May 16, 2012

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Ron & Russell Mael of Sparks. It would have all been very dull without them.


I think, for a lot of people, Sparks is one of those "guilty pleasure" bands. You like them a lot, you've always liked them a lot, but you don't really know why.

Catchy, hook-laden, quirky, theatrical - a lot of words you could use to describe the music of the Mael Brothers. In a perpetual state of reinvention is another description. Having gone through the slog of establishing themselves from the late 60's to the early 70's, they became massive in Europe, briefly settling in London, where they signed with Island Records and their fortunes promptly changed with the release ofKimono My House. The album that took what was often described as a "band with an acquired taste" into a Powerpop Tour de Force in 1974, and established them as a band to be reckoned with for the rest of the decade.

Tonight it's Something For The Girl With Everything from their follow-up album Propaganda. Not a terribly familiar track if you don't own the album, but certainly one that shows them off nicely.

If you don't already know Sparks, here's a chance to get acquainted with some Rock history.

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