The Writer’s Block: Sparks’ Ron and Russell Mael

Taking some cues from the Marx Brothers, the Mael Brothers have remained rooted in all manners Sparks . With Ron’s stone-faced Charles Chaplin-like facade and Russell’s flamboyantly delivered falsetto, the pair channel the essence of the early 20th-century sibling comedy troupe. More than 50 years since the release of their eponymous 1971 debut, the Maels still convey some of that Vaudevillian flair. They’ve mastered delivery, and still know how to elegantly stitch addictive pop ditties with natural witticism and thought-provoking lyrics. All along, Sparks have remained a pop-art enigma. From their 1974 hit “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us,” along with “The Number One Song in Heaven,” to the new wave beat “When I’m With You,” and deadpan liaison of “Shopping Mall of Love,” right into their 26th release, The Girl is Crying in Her Latte , the band continues to release more eccentricities, while demonstrating its endless versatility. “So many bands start with a big issue, either like love or world peace, and then work kind of down,” Ron Mael previously said of the depth of their lyrics, often hidden behind more abstract titles. “We start with a detail, like, with the song ‘The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte,’ just with a view of a coffee shop and a girl by herself — the loneliness and the question about why she appears to be in the state that she’s in, and just a song around that. “I think that sometimes people think that we’re a bit cartoony in the lyrics, and sometimes in the music as well, but there’s another aspect to the lyrics, at least if we’re succeeding in what we’re attempting to do, where there’s kind of some sort of emotional depth to it,” he added. “And that’s what we’re always pursuing.” Sparks also saw a resurgence in 2021 with the release of the Edgar Wright-directed documentary, The Sparks Brothers . The siblings garnered a César Award win for Best Original Music and the Cannes Soundtrack Award for Best Composer as screenwriters and composers of the Leos Carax-helmed musical drama, Annette , […]

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