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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "David Bash" <bashpop@earthlink.net> |
| Subject | Introducing Sparks-Repeat The Hook Line Over And Over |
| Date | Sat, 1 Dec 2007 16:10:52 -0800 |
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Yesterday I bought a copy of the reissue of the Sparks album from 1977,
Introducing Sparks. It's a great album, arguably their most accessible (of
the '70s, anyway) and my second favorite (Propaganda). I was a bit
disappointed in the sound-was it mastered from vinyl? Mike Bennett, if you
have any info on this, please chime in.
But my main purpose of this post was to discuss what I think is a lost art
in pop songwriting today: as Tommy Marolda succinctly put it on the first
Toms album, to "repeat the hook line over and over" in the refrain. This
was definitely a hallmark of Sparks songs of the '70s, and never is it more
evident than on Introducing Sparks. I know they were hardly the only band
who did that, as '60s and '70s Top 40 radio was heavy laden with songs using
that approach, but these days you don't seem to hear it very much. Today
bands will sing a hook line, repeat it once (maybe twice if you're lucky),
and you'll almost never hear a refrain with a hook repeating for 30-60
seconds or so. Even some of the catchiest stuff of today just doesn't do
that.
I honestly can't think of any current songs off the top of my head that
repeat the hook line ad infinitum. Do people agree it's a lost art? What
songs of today can you think of that do this.
--
Those Mysteries Rules!!!!!
Take Care,
David (who wishes he could see those Sparks "album" shows in London next
year!!!!
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