now.
Sparks Fan Club Presale: Tue, April 25 at 10am
General single day ticket sales start: Tue, May 2 at 10am
→ https://www.hollywoodbowl.com/events/programs/1393

"Our first experience of the Hollywood Bowl was in 1964 when our mom took us there to see The Beatles. Our futuristic Fiat Multipla could barely make it up the Bowl’s steep parking lot due to the Italian car’s meager horsepower. We risked life and limb driving backwards in reverse gear up the hill. It was way worth it…we got to see The Beatles.

We never would have dreamed that in 2023 we would be standing on that same hallowed stage, performing for fans of our own group, Sparks.

And hopefully everyone will have a better experience with the parking lot than we did."

Sparks and TMBG, holy cow

I don't know if this is region locked but here they are at the chateau d'hérouville, French chateau & studio: https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/108474-000-A/sparks-au-chateau-d-herouville/ (available until June 2023)

snippet of the new album, hoping this isn't just some out of context bit

THE GIRL IS CRYING IN HER LATTE
the 26th Sparks album | out May 26, 2023

Photography: Munachi Osegbu
Album artwork: Julie Vlasak #TheGirlIsCryingInHerLatte ☕️ pic.twitter.com/AgbG6tA7tc

— S P A R K S (@sparksofficial) February 14, 2023

Single live:

https://sparks.lnk.to/TheGirlIsCrying

And the video tomorrow features Cate Blanchett!

oooh I like this

love the main synth part but don't care for the vocal melody at all. i do like that they're doing their classical weirdo thing over such a massive synth part though

Yeah, that synth intro is brilliant. The main refrain sounds like the Sgt Pepper's run-out groove.

Something about the vocal melody in the verses reminds of 90s Sparks. Fun song, a little underwhelming for the first single, but seems like it'll be a good album opener.

And I was staring at Ron the whole time. Because you just never know.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTAxPhxADo0

the top comment right now is an On Cinema reference, awesome

Also, tracklisting:

The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte
Veronica Lake
Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is
Escalator
The Mona Lisa's Packing, Leaving Late Tonight
You Were Meant For Me
Not That Well-Defined
We Go Dancing
When You Leave
Take Me For A Ride
It's Sunny Today
A Love Story
It Doesn't Have To Be That Way
Gee, That Was Fun

And an interview about it all

https://variety.com/2023/music/news/sparks-cate-blanchett-music-video-album-girl-is-crying-in-her-latte-1235542099/

dropped the ball by not getting Cate to do Ron's signature dance.

Terrific photo here https://www.richiestarzec.com/about

He was Edgar Wright’s AD which makes sense. Cate Blanchett having a memorable cameo in ‘Hot Fuzz’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIkfBh3gYT4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9zIXalqooc

ok now I think this album really will sound a lot different from the last two

live panel interview at Primavera starting now, concert streaming live tomorrow

surprised no one here is talking about the new album. I mean I haven't heard it either, but only because I'm waiting to get a physical copy. Unfortunately the vinyl is weirdly expensive.

I love the title/cover art.

The album's good! Not *too much* of a departure from the previous two. The main differences I hear are a bit more of a lean into electronic sounds (as evidenced by the first couple singles) and songs that tend to be more static musically. Apparently several of the songs were based around loops Russell came up with, which is probably the biggest factor in any differences between this and their other recent albums.

"Nothing Is As Good as They Say It Is" is a classic Sparks chorus

Oh hell yeah, that one sounds like it could be an outtake from the mid-70s, production aside.

I'm seeing them at the end of the month at the Lincoln Theater, DC. The live show I saw at Big Ears in 2022 was amazing, have high hopes for this one. The album's pretty good, equal to A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip.

Quite right

https://www.stereogum.com/2228148/watch-cate-blanchett-join-sparks-for-the-girl-is-crying-in-her-latte-at-glastonbury/news/

She looked like she was having a blast watching from the side of the stage.

they were so good! it's quite something how well russell's voice has held out at 74. ron was on another level, as always.

Seeing them in 15 minutes

Enjoy!

That was a weird set list!!!

Good!

it was kind of surreal, for the last few days there's been a particular early Sparks deep cut stuck in my head (thanks to some recent reissues) and it was somehow actually in the set list. mind you I'd been avoiding spoilers, I had no clue what was coming.

