I was flipping though some old comics the other day when I came across this ad: ...and I got to thinking about my ranking on the Machismo Index, and how of late it seems to be dropping faster than this blog's Technorati authority score. Perhaps the addition of some facial hair would be just the ticket to turning things around. The only problem is that while I can grow wiry ginger-blonde stubble like nobody's business, after a week or so my masculine scruffiness tops out and refuses to cross the [...]
My man Disaster from Missingtoof knows *everything*, so I was shocked, SHOCKED to learn that he hadn't heard of Ron and Russel Mael, aka Sparks. So this post is for him! The bros. Mael formed their first band, Halfnelson, in 1968, and were discovered by Todd Rundgren. Their first record, produced by Rundgren, did poorly, but after renaming themselves Sparks (as a nod to the Marx brothers), tweaking their sound and touring the UK they began to blow up in the burgeoning glam scene. After placing an ad in Melody Maker which read: "Wanted bass player [...]
The usual drill for Saturdays, vacation or not, is that Maura goes shopping with her mother, and I stay home an complete my list of weekly chores in quiet solitude. On this Saturday, however, the alternator on Maura's mom's car shit the bed, and I found myself accompanying my wife to Market Basket and the Burlington Mall. I used to visit the Mall quite a bit, as it housed the only Electronics Boutique, hobby store, and Suncoast Video in the immediate vicinity. In recent years, my trips to that one-stop temple of retail commerce dropped off to almost [...]
It's been some time since we last did this , so we're about due for another Lost B-sides Week here at LIT80s, aren't we? All this week, we'll feature b-sides to some famous and not-so-famous singles that for the most part have yet to make it to CD. Kicking the week off is a long-time LIT80s fave, Sparks. We've talked about Sparks a bit here and here . The Brothers Mael had been recording for more than ten years by the time they got their American [...]
Carl Newman of the New Pornographers has a song by song commentary of the upcoming New Pornos record, Challengers (to be released August 21st 2007), on the Matador Records website. A short, but interesting read, it kindly offers up, from time to time, what he feels inspired these new songs, or what old favourites these songs resemble. Required reading for all of you out there sharpening your pencils to write a review of the upcoming and highly anticipated Challengers record. But I've had my interest [...]
Toad, Mr Toad, The Toadster, El Toaderino... yes, I think that works quite well, don't you? Song, by Toad dearly wishes it was as cool as The Big Lebowski. Shut the fuck up, Donny. In no way related to that, I think this Friday's irregular Bender for the Weekender is going to draw inspiration [...]
With more apologies for the brevity of postings. I offer the mitigating circumstances of a 16-hour day in the office on Wednesday. Here's two appropriate songs:- mp3 : Sparks – Beat The Clock mp3 : The Rakes – Work, Work, Work (Pub, Club, Sleep) The Prefab Sprout posting remains on hold. Ciao for now
by David Klein While a vital contingent of the MS community has been busy obsessing about the greatest records of the '90s, over here in Obscurity Land, I have been doing some obsessing of my own. Not in response to March Madness, mind you—this idea has been working its way into fruition for years now, since I first heard Anna Domino's "88," in fact. As I listened and fell under the song's spell, I immediately decided that it had to be the best song with 88 in its title that will ever be written. I [...]
![Sparks: Reinforcements [1974]
Sparks:...](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/406799_lg.jpg)
Sparks: Reinforcements [1974] Sparks: At Home At Work At Play [1974] One song for my lovely cousin who begins a new job tomorrow. Reinforcements are a thing of the past. All her battles are over. It's all empty train tracks from here. And another song for her fiance... in case he finds he is competing with her new job for her time. Buy Sparks here .
FREE MP3/AAC UPDATE! Free songs from new, current and future releases: We've posted the MP3 (and AAC, for the multitudes of iPod-faithful) tracks from our promo-only Midheaven .11 Autumn 06 sampler. You can also stream MP3s from the comfort of your preferred browser. The entire CD-- joined as o­ne track-- can be downloaded as well, as a 192kbps AAC file here. [93.4mb AAC file] OR you can download a .zip folder of all the individual AAC tracks in o­ne swell foop.You can also download the artwork/track listing (124kb color .pdf) for this project. Individual tracks: AKRON/FAMILY "Meek Warrior" Streaming MP3 [...]
Sparks - Hello Young Lovers (Gut) Qui aurait cru que, plus de 35 ans après leur premier album, les Sparks seraient encore capables de provoquer des débats aussi animés ? J'ai déjà raconté ici la révélation qu'avait été pour moi Lil' Beethoven , leur précédent album. J'étais donc très impatient d'écouter ce nouvel album, le premier dont j'aie vraiment attendu la sortie en direct. Je dois malheureusement admettre que, lorsque la première plage de l'album commence, cette impatience est dans un premier temps amèrement déçue. [...]
