Paul Carrack wrote and sang the classic "How Long" for his band Ace, and sang "Tempted" for Squeeze and "Silent Running" and "The Living Years" for Mike and the Mechanics. Carrack also played keys on such varied albums as Roxy Music's "Avalon," the Pretenders' "Learning to Crawl" and Elton John's "Made in England." He's part of Eric Clapton's touring band and is on the road doing solo shows. Listen to how a boy from Sheffield makes a life in music.
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/paul-carrack/id1316200737?i=1000542327929
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3mOgmwjd7QWTlbdUUyLiKN?si=tiI6pGptQ32zleJRDhNXRw
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast?returnFromLogin=1&
https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast
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Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
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-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
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Thursday 18 November 2021
Wednesday 17 November 2021
Adele's Special
Beat the Grammys in the ratings. And to make the comparison even more interesting, they shared the same producer, Ben Winston!
Variety shows are dead. People don't want to sit through anything they're not interested in. NOTHING! So if you're producing something trying to appeal to everyone, you're in a death spiral. Hell, Adele's special is on a pace to eclipse the Oscar ratings! Think about that, one singer beating out a whole host of movie stars. Then again, one musician singing their own material from the heart is more powerful than any actor any day. As I've repeated many times previously, movies when done right are larger than life, music when done right is LIFE ITSELF!
But don't get too excited. Adele only reached 10 million people. In a nation of 330 million. Last February's Super Bowl reached 96.4 million viewers, and those were the worst ratings since 2007!
In other words, mass is declining. Adele is a unicorn in a field of mice. She's bigger than everybody else, but not that big.
However, if you know your music special history, ratings are historically AWFUL! U2 had a special on Fox during the height of the band's success that not only lost the night, but by a huge margin. So, truthfully, Adele's ratings are a triumph.
In a completely different world.
Yes, network television has never meant less. And it skews old, especially CBS, the network that aired the special.
And all this is not to rain on Adele's parade, but to put her and her work in context.
Dave Matthews Band and Coldplay were beneficiaries of music television airplay, they were on VH1 just before that paradigm ended, when videos became an on demand item online, and since that time almost no act has been that big, because they no longer have a platform that reaches everyone.
Adele made her bones at the very end of the CD era. She sold ten times what anybody else did when physical still meant something, now it means nothing.
Forget the "Billboard" chart, it's completely manipulated. And sales and albums are completely meaningless today, today it's all about streams, CONSUMPTION!
In the old days it was all about selling CDs and not worrying about whether they were listened to. Today you sell nothing and it's all about getting people to listen to your music over and over again.
But once again, Adele bridges the gap, and she will sell physical product to oldsters who have not yet bought into streaming and hard core fans who will buy vinyl. And both of these formats are very profitable, but today they're a poor gauge of demand.
But Adele proves that America, the world, yearns for an all-encompassing superstar. No one puts up her numbers, not Drake, not the Weeknd, NOBODY! Which has you wondering not only what makes her so unique, but why labels and marketers are not developing acts closer to her than the niches in the streaming world.
Then again, Adele started at a young age, was the beneficiary of musical education and writes and sings, with a unique, great voice, never mind having a great sense of humor that she displays in an intimate fashion.
So, where is the music education in America? Almost nonexistent. The two biggest names in music are Adele and Max Martin, who both were taught in the school system of their respective countries growing up. And they both paid their dues before emerging on the world market. They were not fourteen year old phenoms pushed by their parents and complicit marketers on a not yet pubescent public. No, the chances of your young teenager being that talented and experienced and worthy of attention are essentially nil.
Also, Adele lives outside the spotlight for years between albums, gathering experiences she can write and sing about, and isn't interested in the brand extensions so popular amongst the Spotify Top 50.
But I've had enough.
Adele's show at the Greek was one of the two best I've seen this century. And it was about music, not production. But this all hands-on-deck overhype has me on backlash, I feel like her new work is being pushed down my throat. And the dirty little secret is "25" was not as good as "21," and the odds that "30" will be as memorable...
Then again, she took five plus years to make it, so maybe it's excellent.
All I know is all the marketers, the radio stations, are complicit in jamming her. Will we care in six months?
We'll know when we see the streaming numbers.
Now maybe the label will succeed in delivering single after single to radio, pumping streaming numbers, but without said singles, good luck.
Then again, the biggest act of the past year was Morgan Wallen, AND HE WAS BANNED FROM THE MARKETPLACE! Proving that at the end of the day it's about the music and only the music. As for the supposed right wing support driving Wallen's numbers...they couldn't do the same for that Adam Lewis track, and you haven't heard anything about the "Let's Go Brandon" tracks in weeks.
So in truth every act is stepping up to bat with each new project, and we're waiting to see what they hit, what they deliver.
But the world has changed since the paradigm was set in the sixties and seventies, when loyalty to the act superseded the ups and downs of album quality. Adele benefits from this, she could sell tickets without any new music. Then again, ticket costs far outstrip what they once were. It used to be a show, now it's an EVENT!
So Adele is an anomaly. Breaking all the rules. Pointing to a future where no one else is going. Sure, you can sing on TV, but do you have anything to SAY? And those incessant beats, sans melody, they're not omnipresent on Adele's albums either.
But to develop an Adele takes years, and in a music business where no one has ownership, all the execs take a short term view, they sign that which they can promote and sell RIGHT NOW, they may not have their job years down the line.
But we used to have a slew of Adeles. Acts that could sell diamond, i.e. ten million albums, and they all made different music, the business was healthy, what changed? Well, the death of the monoculture. All eyes aren't on anything these days. But one thing's for sure, Adele's got the most of 'em!
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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--
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Variety shows are dead. People don't want to sit through anything they're not interested in. NOTHING! So if you're producing something trying to appeal to everyone, you're in a death spiral. Hell, Adele's special is on a pace to eclipse the Oscar ratings! Think about that, one singer beating out a whole host of movie stars. Then again, one musician singing their own material from the heart is more powerful than any actor any day. As I've repeated many times previously, movies when done right are larger than life, music when done right is LIFE ITSELF!
But don't get too excited. Adele only reached 10 million people. In a nation of 330 million. Last February's Super Bowl reached 96.4 million viewers, and those were the worst ratings since 2007!
In other words, mass is declining. Adele is a unicorn in a field of mice. She's bigger than everybody else, but not that big.
However, if you know your music special history, ratings are historically AWFUL! U2 had a special on Fox during the height of the band's success that not only lost the night, but by a huge margin. So, truthfully, Adele's ratings are a triumph.
In a completely different world.
Yes, network television has never meant less. And it skews old, especially CBS, the network that aired the special.
And all this is not to rain on Adele's parade, but to put her and her work in context.
Dave Matthews Band and Coldplay were beneficiaries of music television airplay, they were on VH1 just before that paradigm ended, when videos became an on demand item online, and since that time almost no act has been that big, because they no longer have a platform that reaches everyone.
Adele made her bones at the very end of the CD era. She sold ten times what anybody else did when physical still meant something, now it means nothing.
Forget the "Billboard" chart, it's completely manipulated. And sales and albums are completely meaningless today, today it's all about streams, CONSUMPTION!
In the old days it was all about selling CDs and not worrying about whether they were listened to. Today you sell nothing and it's all about getting people to listen to your music over and over again.
But once again, Adele bridges the gap, and she will sell physical product to oldsters who have not yet bought into streaming and hard core fans who will buy vinyl. And both of these formats are very profitable, but today they're a poor gauge of demand.
But Adele proves that America, the world, yearns for an all-encompassing superstar. No one puts up her numbers, not Drake, not the Weeknd, NOBODY! Which has you wondering not only what makes her so unique, but why labels and marketers are not developing acts closer to her than the niches in the streaming world.
Then again, Adele started at a young age, was the beneficiary of musical education and writes and sings, with a unique, great voice, never mind having a great sense of humor that she displays in an intimate fashion.
So, where is the music education in America? Almost nonexistent. The two biggest names in music are Adele and Max Martin, who both were taught in the school system of their respective countries growing up. And they both paid their dues before emerging on the world market. They were not fourteen year old phenoms pushed by their parents and complicit marketers on a not yet pubescent public. No, the chances of your young teenager being that talented and experienced and worthy of attention are essentially nil.
