Sparks - The Rhythm Thief

[ScarletttCat]

Everytime I hear this song once again, I'm impressed by how amazing it is and shocked why it isn't well known all over the world!

[jrmetmoi]

The redhead looks like Alison Goldfrapp

[yapoline]

Great old song

[ToastmanNN]

I am the Rhythm Thief.

[SpikeMatthews]

@ToastmanNN In that case, may I say 'Hello, Russell'?

Also - great stuff - keep it up!

[OhhLivia33]

love.this.song.



[SpikeMatthews]

@OhhLivia33 Me too - the rest of the album is great too. If you get a chance to buy the DVD of their live show for this tour (Li'l Beethoven), then do so. It is simply awesome.

[happothevampire]

Why is this in a MGMT playlist?

[SpikeMatthews]

@happothevampire After a bit of a look around the nooks and crannies of the big ol' internet, I have come to this conclusion. Youtube's software is a heap of crap.

[happothevampire]

@SpikeMatthews Oh I see

[lacunalunacy]

@SpikeMatthews Sparks was a huge influence on all electronic music created after the 70s. Much like a rock thrown into a lake, Sparks has made huge waves in the world of music. If you look carefully, you can even see the ripples cascading off the shoreline.

[SpikeMatthews]

@lacunalunacy I'm guessing they also had a not inconsequential effect on you too...

[sugeyser]

este video me encanta, la verdad iba a ser un clip con esta cancion, pero los cobardes de mis hermanos no quisieron jjejejejejeje. pero de que lo hare lo hare

[happyjack39]

WOOOOOOW!!!

[BAD1994life]

that seemed longer than 4 minutes.. how did that happen??

[snailbacon]

@BAD1994life I know, right? It's kind of... magical.

[SpikeMatthews]

@lfarley01 Um... what?

[tertommy]

cold beer will cure a cold

[Fernsehenpfanger]

Впервые я песню эту слушал по радио россии в "Экзотике" весной 2003 года.

[slessorpr]

The Alice in Wonderland reference - washed away by a sea of tears - is a jibe at the maudlin sentimentality and emotional melodrama some 'derivative' artists are prone to. Don't forget Sparks have been selling hot records since 1973! There are SO many bands who have plagiarised the Maels (like Depeche Mode, and the 'rash' of derivative synth/art groups from the late 70s onward) & NONE say 'Thanks Sparks'. The Maels anglophilia opened the Euro market to them - until all the posers caught on.

[SpikeMatthews]

@slessorpr I agree - Sparks are utterly underrated.

I've heard a couple of bits of their 'Bergman' abum, and it sounds brilliant..

[jocksilver7]

@slessorpr AMEN TO THAT!!!! VERY WELL SAID!!!!

[mrspider1020]

Its trippy

[rainbowcatalina]

So epic! I love this song!

[MorganScorpion]

Is the speaking voice Jeffrey Combs? Sounds so like him as Herbert West.

[SpikeMatthews]

No - It's Russell Mael, the guy in the clip without glasses. The other guy is Ron Mael, his brother.

Little Miss Pre-Raphaelite? Dunno - she's just eye-candy.

Sparks (the brothers) have been making music to surprise and confound fer years. Their latest venture is an opera based on the life of film director Ingmar Bergman.

[artnerdunitedsociety]

SAWEET song. I like it, very art like.

[neilno1]

Wow, love Kimono my house and hello young lovers but this has inspired me to delve much deeper into the sparks discography, incredible song and video.

[supasap]

is it good neilno as I was blown over by young lovers album

[CashForGash]

Dunno whether this video feels more like a dream or a nightmare. It's demented, yet it's also random. lol

Anyways, good song, good video.

[Mariekesone]

A song to my Heart...oooh nooo where did the groove go...Love this very much:-)

[djjulia]

sparks is the most amazing band ever

[SpikeMatthews]

Try not to make a mess, please.

[werandomnize]

Can I go kill myself now?

[spoonerfive]

This is an astoundingly great video and among the best of their many great songs- Bravo!

[mantastic69er]

hey i want my rhythm back! seriously. i'm suing someone- and no i'm not american....(because they'd sue you if you looked sideways at them) its ironic like! but sparks are cool. please dont sue me sparks :) oh the irony

[kohth3791]

I'm not sure that I appreciate you saying that all Americans are crazy about suing. I've never sued anyone, nor have I been sued.

Please be careful about stereotyping huge groups of people.

And yes, the Sparks are very cool.

[mantastic69er]

my apologies- i'm irish so when i wrote that i was drunk

[rwallacegoldaline]

You guys just beg to be stereotyped.

Shouldn't have said you were drunk when you wrote it.

Great video.

[mantastic69er]

you dont understand irony- of course i wasnt drunk- the fact that i said i was sueing someone because they stole my rhythm was meant to be taken as satire.... now i must go to the pub its happy hour here in Ireland :P

as the Americans say 'have a nice day'

[zoby123]

You really believe everything the media tells you? :/

[mantastic69er]

what does that mean? if you could all look at my first post i ended it with 'oh the irony'

I WAS ONLY JOKING!!! everything i said was satire- which i later explained in further posts... please people i know some really cool americans

and no i dont believe everything the media tells me... i just listen to the wind (that was a joke too)

[zoby123]

I believe "sarcasm" is the word you're looking for.

