SPARKS

St. Monicant · Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2004 12:45 pm Post subject:

The irrelevance of your taste has been pretty well established, but let me emphasize yet again how appallingly gauche your preferences are--

You like Interior Design, yet believe Whomp That Sucker to be a "dreadful" album?

Seriously--you're beyond the reach of subjective excuses. I'm dead drunk at the moment, on no sleep, and...you can guess the rest.

As far as your 'poll' goes --

--"can't decide"?

What the hell is the point of a poll if you're going to include what is essentially a non-vote?

How a deadwit like you ever discovered the magic of Sparks is beyond me.

Marlowe

Twinspark · Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2004 2:29 pm Post subject:

Sorry, but no.
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Ian Beach · Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2004 2:52 pm Post subject:

At the time I liked most of it. Stand out tracks for me: 'Just got back from heaven, 'Toughest girl in town & 'Stop me if ...

Now it sounds rather lame to me & I very rarely play it.

A good producer might have really lifted it. I thought the album had a potential hit or two on it, the tunes are at least catchy, some a little irritating? Perhaps the Maels coulden't afford a producer or probably wanted to do it ' My way'. (i.e ruin good ideas :wink: )

Eric · Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2004 4:42 pm Post subject:

Right, we all expected champagne but it never did come.

Seriously, it's hard to find a Sparks album that's weak from a lyrical point of view, and ID has its great moments as well. Maybe not quite as witty as many other albums. Some of the albums made during their second "American period", such as ID, have a hard time being considered classics (afterall the competition is fierce), we all know. Anyways, a walk down memory lane is a favorite of mine..

cactusboy · Groupie Joined: 19 Jul 2002 Posts: 228

I dont think another producer would have made a difference in the sound.. maybe in song selection etc.. they werent breaking any new ground with this one.. that is its main fault.. but it was a good sparks record at the time.. Madonna could have been a big novelty hit if it was heard .. So IMportant was very catchy.. sounded a bit like the Hamm's beer TV commercial jingle. Not every sparks record was a classic...
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tsrorexx2 · Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2004 7:18 pm Post subject:

I was working at a small record shop in Roseville, CA when Interior Design was released. I was enthusiastic that Sparks had something new out, particularly because I was still relatively "new" to Sparks (Outer Space and crunching Tab cans was my first exposure). A band that could write material with wit and charm and carry a tune (unlike a lot of the punk I was listening to back then) was a big bonus in my mind. So I played Interior Design often when it was my turn to play something over the store speakers. The general reaction of the customer was "WTF are you listening to?" but I think I actually moved all of two CDs out the door with customers intrigued enough to purchase the album. Oh, and an LP. :wink: At the time the album was great. Time has not fared well with Interior Design in my mind. I think the puce CD paint finally took it's toll on me. Or I finally tracked down Sparks' '70's material on disc. ::shrugs::

Having Sparks on Squishy (my iPod) has allowed me to listen to Interior Design tracks in a vacuum of sorts. Well, at least as far as my ecclectic music taste will contrast. Going from a Hawkwind song to "Just Got Back From Heaven" will make me appreciate hearing a Sparks song. Going from "Tryouts For the Human Race" to "Love-O-Rama" may make me flinch. It's all relative.

"So Important", "Lots of Reasons" and "Madonna" are my favourites from this LP but as far as being a Sparks album, Interior Design ranks near/at the bottom.

A year later, both of those Sparks Interior Design CDs were in the used CD bins. Along with a copy of Music You Can Dance To (Best Of I think it is called, actually. What's up with that title?). But that was about it for Sparks CDs back then, at least domestically (USofA).

~~~Rexx
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Orange Sound · Certified Fan Joined: 31 Jul 2003 Posts: 95 Location: U.K.

I think that the track "The toughest girl in town" on Interior Design is wonderful. It puts me in mind of one of the posters to this thread, namely St. Monicant (who am I assuming is a female based on that ice-queen logo thing she uses). Almost every one of her postings is dripping with bile and contempt for the rest of us. :x

Girl From Glastonbury · Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2004 5:51 pm Post subject: Interior design.../

When Interior Design came out I was convinced that Sparks were a) Dead or b) in prison: it was such a horrible album ( the album of love songs that Ron swore they would never produce). Also, they did not appear on the cover....was this their Abbey Road?????No pictures of Russell barefoot on a zebra crossing (do you have zebras crossing in California?) but just horrible, horrible music - so horrible I thought someone else must have written it! 8O
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Girl From Glastonbury · Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2004 5:56 pm Post subject: Interior design

8O P.S. why do you all have it in for St. M.? Male, female, or in between, St. M. is obviously intelligent, witty and opinionated - the purrrfect Sparks fan. Go Marlowe!!! :D
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You see a peanut, and the day's off to a good start. You witness some soil, and it's a jamboree.....

St. Monicant

I raise a pint to my Celtic ally...

Marlowe

Ian Beach · Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2004 11:17 pm Post subject:

Marlowes making himself unpopular by insulting people.

sparkette · Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2004 11:47 pm Post subject: Why sure!

Considering that "The thoughest girl in town" is one of my theme songs, I have to say I do like this album.

And what more could anyone ask from humor musically than "So Important"? Let's face it, the song goes on about how important this person is to them that they would do almost anything - "right now". Those two words sum up the humor - you are so important "right now". So tomorrow you may be unimportant. I find humor in that, because of the truth it reveals of a ceratin kind of person. True that truth is sad, but it's funny Sparks would make it so obvious in a song.

Twinspark · Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2004 5:11 am Post subject:

A few years ago I found a cd made in Holland about Sparks called "The Sparks Gold" and it contains the whole Interior Design LP and it has a really cute photo on the cover. (Russell wearing handgloves and a shawl and he looks so mysterious^^). This album just sounds to normal for me.
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St. Monicant · Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2004 10:15 pm Post subject: Popularity

How, exactly, can we quantify "popularity" in this forum?

Popularity's a great conceit for the insecure--that's about the limit of its' value, however.

I tend to find gross lapses in judgement, shameless banality, and language-mangling insulting; incisive critical observations don't bother me, for some reason. Maybe I'm a terrible snob. Hope so.

Marlowe

Orange Sound · Certified Fan Joined: 31 Jul 2003 Posts: 95 Location: U.K.

SOLDAT · Power Groupie Joined: 28 Oct 2003 Posts: 433

can't decide, i have not listen the album
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St. Monicant · Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2004 8:56 pm Post subject:

Believe me, Orange, the error was intentional.

If only the same could be said for you. :)

Marlowe

Orange Sound · Certified Fan Joined: 31 Jul 2003 Posts: 95 Location: U.K.

Martin Truksa · Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2004 1:35 pm Post subject:

P.S. What has this got to do with Interior Design ???