Also, Adele lives outside the spotlight for years between albums, gathering experiences she can write and sing about, and isn't interested in the brand extensions so popular amongst the Spotify Top 50.
But I've had enough.
Adele's show at the Greek was one of the two best I've seen this century. And it was about music, not production. But this all hands-on-deck overhype has me on backlash, I feel like her new work is being pushed down my throat. And the dirty little secret is "25" was not as good as "21," and the odds that "30" will be as memorable...
Then again, she took five plus years to make it, so maybe it's excellent.
All I know is all the marketers, the radio stations, are complicit in jamming her. Will we care in six months?
We'll know when we see the streaming numbers.
Now maybe the label will succeed in delivering single after single to radio, pumping streaming numbers, but without said singles, good luck.
Then again, the biggest act of the past year was Morgan Wallen, AND HE WAS BANNED FROM THE MARKETPLACE! Proving that at the end of the day it's about the music and only the music. As for the supposed right wing support driving Wallen's numbers...they couldn't do the same for that Adam Lewis track, and you haven't heard anything about the "Let's Go Brandon" tracks in weeks.
So in truth every act is stepping up to bat with each new project, and we're waiting to see what they hit, what they deliver.
But the world has changed since the paradigm was set in the sixties and seventies, when loyalty to the act superseded the ups and downs of album quality. Adele benefits from this, she could sell tickets without any new music. Then again, ticket costs far outstrip what they once were. It used to be a show, now it's an EVENT!
So Adele is an anomaly. Breaking all the rules. Pointing to a future where no one else is going. Sure, you can sing on TV, but do you have anything to SAY? And those incessant beats, sans melody, they're not omnipresent on Adele's albums either.
But to develop an Adele takes years, and in a music business where no one has ownership, all the execs take a short term view, they sign that which they can promote and sell RIGHT NOW, they may not have their job years down the line.
But we used to have a slew of Adeles. Acts that could sell diamond, i.e. ten million albums, and they all made different music, the business was healthy, what changed? Well, the death of the monoculture. All eyes aren't on anything these days. But one thing's for sure, Adele's got the most of 'em!
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
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Tuesday 16 November 2021
The Look In Your Eyes
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3noLxQh
There were two new artists on the "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" soundtrack, Gerard McMahon and the Ravyns. Neither of their songs are on streaming services. You can buy them at iTunes, but you can't hear them on Spotify, Amazon or Apple, I checked.
But I know them by heart.
1982... MTV hadn't truly gotten traction yet. Teen movies were still a thing, we didn't yet live in the Marvel Universe. And music had recovered from the trough in 1979 when rock tried to kill disco but the end result was they both sank. The early eighties, the Reagan era, were optimistic, sunny. This was when the boomers sold out, when money was plentiful and no one could contemplate the division our country is now experiencing. The sixties were over, the rednecks in the south now had long hair, we all listened to the same music and we all went to see "Fast Times."
I'd read the book. It was a paperback original. The amazing thing was that Cameron Crowe had truly gone back to high school, sometime thereafter he actually took the SATs, both experiences I'm glad are in the rearview mirror. But the book had a different tone than the movie, it was more like the real high school, which was boring and riddled with factions that had classes as their only thing in common, I didn't expect the movie to become a comedy classic, but I had to see it immediately when it came out.
And at this late date, "Fast Times" is most famous for Spicoli, Sean Penn's breakout role, in which he made Vans famous. Funny how he made his bones as a stoner when he's perceived to be so serious today. Of course he followed "Fast Times" up with the sorely forgotten "At Close Range," doing which he met Madonna, who delivered one of her best songs, "Live to Tell." for the soundtrack.
Not that there weren't other memorable elements of "Fast Times"...most notably the return of our favorite Martian as Mr. Hand and the introduction of Phoebe Cates and Jennifer Jason Leigh. And although this was the peak of his career, Robert Romanus as Damone, the creepy high school ticket scalper, was priceless.
And the soundtrack was put together by Irving Azoff, who coproduced the movie, who was now ensconced at the top of MCA Records but had history with Crowe, as well as the soundtrack field, having performed his magic on "Urban Cowboy," and once again he filled the grooves with superstar artists playing new material, a previously unheard of feat. It was one thing to assemble oldies, but new tracks? By stars? Impossible!
And Jackson Browne had the hit with "Somebody's Baby," which Jackson perceived as too light for one of his own LPs. And although Don Henley provided "Love Rules," I actually prefer the excommunicated Don Felder's "Never Surrender," with its driving beat. But the songs I played most, that I remember most, were by the original acts.
Oh, there was another newbie on the borderline, i.e. Louise Goffin, who'd previously put out two no impact albums on Elektra/Asylum. Her "Uptown Boys" is precious. And the peak of her recording career. Although it was hard to drop the needle and play a song in the middle of a vinyl album side over and over again to feed one's addiction, vinyl might be fetishized today but never forget the convenience of files, never mind CDs.
But side two started with the Ravyns and Gerard McMahon songs, so I could just go to the turntable and lift the needle almost mindlessly and play them again. And I did.
"Raised On the Radio," the Ravyns cut, was a very eighties rock track, slick, with a driving beat, recounting the history of rock and roll. As for being raised on the radio, we were, we identified, we didn't think twice, the song had a great pre-chorus and an almost as memorable chorus, but the only place you heard it was on the soundtrack, but because of licensing issues unless you own the original product from the eighties you've probably never experienced it. No one could foresee all the ways to exploit music in the future, this was before contracts demanded all rights in the known and unknown universe, when you had to go back to the acts who got another bite at the apple, i.e. compensation, for allowing their music to be used in these modern ways. As for why the Ravyns and McMahon cuts were not cleared, I'm not sure, then again, why pay for stiffs?
That's right, neither song was ever played on the radio, never mind being a hit. But as driving as "Raised On the Radio" was, Gerard McMahon's "The Look in Your Eyes" was slow, verging on dreary if it weren't so good.
"Sometimes you're miles away, babe
Every change, babe, you're like the wind in my heart"
It was the attitude, the very slight sandpaper in Gerard McMahon's voice, the song had rock gravitas, you felt like he meant it, that he was singing from the heart.
And then there was that run up the scale, that unexpected change:
"I'm sure as I wake up in the morn
There ain't no one that I think about more"
Ah, young love, when it means more and hurts more, when you're beyond the puppy love stage and looking for meaning, and wondering how long you should look before you settle down.
And then the melody twists some more, embedding the song in your heart.
"There's a place downtown where I'll be waiting
We'll meet like strangers that we are, there's a bar"
And then the deal is sealed with the chorus:
"Each time I look in your eyes
When I make love to you, I know there's one thing true
And I can't lose you tonight
You mean that much to me, you're all I ever need"
He's in the throes of it, what could be better?
The eyes are the window to the soul but they're also insight into whether somebody is into you. In concert with their smile, their lips, you can tell. This is what we're all searching for, which we so rarely find. Beyond flirting, beyond hit and run, true connection.
The Ravyns ultimately made an album for MCA that went straight into the dumper. But a few years later, I was hanging at a gig, between acts, and was introduced to this guy and asked him what he did and he laughed and said he was in this band the Ravyns and I said RAISED ON THE RADIO! And he smiled, we locked eyes, connected, but he had the world-weariness of a musician who'd been through the mill, who'd had a brush with fame but had fallen short, but the truth is millions of people knew his song by heart, like me.
As for Gerard McMahon... He's hung around, but this was his peak. He was a journeyman and there was little room for such a person in the hit music scene of the eighties. It was all about the stars on MTV. And then grunge came along in the nineties and wiped the slate clean, there was no point of entry for acts like this.
