All You Ever Think About Is Sparks

Episode 53: Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat (part three)

Monte and John Ashdown join me for the second part of our pow-wow about Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat. Hear them spins yarns of hipper times, better dance clubs, cheaper beer, and young love! Always fascinating to hear what being a Sparks fan was like in 1984, from both sides of the Atlantic.
Monte's YouTube channel Sparks: Entertainment and Art continues to be THE premiere Arts and Crafts Spectacular as pertains all things Sparks! Check it out here!
Meanwhile, John's alter ego Christ on a Bike has new beats to drop, but it all goes down like comfort food. Check out his album Child's Play 3 (not affiliated with murderous dolls) on streaming services errrrrvrywherrrr!
Feast on the MOTION PICTURE VERSION of Episode 52 on YouTube here! Will I do another? Hmm?
Drop me a line at podcastsparks@gmail.com
Buy my wife a diamond ring! Venmo: @christian-huey-1

Episode 52: Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat (part two)

Christian tells more of the story of the making of 1984's Pulling Rabbits Out a Hat, nerds out more on the Fairlight CMI, wonders whatever happened to the "arch" style of pop singing, and makes a compelling case for Madonna's "Like a Virgin" owing its whole existence to one track on this album.
But the bigger news is this is the first full video episode of the podcast! Christian may as yet be working with a humble set of tools, but he thinks you'll like his little movie. What are the kids calling it? Ewe choob?
Until he ponies up for an audio AND video RSS feed, you can find the video version of Episode 52 here: https://youtu.be/9m_FGqMM1PUhttps://youtu.be/9m_FGqMM1PU
Drop me a line! podcastsparks@gmail.com
Buy my wife a diamond ring! Venmo: @christian-huey-1
 

Episode 51: Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat part one

Welcome to the rise of the machines! Ron and Russell Mael are at a bit of a crossroads with this 1984 LP, and briefly offer the reigns to producer Ian Little (Duran Duran's Seven and the Ragged Tiger, Roxy Music's Avalon), who in turn puts in the driver's seat that omnipresent mid-80s behemoth, the CMI Fairlight. It was the first time computerized, visual, grid-based composing was possible, and reduced the amount of friction between idea to product. Monte Mallin is riding shotgun again, and Mr. Christ-on-a-Bike John Ashdown returns to offer a fresh perspective on one of Sparks' lesser-loved albums.

Episode 50: Interview with Chris Sutton

Chris Sutton has appeared on this podcast before, and likewise Monte Mallin's YouTube channel Sparks: Entertainment and Art. This time, Chris and Christian go mano a mano in an interview about his (Chris') latest book On Track... Sparks 1969-1979
We chat about what it's like being a rock music journalist, and just how he managed to track down so many Sparks luminaries for his project. Also, if you happen to be in the neighborhood of Smethwick, just a bit west of Birmingham, stop by the Smethwick Heritage Center and say hello to the museum's Manager-cum-Editor of the museum's magazine! He just may look (or sound) a tad familiar!

Episode 49: Bad Manners (aka Growing Pains) soundtrack (1984)

Tally ho! We're going deep into the vaults today for this one, with an in-depth look at the never-officially-released soundtrack to the obscure 1984 teen gross-out film Bad Manners... Or is that Growing Pains? It seems Sparks didn't even know, so they recorded two theme songs, using both titles! After we flap our yaps about both the movie and the soundtrack, we take a little bit of time to explore the unusually high number of soundtrack-only songs Ron and Russ recorded in 1983-1984.
The great Monte Mallin returns, and I'm happy to introduce Mr. Chris Sutton to the show this time out! Besides being a true Sparks ride-or-die, Chris has written several books about various music legends. And his latest one is called On Track... Sparks 1969-1979. (PSST. YOU CAN BUY IT HERE:) 
Monte's Sparks: Entertainment and Art series is here: 

Episode 48: Hillyboymania part 2 of 2

Howdy, Sparks fans! As promised, here's another episode all about New Haven's finest, the inimitable Hilly Michaels! Monte Mallin and I wax poetic for a bit about just what made Hilly's powerhouse work on the skins so special on 1976's Big Beat. After that, I clock out, and pass the baton over to Monte for his one-on-one interview with Hilly, recorded a few weeks before our three-way convo with the rhythm savant, which was featured on the previous episode.
Don't sleep on Hilly's non-Sparks work, in particular his solo career! Aside from that early MTV staple "Calling All Girls," his first LP from 1980 simply roars from beginning to end. The sadly-out-of-print Lumia from the following year shows Hilly exploring a more technology-forward sound a la DEVO or Wall of Voodoo, and should've made more of a splash. As I mention in the episode, Hilly has dozens of unreleased songs in the vault, and you can actually hear them right here, on Hilly's YouTube channel!
Monte's Sparks: Entertainment and Art series is here: https://www.youtube.com/@montemallin2024
And Paul Barrett's MetaSparks at: https://www.youtube.com/@MetaSparks
Drop me a line at podcastsparks@gmail.com
Coming up: We discuss that time in 1984 when Sparks showed Bad Manners!

Episode 47: Hillyboymania part one

Hilly Boy is back! Monte Mallin and I have a nice, in-depth chat with one of Sparks' most celebrated drummers, Hilly Michaels! We cover lots of ground that was left unexplored from the last time we talked, back in 2021. For thousands - if not tens of thousands - of folks of their generation, Hilly's smash hit "Calling All Girls" was the very first video they saw on the fledgling MTV! Hearing Hilly talk about his career is like reading a SparkNotes (see what I did there?) version of The Entire History of Rock n Roll from 1969 to today. Some very auspicious figures get mentioned in the Hilly Boy saga, like: Ron Wood, Michael Bolton, Rupert Holmes, Liza Minelli, and of course, the late, great Marianne Faithfull. Shake It and Dance, Goddammit!
Be sure to check out Hilly's YouTube and Bandcamp pages!
Monte's Sparks-themed YouTube channel at: Monte Mallin - YouTube 
And Paul Barrett's MetaSparks at: https://www.youtube.com/@MetaSparks
Drop me a line at podcastsparks@gmail.com

Episode 46: Sparks In Outer Space (1983) pt. 3 of 3

This one has been in the vault for a while now! Monte and I mix things up by occupying the same geocoordinates as each other for this episode. It's Sparks In Outer Space! Side B. Or 2, if that's your jam. This one was a ton of fun, y'all! We've got another one I'm sticking in the podcast oven to warm up, so that I can serve it up hot and fresh, reeeeeal soon now. Next stop: Pulling Rabits Out of a Hat!... Or... is it?
You can still reach me, most of the time, at podcastsparks@gmail.com