As summer really gets going, let's take a look at a classic Coldplay song. "Sparks" was part of their debut album, an album that reached number 1 in the UK on its release in 2000 and won the Grammy award for Best Alternative Music Album two years later. And it was released on the 10th July 17 years ago.
Wow. I'm getting good at making these relevant.
Again, usual rules: only songs by professional singers/bands, professional covers and remixes. Entries are in date order because that was more work for me (honestly I don't know why I still keep up with that), and because I'm lax about the names there are some "Spark" and one "Sparks Fly" songs in there. So let's get to it, and find out which of these songs "sparks" my interest.
(See what I did there?)
1. The Who (1969)
This song is taken from the movie Tommy, about a deaf, dumb and blind kid who sure plays a mean pinball.
I'm not making that up.
It was a 1975 movie written by The Who, and uses mostly pre-recorded songs of theirs (although there is a live version of "Pinball Wizard" which sent fans surging towards the stage in excitement), including the 1969 song "Sparks". Interestingly, two versions of this can be found on YouTube: the original album version, and the version above which is taken directly from the movie. And it's amazing how different they are.
I'll be honest from the start here: I like the album version better. It's a bit wilder, it's got that classic Who sound and it's kinda psychedelic. The film version is a bit more exploratory, it has that air of discovery which goes along with the scene. And although it still has that style, it starts off a lot more muted and there's less to read into, it doesn't have the same strength as the album version since it has to give so much over to visuals and background noise too.
So I'm going to classify these as two songs. One - the 1969 version - gets my vote. The other - the 1975 film soundtrack - doesn't grab me so much. The original, as always, turns out to be the best.
2. Coldplay (2000)
And look where we are already! With these lists, the songs I started looking for always seem to end up at the top. Ah well; such is life.
Coldplay is one of those bands who seem to remain iconic, and yet on the cutting edge of music. But their classics stay with us, and this is one of those; the simplicity of the guitar and drums making it feel like a dive-bar in the evening, two drinks down, while the lyrics seem to float above the song and hang in the air.
To me, this is a classic - it's the Coldplay I grew up with, and it's the song I know. Sparks was always one of my favourites, and I think it remains so to this day, it just does simplicity so well, bringing a nostalgia for a time I couldn't even remember, but with an updated, slow rock sound.
3. Taylor Swift (2010)
We've leapt thirty-one years to reach Coldplay, and now we're time-jumping another decade, to reach Taylor Swift pre-Red and pre-1989. This was still her country-pop fusion phase, simple guitar and drums and her voice. But it has that pop sensationalism sensibility, which I don't think really works with the simplicity of the melody, and the country style doesn't fit with her powerful vocals; I think it's a bit too much of a mish-mash, too in between before she really transitioned from the original country style to her pure pop sensibilities.
There just seems to be something dissonant about it, it doesn't gel together in the right ways. "Sparks Fly" isn't one of her stronger songs, and we know this all the more now that we've seen what she can do with songs such as "Blank Space" and "Bad Blood".
4. Jesse Woods (2010)
Coming just a month after Taylor Swift's entry, Jesse Woods is closer to a true country style, although it would be possible to suggest a Coldplay-inspired vibe there. It feels vaguely spiritual, there's an echo to everything, you almost feel as though you're listening to it through a 35mm film, it feels grainy.
I swear I've heard Jesse Woods' name before, but I couldn't recall any of his songs. Maybe it's just so generic, but I can't deny his music's pretty good. I'd call it fair-to-middling, it's not my favourite song and I don't think the simplicity works in his favour - Coldplay could get away with it because they had the right sound, but for Jesse Woods it sounds a little empty; the echo doesn't exactly help either, I feel like I'm listening to it in an empty hall.
It has that beatnik feel, it reminds me of Inside Llewyn Davis. And while that's a good movie, I'm more struck by the hopelessness of it. There's something mournful in this song, and it's not bad per se, but I want something more with it.
5. Cover Drive (2012)
And at last we reach the modern pop trends. Cover Drive's over-autotuned vocal-heavy performance doesn't particularly draw me in, but when the lead vocals are given a chance to shine without so much computer interference it's actually very good. I don't understand the overreliance on after-effects for this one, they demonstrate they have the vocal talent to pull off this song without it, and it just puts me off.
It's a good mix, almost like two songs at once: the muted, forlorn piano-and-vocals combo, and the drum-n-bass, computer-heavy disco tune, which reminds me of 2010-era P!nk - think "Get This Party Started" rather than "F**kin' Perfect" - or Ke$ha, it's a good mix which they get right, but I still can't get over how heavily autotuned it all is.