And there still isn't. The building blocks are irrelevant. Even in hit music you can have a song that's only one chord, and this is not the breakthrough of the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows." As for those still playing rock, it's loud and bombastic, it might have more melody than hip-hop, but not much. As for the music of the eighties, they call much of it yacht rock today. Which started out as a put-down but is more and more seen as a badge of honor. Just like the Carpenters were resuscitated by the cognoscenti decades later the softer rock sound, which is often quite dynamic, is regaining credibility, hell I heard Christopher Cross's "Ride Like the Wind" the other day and it was a revelation, an incisive masterpiece outside of context, outside of his dominance decades ago.
But Christopher Cross had hits. And Gerard McMahon did not. But "The Look in Your Eyes" is a hit to me, I sing it in my mind constantly. Why? I'm not exactly sure, maybe it's the sweetness of the sound, even though it's not saccharine, it has a bit of an edge, maybe because it's something I can identify with, I'm not dangerous, I don't carry a knife, never mind a gun, I don't wear a leather jacket, I don't want to be seen as a poseur, I can only be me, someone who would take "Back in Black" and "Blue" to a desert island. And if there's a screen, I wouldn't mind having a copy of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," for the soundtrack alone.
"And like the fool that won't die
There's nothing to explain, girl there ain't no shame
When I see that look in your eyes"
--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
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--
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There were two new artists on the "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" soundtrack, Gerard McMahon and the Ravyns. Neither of their songs are on streaming services. You can buy them at iTunes, but you can't hear them on Spotify, Amazon or Apple, I checked.
But I know them by heart.
1982... MTV hadn't truly gotten traction yet. Teen movies were still a thing, we didn't yet live in the Marvel Universe. And music had recovered from the trough in 1979 when rock tried to kill disco but the end result was they both sank. The early eighties, the Reagan era, were optimistic, sunny. This was when the boomers sold out, when money was plentiful and no one could contemplate the division our country is now experiencing. The sixties were over, the rednecks in the south now had long hair, we all listened to the same music and we all went to see "Fast Times."
I'd read the book. It was a paperback original. The amazing thing was that Cameron Crowe had truly gone back to high school, sometime thereafter he actually took the SATs, both experiences I'm glad are in the rearview mirror. But the book had a different tone than the movie, it was more like the real high school, which was boring and riddled with factions that had classes as their only thing in common, I didn't expect the movie to become a comedy classic, but I had to see it immediately when it came out.
And at this late date, "Fast Times" is most famous for Spicoli, Sean Penn's breakout role, in which he made Vans famous. Funny how he made his bones as a stoner when he's perceived to be so serious today. Of course he followed "Fast Times" up with the sorely forgotten "At Close Range," doing which he met Madonna, who delivered one of her best songs, "Live to Tell." for the soundtrack.
Not that there weren't other memorable elements of "Fast Times"...most notably the return of our favorite Martian as Mr. Hand and the introduction of Phoebe Cates and Jennifer Jason Leigh. And although this was the peak of his career, Robert Romanus as Damone, the creepy high school ticket scalper, was priceless.
And the soundtrack was put together by Irving Azoff, who coproduced the movie, who was now ensconced at the top of MCA Records but had history with Crowe, as well as the soundtrack field, having performed his magic on "Urban Cowboy," and once again he filled the grooves with superstar artists playing new material, a previously unheard of feat. It was one thing to assemble oldies, but new tracks? By stars? Impossible!
And Jackson Browne had the hit with "Somebody's Baby," which Jackson perceived as too light for one of his own LPs. And although Don Henley provided "Love Rules," I actually prefer the excommunicated Don Felder's "Never Surrender," with its driving beat. But the songs I played most, that I remember most, were by the original acts.
Oh, there was another newbie on the borderline, i.e. Louise Goffin, who'd previously put out two no impact albums on Elektra/Asylum. Her "Uptown Boys" is precious. And the peak of her recording career. Although it was hard to drop the needle and play a song in the middle of a vinyl album side over and over again to feed one's addiction, vinyl might be fetishized today but never forget the convenience of files, never mind CDs.
But side two started with the Ravyns and Gerard McMahon songs, so I could just go to the turntable and lift the needle almost mindlessly and play them again. And I did.
"Raised On the Radio," the Ravyns cut, was a very eighties rock track, slick, with a driving beat, recounting the history of rock and roll. As for being raised on the radio, we were, we identified, we didn't think twice, the song had a great pre-chorus and an almost as memorable chorus, but the only place you heard it was on the soundtrack, but because of licensing issues unless you own the original product from the eighties you've probably never experienced it. No one could foresee all the ways to exploit music in the future, this was before contracts demanded all rights in the known and unknown universe, when you had to go back to the acts who got another bite at the apple, i.e. compensation, for allowing their music to be used in these modern ways. As for why the Ravyns and McMahon cuts were not cleared, I'm not sure, then again, why pay for stiffs?
That's right, neither song was ever played on the radio, never mind being a hit. But as driving as "Raised On the Radio" was, Gerard McMahon's "The Look in Your Eyes" was slow, verging on dreary if it weren't so good.
"Sometimes you're miles away, babe
Every change, babe, you're like the wind in my heart"
It was the attitude, the very slight sandpaper in Gerard McMahon's voice, the song had rock gravitas, you felt like he meant it, that he was singing from the heart.
And then there was that run up the scale, that unexpected change:
"I'm sure as I wake up in the morn
There ain't no one that I think about more"
Ah, young love, when it means more and hurts more, when you're beyond the puppy love stage and looking for meaning, and wondering how long you should look before you settle down.
And then the melody twists some more, embedding the song in your heart.
"There's a place downtown where I'll be waiting
We'll meet like strangers that we are, there's a bar"
And then the deal is sealed with the chorus:
"Each time I look in your eyes
When I make love to you, I know there's one thing true
And I can't lose you tonight
You mean that much to me, you're all I ever need"
He's in the throes of it, what could be better?
The eyes are the window to the soul but they're also insight into whether somebody is into you. In concert with their smile, their lips, you can tell. This is what we're all searching for, which we so rarely find. Beyond flirting, beyond hit and run, true connection.
The Ravyns ultimately made an album for MCA that went straight into the dumper. But a few years later, I was hanging at a gig, between acts, and was introduced to this guy and asked him what he did and he laughed and said he was in this band the Ravyns and I said RAISED ON THE RADIO! And he smiled, we locked eyes, connected, but he had the world-weariness of a musician who'd been through the mill, who'd had a brush with fame but had fallen short, but the truth is millions of people knew his song by heart, like me.
As for Gerard McMahon... He's hung around, but this was his peak. He was a journeyman and there was little room for such a person in the hit music scene of the eighties. It was all about the stars on MTV. And then grunge came along in the nineties and wiped the slate clean, there was no point of entry for acts like this.
And there still isn't. The building blocks are irrelevant. Even in hit music you can have a song that's only one chord, and this is not the breakthrough of the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows." As for those still playing rock, it's loud and bombastic, it might have more melody than hip-hop, but not much. As for the music of the eighties, they call much of it yacht rock today. Which started out as a put-down but is more and more seen as a badge of honor. Just like the Carpenters were resuscitated by the cognoscenti decades later the softer rock sound, which is often quite dynamic, is regaining credibility, hell I heard Christopher Cross's "Ride Like the Wind" the other day and it was a revelation, an incisive masterpiece outside of context, outside of his dominance decades ago.
But Christopher Cross had hits. And Gerard McMahon did not. But "The Look in Your Eyes" is a hit to me, I sing it in my mind constantly. Why? I'm not exactly sure, maybe it's the sweetness of the sound, even though it's not saccharine, it has a bit of an edge, maybe because it's something I can identify with, I'm not dangerous, I don't carry a knife, never mind a gun, I don't wear a leather jacket, I don't want to be seen as a poseur, I can only be me, someone who would take "Back in Black" and "Blue" to a desert island. And if there's a screen, I wouldn't mind having a copy of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," for the soundtrack alone.
"And like the fool that won't die
There's nothing to explain, girl there ain't no shame
When I see that look in your eyes"
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Monday 15 November 2021
Fantasy Band-Keyboard Player-This Week On SiriusXM
Who would you pick to be the keyboard player of the fantasy band?
This is not necessarily the best keyboard player, but the best keyboard player for a BAND!
Tune in tomorrow, Novemver 16th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.
