«Sono troppo avanti rispetto ai loro tempi: questi ragazzi non faranno strada».
Questo sentenziava un poco avveduto giornalista americano nel 1969. Erano appena nati gli Halfnelson, il cui nucleo era costituito da due tizi di Los Angeles che si spacciavano per fratelli. Ron Mael, appena ventenne, sembrava un vecchio rachitico, era ingobbito e sfoggiava orribili baffetti hitleriani su cui avrebbe composto alcuni ridicoli nonché esaltanti pezzi; Russell Mael era ancora un adolescente, gagliardo e riccioluto. Il primo se ne stava in secondo piano appeso alle sue tastiere con aria vagamente tisica, mentre il secondo cantava e incantava con la sua voce angelica. Attorno a loro, una band di mattoidi destinati vorticosamente a cambiare.
Quel giornalista, si è capito, ci aveva visto malissimo: gli Halfnelson di lì a poco avrebbero cambiato il proprio nome in Sparks e si sarebbero ritagliati un posticino solo apparentemente periferico nella storia della musica. E di strada ne avrebbero fatta non poca: "Hello Young Lovers", il loro ultimo (e ventesimo) lavoro, è uscito nella primavera del 2006.
Chi sono stati gli Sparks sarebbe storia davvero lunga a raccontarsi. In breve: sono stati l'apogeo del glam-rock a metà anni settanta, quando "Kimono My House" scalò le classifiche inglesi e "This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us" raggiunse il secondo posto tra i singoli, quando schitarravano in modo anarchico e beffardo su una serie di testi che variavano dall'assurdo al caricaturale, tra riff psichedelici e sgangherata innovazione (i Queen nascono anche da qui); sono stati una delle più influenti band elettroniche degli albori (dopo i Kraftwerk e pochi altri), lanciati da Giorgio Moroder nel 1979 con un disco di straordinaria modernità ("Number One In Heaven") che avrebbe detto non poco a Pet Shop Boys, Erasure e compagnia, rimanendo insuperato; sono stati al numero uno in Francia a metà anni ottanta con un pezzo balordissimo ("When I'm With You"); sono stati il trionfo artefatto e cotonato del trash anni ottanta, attraverso un paio di album discodance di una bruttezza assassina, ben sotto al livello delle compilation di Bimbomix; sono stati al centro dell'eurodance di metà anni novanta, con una canzone che ha fatto sfracelli in Germania ("When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way'?") e con un disco ben venduto e accolto in Europa ("Gratuitous Sax And Senseless Violins"); infine sono diventati un fenomeno cult, idolatrato dalla critica quando nel 2002 ha sfoggiato un disco sconvolgente come "Lil' Beethoven" (pop e musica classica assieme), quando gruppi come Franz Ferdinand e Futureheads (come già in passato Faith No More e Beck, tanto per rendere l'idea della varietà) hanno dichiarato il loro amore e i loro debiti verso di loro (alla lista si è aggiunto persino Daniele Luttazzi...). E i due fratelli, il tempo, li ha mantenuti intatti: il primo sempre vecchio, come a vent'anni, con gli stessi baffi; il secondo sempre adolescente, come a sedici, con la stessa voce.
"Hello Young Lovers" vuole ripetere l'esperienza del precedente "Lil' Beethoven": base di archi, clima da operetta, ripetizione estenuante degli stessi temi, totale abbandono della struttura tradizionale della canzone, testi (come sempre) divertenti e grotteschi. In più si aggiunge una dose maggiore di chitarre (suonate da Dean Menta) ed effetti che però suonano troppo spesso datati, fuori tempo massimo, o semplicemente di serie b, playmobiliosi. Difficilissimo dire altro: è un sound strano, che solo raramente dà risultati comparabili con la musica che circola: "Perfume" è un buon pezzo, il più tradizionale, che si dondola su un piacevole jingle di piano swingeggiante; "Dick Around" è la cosa migliore del disco, una cavalcata a metà tra musica classica cantata e hard-rock, quasi metallo, con cambi di tempo continui e spiazzanti, a dimostrare che questi cinquantenni, dopo più di 35 anni di carriera, riescono a tirare fuori cose che nessuno mai si è sognato di scrivere. Divertente "There's no such thing as aliens", tre minuti di sviolinate vaudevillanti e burlesche all'altezza degli Sparks migliori: solo archi, piano e voci che si intrecciano. Il resto mescola momenti francamente incomprensibili e noiosetti ("Here Kitty", "Rock Rock Rock": ancora solo archi e cori di cantato-parlato) ad altri che cercano di ripescare qualcosa dal periodo d'oro del glam e che recuperano soprattutto una poco impiegata batteria ("Metaphor", "Waterproof"). "As I Sit Down To Play The Organ At The Notre Dame Cathedral" chiude in gloria: sette minuti di coretti, chitarre distorte, organo e decorazioni medievaleggianti. Assurda.
