I love Sparks.
For those unfamiliar with the "BIGGEST Band you've never heard of," Sparks are the unsung architects of many sounds we now take for granted from the early 1980s onward. They are the invisible hand guiding genres and artists alike, shaping the musical landscape with their unique, pioneering compositions.
As a 90s kid and a Xennial, I witnessed the last generation to straddle the analog-to-digital shift, playing outside in the summers, playing early Atari and Sega Genesis, feeling out of sync with the 80s vibes of soft rock contemporaries like Natalie Cole, Pointer Sisters, and not quite old enough to really enjoy the Boss or glam and big hair metal bands like Cinderella, Motley Crue, and early Metallica. Speaking for myself as a kid in NJ, I was also not. down. with the balloon pants, big hair and poppy synth of M.C. Hammer, Paula Abdul or Chaka Khan (although Chaka is awesome). Essentially the 80s were a lot of waiting around for my generation's cultural moment. I could never relate to the overtly sexualized groupies of the Van Halen and Crue fans, or to the objectification of artists like Lita Ford and the Heart sisters. Metal was my first love, so I was familiar with early Metallica with Chris Burton, 80s Megadeath, and Misfits; but I was barely a preteen so my chances of seeing any of them at the infamous CBGBs without risking being kidnapped or worse was slim to none.
The rise of artists like Sinéad O'Connor, Nirvana, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Sonic Youth, Bjork and college alt-rock radio heralded in the rise of grunge and the 'second wave of brit-pop'. The 90s were our time, later solidified by the advent of shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the WB network.
90s music—industrial, ska, punk, alt-rock, synth, emo, and electronica—deeply influenced today's artists, though it represents just a slice of modern rock's rich tapestry since the 60s. Young me didn't grasp the organic evolution of rock, even as I reveled in Lollapalooza performances by Siouxsie Sioux, Jane's Addiction, and Nine Inch Nails.
I remember transitioning from tapes to CDs and then to iPods, epitomizing our generation's analog-to-digital journey. My first CDs were Yaz's Upstairs at Eric's and B-52s The B-52's. Streaming is my norm now, but I once dedicated a wall to CDs. We grew up with grunge's birth, Cobain's tragic end, the emergence of sisterhood *again* with Tori Amos, Sara McLaghlin and Lilith Fair; and hip-hop's mainstream rise, movements all now recreated on apps like suno.ai and GPT.
I first heard Sparks on Gilmore Girls in the "Troubadour" episode, performing "Perfume."
Initially, I thought they were a fictional band—a mistake I quickly corrected. Sparks ARE rock-n-roll (Thank you Chazz Michael Michaels from Blades of Glory): Channeling and intuiting the *next* 'sound' at the vanguard of rock movements since Jimmy Page's Yardbirds days ('66-'68).
Their 1974 album, Kimono My House, foreshadowed the avant-garde sounds of bands like Foxy Shazam and The Struts. In 1979, Sparks released the first fully rock synth album No. 1 In Heaven, predating the likes of Blondie's "Rapture" and influencing 80s and 90s music. "The Number One Song in Heaven" and "Tryouts for the Human Race" both intuited the club beats of the 80s era, as well as influencing gay club hits of the 80s and 90s.
In the 2000s, Sparks collaborated with Franz Ferdinand to create FFS (Franz Ferdinand & Sparks), blending alt and post-punk into hits like "Johnny Delusional" and "Save Me From Myself," echoing the eclectic and theatrical musings of Dresden Dolls in songs like "Half Jack" and "Coin-Operated Boy"; as well as more well-known bands like Ben Folds in their ability to merge story-telling with theatre like vocal performance in songs like "You Don't Know Me (feat. Regina Spektor)", and "Cologne", both from their Way to Normal 2008 album.
Defining Sparks is like catching light particles in quantum experiments; they defy categorization, evolving with each wave of musical innovation. They embody the enigma of musical genius, continuously thriving.
As a music enthusiast, I've pondered how generative AI might impact music's essence. It's mind-blowing to create captivating songs with apps like suno.ai. But can AI truly replicate an artist's unique spirit? I tested this with Sparks, a band renowned for their irony, humor, and musical genius.
The results? AI can't do irony. AI does not get humor. AI will never beat Sparks.
First attempt - Suno to create songs that resemble Sparks genre and style:
AI-generated songs captured some electronic synth and pop elements but missed the Sparks' 'spirit': The layers and mix of musical genre, visual and literal pun, and the spunk and ironic spirit through which Sparks often interpret the age are maddenly unique and impossible to recreate via formula or feature stores.
Should this test be a new litmus test for artistic originality? The genius of Sparks is inimitable, and that's what makes them timeless. Should it even matter? Artists like Will.i.am are embracing AI. What would a band on the level of Sparks even sound like with AI? Better? Worse? Definitely not the same.