Phone #: 844-6-VOLUME, 844-686-5863
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This is not necessarily the best keyboard player, but the best keyboard player for a BAND!
Tune in tomorrow, Novemver 16th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.
Phone #: 844-6-VOLUME, 844-686-5863
Twitter: @lefsetz or @siriusxmvolume/#lefsetzlive
Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: siriusxm.us/HearLefsetzLive
If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app: siriusxm.us/LefsetzLive
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Sunday 14 November 2021
Hype
You don't want to be everywhere.
Jam your product down people's throats and a few looky-loos might become aware of it, but in truth you're pissing off great swaths of the public, to your detriment. Today it's all about credibility and longevity, despite the major labels focusing on cartoons like it's still the heyday of MTV.
The truth is no one has universal market share today, and to try to force it is a fool's errand. The issue isn't so much that people don't know, but that people don't CARE! With so many opportunities that appeal to them more, they laugh and deride your endless promotion of stuff about which they care not a whit.
It's the late sixties all over again. There's a divide, just like there was with AM and FM. The Spotify Top 50 is AM, trying to appeal to the most people. But all the action is on FM, in the niches. We see demonstration of this at live shows. Guitars are dead on the Spotify Top 50, but when you go to the live show they're everywhere! People want music that speaks to them, not only generic blather with a beat that is good to dance to. Stop going for the top, because there is none and your effort to get there, the push, the hype, will work against you as opposed to for you.
You want to last.
This is a completely different paradigm from becoming a business. Selling perfume and whisky and tchotchkes, bleeding your fans dry. This is the era when music shines. The more you go inside, the bigger you'll become outside. If you're busy telling everybody how great you are all over mainstream media, if I can't click online without seeing an ad for your product, you're doing it wrong.
It's no longer the eighties. Which were a shock to those who'd lived through what had come before. Suddenly, there were no longer two scenes, maybe even three if you include late seventies disco, BUT ONE! That's right, either you were on MTV or you were marginal. We had a monoculture. But the monoculture was blown apart in the twenty first century, it's now all about the niches, to sign and promote, to want to be an act that appeals to everybody demonstrates that you either don't care about the music or you're compromised. If we hear about your lifestyle, where you were, what you did, you're doing it wrong. Then you're like a twentieth century movie star, playing a role, feeding the gossip rags.
And the truth is most people today have no idea who those faces in the gossip pages are. No way. And they don't care!
Think about that, people DON'T CARE!
Every lauded production that is a must-see is not. Today's public can miss anything. If it's any good, they'll catch up on it on demand online thereafter, but chances are if they weren't interested the first time around they're not going to bother, because they'd rather spend their time going deeper into their own interests.
If they hear it from you, you're doing it wrong. They must hear it from your fans! It must be organic. It's inherently slow. Don't be impatient, you're building a career, you're going on an adventure, you're not building a springboard to monetize elsewhere, you're a musician, exploring your art.
And a musician can be very powerful, as long as they don't abdicate their power to the machine.
Music, when done right, is truth. That's your goal. Forget the flash, forget the hype, you've got to be authentic. That's what the younger generations want most. Sure, they consume mindless crap, but some still listened to AM radio in the late sixties. Then again, many didn't have access to FM, certainly not in the car. Today everybody has access to EVERYTHING! Don't bitch about payments, just try to encourage repeats. That's where the money is, with stuff that sticks. Which now more than ever is deep, not a novelty, something that comes from the heart, a statement, not something evanescent. If you're tying in with Amazon and UPS, if your face is everywhere, the joke is on you, people are laughing behind your back.
We're proud that we're no longer a number. Today everybody is an individual and they're predisposed to not want to be a member of the horde. You try to corral them at your peril. People have to come to you.
But you must be really damn good.
Sure, once you've got traction you can focus on social media, but before that, focus on the music! Look at Facebook. Misinformation spreads virally and as many people see it, most people never ever experience it. We're not all in one big happy kumbaya tent in politics and we're not in music. As a matter of fact, you can ignore the "Billboard" charts completely. The best metric is live, tickets and grosses. But not all shows charge the same price meaning... You're on your own, buddy. It's just you. And the truth is there's a network of people hunting 24/7 for great new stuff. Believe me they'll find it if you make it. Spamming them doesn't work. Pros have their ear to the ground, they want to know what is happening. As for the industry rags, sold out to the labels, and the mainstream media, doing puff promotional pieces, ignore them completely, they're on the downward swing. Really.
It happens gradually. And then you realize how big it is.
Then again, nobody today can wait. But the truth is it takes time to develop. And talk with the icons, they always say their initial songs sucked. You've got to jump through the hoops, there are no short cuts if you want to be an artist.
But if you want to be a star... There's an entire apparatus that needs you to feed it. But they don't need you, they just need somebody, and when you stop delivering hits you're out of the news and nobody believes in you, nobody is bonded to you, you were high up the peak, now you're not even in sight of the mountain.
We're in the middle of the transition. The machine is too busy doing it the old way to recognize change. If your name is everywhere you're nowhere, remember that.
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Jam your product down people's throats and a few looky-loos might become aware of it, but in truth you're pissing off great swaths of the public, to your detriment. Today it's all about credibility and longevity, despite the major labels focusing on cartoons like it's still the heyday of MTV.
The truth is no one has universal market share today, and to try to force it is a fool's errand. The issue isn't so much that people don't know, but that people don't CARE! With so many opportunities that appeal to them more, they laugh and deride your endless promotion of stuff about which they care not a whit.
It's the late sixties all over again. There's a divide, just like there was with AM and FM. The Spotify Top 50 is AM, trying to appeal to the most people. But all the action is on FM, in the niches. We see demonstration of this at live shows. Guitars are dead on the Spotify Top 50, but when you go to the live show they're everywhere! People want music that speaks to them, not only generic blather with a beat that is good to dance to. Stop going for the top, because there is none and your effort to get there, the push, the hype, will work against you as opposed to for you.
You want to last.
This is a completely different paradigm from becoming a business. Selling perfume and whisky and tchotchkes, bleeding your fans dry. This is the era when music shines. The more you go inside, the bigger you'll become outside. If you're busy telling everybody how great you are all over mainstream media, if I can't click online without seeing an ad for your product, you're doing it wrong.
It's no longer the eighties. Which were a shock to those who'd lived through what had come before. Suddenly, there were no longer two scenes, maybe even three if you include late seventies disco, BUT ONE! That's right, either you were on MTV or you were marginal. We had a monoculture. But the monoculture was blown apart in the twenty first century, it's now all about the niches, to sign and promote, to want to be an act that appeals to everybody demonstrates that you either don't care about the music or you're compromised. If we hear about your lifestyle, where you were, what you did, you're doing it wrong. Then you're like a twentieth century movie star, playing a role, feeding the gossip rags.
And the truth is most people today have no idea who those faces in the gossip pages are. No way. And they don't care!
Think about that, people DON'T CARE!
Every lauded production that is a must-see is not. Today's public can miss anything. If it's any good, they'll catch up on it on demand online thereafter, but chances are if they weren't interested the first time around they're not going to bother, because they'd rather spend their time going deeper into their own interests.
If they hear it from you, you're doing it wrong. They must hear it from your fans! It must be organic. It's inherently slow. Don't be impatient, you're building a career, you're going on an adventure, you're not building a springboard to monetize elsewhere, you're a musician, exploring your art.
And a musician can be very powerful, as long as they don't abdicate their power to the machine.
Music, when done right, is truth. That's your goal. Forget the flash, forget the hype, you've got to be authentic. That's what the younger generations want most. Sure, they consume mindless crap, but some still listened to AM radio in the late sixties. Then again, many didn't have access to FM, certainly not in the car. Today everybody has access to EVERYTHING! Don't bitch about payments, just try to encourage repeats. That's where the money is, with stuff that sticks. Which now more than ever is deep, not a novelty, something that comes from the heart, a statement, not something evanescent. If you're tying in with Amazon and UPS, if your face is everywhere, the joke is on you, people are laughing behind your back.