Il discorso, con gli Sparks, è sempre il solito: o li ami o li odi. La prima sensazione ad un ascolto di un loro qualsiasi disco (questo più di altri) è un immenso imbarazzo. Quindi il consiglio è di ascoltarli in solitudine. Poi la vergogna passa: e o li ami o li odi. Io, lo confesso, li amo. Il fatto che questo disco mi abbia lasciato freddino, tranne alcuni passaggi memorabili, mi ha preoccupato un po'.
Consiglio comunque, per conoscere questi piccoli maestri rimasti sempre all'ombra, di partire dalle cose migliori di questo disco e di andare poi a ritroso: si capirà che i Mael sono dei turbinosi geniacci che da decenni, girando instancabilmente attorno alla musica nel suo senso più vasto, ne scoprono sempre nuove e inesplorate sfaccettature. Con più o meno fortuna, ma con un coraggio invidiabile.
Elenco tracce testi e video
01 Dick Around (06:38)
All I do now is dick around, All I do now is dick around, dick around
Every day, every day, every day Every night, every night, every night Every day, every day, every day, every day, every day Every night, every night, every night, every night, every night
Overtime, more overtime, I'm conscientious by design
To reach the heights of academe To be the captain of the team
To CEO a thousand who will do the things I say to do
And I will make a lot of bread And you will find me good in bed
I will push, I will pull, I will push, I will pull
Pull a couple strings and find myself atop the corporation
Tailored to the maximum, I send another fax to them
A parking place, a new Corvette, a manicure, a private jet,
A stock incentive busting out,
"A phone call, sir."
Well, say I'm out.
"Your lady friend."
Well, put it through.
(SHE:) "Uh, listen, dear, I'm through with you."
(SHE:) "Through with you, through with you, through with you, through with you."
Yes, I think I got the point and bang, there goes my motivation
What to do, what to do, what to do, what to do,
All that I can think of was "I'm tendering my resignation."
But, all I do now is dick around
All I do now, is dick around, dick around
All I do now is dick around, when the sun goes up and the moon comes out
When the leaves are green and the leaves are brown
All I do now is dick around
I've got so much to do, gotta pick things up, gotta see things through
My, how the time does fly, gotta wave hello to a passerby
All I do now is dick around, when the sun goes up and the moon comes out
When the leaves are green and the leaves are brown
All I do now is dick around
I've got so much do
Gotta pick things up, gotta see things through
My how the time does fly, Gotta wave hello to a passerby
All I do now is dick around, when the sun goes up and the moon comes out
When the leaves are green and the leaves are brown All I do now is dick around
Think about the recent past The cynics said too good to last
But she could change her mind again Oh, no, this movie said "The End"
So I will go about my day Just dicking round, my metier
And realize that life is change And furniture to rearrange
Why the hell, why the hell, why the hell, why the hell?
Why the hell did she desert you when you were so influential?
Why the hell, why the hell, why the hell, why the hell?
Why did she desert you when you told her she was so essential?
Pull yourself up off the ground You've started liking being down
The persecution feels cool The subtle feel of garden tools
But what about that other life 'Cause this is more an afterlife
Seducing you each night and day You're never gonna break away
Look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me,
Knowing that from now on what you do is strictly non-essential
Look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me,
Knowing that from now on no one wonders if you've got potential
All I do is dick around, the sun goes up and the moon goes down
The leaves are green the leaves are brown
And all I do is dick around
Why the hell, why the hell, why the hell, why the hell?
Why the hell did she desert you when you were so influential?
Why the hell, why the hell, why the hell, why the hell?
Why did she desert you when you told her she was so essential?
But all I do now, is dick around All I do now is dick around, dick around
Every day, every day, every day, every day, every day
Every night, every night, every night, every night, every night
Every day, every day, every day, every day, every day
Every night, every night, every night, every night, every night
Every day, every day, every day, every day, every day
Every night, every night, every night, every night, every night
But all I do now is dick around All I do now is dick around, dick around
And all I do now is dick around
All I do now is dick around, dick around
Then I got the late-night call,
(SHE:) "I really miss you after all"
"I had a fling and that is all,
"A stupid fling, then hit the wall."