I don't wanna spoil anything for those who are planning to see them, all I'm gonna say is they played a lot of really great tunes from not-so-great albums, it was really a showcase of their entire career, none of this "lets just forget about the 30 years between then and now" shit a lot of veteran bands do. some of the guys I went with knew very little about the band and left very impressed.

Russ sounded incredible. his voice really hasn't changed at all. one thing I will say though, I know a Garth Brooks outfit when I see one, and the man definitely cribbed a part of his wardrobe last night. Ron on the other hand was wearing a suit and XXXXL shorts

I don't even especially like the song, but it was touching to hear them bring out something as obscure as "Those Mysteries" when I saw them in 2013. I guess reviving their entire catalogue onstage shows they're willing to encompass it all.

I saw 'em in DC last week and it was easily the most energetic Sparks audience I've ever been a part of. Also (unrelated, I'm sure) the youngest crowd I've ever seen at a Sparks show. Some teens, and more than a few genuine children there with their parents. I saw one young kid wearing a yellow suit modeled after the cactus suit Russell wore on American Bandstand in 84! I think the documentary has been really key in creating a new generation of Sparks fans.

yea there was definitely a moment like that concerning a particular tune I really love from one of those albums so unliked you have to hit "see all" on their RYM page to find it. and it wasn't even one of the singles! totally killed too.

xp That same kid came to the DC show in the same outfit last year. Russell pointed him out from the stage.

The album's good! Not *too much* of a departure from the previous two.

actually I would disagree with this! the wild hyperactive electronic stuff (especially on "Mona Lisa"!) seems unlike anything they've done in the past. also it's cinematic and sweeping in a way their last several only hinted at. it's also...oh I dunno...a bit more TMBG-ish I think. obviously I mean that in a good way. if any of them I think it reminds me most of Hippopatamus but it's actually more ambitious than that. some of the string arrangements are really pretty! are they still fake??

"Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is" definitely feels like one of those things where a band will randomly slap some unreleased tune from their glory years onto a new album and hope nobody notices. only its actually one of the less interesting songs on the album, instead just sounding kind of out of place, as good as it is. maybe they wrote it just to prove they still could do songs like that

some of the string arrangements are really pretty! are they still fake??

I've been wondering about that too. One of my first thoughts hearing the album was that they must have started using some new, more realistic orchestral samples, but then on the Tim Burgess Twitter listening party, Ron said the orchestrations for "Take Me for a Ride" were done by Nathan Kelly, who did the orchestrations for the 40th anniversary Kimono concerts. I don't see his name anywhere in the credits though, and there aren't credits for any orchestral performers, so I'm not sure about the exact extent of those orchestrations. Maybe he helped out with some other songs too?

"When You Leave" could totally be a TMBG song.

Last night's Hollywood Bowl show: a real treat. It's been pretty much the same set for the tour but it was a delight hearing "Beaver O'Lindy" dug up.

They’ve had plenty of lovely songs over their career but a couple of times on the latest album they go for a kraftwerkian prettiness that feels quite new and a perfect fit

Def up there with their very best for me, first listen gave me the same feeling as Hello Young Lovers where I wondered if this is actually the best they’ve ever been

They're just that good!

What a career

Just saw the documentary last night and I was most surprised by how Californian Ron sounded - I don't really know what I expected him to sound like though! Obviously the best thing about it was the Mael Brothers, I could have done with a lot more of them and a lot less of comedians I've never heard of whose agents got them the gig. Also the chronological album-by-album approach became a bit of a route march.

Didn't expect this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH8i_-vUwGY

Lil' Richter

Roffle

Oh, that sounds beautiful (on one play).

cant think of a single other Sparks track that sounds like this

Rarely see Sparks vinyl for decent prices out in the wild so I was pretty stoked to grab Indiscreet and Propaganda the other day for seven bucks apiece.

Vinyl and CD reissues coming soon for #1 Song in Heaven and Noel's heretofore out of print "Is There More To Life Than Dancing?" from 1979. I never had heard of Noel's record before, but it's awesome!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6dAYlIHeqc

hadn't seen this before, incredibly cute

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=search&v=376015494406401

what is it?

they're at a train station in Paris which has one of those open pianos you can play on so they film an impromptu performance of This Town, some lady recognizes who they are and starts geeking out

New song out, "Do Things My Own Way"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT-ad9MqsKQ

New album is called MAD! and who can blame them.

wonder if they're dialing things back a little on this one, whatever it is I'm on board. hope they come around to Milwaukee again, I still can't get over how great that show was

Russell being 76, it's kinda nuts to me that this is almost the first time he sounds, not his age as such, but maybe as you say just a little calmer. But that's more than all right -- these guys are just going to keep going until they can't.