We're proud that we're no longer a number. Today everybody is an individual and they're predisposed to not want to be a member of the horde. You try to corral them at your peril. People have to come to you.
But you must be really damn good.
Sure, once you've got traction you can focus on social media, but before that, focus on the music! Look at Facebook. Misinformation spreads virally and as many people see it, most people never ever experience it. We're not all in one big happy kumbaya tent in politics and we're not in music. As a matter of fact, you can ignore the "Billboard" charts completely. The best metric is live, tickets and grosses. But not all shows charge the same price meaning... You're on your own, buddy. It's just you. And the truth is there's a network of people hunting 24/7 for great new stuff. Believe me they'll find it if you make it. Spamming them doesn't work. Pros have their ear to the ground, they want to know what is happening. As for the industry rags, sold out to the labels, and the mainstream media, doing puff promotional pieces, ignore them completely, they're on the downward swing. Really.
It happens gradually. And then you realize how big it is.
Then again, nobody today can wait. But the truth is it takes time to develop. And talk with the icons, they always say their initial songs sucked. You've got to jump through the hoops, there are no short cuts if you want to be an artist.
But if you want to be a star... There's an entire apparatus that needs you to feed it. But they don't need you, they just need somebody, and when you stop delivering hits you're out of the news and nobody believes in you, nobody is bonded to you, you were high up the peak, now you're not even in sight of the mountain.
We're in the middle of the transition. The machine is too busy doing it the old way to recognize change. If your name is everywhere you're nowhere, remember that.
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Re-The Sparks Brothers Movie
Sparks are one of my favorite bands and I was so excited for this movie - saw it in the theater right when it was released. The problem was that it was just plain B-O-R-I-N-G! That was quite a feat considering how interesting of a band they are. What was the point of this project? They surely won't pick up any new fans with this; none will even make it through! And for big fans like me - we already know the albums. Going through them (all 25) one by one was torture. I wanted to know more about Russ and Ron, and had the same unanswered questions that you did.
Huge missed opportunity in my opinion.
Rich Madow
___________________________________
Really great points; even as a Sparks fan, I agree with all of them. I was disappointed with the Velvets doc for different reasons, though both had a similar "designer chips bag" quality.
Probably dating myself here, but the last two truly great rock docs I recall seeing are New York Doll and Mayor of Sunset Strip. The latter plays (more?) creepily in the wake of the Fowley business, but it's still quality film nonetheless. As is Doll, which has all the bathos and will to triumph that great artist stories are built on, plus Mormons!
It's not a rock documentary, but to me, Zwigoff's Crumb is the gold standard for capturing warts-and-all creative genius.
Good stuff,
Casey Rae
___________________________________
I gotta think the $ in the off US years was Europe & Japan. I thought it was better than the VU doc (too art monster) but the last 45 min dragged heavily.
Steve Tipp
___________________________________
now do "Annette" :)
Marius de vries
___________________________________
I've been a Sparks fan for eons... While in college I took a class in French literature...(no I'm not that smart) and required reading was the French comedy writer of the 1600's... Moliere... I connected the dots and realized that Sparks were rock and roll's answer to a French comedy.. Moliere!!! I loved the movie.. and yes it was a bit laborious at the end.. going over every album in chronological order coincides with their oddness. I thought the movie showed a great relationship of family... and that after 50 years brothers can still get along and love life..
Jeff Laufer
___________________________________
I'm a fan of Sparks so I loved it besides the director Wright being brilliant telling their story in a unique exciting way for the youth of today. At the theatre there were more kids working behind the counter asking my friends and I about the band than in the seats. Cult band that even I admit am not crazy about half the records they made. Similar to the Zappa documentary I really dug the early period. Everyone should cut it off earlier like the Zeppelin one coming out. I know there is an agenda with the Sparks legacy living on but at this point is it still really to an average movie goer or 70's/80's fan of the band ? That is the 10,000 dollar question. I think we already know the answer.
Peter Gianakopoulos
The Old School Records
___________________________________
The Sparks Brothers Movie is just way too long. With a 90 minute film you'd have got a taster and wondered how Sparks passed you by. At 140 minutes you've heard it all and are not surprised they never made it big. Edgar Wright is still a genius though. Last Night in Soho is a belter.
Andrew Harting
___________________________________
I just watched the trailer. Are you sure it's not a joke? With all those people pretending they were a big deal? (It certainly sounds like it's a joke.) I'll have to watch!
Jeffrey Ainis
___________________________________
Tell me this Bob - why should everyone else be denied the chance to see a movie on a huge theater screen, just because YOU don't want to? Millions of people still like to go to the movies. The fact you're not one of them is probably the fault of the substandard theaters in your area (and Covid), not the movie theatre industry as a whole.
A film gets a buzz out of a theatrical release that it will never get from a straight to video release.
Mike Blakesley
(A theater owner)
___________________________________
We did a sneak peek screening last June, where Chad Smith and GE Smith introduced the film. This was when nobody was going to theaters, but they came out for this.
It's a one-of-a-kind film. Especially if you fancied yourself a stay at home music historian.
D
___________________________________
I liked it but WAAAAAY too long.
Karen Bliss
___________________________________
Sparks are the future of rock. A niche act with a small but totally loyal fanbase. No piles of gold, just being able to have a modest but very lovely life playing music for decades. What more can you ask for?
Sara Joseph
___________________________________
Love your review. I actually enjoyed the movie and agree with one interviewee's view of their ability to age elegantly in the pop music business. Still, I had some carps of my own.
Though he owns up to the silliness of his literal visual, making them meta doesn't make them any less silly.
The film does address the money issue by saying that when they were flush they saved their money rather than putting it up their nose or buying flashy cars and big houses, but I too would have liked more personal background.
While I was left with admiration for their ambition, independence, and stick to it attitude, I don't find their music any more interesting than I did at the time.
Be well
Michael Ross
___________________________________
……I loved every minute of it!
Tommy Allen
___________________________________
Boy do I think you have this wrong. At first I thought this another attempt at another Spinal Tapesque movie.
But I was an avid listener at the time and I had never heard of them. The documentary was about fascinating quirkiness. It doesn't really answer any questions maybe because the point is to leave you wondering about everything.
Now that I have seen the documentary would I'd be interested if they were on your podcast? Oh yeah, they left you with hours of questions.
Marc Menchel
___________________________________
The Sparks Brother movie is the prequel to Annette by Leos Carax. When watched one after the other it makes both movies better.
Mathieu-Gilles-Lanciault
___________________________________
You ask the same questions I do. How do they exist when they don't have jobs? And nothing about their personal lives. I watched out of curiosity because I first became aware of them via the Rollercoaster film. And Paul McCartney imitation of Ron in the Coming Up video.
They're a total cult band.
Peace
Tim Clary
P.S. And you're right about it being on Netflix. I had no idea either.
___________________________________
Loathe them more than Helen Reddy .... stay bright, Andrew Loog Oldham
___________________________________
You have asked the ultimate question, everyone wonders. "How do/did you survive"? That would be a documentary. Bands/artists work hard to have that moment, that success continuing success (Cash Flow) for most it never happens. It's the elephant room. It goes against the rock star image the fans want. A day job is too normal not cool. Fans don't want to see "Rock Stars current or past" bagging Groceries or selling you life insurance. Better staring in a documentary.
You never said the run time of the film. By your review, it sounds like Gone with The Wind/ Another Peter Jackson Trilogy or at feels like it. I will go see it and drink coffee before I attend just in case.
Dave May
___________________________________
Hey Bob - I really enjoyed the Sparks movie! Yeah, it's a bit completist and longer than it needs to be, but I had never really got Sparks' music, and after seeing this, I picked up a couple of their albums, including a triple vinyl best of, that really covers all the bases. I thought the fact that it covered every album was part of the neurotically humorous charm - I mean, The Bee Gees doc skipped their Sgt. Pepper disaster, instead blaming racism against disco for their career receding in the '80s, when I would argue overexposure combined with a couple questionable career decisions were to blame.
Jim McGuinn
___________________________________
thanks for the review but i respectfully disagree, in a big way.
in spite of being a former professional musician (who quit due to financial non success), a big music fan and having worked for a BMG affiliate early in my career, I had never heard of Sparks.
i watched at the recomendation of a data scientist music loving colleague.