6. Afrojack feat. Spree Wilson (2013)
At 40million views, this is somehow still new to me. "The Spark" is kinda funky, it's happy and optimistic and it feels almost nineties, which I like, before crashing into a more typical modern dance track. There's a lot of elements at play here, but I want to make note of the awesome bassline in particular, which is a little different and adds some funk to what would otherwise be a fairly typical disco track; and to the vocals, which are clear and happy and which I like a lot.
Seriously, this is something I'd expect to hear at a school disco until about forty seconds in when it turns into a proper disco tune, and that surprises me. I like songs which do something a little different, and this does enough to make me happy without going into full-on experimental weirdness. I know, sometimes experimental weirdness works well, but in this case that sense of typicality works well with the little elements they've added as quirks which fill out the song and make it something special.
7. The Dø (2014)
Clearly "Sparks" is the song of bands doing experimental things I like in their songs. This is another one that experiments with the usual dance/electronic formula, using loops and ambient music in between a more traditional-sounding dance chorus. The use of violins is good, giving it a more ethereal sound which blends well with the ambient sounds, and I like the way they've mixed everything together. But at the same time, I'm not a huge fan of the vocals, and I think it tries to cover too many bases at once.
There are a lot of good things going on with this one, and I like the overall sound, but I'm not hugely enthusiastic about those vocals and I think some of the shifts in tone are a little abrupt. It's not terrible, but I'm not sure I'd call it stand-out either.
8. Hilary Duff (2015)
I never watched Lizzie Mcguire so I can't say much for her acting ability, but I didn't realise she'd been performing music since 2002. Thirteen years later, she's got a song called "Sparks", and it's a sultry, stylish dance tune.
I'll say this, she's come a long way from her Christmas album. No longer under Disney's thumb, it seems she's pulling a Miley Cyrus and distancing herself from that family-friendly vibe with her explicitly sex-driven song. But it works; it's not a bad song, although it's not quite my style. It's fairly typical as a dance track (down to that whistle which I'm sure I've heard elsewhere). And the autotune isn't too intrusive, although it's still bad enough as to be noticeable. It's an okay track. Let's call it middle shelf.
9. Amber Run (2015)
This is one of the "Spark" tracks, no "s". But that doesn't cost it any points, and I think this is one of my favourite songs on the list. With a quirky music video involving a kid and his cardboard-robot friend, it has vibes of Real Steel in a somehow even more family friendly vibe, and it's a little more classic rock than the dance tracks we've been inundated for the last few entries.
It feels a little bit helpless and hopeless, like Jesse Woods earlier, but unlike Woods' country-style offering, this one has the texture and attitude to back it up. It's more like it's railing against that sadness than wallowing in it. I like the vocals, they're clear and strong and they really convey that "screw you" attitude that's directed at anger and angst and sadness and depression.
I think that's why I like it so much. It makes me feel like I can beat my depression. It makes me feel like I can keep going and get things done and generally be more awesome.
I like that in a song.
10. Neon Hitch (2015)
2015 was a good year for songs called "Sparks", wasn't it? There have already been some strong contenders, but this is in the running for a serious shot at the top spot. While the white-noise start doesn't exactly ingratiate it to me, and it starts off the melody a little slow - honestly I was expecting a slow song around the first minute - it soon becomes clear that this is only the beginning, and it quickly builds to its big crescendo, bursting into full texture, the drums underneath the thrumming melody and the soft piano, and the powerful vocals screaming how we're like sparks above it all. The contrast between loud and quiet, soft and strong is good, and I love the sounds which come in throughout, from the backing vocals to the screaming, discordant electric guitar. It's such a powerful sound, and it gives real contrast to the quiet moments where everything but the piano and the vocals fade down to almost nothing.
This hits a lot of right notes for me, although the beginning might lose it a few marks when it comes down to the rankings, but I think this is still going to break the top three.
11. Fleurie (2015)
Continuing the trend of songs called "Sparks" in 2015 is Fleurie, who brings an ambient, quirky dance tune to the competition. There's more to this one than there is to most of the others - it starts off with a more classical vibe, bringing in piano and violins before leaping straight into a powerfully cheerful dance melody which is too heavily textured to really make out much beyond the lightest parts of the melody.
Thankfully it quickly resolves itself into the electronic beats and violin hums which become characteristic to this song. This "Sparks" is happy and cheerful but the overall sound gets lost in texture, which hurts it a lot. It really shines when it lets itself quiet down a little and focuses on those violins above the electronic beat, because you can really hear the heartfelt melody they were going for and it isn't lost in a wall of noise.