And no, I didn't bother to scroll to the beginning. Kind of a waste of time to split hairs on topics irrelevant to the video in the comments section.

And calm down, I was asking a simple question. A simple "No." would've been fine.

[mantastic69er]

well ironic that i'm using steriotypes. a simple 'no' wouldnt have explained everything. i agree with you about spilting hairs on irrelevant topics but that was my point- that videos often are forgotten and people just talk rubbish to each other...

lets agree that its a great song :)

[miabevilacqua]

leave it, i thought it was very funny, people should be able to say and joke about anything.

[mantastic69er]

Thank you! its nice to see someone actually has a sense of humour!

us Irish/British should stick together in the fight against silly people who take everything too seriously, or IBSTITFASPWTETS for short!

[miabevilacqua]

Here Here!!

[gersard81]

utterly brilliant!

[acidmaker1980]

brilliant

[reviewingsituation]

I took my boys, age 5 and 8 then, in '03 to see Sparks in Central Park - they still talk about it!

Now they like when I put on the Kimono My House LP. They're growing up knowing SPARKS!

I'm so proud!

[sparksman110]

@reviewingsituation That's Awesome!  great to know R&R will live on ...Kudos to ya!

[doocati1098r]

Awesome, totally awesome.

[ghiote]

Lil beethoven is a diamond. It will be studied in school after 300 yers, just like Bach.

[RusekuXxX]

This is my favorite song.

Ever.

[stripedhyenuh]

As much as I try to hear "lights out, Ibiza" I swear to god what I'm hearing is actually "lights out, Topeka".

[dokusentia]

This song and video are brilliant!

[mushuplus]

those girls in the video reminds me of Helena Bonham Carter

[Choscura]

cool graphical style, but the song is missing quite a bit. some drums maybe, or possibly a bass line. it's kept fresh in your mind by all the visual references to reggae, rock and roll, jazz and other musical styles (things suggested by both the words and some of the actions, such as miming on a violin as if it's a guitar). I'm all for artistic endeavors, but next time, make your 'art' worth listening to and not just looking at.

[StupermundiTheGreat]

Choscura, This is a DECONSTRUCTION of pop music. The influences are Rap music, Silent Movie Music, and Minimalism. The entire album Lil Beethoven is deconstruction. It's NOT supposed to have drums and a bass line. Sparks deconstruct themselves too. They helped put the beat in pop music in the 80's and now they took it out. In the mundane world of pop they CONTINUE to be innovative. Something that is hard in ANY genre of music. They invented a new vocabulary in the illiterate world of pop.

[kenchie1]

@StupermundiTheGreat This is the best comment I have seen on youtube in a long time.

[Lilbudpump]

Drums and a bass line? Did you catch the name of the song? The Rhythm Thief. "Say goodbye to the beat" See?

[SpikeMatthews]

(note to self: remember to not use irony in my comments...)

[AMBASSODOR]

Avant-Garde SONG ,Avante-Garde VIDEO - Avant- Garde SPARKKKKKKS, Just Pure CLASS

[SpikeMatthews]

Umm... does that mean you like it then?

[CrystalFlames]

The red-haired woman reminds me a little of Ms. Lovett from Sweeney Todd.

[SpikeMatthews]

AKA Helena Bonham-Carter?

[CrystalFlames]

yes.

those must've been some fun costumes. and I loved the hair.

[sarebarehillhouse]

haha i thought so too when i watched this!

[reeper3900]

i love this song but i can find it.....could u help me plz

[SpikeMatthews]

The song is called The Rhythm Thief and is taken from their album Li'l Beethoven. (The group being Sparks, obviously.)

[gloomylex]

Both the song and the video freak me out...

[SpikeMatthews]

They never claimed to make you comfortable...lol

[Watchthetube2140]

One of my favorite videos

[jicour]

I've watched this over and over. Love it! Thanks!

[FidelioRoo]

Really cool, nice video and song, but "art rock at its best", I think not.

[mephigog]

Awesome.

[interpolluter29]

This is one of the best videos and songs ever to come out in a while. Very surreal, creative, haunting, and the "Rhythm Thief" goes against the sound of usual electronica, all while creating a rhythm of their own.

[wbyeast]

Creepy antique toys, enigmatic characters, weird floating ink vortex.... what's not to love?

[bonelson]

I love the violin windmills.

[sfers]

what on earth is a violin windmill. youre probably thinking of a metranome

[SpikeMatthews]

(gets red pen out)

That'll be 'metronome', then... lol

[fatalcze]

He does a windmill with violin instead of guitar. Clear?

[StupermundiTheGreat]

Ron was a HUGE WHO fan. The windmill could be an homage to Pete. also this song has rap music elements (you'll never get it back) as well as a silent movie theme.

[clarabow]

An avant-garde video to accompany an avant-garde song. Brilliant.

[Biqsson]

Compare this video to what you see on MTV, different class really

[TeckXChaos]

Greatest Song Ever~! Sparks rock ^_^