This is the best music doc i have ever seen. i was absolutely riveted for the entire movie.
I too wondered how the band survived financially, but honestly it's non of my business- the fact
is they somehow afforded to make such amazing art for 20+ albums, and the art is what i wanted to learn about. not if a rich uncle left them money to live or if they invested in apple and that funded their band.
i don't actually like a lot of their songs, but i respect the hell out of their ability to never stop making music that they wanted to make. ANd, the movie shows they beautifully.
thank you for reading.
Peter Oriol
___________________________________
I never heard of them.
Mike Donahue
___________________________________
Gary Stewart was my first boss when I got out of college. I worked at Rhino from 1982-1984. Gary did try to recruit me into the Sparks fandom, but it was not my thing. I watched this documentary and had a flood of emotions watching my earliest mentor wax poetic on a band I never really understood. I went to nearly every "Losers Christmas Party" Gary threw. The last one I clearly remember the Mael brothers standing 3 feet away from me talking to mutual friends. I have never been a fan of the band, but any friends of Gary's...
Marc Platt
Radio Candy
Los Angeles, California
___________________________________
One glaring question remains unanswered by this film......
Why do people keep giving these guys RECORD DEALS!?
Their early work, as technically proficient as it is, is just too campy..It's like they heard "Sweet Transvestite", and said, " Yeah! Let's base a career around THAT!"..
The guy is singing out of his range, and it sounds strained and unpleasant..The piano playing is fluent, but unfocused..
Their 80s records are not bad..The synth work is tasteful, and the vocals are palatable..They should've cracked the code and been MTV stars..The hooks just weren't there..
But their biggest claim to fame was always, and always WILL be the keyboard player's onstage schtick..
I was kinda' hoping to discover some cool older tunes to dive into..NOT!
James Spencer
___________________________________
Despite being big in Britain I'd never taken any notice of them Bob - I viewed This Town Ain't Big Enough... as a gimmick single, but after reading your review I decided to spin
a few later live vids on youtube and was pleasantly surprised - this performance with the excellent Catherine Ringer is great, but others without her are too + the audiences
are really pumped.
Singing in the Shower
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqhEvPGdv4Q.
regards
Linden Coll
___________________________________
Great review, spot on. You put into words what I could not.
A podcast episode would be phenomenal. Please do find out how they paid/pay the bills! And are they married? Do they have kids? Where do they live? Do they own or rent?
The doc was made by self-described 'fanboy' Edgar Wright and lacked anything critical. Even when talking about booting out band members they then cut to the members themselves who talked about how it's just fine and made sense and how they have no resentment?!? That is not what we want and c'mon!
Thanks
Josh Feingold
___________________________________
i was a fan since hearing 'Big Boy' in 'Rollercoaster'. this 'docu' comes out and they tour. tix here in dc are $100. pass.
Gary W. Mendel
___________________________________
When I was in High School, or maybe College, The only thing I knew about Sparks was seeing the adds for
Propaganda on our local tv channels. I thought it was odd since these were adds on our local stations and not on the networks.
A Friend of mine is a Sparks fan and asked me to go and see the documentary with him.
I did think it was a bit odd that there wasn't much personal info about their lives. I also thought the movie could have been at least 45 Minutes shorter, or they could have given us mor info about their lives etc.
I did find some of their music to be interesting and certainly well done.
Bill from MN.
___________________________________
And the moral of this story is.. we older gentlemen have no business watching the 150 minute Sparks doc on a lovely fall afternoon. Life is now officially too short. Pretty sure you wouldn't have overlayed your career in music onto your review if, perhaps, you settled into your sofa late in the evening, with this doc being the cherry on top of a satisfying day. Angles, perspective, mindset. As every storyteller has muttered, '...you shoulda been there...'
Nick Brokenshire
___________________________________
After twenty -five albums that were released during my most inquisitive period, I can't name ONE tune of theirs off the top of my head. They did help rehabilitate the Hitler look. They had a gimmick that didn't sustain as far as I'm concerned
Ralph Spillenger
___________________________________
While I knew the name, I couldn't remember any of the music but I enjoyed the Sparks doc…but I love all music docs for the most part. I couldn't however get through the one on The Bee Gees
Kenneth Williams
___________________________________
Agree with you about the movie Bob. And I hope you do get them for a Podcast: that would be fun and we might get a few of these interesting questions answered. (I know you'll get them asked.)
But I wanted to make a couple observations:
What's hard to communicate — even in a hagiography as thorough and committed as The Spark Brothers — is just how great their best stuff is.
From many years of reading your letter, I think I've twigged your preference for honesty in songwriting, and for plain-spoken poetry about the struggle of living, loving, and loss.
I think Sparks come from a different place altogether — essentially, the opposite end of the spectrum. They're never about a one to one connection to the listener. For Ron (I think), that's too much.
Instead, Sparks are about the group. Songs as secret messages sent out to those who will get them — and, as they have developed their art — do the work to get them. Yes, you're absolutely right the movie is a fans-only vehicle. But in that regard it is fully in step with everything they've ever done. I think the biggest problem with it is the way it exposed how desperately they (or the director, at least) want(s) them to be loved.
That's a card they've never shown before. And I find myself wishing they hadn't.
But no movie or overly-fond review can ever reduce their peak achievements. Kimono My House, for my tribe anyway, was a portal to a completely different world, one where we absolutely belonged.
Like Bowie's best stuff, it provided a kind of beacon. Always will, I imagine. Netflix clunker or no….
Steven Lindstrom
___________________________________
It's Amazing how two people can watch the exact same film
and have a COMPLETELY different experience
I'm Not an Uber Fan
But I would say the Sparks brothers are not a band
The Sparks brothers are not even a duo
They are an Melodically Infused enigma
That is a wonderful representation
and extension of the eclectic artistic nature
that expresses its self regardless of that Super Stardom's Missing ingredient
and that's what this movie celebrates
Not pop hits
not a competition
to try to be the most successful act of all time
They were/are focused on creating their melodic flamboyancies
How refreshing to watch a doc
not dripping in gooey gossip
which I know
The Alanis Morissette doc will certainly take care of ALL of that!
How refreshing to see two brothers
that don't spend their time fighting and breaking up.
One of the more bonded creative brother connections in music history
the end
But I digress
The movie actually does answer the questions you're asking
how did they live?
how did they survive ?
they continued to create regardless if they had distribution
The continuous exploration of artistic expression that has thrilled hundreds of thousands of people around the world ??!
May there be more Sparks Brothers
Morley Bartnoff
___________________________________
I don't know if I'm moved to watch the doc now, or to completely shelve it. I'm leaning towards intrigue. I'll be revealing here, when I saw the promos and music friends post about Sparks, I was like, "Who?". Not familiar at all. The slick produced promos made me question myself, 'how could you miss this music phenomenon?'. After reading your review, I don't feel so bad. Not to take away from Sparks notoriety and success, I just felt I missed something in my music timeline. Especially with all these ones in the music industry that I'm fully aware of singing Sparks praise of influence. I guess I'll watch it.
Alex Hart
___________________________________
I think Sparks are an extremely rare example of Musician's who didn't get caught up in excesses. Which in someways makes them all the more eccentric. And when they had an influx of cash (cuz they have had some hits in different spots of the globe) made a few small, wise real estate investments,.. most likely in the 1970's/80's. They've worked with a very small team of people at least since I've known them starting around '03 and they're not afraid to do much of the heavy lifting themselves, having self recorded most of their records in the past 20 years.
They have stayed married to their craft. They are consistent and persistent. Hard to fathom in the world of impatient dreamers we inhabit.
They've done it this way and have continued to make it work. In fact their most recent record went top 5 (I believe?) in the UK. And right now are perhaps enjoying their greatest period public acceptance, in the US. Their 2 shows at the prestigious Disney theatre in Los Angeles this coming February have been sold out for months.