"So take me, take me, take me back."
"I love the way you scratched my back."
(HE:) Well, there is something you should know."
(HE:) We might not be simpatico."
All I do now, is dick around All I do now, is dick around
(SHE:) "I don't care what you do, dick around, I will too."
(SHE:) "I don't care what you do, I'll dick around next to you." But all I do now, is dick around
All I do now, is dick around
Dick around
02 Perfume (04:59)
Genevieve wears Dior
Margaret wears Tresor
Mary Jo wears Lauren
But you don't wear no perfume
Deborah wears Clinique
Marianne wears Mystique
Judith wears Shalimar
But you don't wear no perfume
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
Anna wears CK1
Jeanie wears Opium
Trisha wears No.5
But you don't wear no perfume
Susan wears St. Laurent
Janie wears L'Air du Temps
Kirstin wears Davidoff
But you don't wear no perfume
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
The olefactory sense is the sense
That most strongly evokes memories of the past
Well screw the past
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
Genevieve wears Hermes
Annabelle wears Arpege
Betty Lee wears Guerlain
But you don't wear no perfume
Katie wears Giorgio
Lily wears Moschino
Jenna wears Kenneth Cole
But you don't wear no perfume
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
Carol wears Cacharel
Lana wears Tommy Girl
Cynthia wears J'Adore
But you don't wear no perfume
Jennifer wears Celine
Laura wears Armani
Deborah wears Polo Sport
But you don't wear no perfume
Gina wears Vera Wang
Sheila wears Helmut Lang
Dinah wears Oxygene
But you don't wear no perfume
Jody wears Gaultier
Peggy wears Jean Patou
Stella wears Lagerfeld
But you don't wear no perfume
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why I want to spend my life with you
That's why, that's why, that's why, that's why
That's why, that's why, that's why, that's why
06 Metaphor (04:03)
A metaphor is a glorious thing,
A diamond ring,
The first day of summer
A metaphor is a breath of fresh air,
A turn-on,
An aphrodisiac
Chicks dig, dig, d-i-g, dig, dig metaphors,
Chicks dig, dig, d-i-g, dig, dig metaphors,
Chicks dig, dig, d-i-g, dig, dig metaphors
Use them wisely,
Use them well,
And you'll never know the hell of lonliness
A metaphor is a popular place,
A pocket space,
A multiplex showing,
A remake whose action is louder than words,
She whispers "can we be going, going?"
Chicks dig, dig, d-i-g, dig, dig metaphors,
Chicks dig, dig, d-i-g, dig, dig metaphors,
Chicks dig, dig, d-i-g, dig, dig metaphors
Use them wisely,
Use them well,
And you'll never know the hell of lonliness
Whose up for a metaphor?
(We're up for a metaphor)
Are you chicks up for a metaphor?
(Yes, we're up for a metaphor)
Don't, don't, don't, don't, don't mix them
(We, we, we won't mix them)
Don't, don't, don't, don't, don't mix them
(We wouldn't dream of mixing them)
Use them wisely,
Use them well,
And you'll never know the hell of lonliness
A metaphor is a glorious thing,
A diamond ring,
The first day of summer
A metaphor is a fresh air,
A turn-on,
An aphrodisiac
Chicks dig, dig, d-i-g, dig, dig metaphors,
Chicks dig, dig, d-i-g, dig, dig metaphors,
Chicks dig, dig, d-i-g, dig, dig metaphors
A metaphor is a glorious thing,
A diamond ring,
The first day of summer
A metaphor is a breath fresh air,
A turn-on,
An aphrodisiac
Chicks dig, dig, d-i-g, dig, dig metaphors,
Chicks dig, dig, d-i-g, dig, dig metaphors,
Chicks dig, dig, d-i-g, dig, dig metaphors
Use them wisely,
Use them well,
And you'll never know the hell of lonliness
A metaphor is a glorious thing,
(Chicks dig, dig, d-i-g, dig, dig)
A metaphor is a breath of fresh air,
(Chicks dig, dig, d-i-g, dig, dig)
A metaphor is a glorious thing,
(Chicks dig, dig, d-i-g, dig, dig)
A metaphor is a breath of fresh air,
(Chicks dig, dig, d-i-g, dig, dig)
Chicks dig, dig, d-i-g, dig, dig metaphors,
Chicks dig, dig, d-i-g, dig, dig metaphors,
Chicks dig, dig, d-i-g, dig, dig metaphors
Use them wisely,
Use them well,
And you'll never know the hell of lonliness
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