The new Sparks album does a great job of unifying the
Lil' Beethoven approach with some of the sounds of
their past.  As I note in my Fufkin review,
"Waterproof" sounds like it could have come off of
Indiscreet.  And listening to the incredible closer,
"As I Sit Down to Play My Organ at the Notre Dame
Catherdral", the band is as unique and strange as they
were back when Halfnelson came out in 1972.  It's a
remarkable achievement.

Mike Bennett

--- Jim Kosmicki <jkosmicki@cccneb.edu> wrote:

> In The Red Records just put up Sparks' latest "Hello
> Young Lovers."  And
> it's a great album. The Maels take the
> experimentation of "Li'l
> Beethoven" and put it to use on songs that are miles
> above what most pop
> bands could even conceive of, much less successfully
> create.  "Li'l
> Beethoven" took several listens before what the
> Maels were going for
> sunk in. This one works on first listen. Fascinating
> as always.
> 
> A recent discovery is the latest from Get Set Go. I
> had never heard
> their first album (still haven't), but the reviews
> that I've found of
> their newest disc "Ordinary World" indicates that
> the leader of the
> group, Mike TV (love that name), has had a rough few
> years and basically
> worked his therapy through his lyrics. This makes a
> lot of sense, as
> these are dark, mean lyrics about suicide, evil,
> armageddon, etc.  But
> they are supported by lively, joyful music.  It's
> primarily acoustic
> guitar with string backing when appropriate. The
> disconnect between the
> music and the lyrics gives the whole work a positive
> feel while dealing
> with some powerfully negative emotions.  You get the
> sense that Mike TV
> has clearly wrestled with some demons, but the music
> has helped him get
> on the right side of the problems.
> I first heard part of the track "I Hate Everybody"
> on Grey's Anatomy
> several weeks ago and searched it out. But what I
> found has been so much
> more than what I hoped to find based on that one
> little sound bite.
> 
> 2006 will have to be a damn excellent year for music
> for these two
> albums to not make the upper reaches of my year-end
> best of list.
> 
> 
> 


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