Sparks - Balls (extraordinary performance)

[MegaBanjaluka]

Brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­ Ron mael's appearance nothing to do with Hitler or Chaplin, it's NIKOLA TESLA the godmeister of electricity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!

[llandudnoboy]

They are still at it after nearly 40yrs.

Few bands that saw huge success in the 70ies are still around entertaining their middleaged fans.

I can remember them playing on Top Of The Pops in the 1970ies and loved their catchy hip hop dance style music and Rons amazing Hitler style.

It takes a great deal of talent to remain popular after nearly 40yrs.

Stus Quo have a loyal fan base after all these years and Sparks have also survived.

Good music is their recipy for continued success.

[zijnemajesteit]

@llandudnoboy Hitler style??? You mean Charlie Chaplin style!

[dillingerbraineater]

SPARKS//RUSS AND RON MAEL..BROS. TO ..SAW THEM ONCE AT KABUKI THEATER IN JAPAN TOWN/S.F.THE ROCK'N HEARTS OF BROS...OUTSTANDING HIGH OTES IN VOCALS AND OUTRAGEOUS SYNTHESIZER IN ABOUT 1979 ...GREAT STAGE SHOW AND VERY CREATIVE

CK OUT ACHOO, ACHOO,,,KABUKI MY HOUSE

[gojskojtoo]

Du kan sticka eller sticka Du kan slänga eller slängas Det är upp till dig Står dom vid din sida Håller dom med dig Det du säger är sant för du har Förvänta ingen räddning Förvänta inga tjänster Förvänta ingenting Ska något börja hända Ska vinden börja vända Får du andas in och blåsa själv Dom respekterar Ingen nonchalerar Talar du, hör dom på Många vill ha dig Men ingen vill va' dig men erkänner dock att du förmedlar

[gojskojtoo]

Fri översättning av Sparks – Balls till svenska av gojskojtoo KULOR Kulor Du behöver kulor För att lyckas kulor Du behöver Inget för banalt Inget för fatalt Dags att vakna nu Vi provocerar Du producerar Dag att vakna nu, helst igår

[SuperSpeako]

Sparks just go on getting better and better every thing that is good in music is Sparks the most tellented band ever,you can keep your 'music legends',give me Sparks every day!!

[NoxiousRob]

Couldn't have put it better myself! 

[12ojeda]

sparks rule they were ahead of their time

[jaydavee]

The drummer sure is a big part of this show. I guess that is Tammy Glover. I'm impressed multiplied by 3.

[JohnnyMindcrime]

Ron and Russell Meal are geniuses, pure and simply. For 4 decades they have done nothing more than take great care in producing great music with great passion and a great sense of humour.

They've shown the world that no matter what musical styles you like, you can sometimes step away from the safe zone and enjoy something different.

The only thing I hate about the Mael brothers is that they still look far too bloody young! :-)

[legofilmmaker100]

good

[goodwitchy]

3 people don't have any

[DonCarina]

Sparks are the ONLY rock band that keeps getting better. Some of the best rock albums ever:

Balls (2000)

Lil' Beethoven (2002)

Hello Young Lovers (2006)

Exotic Creatures Of The Deep (2008)

Amazing stuff. Sparks are the true kings of multifarious rock with countless brilliant songs. They are the true successors of The Beatles.

Ron Russell

Author of "Don Carina" - The Mafia Heroine of WWII

[jsc1215]

Sparks are one of those bands who truly deserve to be in the Rock Hall of Fame but will never be voted in. Crying shame, especially since their uniqueness and originality influenced many artists who did get voted in. They have my vote!

[jczapa7]

a proof that pop doesn't equal commercial music always

[AngelicGunrunner]

@ninmat: Very perceptive. Hipsters don't really love music these days - the glam crowd in the seventies, who were sorta the hip people of those days, actually did love music, engaged with it and allowed it to change their ideas of things. The trendpots of today only like to pose up fighting about music to boost their egos, the idea they nicked from Fight Club being that poses and style fights matter but music, literature etc ultimately don't matter (though they'd never own up with that to you).

[Augmuse]

Rocking and rolling for over 40 years Sparks are an American diamond in the rough. Ron and Russell sound, thankfully like no one else. Keep it up guys. Long Live Sparks.

