The Soundtrack to my Life

I'm experiencing somewhat of a mild crisis, which is not something I occasionally experience. I find that writing is my cure, but unfortunately I've not seen a film, heard an album or read a book to review and I don't want to ramble on about myself and turn what I hoped to be a publicly accessible blog into one of those awful hormonal journals. I have therefore decided to introduce a new concept called The Soundtrack to my Life, which is when I either review a song that has currently engraved itself into my mind, or one that captures my current mood.

Right now, I am definitely digging the glorious work of Sparks. I've passed through their glam rock and disco-tech stages and am currently immersed in their recent 'chamber pop' phase. I use the term 'chamber pop' loosely because this is what Wikipedia describes the genre as, but I undoubtedly disapprove. It's almost impossible to label the album Exotic Creatures of the Deep for example, which is a bizarre and diverse hybrid of orchestrated strings, distorted guitars and funky electro. It certainly isn't pop in any sense of the word. The particular song that I constantly have on the mind and must frequently play from my iTunes library is the epic finishing track, Likeable.

It would be quite arrogant of me to say that the lyrics apply to me, but as far as musicality goes, I am in love. The sheer diversity in these final six minutes of the album begins with a dreary harmony of the words 'I'm likable!', which is quite reminiscent of the opening to the banned (by the BBC) 2006 single Dick Around. Next comes the catchy chorus that could work as a pop song had it been reworked that way, however Ron Mael's delicate key pressing gives it a more classical approach. The spoken verses reflect one of Russel Mael's new frequent techniques which seems to be less falsetto, more quirky talk! Then comes the delightful 'Noone ever wears a frown, when they see me coming round' segment, which gradually builds in extravagance each time around. The song closes with an extended version of the album's intro that features the comical yet tragically desperate lyrics 'I don't care if you love me, just so you like me... like me, li-ike me, like me, li-ike me...' The perfect way to end the album and without a doubt a seriously likeable song.