#sparkstember day 4

[pineapplefulfillseveryneed]

Sparkstember day 4: Propaganda ✨

[sparks-polls]

Sparkstember day 4: Propaganda

[crystalblast]

Sparkstember - Propaganda

Ranking Sparks songs based on the reaction they get on karaoke night

Congratulations "At Home, At Work, At Play" on being so special I had no choice but to add a bonus tier. Not only did a neighbor complain about you on one, but on two separate occasions! I believe an achievement of this caliber really calls for a big round of applause. Not many songs possess this sort of power!

[bawnjourno]

The Circus by George Bellows // "Here Kitty" by Sparks

Sparkstember Day 20: Hello Young Lovers

[bronskibeet]

sparkstember day 4: propaganda

"something for the girl with everything" in mario paint composer, recreated as faithfully as possible

[nedison]

Sparkstember Day 4: SPARKS BRAND Polyster Suits!

The perfect fit for home, work, or play!

[am-rrt]

SPARKS X JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL

another one! mister miracle and the propaganda photoshoot was a picture waiting to happen

SPARKSTEMBER DAY 4: PROPAGANDA

[alabamyright]

Sparkstember Day 4: Propaganda 🛥️🪢☎️🌊

2 illustrations for today since I already redrew the Propaganda album cover

[apollosopera]

Sparkstember day 4! tried something new with this one and i really like how it turned out

[therebloger22]

Sparkstember Day 4: Propaganda

That time in Animal CrossingI was trying to hang the Propaganda cover on my wall and accidentally made it my wallpaper

[seaofreverie]

Sparkstember Day 4: Propaganda (Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth)

At first I was going to open my Propaganda writeup with something to the same effect of "unPOpULAr oPinIOn!: propaganda > kimono!!!!" but you know what, even something as tame as this (prefering one album over the other, you know) feels wrong to say when we're dealing with two masterpieces (and even then it's probably not that much of an unpopular opinion anyways, lol). And yeah, I'll admit, that as I hinted at yesterday, for the longest time I really did fully stand by my opinion that Propaganda is not just something I like more than KMH, but it's just objectively BETTER. Well, the funny thing about opinions is that they can change everyday and again, I really don't feel about this quite as strongly as I did before! Not to say that Propaganda isn't still my personal favourite out of these two: it very much is, and it's also much more beyond that.

It used to be EXTREMELY rare for me to listen to an album and and get super obsessed with it and listen to it on repeat, I always needed something else to mix it all with, so when it did happen, it was a very big deal. Even bigger the deal gets when such obsession leads to becoming even more obsessed with everything else put out by the band behind the album over many following months, which only happened to me twice so far... And sure enough, with Sparks, that historic entry point was Propaganda.

I think I should call this album simply addicting: that's how it felt in the beginning and honestly still does to this day. It's impossible to listen to it just once. Something about it just grabs you immediately and completely and it just NEVER gets old or overplayed, I could try to figure out what it is exactly but I've no idea, it's just that Sparks magic I suppose! But as for some of the things I can definitely say that make me love this album this much:

It just flows sooooo well. For the longest time I had no clear favourites and least favourites, they all work so amazingly as a whole package and individually too of course. I think it's a perfect album in the way that you don't even think about it when you listen to it: the sequencing and all the different ideas just work so well together, it's kind of, seamless?

Something about it feels very modern to me once again, and I must say that I still do think that it's a clear improvement over KMH in many ways: more variety, more interesting turns and twists, more energy for sure too (and I have a very big bias for high energy and "intense" music, so I can't pretend that this isn't something that matters to me a lot). And even then we have some slower tracks that don't break the flow at all, I mean, ok, maybe only one such track really, but still, that applies even moreso in that case

So all in all, yes, this is definitely one of my favourite albums in existence. It continues what KMH started while bringing in even more of that special Sparks flavor that feels completely unimitable. And it has lots of cool keyboard lines, as do... most Sparks albums, but maybe it feels more prominent for me on Propaganda since it was the first Sparks thing I listened to on repeat for hours and days on end, so that was also definitely a big part of what drew me in initially. I guess I could really just try to figure out what makes this album as freaking good as it is for hours on end but it feels like I'm already running in circles a bit here so let's give this a rest for now.