[seandublinxxxx]

Sparks are the band Kraftwerk always wanted to be.

[dejahthoris]

@seandublinxxxx I love them both but sorry that was a not right- I guess you are really young:)

[chacho6011]

@vortons so true thanks



[PAULLONDEN]

Might ALL be true,but this duo never bettered 'Kimono & Propaganda",and even Propaganda was half flawed affair. It's nut for nuthin' they never reached that stratospheric early 7T's groove again. Had a good life on the fringes though.

Complaints is my department.

[bcimhe]

@vortons this is the sort of super-enthusiastic band love that i usually deride. except in this case it's deserved and right on.

[ninmat]

@vortons Mmm, your reviewer is probably right about the shock part. But hipster wouldn't love Sparks (in their defence they don't really love anything at all) because Sparks are quite unpretentious. They don't justify their unusual lyrics by dressing really strangely and acting avant-garde/ironic. They are who they are. Fortunately for us other weirdos, they do it really well.

[margovallen]

@vortons So true... and I'm proud to be a fan. I love this band, SPARKS!!!!!!!!!!

[rektonrk]

you come across a song like this, and all you think is SHIT! why haven't I heard this before! then you realise why theyr'e called Sparks,-that kind of performance really is electrifying!

[aldiakaroofus]

Ron is the coolest man on Earth.

[fatpizzaman]

@aldiakaroofus if he was running for President of the USA I'd vote for him.

[aldiakaroofus]

@fatpizzaman If he was running for President of the USA, I'd move to the USA just to vote for him.

[daffodil97]

well what a band -- this town it aint 

[TheBestGuitarSoloEVR]

They still sound like they're from the 80s

[MechaGojira00]

@vortons I couldn't agree more than that. Next to Sparks, Jane's Adiction, Pearl Jam and Nirvana look like rookies and hiper mediatizated stuff.

[TaylTube]

I can't believe Russell is now 60.

[fatpizzaman]

@TaylTube Not quite, he's going to be 57 this year. Still looks humungously cute though! :D

[TaylTube]

@fatpizzaman Ah - I believe you're going by the erroneous date of 1953 that was floating about for a long time. Dates from 1948-1953 have showed up in various bios over the web and elsewhere. But according to the California Birth Index, there was only one Russell Mael born between 1905-1995 - on Oct. 5, 1948. Ron was born in 1945. This makes a whole lot more sense, as he would have been approx. 22 at the time of their debut (instead of 17!) So, yeah, he's lookin' pretty good!

[zafod101]

This is from the london dvd i was there!

[geordie58]

FANTASTIC PERFORMANCE

[luvumo2day]

sparks is talented to the point of uncomfortableness,

[EvilTim001]

Nice! I like this.

[Dune137]

Good song. The drummer is also excellent.

[cybermachina]

Hope to see them on stage someday !

I knew them but discover lately the album "lil beethoven" and it was my favorite one in 2008... Now I listen them and their news more carefully...

[eileenh28]

I would hit that like the fist of an angry god.

[fingleberg]

RON IS THE BOMB!

[animlnitr8]

@fingleberg he is! and really nice too. i have a nerd crush on him...lol. (i'm saying that i'm a nerd, not ron!)

[MemphisKol]

Russell is scary

[mikkifly]

ur mums got balls

[kiss7442]

what is the deal with russel and stripes ???

[joee44]

<3

Love it !

[liminalcoyote]

Hearing the album version after listening to this was a bit of a disappointment. This performance is awesome.

[missuninformed]

Thumbs up :)

[simfaithguitar1]

I wonder how a Sparks/Steven Morris (Joy Division-New Order) collaboration would sound?

[leroydisco]

nunca canto mejor que aqui,  es sorprendente, alucinante, amo a Russell

[beatlebijou]

These guys kick so much ass. :)

[opalasattic]

Terrific description and one that pretty well sums it up. All these momos who blather on about how HIP and how cutting edge they are.....all I gotta say to that is BALLS! Sparks are now and have always been the cornerstone of hippness and originality for nearly 40 years without compromise....I dare ANYONE to top that.

[PosthumousPariah]

@opalasattic How about The Residents? They've been releasing albums for the same amount of time, were formed 4 years earlier, made many, many more albums, started their own record label and promoted other awesome artists, created feature films and other art to accompany their music, and are one of the most original bands (though sometimes challenging to listen to) to ever perform. And they did this all while staying anonymous. .