He sounds no older than Andrew Eldritch did at 30.

given the title of the album I suspect it'll get wild but who knows. I thought their last album had some pretty wild arrangements

amusingly I was gonna post about how cool the ambient style ending was but it turns out Youtube just autoplayed some Hiroshi Yoshimura

LOL pvmic

This was my first I believe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weAZYNi8xC4

Ha, whoops - wrong thread

Anyway, full video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdY_rx-TOWE

LOL that still shot

I appreciate how many times either Ron or Russell have been visually ruined over the decades in their art.

That YouTube thumbnails is a bit... indiscreet *snoball pauses for audience laughter*

hahaha

*bows*

wonder if the person who did the recent Squid video ("Swing") did this one? pretty similar, with both you spend the first 15 seconds wondering if it's green screened and then you find out that yes it is, very very much so

The director of this video is Ambar Navarro, if that helps. Based in LA and some good credits, but no mention of Squid that I can see:

https://www.ambarnavarro.com/

(If they've had their ambarbecutie at gmail account for a while, the Sparks fandom is pretty legit!)

And another new one -- release date for the full album in late May:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEEIU-WrorY

hope they got paid for that! If I had a brand and wanted it to get stuck in everyone's head, I know who I'd call...

Okay, US tour dates announced, on sale next week:

https://scontent-sjc3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/487973317_1221319049363901_5797858258957917357_n.jpg

Plus new song/video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODeoz3pDgNU

Hmm, image didn't go through, so:

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:kqdyhnklmmv34nmml6btyqv6/bafkreihmnrz7kxws4dbyq6aeu442zezolfjosoqhrjz5stcsejhcv67poq@jpeg

Plus new interview, including some John Woo musical talk

https://variety.com/2025/music/news/sparks-tour-new-album-mad-interview-1236355069/

Small glitch, though!

“Actually, the last time we played the Greek, the opening act was the Red Hot Chili Peppers,” Ron Mael notes. “So, they owe us a favor to come back and support us on this one.”

That was the early 80s and all -- but they did play the Greek about twenty years back opening for the Go-Gos, IIRC. (Had to miss that show, sadly.)

Anyway there's also some new X Crucior talk in the interview so I've started a thread on ILE:

X Crucior: John Woo directs a new Sparks musical

Another new one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z9Bc4heH2I

And one last new one before Friday:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krfBB4GWIl8

The new songs I’ve heard have been…okay. But it’s still great to have them around and my wife and I have tickets for the Washington leg of the tour.

its probably good that they're stripping back their sound a bit. I thought Latte was great but it is pretty cluttered.
this on the other hand sounds like something that could've been on Indiscreet. looking forward to the full album.

This is my favorite of the pre-release singles, but the competition isn't exactly stiff. Latte had a really great run of non-singles in the middle of the album, though, and I have a feeling this one's gonna follow a similar pattern.

yea I actually thought the non-single tracks on that one were better than the singles. I have started to really love "Veronica Lake" though, in part knowing the story behind it...who else would write a song about that?

(if you don't know...Veronica Lake was a big movie star in the 1940s who became particularly famous for her unique hairstyle, which inspired stuff like Jessica Rabbit...a lot of women imitated her, but their hair kept getting stuck in sewing machines, which was a problem since a lot of them were making uniforms for WW2, leading the government to personally ask Lake to cut her hair, which arguably ruined her career...a perfect subject for a Sparks song if I've ever heard one)

This one's my favourite of the new songs. Although I somehow managed to get two copies of the video playing at the same time, spaced a few seconds apart, and it took me a while before I realised what was happening.

new album makes a lot of odd choices. especially production wise. but I like its stripped back approach. even the lyrics are a lot less dense than usual. its like the weirdness of their last album combined with In Outer Space. with uh...some power electronics here and there.

This album is difficult to say the least. This drum programming is not great.

drowned in a sea of tears is an earworm

If you have an hour and a half:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WooiooYp7Ow

well it took 20 years but I asked Justin Strauss if Noel was just Russell pitched up and he said no, she's real.