Favourite songs (and other highlights):

Propaganda: he-LLO SOLDIER BOY! perfect opener and lead in into the next track. I'm a HUGE fan of when Sparks do these kind of intros (gratsax.... EXOTIC CREATURES...)

At Home, At Work, At Play: not an EARLY fav but I truly think this is one of the best Sparks songs. Peak intense energy and everything else, very special all in all

Reinforcements: another very early big Sparks fav so I'm pretty partial to it and also somewhat nostalgic about it for that reason

Thanks But No Thanks: love the keyboard line especially....

Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth: the bridge especially is peak, and is that a mellotron I hear here? Or something very similar, either way, that's another certified Iconic moment

Achoo: this song makes me SO nostalgic, I don't know if it's the chord progression or something else but listening to it makes me seriously so unexplainably happy and I love the bridge here an absurd amount too. The baseline is so good also

Bon Voyage: this and Never Turn Your Back are a bit of a duo to me, both more grand in sound than the rest here perhaps, and absolutely showstopping live too

[melaelettrica]

Sparkstember day 4, Propaganda. A digital collage in honour of the 50th anniversary of this classic album. With a special cameo by Miss Bettie Page.

[coveredinstrawberries]

Sparkstember Day 2

[thenwethrowitonthefire]

hello.

reading your answer to the last ask made me feel warm, I had read it multiple times and each time after I lied down, zoned out, letting myself to feel or smile at certain parts (like where you talked about Russell and calling him peter pan. good nickname:)).

reading your share of story and even others on tags touched me deeply. you were right about to feel 'they get it' btw, it put me at ease how you or others get what I said. I was a little worried about misinterpretion about last ask I sent, so you can guess how I felt by the answer, when I got a long touching answer where you were talking with passion about sparkstember (and any other things about sparks)

I had watched the links you sent me and the concert in 2014 was a real masterwork in another level, their performance shook me by core to the point i wished I could go back in time and get ticket for it (if tim traveling was real(or is it real?) watching sparks on London hall would be def on my list)

in the end thanks for giving me hint about the sparkstember, I checked it out and would like to participate(not sure how much of it probably not all of it but I want to try) plus I'm not worried about my anon mask, at least not anymore. rather keeping it because I find joy on looking for my answer rather than I get notification. beside I think you had figured who am I long time ago(unless you haven't so I would eat cake to that)

Hey, I am really glad it made you feel that way :) You can bet other people felt the same way reading what you wrote, me included! It's never stopped being special to me, that we've got Sparks and this lovely fandom.

... that 2014 concert is one that makes me wish for time travel too. I'd definitely go see it again ✨ Something that doesn't come across at all in videos is how beautiful the lights in the hall were as well, it was just stunning in every single way, absolutely magical. (I'd also go see some 21x21 shows, the Exotic Creatures Of The Deep show, and Balls. But the great thing is that the thing I'm most excited about is the shows the future holds 💖 No time travel necessary 🌞)

I had indeed figured out who you were some time ago, but I'm all for letting people eat their cake ^^ So you can be anon on here for as long as you like :) I've really been enjoying your asks and I'll always continue to have a million things to say about Sparks and their work. So yeah, inbox is always open.

Anyway, I really look forward to seeing you around with Sparkstember! Also (and this goes for anyone who may be reading this): don't worry if you're not familiar with some of Sparks work yet. There is so much to explore with Sparks and it's a beautiful thing to take your time with! It doesn't matter how much you know or don't know, or how long you've been around: if you like Sparks you like Sparks and that means you have a place here. (Even after 12 years I'm still learning new things! It's great!)

I couldn't decide on my parting gift for there is too much to choose from, and so today... I'm giving you memes :)

Number 1, number 2, number 3 and number 4.

Also there's a little special day coming up for the Sparks fandom in... 4 days. (Don't worry, you don't need to do anything or look anything up. You'll see it on your dash when the time arrives, can't miss it 🌞)

------

Edit: wait here's the parting gift for this ask! (Maybe you've seen it already by now but it's just really nice anyway.)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by S P A R K S (@sparks_official)

[bawnjourno]

Nemesis by Alfred Rethel // "Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth"

Sparkstember Day 4: Propaganda

[val-treizember]

Sparkstember Day 4: Propaganda