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seaofreverie · 23 hours

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Sparkstember Day 19: Lil' Beethoven (Ride 'Em Cowboy)

First of all, let this very important fact be known: the love I have for all three albums in the Lil' Beethoven trilogy cannot be overstated. I think I can safely call them my favourite pieces of art ever made. You know, when you look forward to something and it not only lives up to all your expectations but it's also just SO SO much more? Something about this neoclassical / dada / deconstruction of pop music / whatever-you-should-even-call-it approach is absolutely PERFECTLY suited for my tastes, and I didn't even know I was looking for something EXACTLY like this until I found it.

I think the circumstances of my first hearing of this album are pretty funny and something I got pretty lucky with actually (I often think about this with Sparks in general, as much as I wish I've known about them sooner I also do feel like they appeared in my life when I needed that the most. But anyway.) I was very eagerly looking forward to hearing it and finally seeing for myself what the genius of this album is all about. But I insisted that I can only do it through a physical format because yesss, let's make it even more *special*! The moment I've been waiting for! So yeah let's gooo, I need to wait until my CD arrives in the mail (that was one of the longest weeks of my life). And then I started to wonder, well, maybe I actually won't like it that much. To hype myself up to this extent and then be severly dissapointed - would have sucked!

Well, I was NOT dissapointed. Instead I was perplexed, confused, but also very intrigued and quite, ok not just quite, *completely* amazed already. That was the initial reaction and I think it's a rare but very beautiful moment when this happens - no need to *fully* grasp it right away, but enough to be all like "oh that was SOMETHING. I need more." As I said after that first listen (and I actually have my whole LIVE reaction to hearing LB written down lmao, that's how much of a big deal this was for me), I felt like it actually has to grow on me a bit still, gradually but surely with each next listen, rather than the 1st listen being THE prime listening experience. And that was very true! But it wasn't even gradual, it was very fast, seriously. And something very important that stood out to me right away too were the melodies - something about them, and that continues into HYL and ECOTD too. It's this classic feeling of: this always existed, or at least it feels like I've known it for years already. And as I listen more and become more familiar with them the magic still grows.

It's of course no coincidence to me that an album that relies so much on extreme levels of repetition is so addicting, even hypnotising. And once upon a time I thought that I couldn't like something that's too repetitive and therefore could be considered monotonous or "predictable". But nothing is predictable about LB actually. (Besides... ok, I'll get to that one bit later). But yeah, it's good for the brain. And it's been said before by others but this music definitely has this certain neurodivergent appeal thanks to all this, and, well, I love that aspect of it so much and I definitely relate to it on some level that goes even deeper than just song topics and instrumentation choices. It's in the structure and the fundaments of it all too.

I legally can't finish this without a dedicated paragraph to the 2004 Live In Stockholm performance because HOLY SHIT. Feeling so lucky again that all three of these albums got this treatment and we have recordings of these half-concert-half-performance-art pieces that we can now marvel at. I will say that like, a pretty big part of the sum of the appeal that LB has as an album is stored in this show and its visual and narrative elaboration on its themes. And also it's just so fun to watch! Sometimes I thought about how this might be an even better introduction to LB / this era of Sparks / Sparks in general than the actual album but well, never had a chance to test that and you know. Maybe shouldn't recommend Sparks with one of the most leftfield things there is to be found from them. Either way, very good, very important, felt like experiencing the power of LB for the first time all over again.

So now, please hear my exact reasonings for why I so deeply love (almost) every single one of these songs......

The Rhythm Thief

NO song made such a big impression on me the first time I heard it as this. I might have gotten more used to it after all this time but man, The Rhythm Thief, you will always be the realest one to me. This is what made me look forward to the whole album so much and convinced me that it would be like nothing else I've heard before. And that turned out to be so very beautifully true!

How Do I Get To Carnegie Hall?

I could listen to this one a hundred times in a row over and over and not get sick of it one bit. That's it, idk what else to add, beautiful and ethereal in every way

What Are All These Bands So Angry About?

Mostly I just want to direct everyone's attention to the bridge section, at the 2:26-2:52 time mark, which as far as I can say is the most heavenly piece of music ever made. Feeling like that Winnie The Pooh soul leaving his body gif each time I hear this

I Married Myself

Aromantic anthem, to me. Not that much to say actually but it's just, a very sweet and pretty song even when it might be taken as just this sort of ironic piece, I think it's this situation where a song can be taken more or less literally and it doesn't lose anything, rather the sincerity takes on a new sort of meaning? Because yes, maybe this hyperbolic situation (marrying yourself) COULD be the solution to the heartbreak of failed relationships. Ever thought about that??? Ok, stopping right here and leaving my I Married Myself analysis for another day

Ride 'Em Cowboy

My mind is blank on this one suddenly. But it's so good believe me. I love it a lot. It just has this LB spirit that makes it very addicting to listen to

My Baby's Taking Me Home

This was sort of the first Sparks song I've ever heard, or maybe that I quote-unquote purposefully listened to, and I think that's pretty important considering that it was the moment that ultimately lead to... all this. This song has always been incredibly beautiful and powerful to me, but lately it just makes me emotional to an extent that makes it hard to listen to most of the time. I WOULD sell all my material possessions for even one chance to experience this song live by the way