Never crossed my mind! I think Noel has a couple other entries in Discogs.com

Anyway the new album is a grower.

their first #1! okay, only #2 overall to Sabrina Carpenter due to streaming, but it's #1 on all the UK physical album sales charts. first time they've ever done it. probably the only band ever to do that on their 28th album

the new one is actually the opposite of a grower

A shower?

It gets worse every time you listen to it?

yes it's maybe their first absolutely terrible album

Surely that is Balls (or Hello Young Lovers)

hold up Hello Young Lovers is one of their best

A question for a Sparks ballot poll, if it ever happens. There are eight I haven't heard but I'd suggest Music That You Can Dance To.

Russell's voice sounding a little fragile with age for the first time on the samples of Mad!.

Hello Young Lovers sounds like bad CGI, an absolute nightmare

imo Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat is the only one that's absolutely terrible, maybe Interior Design but a few songs save it. Balls isn't great but it's got good energy I think, it's just not dated well at all. it was really fun seeing them play the title track to a crowd who I think mostly hadn't heard it before.

this new album is...fine. so far. I think a lot of the songs are catchy and it's quite weird for a band that's been around for this long. dunno how I feel about the production/recording, not to be that guy but the album comes off different on vinyl than on Spotify

holy shit it is nowhere near the worst of their discography, and anywahy after an intensive listening of their oevre in consecutive order there is nothing that is totally worthless, but maybe Terminal Jive.

And I just reminded mhyself that Terminal Jive has "When I'm With You", which slaps. BTW Music That You Can Dance to is nowhere near as bad as people say.

Terminal Jive is largely brilliant, that instrumental version of When I'm With You seems to beat it with a stick but it's decent although obviously retread of the previous album. Hello Young Lovers sounds like The Lawnmower Man spewing a 90s CGI pelvis bone up for an hour

Unpopular opnion: My Baby's Taking Me Home is an excruciating waste of time but useful for pee breaks. Handy, as they genuinely believe it's an important song

I love Sparks btw

Balls was a great album imo, the best thing they'd done since Angst In My Pants

I actually like Gratuitous Sax a lot, what turned it around was realizing that they weren't exactly trying to ape Very by Pet Shop Boys as much as they were predicting stuff like Aqua :)

"Introducing Sparks" had terrible reviews, but when Spotify first started I made a point of hearing it there.

Nothing wrong with it.

that one is just boring after years of rockin' - it just don't rock.

Best version of Introducing I ever heard was the live set from their 21 by 21 series. Even with just a basic one-camera webstream setup, that was how it should have always sounded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E7HuqNkbgY

Oh those are on YouTube now?!

that long convo with Rob Brydon is good - John Woo is directing their next musical holy shit

Heck yes. Thread over here:

X Crucior: John Woo directs a new Sparks musical

No huge surprises in his choices but his enthusiasm is super charming. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sJ0pu5MOCU

hell yeah on the last 3

Forever grateful to Ron and Russell for turning me on to John Adams many years ago via some magazine article

xps I can't imagine calling the new album their worst, especially when Interior Design and Terminal Jive exist, but I'd probably rank it somewhere in the bottom third of their catalog. It does remind me a little of those two albums, but also some better ones, like Introducing and Balls (which are closer to Mad!, quality-wise), mainly in that there's more of a directness in the lyrics than they usually allow themselves.

One thing these albums have in common is that each of them preceded a radical change in style and an artistic peak. Probably not much chance that'll happen at this point in their career, with this album being so well received, but...it'd be cool if it did.

feel like the hit rate is a lot higher on this one than Interior Design or Terminal Jive

Balls is maybe a good comparison. I've actually always thought that album was underrated though, a bit behind the times perhaps but most of the songs are good

Yup, I think Balls is a fine album, and it's super impressive that they've spent most of the last 20+ years making albums that are better than it, only now getting back down to around that level.

Balls is pretty good, yeah

The Balls-era shows in LA were good fun, I gotta say.

One thing these albums have in common is that each of them preceded a radical change in style and an artistic peak. Probably not much chance that'll happen at this point in their career, with this album being so well received, but...it'd be cool if it did.

Hey, the next album could well be X Crucior. Don't rule it out!

Oh, true!

Last night was another fine treat from them -- I was especially pleasantly surprised at the number of songs throughout their career they played that I've never seen them do before. That's always a plus!

Yeah the depth of their catalog is a wonderful thing. Saw them in Washington earlier this month.