Sparks - C ou D

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