Sparks

[bONES]

my tent mate and friend here at KAF keeps going on about this band Sparks. He's crazy about this brother duo and has been telling me about their 21 albums in 21 days shows over in England, to promote their new album Exotic Creatures Of The Deep

The album was promoted by a record-setting twenty date residency from May 16 to June 11 2008 at London's Carling Islington Academy where the group played each one of their previous twenty albums in its entirety in chronological order. Exotic Creatures Of The Deep was premièred on June 13 at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire.

I'm not familiar with them at all but he insists I'll dig them.

The internet here is painfully slow so I haven't bothered to check them out on youtube or anything.

Is anyone here a fan?

Before I was known as bones, my nickname was sparks (at least to some who know me as a welder).

Got any good Sparks trivia I can impress him with?

Sparks is an American rock and pop music band formed in Los Angeles in 1970 by brothers Ron (keyboards) and Russell Mael (vocals), initially under the name Halfnelson. Best known for their quirky approach to song writing, Sparks' music is often accompanied by cutting and acerbic lyrics, and an idiosyncratic stage presence, typified in the contrast between Russell's wide-eyed hyperactive frontman antics and Ron's sedentary scowling.

The band's long career has seen them successfully adopt many different musical genres; including glam pop, power pop, electronic dance music, mainstream pop and most recently chamber pop. Despite these many styles, a recognizable "Sparks sound" remains throughout, and they have enjoyed a large cult following since their first releases. Sparks have been highly influential on the development of popular music, in particular on the late 1970s scene, when in collaboration with Giorgio Moroder (and Telex subsequently), they reinvented themselves as an electronic pop duo, and abandoned the traditional rock band line up. In contrast to the esteem in which they are held by such peers as Depeche Mode, New Order, and They Might Be Giants, who all cite Sparks as a major influence, their almost constantly changing styles and unique visual presentations have sometimes seen them dismissed as a novelty act.

Edited August 29, 2008 by Guest

[backbacon]

Hm, interesting. Never heard of Theh Sparks but I'll have to check them out.

[bONES]

no one here has heard of Sparks?

I thought for sure some skank would be hip to their music.