[LilithLorelai]

@PosthumousPariah

Same boat

[jsc1215]

Ron and Russell have succeeded in mastering multiple genres of music, thus avoiding being pigeonholed and remaining very fresh and relevant after performing for nearly 40 years. This concert performance is more proof of the Mel brothers' immense talent!

[llandudnoboy]

I think JaDranko23 has hit it on the head.

For a duo such as the Maelor brothers to be still around after over thirty years and still producing good music that people too young to remember them appreciate and enjoy must mean they have great TALENt.

I hope they go on national tour as i would really like to see them as i have seen Showaddywaddy,Sweet,Rubettes,A­BC,and others.

[Xesum]

Talent is an Asset, and little Albert has it.

[leroydisco]

RON COMO NUNCA O SEA  COMO SIEMPRE

[leroydisco]

RUSSELL TE AMO

[leroydisco]

lo estoy viendo de nuevo, la verdad, Russell nunca canto tan bien como aqui, me tiene erizado, IMPRESIONANTE

[leroydisco]

nunca canto como  aqui, es impresionante

[Jadranko23]

I love their music since 1970's. Extraordinary band, unique brothers team :)

I don't see guitarist here, is Ron playing all those sounds on sinth or what?

However, you need huge balls to last for nearly 40 years. That + talent, of course ;)

[vaspers]

congratulations. today this video was excitedly selected by the NYC Punk Rock Evolution Foundation. way to go.

[cujo5150]

I gotta say...this song (from one of my favorite 'childhood' bands) pumps me up more than anything in my CD player now(White Zombie, Avenged Sevenfold, etc.)! I'm ready to attack the WORLD after this!

[dwnowels]

Russell...stop playing! Call me! i love uuuuuuuuu!!!!

[jdlewis60]

They are so unpredictable. Sweet.

[OddDot]

This sounds like new Gary Numan songs.

darlings, wtf?

[Picuj]

This song was inspired by The Prodigy...

[xpymando]

Less hair and wearing reading glasses.

Thats me !

Remember them when I had more hair and no glasses!

[lummoxedup]

:WARNING: This band can cause anal leakage.

(sorry,all in good fun)

[Gluupor]

This is a most satisfying song. Glad to see they're still keeping up originality in their older days!

[G3ORGiiAAx]

Im Going To See Sparks In London I Cant Wait Im Like The Biggest Fan. They Have Been Going For Ages And Ages And Ages!!! =P

[ToferMc]

nice one

[mattstaveley]

sparks are the best thing to come out of america since coca cola even

[hantshound]

sparks are the best thing to come out of america since pepsi

[mididoctors]

they are german

[lilacgirlie]

No, American!

[mididoctors]

you are right and i was wrong

[jmedia1]

schade eigentlich;-)

[MangoDiao]

Das finde ich auch :)

[exproggo]

Balls album?

Scheherazade is beautiful

Aeroflot is great

It's a Knockoff has a sublime melody.

[jmedia1]

What about the enigmatic almost prophetic "Calm before the storm" (considering it was from 2000)?!

[exproggo]

That's true...I never even thought of that.I haven't played this album for ages...I'll blast it out in my car tomorrow

[ghiote]

i had the same impression in 2001!

[minichapman]

hi ghiote

what dvd is this concert on?

cheers

[fatpizzaman]

@jmedia1 it'll probably be released in December 2012 and will be a massive hit worldwide that they've always deserved.

[jmedia1]

@fatpizzaman Like another 'Number One Song in Heaven' You mean...?

[cosytoesUK]

I agree. Lil Beethovan and Hello Young Lovers are brilliant. But for me Balls is one of the most underated albums of the past decade.

[RoyceEscobar]

Holy Cow... He doesnt move anyway. Sparks are the greatest

[jmedia1]

Few ok, but of a growing number. Wish You'd have been there for a great concert from that tour;-)

[LAMLKMHWC1]

Yeah, I think "Balls" is a great album too. Me fav songs are " How To Get Your Asss Kicked" and "The Angels"

[MissMael]

Have a feeling I'm one of few big fans of the Balls album. I can listen to it over and over again. I don't miss guitars in Sparks, I love how they can have less instruments and still have a rich sound.