As promised, here's the second part of my favorites list. I got a little lazier writing my the blurbs...sue me. The Knife , Silent Shout When I first heard "Heartbeats" from Deep Cuts and the question I asked myself was, "Where has this band been all my life?" The moment I could get my hands on Silent Shout , I did and I was a very happy girl. Not everyone I've played The Knife for has immediately loved them, but that's their [...]
It seems rather traditional to do a Christmas compilation, so I don't like to be one who breaks the tradition. Usually, when people think of quality Christmas music they think back to the days of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin when strong vocals and orchestral accompaniments defined the greatest. Perhaps it was back then when the words "Christmas" and "commercialized" were never uttered in the same sentence. These days, Christmas is a holiday where money and wealth is put ahead of giving and family. Ah, it is indeed society's own change, but that does not mean that contemporary Christmas music [...]
20. Nelly Furtado - Loose Probably the most commercially successful album on my list (worldwide), and the only mainstream American pop release worth a second look, Loose was the perfect combination of pop star and producer. What other album of 2006 opened with back-to-back successes like Promiscuous and Maneater and finished up the year with no less than five successful worldwide singles? Even better, the album manages to be experimental yet not off-putting, a tough quality to find in pop music. [...]
This is Midheaven's promo-only Autumn '06 sampler available as free mp3s. You can also download M4a files at midheaven.com . AKRON/FAMILY " Meek Warrior " A HAWK AND A HACKSAW " God Bless The Ottoman Empire " DOSH " Um, Circles And Squares " CAURAL " I Won't Race You " BEIRUT " Mount Wroclai (Idle Days) " KIM DOO SOO " Bohemian " THE KING KHAN & BBQ SHOW " I'll Never Belong " SPARKS " Happy Hunting Ground (Live) " THE BLACK NEON " The Truth " k-the-i??? " Little Did She Know " AWOL [...]
"I'm already at a deficit! Doing this show from a deficit. I can't work from a lead ever?" -- Tom after some headphone issues necessitated a calming, cold-sodey break "My head is swimming. I'm so stupid." -- Quiz Kid Tommy Scharpling on trying to dive into the world of finance "Can't be a fan of everybody -- that's why God made horse races." -- Tom, explaining the Lord's safeguard against being forced to like Tom Waits "It still kinda like, I 'unno, subverts like a bunch of the [...]
Today my wife and I celebrate the second anniversary of our wedding. The event itself was a pretty low-key affair, the five months previous having been entirely taken up with the extended ordeal of buying and refurbishing our house. The logistical nightmare involved in dealing with the affected cluelessness of the previous owners, the abrasive pushiness of the real estate agent (not the woman who showed us the house, who was a total peach, but her superiors in the firm), and the bank (which were hesitant to sink a few hundred thou in a property that was a shade [...]
Before last night, you could write my knowledge of Sparks on the back of a stamp. A small stamp. Using pretty big letters. To recap, I knew they were brothers who, some time in a different cultural landscape, had a hit with the song, 'This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us'. And now, after two hours in they're company, I'm still not much the wiser. Are they serious? Comedy? A rock band? Or art pop? Maybe performance art? A sophisticated rock opera in the guise of mutant [...]
I pride myself on posting a wide variety of music, but I think this is the weirdest selection of shit I ever put up. Also, that image is from Musicstack , a pretty good site if you are looking for some rare vinyl. Wolfmother - The Earth's Rotation Around the Sun I saw these guys live a few days ago and sweet holy Jeebus do they bring the rock. A lot of people describe them as an updated Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath, but with this b-side they're are obviously [...]
Sensing the ability to turn a small row into a PR opportunity, BBC London's decision to not play Sparks' new single on the Jono Coleman breakfast show has brought forth a flurry of press release: "Ron Mael this morning raged: "the BBC has officially killed off our new single dick around, ostensibly through rather childish objections to the title, an innocent reference to the idle life. That a piece of music can be condemned purely by its title without the 'decision makers' even having the decency to open the cd case is a travesty [...]
Armagideon Time
The Workout.
Lost in the '80s
*SIXEYES
Song, by Toad
THE VINYL VILLAIN
Merry Swankster
Art Decade
Mix-Tapes.de
Je dis ça, je dis rien.
Looking at Them
Obscure Sound
#1 Hits From Another Planet
Recidivism.
to die by your side
The Lost Turntable
No Rock And Roll Fun
The Corner Laughers “Poppy Seeds”
The orchestra is dreaming
