The Visual Splendor of Sparks

Do a search for �Sparks� on YouTube and you�ll find a plethora of links to Jordin Sparks, the winner of American Idol�s sixth season.

But if you click on a few of the other videos, you�ll be in for a wonderful surprise.

If you�ve never heard of Sparks or listened to them, be forewarned: they aren�t for everyone. They�re only for those who like to be attacked by incredibly catchy, subversive, and witty pop music. You�ll likely hate them in the beginning, but that�s just a ploy to scare away those who aren�t ready for them yet. If you listen to a Sparks song three times, you�ll either transform into a fan or you won�t get it.

To focus only on their music is to give short shrift to their visual element, however. For years, I only knew what they looked like because of the popular MTV hit �Cool Places,� a ridiculously engaging duet with Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go�s.

But thanks to YouTube, that has changed. Russell Mael�s �Aw gee whiz� innocence in interviews belies a bizarrely compelling sexuality. And Ron Mael, who will forever be known as �the one with the Hitler moustache,� is a master of droll, snappy repartee and undeniable charm.

What follows is a sample of how Sparks prove they are visual geniuses as well as sonic. I�ve chosen to highlight earlier performances, not because they are superior, but because it will better prepare you for the slew of YouTube live clips from their most recent tours. Once you see these, you can then gape more profoundly at how Russell�s incredible, multi-octave voice and Ron�s magic fingers are still amazing after all these years.

Here are ten examples of the visual glory of the Mael brothers

�Get In The Swing� on Supersonic (1975)
If I�d been a Bay City Rollers fan in that audience, I would have switched to the Sparks Team immediately following this audacious display. Having read about Russell�s �hot pants or tennis shorts� controversy in the liner notes of the Profile box set did not adequately prepare me for actually seeing them. And say what you will about Ron�s creepy leering; his mugging around the 2:15 mark is, dare I say it, ridiculously cute.

�Looks Looks Looks� on Supersonic (1975)
More bad fashion choices from Russell; is that a Parisian Night Suit? Having a horn section in the background and Ron on grand piano is how this song should always be performed. Plus balloons. I dream of a world in which the Mael brothers have a touring cabaret act.

�Hasta Manana, Monsieur� & �Thank God It�s Not Christmas� on Don Kirschner�s Rock Concert (1974�part two of three)
In a time when Ringo Starr gets schooled for daring to perform a song longer than two-and-a-half-minutes on an insipid morning talk show, it�s unimaginable that Sparks were allowed to perform six of them back in the day. Perhaps unwittingly, both Russell and Ron seem to have been influenced by the 30s influence on 70s haute couture, with Russell as Katherine Hepburn and Ron as Ronald Colman.

[Sadly, this link was removed right before this issue�s publication date. And this wasn�t the first link removed before this article was completed

Younger brother Russell - a dead ringer for Jeremy Irons in his younger days - is the singer and often sings in a faux European accent. His constant use of falsetto makes him sound like a young Brian Wilson singing Monty Python songs.


Along with their witty lyrics and their great melodies, the brothers'' secret is that they do everything absolutely straight faced.