Your Call Is Very Important To Us. Please Hold

Earns soooo much as a live version, but even without that I think it's genius in the same way as The Rhythm Thief, and maybe the most disquieting piece here overall... If we ignore the next one maybe

Ugly Guys With Beautiful Girls

Sitting there hearing the intro of this song all like "huh, this is so chill and calm... too calm..." and then being hit with, well, everything that's going on in this song afterwards was truly THE MOMENT back in the day (and re: the predictability thing. idk though, it's not like, really an issue). Later on I decided that this sort of narrative nature of the song makes it have less replayability value than the rest (???) but I abandoned that opinion soon enough, thank god. I love it how long it took me to realize that this song and the ending of MBTMH are the only times when drums appear on this entire album (I mean no, I'm not very proud of that fact actually, as the self-proclaimed biggest LB fan in my area. And The Rhythm Thief literally saying "say goodbye to the beat"... come on man). So yes, sometimes less is more! I adore this song now it's such a treat I would gladly terrorize my neighbours with it

Suburban Homeboy

Ok, I'm sorry Suburban Homeboy fans but this is the only song here that I'm not a HUGE fan of. I still think it's brilliant and an incredibly fitting ending for the whole thing - the mood whiplash is amazing as this is the only "vaguely happy sounding" song on here, per my words from months back. And what's better than yelling WE ARE THE SUBURBAN HOMEBOYS! (I'm actually awaiting today's Sparks karaoke rating reveal very impatiently lol the reveal happened before I posted this and I'm very happy about it)

One more actually, a quick word on Wunderbar because it gave us two things that we might have not been able to do without: 1) this whole album actually (the fact that LB exists because of Wunderbar giving the Maels the idea to continue meddling with this style. Up there as one of my fav pieces of Sparks trivia) 2) anddddd the 21×21 performance of it of course

#god these are getting harder and harder to write instead of easier this one took me like 3 hours #but it also is long as heck so. idk it turned out pretty good though. i'm happy with it #i don't know why i feel so silly still writing these #maybe i really went a little bit overambitious with preparing two separate things for each day #but if there's even one or two people who enjoy these i can rest knowing that i have succeeded on this front #also i wish i could have come up with a cool dynamic pose like this for the drawing but no #it's based on the poster of a movie of the same name as the featured song #and honestly now i feel like it's extra fitting for spars and their love for referencing cinema and other pop culture things #and thank god i had an excuse to go completely minimalistic for once. all in all i'm quite happy with the result #cool to do something slightly different sometimes and it also just fits the spirit of the album i think!#anyway LB my beloved. seriously never getting over how good the 00s era albums are #lifechanging outstanding mesmerizing exceptional etc #sparkstember 2024 #my art #goose monologues

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grapecaseschoices · 2 years

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For the OC dating game (but no pressure to answer ^^), Rhiann: usually bright and bubbly. Loves to bake and to be around people. She's often chaotic and easily distracted but can be very determined about things/people she cares about. Can turn very angry very quickly, mainly when confronted with her insecurities about not being capable enough. Looks wise: average height, long hair, curvy

Kaylee Moyano (she/her) is 5'8 with just beyond shoulder length black hair, not that it matters as it is often sleeked back into a high pony tail or a bun (unless she's Fun Time Kaylee but she doesn't get to do that as much). She's slim bordering on thin

Kaylee is essentially the mom!friend (and also had to be both parents, in a sense, to her younger sibling) and a former business major turned local celebrity. And her focus is baking. So, it could go either way, Rhiann could feel encouraged or inferior in the face of Kaylee. However, Kaylee is used to managing volatile tempers and people's insecurities. It's also a bit of an issue for Kaylee because she's often the one who bares, the one who takes care -- and that can be her own insecurity (and issue, how often she lives her life for others). But maybe Rhiann's determination and support can push her out of that?

That's part of why I feel they'd be interesting together, because they sorta step on each other's issues but there's also the potential to grow beyond that if they communicate with each other. So, they could either hurt each other or grow together/uplifting each other. IDK. I love that they could be fluffy but with this very visual angst.

That said, though Kaylee is clearly more structured and focused, she's very quirky (I call her style Ms. Frizzle but sexy) They're both social people who enjoy their way around an one.

Thank you for introing me to Rhiann @serenpedac

put a description of your oc in my inbox, and i’ll tell you which of my ocs would date them

#serenpedac #oc dating game #other's ocs #most definitely wanted to answer #just fell asleep #oc: kaylee moyano #i also considered rhiann with #oc: lucienne saintilus #but kaylee ate my brain #i also have two other ocs i feel would work with rhiann but they're like 19. so. no #there's also ori --- but ori's still sorta drowning #and i like balance in my ships #lucienne and kaylee are much more settled in life if not emotionally. so that'd bring structure to rhiann #and they both need someone who would be 'fighting!' about pushing them beyond the weights of family structures / expectations #me @ me: dear self stop overthinking this fun times matchmaking game #me @ me: BUT HAVE YOU CONSIDERED!!!#i think kaylee and rhiann would depened on if rhiann would even give kaylee a shot. and how rhiann communicates/apologizes despite that ange #r #honestly i feel this game would better suit me if people dropped an oc - i give yall options and YALL picked #bc now im nitpicking lmao

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