From what I've read of your letter, you mostly write about big mainstream players. You talk about artist's cultural relevance and industry matters like how Taylor Swift's business decisions might set trends moving forward, and what have you. Making predictions for us folks trying to squeeze a living out of this here racket. A super valid role to play in this crazy speculative thing we're all in on.
And their story doesn't exist completely outside of that stuff,… but in many ways it is independent of it. I get the sense though all you really want to know is "who's really paying for this?" Like they secretly have the same sugar daddy that pays for Angeline's billboards.
I think they've done it their own way, and they deserve praise for it. Maybe they haven't made a whole bunch of industry types rich,.. but they probably have made a smart publisher a few bones, as they've slowly amassed an impressive catalog of GREAT SONGS that make thousands around the globe really happy. I'm proud to say I got to witness this close up playing bass for them for 5 years from 2004-2009.
So yeah I'm biased, you can discount what I have to say. But I think you should reconsider why their story is unique, important and yes even for those who mostly pedal in mainstream players, RELEVANT.
Much love to ya Bob,
Steven McDonald
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Huge missed opportunity in my opinion.
Rich Madow
___________________________________
Really great points; even as a Sparks fan, I agree with all of them. I was disappointed with the Velvets doc for different reasons, though both had a similar "designer chips bag" quality.
Probably dating myself here, but the last two truly great rock docs I recall seeing are New York Doll and Mayor of Sunset Strip. The latter plays (more?) creepily in the wake of the Fowley business, but it's still quality film nonetheless. As is Doll, which has all the bathos and will to triumph that great artist stories are built on, plus Mormons!
It's not a rock documentary, but to me, Zwigoff's Crumb is the gold standard for capturing warts-and-all creative genius.
Good stuff,
Casey Rae
___________________________________
I gotta think the $ in the off US years was Europe & Japan. I thought it was better than the VU doc (too art monster) but the last 45 min dragged heavily.
Steve Tipp
___________________________________
now do "Annette" :)
Marius de vries
___________________________________
I've been a Sparks fan for eons... While in college I took a class in French literature...(no I'm not that smart) and required reading was the French comedy writer of the 1600's... Moliere... I connected the dots and realized that Sparks were rock and roll's answer to a French comedy.. Moliere!!! I loved the movie.. and yes it was a bit laborious at the end.. going over every album in chronological order coincides with their oddness. I thought the movie showed a great relationship of family... and that after 50 years brothers can still get along and love life..
Jeff Laufer
___________________________________
I'm a fan of Sparks so I loved it besides the director Wright being brilliant telling their story in a unique exciting way for the youth of today. At the theatre there were more kids working behind the counter asking my friends and I about the band than in the seats. Cult band that even I admit am not crazy about half the records they made. Similar to the Zappa documentary I really dug the early period. Everyone should cut it off earlier like the Zeppelin one coming out. I know there is an agenda with the Sparks legacy living on but at this point is it still really to an average movie goer or 70's/80's fan of the band ? That is the 10,000 dollar question. I think we already know the answer.
Peter Gianakopoulos
The Old School Records
___________________________________
The Sparks Brothers Movie is just way too long. With a 90 minute film you'd have got a taster and wondered how Sparks passed you by. At 140 minutes you've heard it all and are not surprised they never made it big. Edgar Wright is still a genius though. Last Night in Soho is a belter.
Andrew Harting
___________________________________
I just watched the trailer. Are you sure it's not a joke? With all those people pretending they were a big deal? (It certainly sounds like it's a joke.) I'll have to watch!
Jeffrey Ainis
___________________________________
Tell me this Bob - why should everyone else be denied the chance to see a movie on a huge theater screen, just because YOU don't want to? Millions of people still like to go to the movies. The fact you're not one of them is probably the fault of the substandard theaters in your area (and Covid), not the movie theatre industry as a whole.
A film gets a buzz out of a theatrical release that it will never get from a straight to video release.
Mike Blakesley
(A theater owner)
___________________________________
We did a sneak peek screening last June, where Chad Smith and GE Smith introduced the film. This was when nobody was going to theaters, but they came out for this.
It's a one-of-a-kind film. Especially if you fancied yourself a stay at home music historian.
D
___________________________________
I liked it but WAAAAAY too long.
Karen Bliss
___________________________________
Sparks are the future of rock. A niche act with a small but totally loyal fanbase. No piles of gold, just being able to have a modest but very lovely life playing music for decades. What more can you ask for?
Sara Joseph
___________________________________
Love your review. I actually enjoyed the movie and agree with one interviewee's view of their ability to age elegantly in the pop music business. Still, I had some carps of my own.
Though he owns up to the silliness of his literal visual, making them meta doesn't make them any less silly.
The film does address the money issue by saying that when they were flush they saved their money rather than putting it up their nose or buying flashy cars and big houses, but I too would have liked more personal background.
While I was left with admiration for their ambition, independence, and stick to it attitude, I don't find their music any more interesting than I did at the time.
Be well
Michael Ross
___________________________________
……I loved every minute of it!
Tommy Allen
___________________________________
Boy do I think you have this wrong. At first I thought this another attempt at another Spinal Tapesque movie.
But I was an avid listener at the time and I had never heard of them. The documentary was about fascinating quirkiness. It doesn't really answer any questions maybe because the point is to leave you wondering about everything.
Now that I have seen the documentary would I'd be interested if they were on your podcast? Oh yeah, they left you with hours of questions.
Marc Menchel
___________________________________
The Sparks Brother movie is the prequel to Annette by Leos Carax. When watched one after the other it makes both movies better.
Mathieu-Gilles-Lanciault
___________________________________
You ask the same questions I do. How do they exist when they don't have jobs? And nothing about their personal lives. I watched out of curiosity because I first became aware of them via the Rollercoaster film. And Paul McCartney imitation of Ron in the Coming Up video.
They're a total cult band.
Peace
Tim Clary
P.S. And you're right about it being on Netflix. I had no idea either.
___________________________________
Loathe them more than Helen Reddy .... stay bright, Andrew Loog Oldham
___________________________________
You have asked the ultimate question, everyone wonders. "How do/did you survive"? That would be a documentary. Bands/artists work hard to have that moment, that success continuing success (Cash Flow) for most it never happens. It's the elephant room. It goes against the rock star image the fans want. A day job is too normal not cool. Fans don't want to see "Rock Stars current or past" bagging Groceries or selling you life insurance. Better staring in a documentary.
You never said the run time of the film. By your review, it sounds like Gone with The Wind/ Another Peter Jackson Trilogy or at feels like it. I will go see it and drink coffee before I attend just in case.
Dave May
___________________________________
Hey Bob - I really enjoyed the Sparks movie! Yeah, it's a bit completist and longer than it needs to be, but I had never really got Sparks' music, and after seeing this, I picked up a couple of their albums, including a triple vinyl best of, that really covers all the bases. I thought the fact that it covered every album was part of the neurotically humorous charm - I mean, The Bee Gees doc skipped their Sgt. Pepper disaster, instead blaming racism against disco for their career receding in the '80s, when I would argue overexposure combined with a couple questionable career decisions were to blame.
Jim McGuinn
___________________________________
thanks for the review but i respectfully disagree, in a big way.
in spite of being a former professional musician (who quit due to financial non success), a big music fan and having worked for a BMG affiliate early in my career, I had never heard of Sparks.
i watched at the recomendation of a data scientist music loving colleague.
This is the best music doc i have ever seen. i was absolutely riveted for the entire movie.
I too wondered how the band survived financially, but honestly it's non of my business- the fact
is they somehow afforded to make such amazing art for 20+ albums, and the art is what i wanted to learn about. not if a rich uncle left them money to live or if they invested in apple and that funded their band.
i don't actually like a lot of their songs, but i respect the hell out of their ability to never stop making music that they wanted to make. ANd, the movie shows they beautifully.
thank you for reading.
Peter Oriol
___________________________________
I never heard of them.
Mike Donahue
___________________________________
Gary Stewart was my first boss when I got out of college. I worked at Rhino from 1982-1984. Gary did try to recruit me into the Sparks fandom, but it was not my thing. I watched this documentary and had a flood of emotions watching my earliest mentor wax poetic on a band I never really understood. I went to nearly every "Losers Christmas Party" Gary threw. The last one I clearly remember the Mael brothers standing 3 feet away from me talking to mutual friends. I have never been a fan of the band, but any friends of Gary's...