12. Ghost Town (2015)
This one was a surprise to me. It's got a strong sound, heavily reminiscent of Muse's "Uprising", and I consider that a good thing, although the message is pretty clearly reminiscent of it too. I'm wondering if they were just trying to remake "Uprising" under a different name.
Nonetheless, the style is a little more modern than Muse's original take, and they've added some bits to it that make it stand out as its own song, in particular the electronic backing track and the metal-style vocals. It's got a very nu-metal feel rather than straight rock, and I think that helps distance it, but I still can't help thinking of those weird zombie teddy bears whenever I hear this.
13. James Bay (2015)
Okay, nearly half this list has been from 2015. This is getting ridiculous. Thankfully this is the last one, and it's not even a dance track!
Okay, first point: I always love a dirty guitar. James Bay gets points for that one. Second point: this is another song that knows how to do simplicity well - it textures it, gives it some weight and makes it more than the country track it kinda is.
Third point: that chorus sorta turns it into a funky pop song without having to add much else. I like the way this song moves, it's pretty consistent guitar-wise which is a shame - I despise repetition - but I like how it doesn't add too much, and the chorus is a welcome change of pace, as is the bridge. There's a sense of urgency to this song which I don't get from any of the others, it seems to be holding back, trying to push forward even faster than it really is, and that's a pretty cool feeling.
This one gets my approval, I like songs that do simplicity well and also find a way to make their sound strong. And it has that unique feeling mood-wise, I want to move faster than it does, I want to race this song. It's weird. I like it.
14. Elektronomia (2016)
Our finale for this list is just - just - in 2016, released on January 17th. And it's so bland.
It's a God damn cookie-cutter dance track, it does everything every other dance track does, the sounds are the same, the way they're used is the same. I've heard this melody at least twice, the sounds in it at least four times, that drop has been used for years in the exact same way. I can't stand songs that have these elements and do nothing new with them. This might hit the bottom of my list purely for sheer lack of imagination. It's a dance track in the same way a trance track is a trance track: because it sounds the same as every other one you'll ever hear.
Yep, there's that bounce from another song - songs so generic I can't name where these sounds are from because they're from so many places. I've probably heard half of these elements just from Steam Phunk and SaberZ, plus the rest from whatever dance tracks I have on my phone. It does nothing new, and for that I am awarding it the grey goop medal of boring.
Onto the rankings before I die of disappointment.
Verdict
I think it's obvious from my complaining what's going to go last. Sorry Elektronomia, you take fifteenth place. And I'm well aware that there are only fourteen listed tracks, but fourteenth place is going to the film version of The Who's "Sparks", because 1) they had two tracks in one here and that's cheating; and 2) I just didn't like this version very much. Which leaves thirteenth place for Taylor Swift. Yeah, she's done so much better than "Sparks Fly".
Cover Drive goes in twelfth, because that autotune was the most intrusive, annoying thing. Next is Ghost Town in eleventh, because I don't like how it reminds me of Muse to the point that I thought they'd straight-up copied the song. In tenth is Jesse Woods - it feels too empty and forlorn for my tastes, I like something a little stronger.
And so we are already entering the middle of the road. Fleurie gets ninth place, that wall-of-noise losing it massive points. Eighth goes to Hilary Duff, because she wasn't stand-out enough, I found her song kinda generic beyond the Disney break-out feel, and in seventh goes the Dø for similar reasons; it's just kinda generic, there's not much there to dislike about it but that's because there's not much to it.
Sixth place goes to The Who's 1969 album entry. It's a much stronger offering than their film version, I prefer it about eight places more apparently. And in fifth goes Neon Hitch. I know! I thought this would break the top three, but it lost marks for the white-noise beginning. Which puts my fourth place pick as Coldplay! Yeah, I like Coldplay that much, or at least this song. It's good, it's classic Coldplay, it's music done right. But it's not quite top three material.
Third place is taken by James Bay. It's a little bit country, a little bit pop, a little bit rock, and that dirty guitar really gives it some texture. It works well, and that's why it's up here. In second, we have Amber Run; I love the pop sound and the angrily defiant feeling. But it's not quite enough to bring it up to my first place pick.
Afrojack feat. Spree Wilson takes top prize. I love the sound that makes me nostalgic for an earlier before leaping into modern dance vibes, yet it still does enough to distance itself from the last place miasma of Elektronomia. It's funky, it's modern, it's cool, it's optimistic, and I just like happy songs.
So those are the songs that "Sparked" my interest (see what I did there? Again?). Join us next week, when we listen to dark melodies from beyond the void, layered with ominous chanting in an unknowable language.
Or maybe we'll just listen to songs called "Need your Love" instead.
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