Remember what I said here about Warren Ellis?
Truly I am psychic, if one defines “psychic” as “the ability to predict the obvious and inevitable.” However, my geek cred is shredded for I’ve somehow managed to not read these two properties. I guess it’s time for a trip to Tate’s.
This all is bringing to mind Sparks‘ song “I Predict” which mocks the vague predictions of tabloid psychics, ending with the prediction that “this song will fade out.” (Spoiler: it does not.) Check it:
To know Sparks is to love them, as the oodles of new wave / geek rock they’ve inspired in the past 30 years shows. Some of their 70’s albums contain the best 80’s songs you’ve never heard. And yes, that makes sense. Like They Might Be Giants? Listen to what they were listening to as kids. Hate They Might Be Giants? So does my wife, and yet she digs Sparks.
Listen to this song about Ron Mael’s moustache (Ron writes all of the songs. His brother Russell sings):
The best bit is that Sparks has never gone away. A new album appears every couple of years, thanks largely to their popularity in the U.K. where they just finished up a run of 21 shows in a row – one for each album – leading up to their latest release.
Here’s a more recent track:
I’ll end this link-heavy fan rant with possibly my favorite of their recent tunes. It’s mainly made up of the the same refrain repeated over and over – “My baby’s taking me home.” But the music goes through a variation of the classic “5 Stages of Grief” and a lot of meaning is wrung out of those five words. Is the singer dying? Being released from prison? Home from Iraq? Who knows?
These tracks are just a taste. Throughout their career they’ve explored nearly every style of music, and even put out an album entirely dedicated to covering their own songs. There was a terrific greatest hits collection that is sadly now out of print. If you see it used – buy it. But in the meanwhile most everything else is available on iTunes and elsewhere. And you can check out YouTube for a ton of additional clips.