Marc Platt
Radio Candy
Los Angeles, California
___________________________________
One glaring question remains unanswered by this film......
Why do people keep giving these guys RECORD DEALS!?
Their early work, as technically proficient as it is, is just too campy..It's like they heard "Sweet Transvestite", and said, " Yeah! Let's base a career around THAT!"..
The guy is singing out of his range, and it sounds strained and unpleasant..The piano playing is fluent, but unfocused..
Their 80s records are not bad..The synth work is tasteful, and the vocals are palatable..They should've cracked the code and been MTV stars..The hooks just weren't there..
But their biggest claim to fame was always, and always WILL be the keyboard player's onstage schtick..
I was kinda' hoping to discover some cool older tunes to dive into..NOT!
James Spencer
___________________________________
Despite being big in Britain I'd never taken any notice of them Bob - I viewed This Town Ain't Big Enough... as a gimmick single, but after reading your review I decided to spin
a few later live vids on youtube and was pleasantly surprised - this performance with the excellent Catherine Ringer is great, but others without her are too + the audiences
are really pumped.
Singing in the Shower
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqhEvPGdv4Q.
regards
Linden Coll
___________________________________
Great review, spot on. You put into words what I could not.
A podcast episode would be phenomenal. Please do find out how they paid/pay the bills! And are they married? Do they have kids? Where do they live? Do they own or rent?
The doc was made by self-described 'fanboy' Edgar Wright and lacked anything critical. Even when talking about booting out band members they then cut to the members themselves who talked about how it's just fine and made sense and how they have no resentment?!? That is not what we want and c'mon!
Thanks
Josh Feingold
___________________________________
i was a fan since hearing 'Big Boy' in 'Rollercoaster'. this 'docu' comes out and they tour. tix here in dc are $100. pass.
Gary W. Mendel
___________________________________
When I was in High School, or maybe College, The only thing I knew about Sparks was seeing the adds for
Propaganda on our local tv channels. I thought it was odd since these were adds on our local stations and not on the networks.
A Friend of mine is a Sparks fan and asked me to go and see the documentary with him.
I did think it was a bit odd that there wasn't much personal info about their lives. I also thought the movie could have been at least 45 Minutes shorter, or they could have given us mor info about their lives etc.
I did find some of their music to be interesting and certainly well done.
Bill from MN.
___________________________________
And the moral of this story is.. we older gentlemen have no business watching the 150 minute Sparks doc on a lovely fall afternoon. Life is now officially too short. Pretty sure you wouldn't have overlayed your career in music onto your review if, perhaps, you settled into your sofa late in the evening, with this doc being the cherry on top of a satisfying day. Angles, perspective, mindset. As every storyteller has muttered, '...you shoulda been there...'
Nick Brokenshire
___________________________________
After twenty -five albums that were released during my most inquisitive period, I can't name ONE tune of theirs off the top of my head. They did help rehabilitate the Hitler look. They had a gimmick that didn't sustain as far as I'm concerned
Ralph Spillenger
___________________________________
While I knew the name, I couldn't remember any of the music but I enjoyed the Sparks doc…but I love all music docs for the most part. I couldn't however get through the one on The Bee Gees
Kenneth Williams
___________________________________
Agree with you about the movie Bob. And I hope you do get them for a Podcast: that would be fun and we might get a few of these interesting questions answered. (I know you'll get them asked.)
But I wanted to make a couple observations:
What's hard to communicate — even in a hagiography as thorough and committed as The Spark Brothers — is just how great their best stuff is.
From many years of reading your letter, I think I've twigged your preference for honesty in songwriting, and for plain-spoken poetry about the struggle of living, loving, and loss.
I think Sparks come from a different place altogether — essentially, the opposite end of the spectrum. They're never about a one to one connection to the listener. For Ron (I think), that's too much.
Instead, Sparks are about the group. Songs as secret messages sent out to those who will get them — and, as they have developed their art — do the work to get them. Yes, you're absolutely right the movie is a fans-only vehicle. But in that regard it is fully in step with everything they've ever done. I think the biggest problem with it is the way it exposed how desperately they (or the director, at least) want(s) them to be loved.
That's a card they've never shown before. And I find myself wishing they hadn't.
But no movie or overly-fond review can ever reduce their peak achievements. Kimono My House, for my tribe anyway, was a portal to a completely different world, one where we absolutely belonged.
Like Bowie's best stuff, it provided a kind of beacon. Always will, I imagine. Netflix clunker or no….
Steven Lindstrom
___________________________________
It's Amazing how two people can watch the exact same film
and have a COMPLETELY different experience
I'm Not an Uber Fan
But I would say the Sparks brothers are not a band
The Sparks brothers are not even a duo
They are an Melodically Infused enigma
That is a wonderful representation
and extension of the eclectic artistic nature
that expresses its self regardless of that Super Stardom's Missing ingredient
and that's what this movie celebrates
Not pop hits
not a competition
to try to be the most successful act of all time
They were/are focused on creating their melodic flamboyancies
How refreshing to watch a doc
not dripping in gooey gossip
which I know
The Alanis Morissette doc will certainly take care of ALL of that!
How refreshing to see two brothers
that don't spend their time fighting and breaking up.
One of the more bonded creative brother connections in music history
the end
But I digress
The movie actually does answer the questions you're asking
how did they live?
how did they survive ?
they continued to create regardless if they had distribution
The continuous exploration of artistic expression that has thrilled hundreds of thousands of people around the world ??!
May there be more Sparks Brothers
Morley Bartnoff
___________________________________
I don't know if I'm moved to watch the doc now, or to completely shelve it. I'm leaning towards intrigue. I'll be revealing here, when I saw the promos and music friends post about Sparks, I was like, "Who?". Not familiar at all. The slick produced promos made me question myself, 'how could you miss this music phenomenon?'. After reading your review, I don't feel so bad. Not to take away from Sparks notoriety and success, I just felt I missed something in my music timeline. Especially with all these ones in the music industry that I'm fully aware of singing Sparks praise of influence. I guess I'll watch it.
Alex Hart
___________________________________
I think Sparks are an extremely rare example of Musician's who didn't get caught up in excesses. Which in someways makes them all the more eccentric. And when they had an influx of cash (cuz they have had some hits in different spots of the globe) made a few small, wise real estate investments,.. most likely in the 1970's/80's. They've worked with a very small team of people at least since I've known them starting around '03 and they're not afraid to do much of the heavy lifting themselves, having self recorded most of their records in the past 20 years.
They have stayed married to their craft. They are consistent and persistent. Hard to fathom in the world of impatient dreamers we inhabit.
They've done it this way and have continued to make it work. In fact their most recent record went top 5 (I believe?) in the UK. And right now are perhaps enjoying their greatest period public acceptance, in the US. Their 2 shows at the prestigious Disney theatre in Los Angeles this coming February have been sold out for months.
From what I've read of your letter, you mostly write about big mainstream players. You talk about artist's cultural relevance and industry matters like how Taylor Swift's business decisions might set trends moving forward, and what have you. Making predictions for us folks trying to squeeze a living out of this here racket. A super valid role to play in this crazy speculative thing we're all in on.
And their story doesn't exist completely outside of that stuff,… but in many ways it is independent of it. I get the sense though all you really want to know is "who's really paying for this?" Like they secretly have the same sugar daddy that pays for Angeline's billboards.
I think they've done it their own way, and they deserve praise for it. Maybe they haven't made a whole bunch of industry types rich,.. but they probably have made a smart publisher a few bones, as they've slowly amassed an impressive catalog of GREAT SONGS that make thousands around the globe really happy. I'm proud to say I got to witness this close up playing bass for them for 5 years from 2004-2009.
So yeah I'm biased, you can discount what I have to say. But I think you should reconsider why their story is unique, important and yes even for those who mostly pedal in mainstream players, RELEVANT.
Much love to ya Bob,
Steven McDonald
--
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--
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