Hello , My Name is Russell
Russell Mael ( left ) of Sparks
6 illinoisentertainer . com june 2023
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rolling stone gathers no moss , it ’ s been said . And that makes perfect sense to vocalist Russell Mael and his keyboardist / composer brother Ron Mael , a couple of fun guys ( rim shot , maestro !) that have spent their entire five-decade-plus career as the idiosyncratic altrock duo Sparks staying in perpetual pinball-caroming motion over 24 stylistically-diverse albums . From their quirky 1971 eponymous 1971 debut disc through three mid- ‘ 70s classics for Island , 1979 ’ s disco-nodding No . 1 in Heaven , and FFS collaboration with Franz Ferdinand ’ s Alex Kapranos , to their award-winning recent soundtrack co-write for Leos Carax ’ s film Annette , and finally , 2021 ’ s The Sparks Brothers , a detailed documentary on the group , lovingly directed by longtime ultra-fan Edgar Wright , nary a lichen has had time to take root . And the Maels didn ’ t rest on their new cinematic laurels over lockdown , either – they got even busier , crafting a brainy new record dubbed The Girl is Crying in Her Latte , which was promptly snapped by their old imprint Island . Not bad , considering that both Maels – who still look eerily Dorian Gray youthful – are both in their mid-70s now .
And there ’ s not a single note of “ Girl ” that feels jaded or phoned in . All tracks are unusually inspired and simultaneously musically complex and lyrically inventive , even arcane , from the opening buzz bomb of a title track ( whose video features a yellow-garbed Cate Blanchett doing a marionette-jittery dance ), through a shimmery “ Veronica Lake ,” the thoughtful “ The Mona Lisa ’ s Packing , Leaving Late Tonight ,” and a closing anthem with the snarky title of “ Gee , That Was Fun ” that could serve as a perfect concert coda , as well . In fact , throw a dart at any number , like , say , the robotic “ We Go Dancing ,” and guaranteed , there ’ s an intriguing backstory to it . Initially , it might seem like it ’ s merely discussing diversion or distraction , admits Russell Mael , 74 , on a recent Zoom call , his only major upgrade being a pair of goggle-grand glasses ( his old brother , not on the call , still maintains his stoic Chaplin-mustachioed silent-film persona , which masks a truly devilish wit , as Wright ’ s doc makes clear ) But he urges fans to really study the lyrics – there ’ s much more to them than meets the eye . Yes , he ’ s singing about losing yourself at the nightclub . “ But the song is also speaking specifically about another kind of thing , a fantasy of sorts about Kim-Jong Un in North Korea , and him becoming the biggest DJ in his land . And after seeing all the pageantry and stuff that goes on with their military parades and all , he ’ s kind of taking it to the ultimate extreme , where he ’ s become more Western in his attitudes on his people . So they ’ re still suffering , but the people are responding to him as if he ’ s the greatest DJ in the world , and the clothes of the women have become fashionable – their olive-drab outfits have become what Westerners would call ‘ fab ,’ which is one of the lines in the song .” And what other modern outfit can you name that puts such serious intellectual effort into all of its material after so many years ? As their legend goes , in their early days in Pacific Palisades , both brothers occasionally did some catalog modeling . “ But there was no Plan B , ever ,” Russell swears , no other career option for them but music . “ So I think that ’ s why what we do sounds the way it does – there was no Plan B , so you have to make Plan A be exceptional , or you ’ ll really be in trouble !”
IE : How did your life change after Edgar Wright entered it ? RUSSELLMAEL : Well , Edgar was very bold in wanting to undertake a project that would be three years of his life as a filmmaker , to speak about his passion for Sparks , and wanting to spread the word to more people , because he feels that Sparks deserves to be ** heard by more people . And for whatever reasons – sometimes mentioned in the documentary – he wanted to correct what he felt were wrongs because he really feels that Sparks deserves to be recognized by a bigger audience . And so he wanted to throw himself into this documentary , and we think he did a really amazing job of it , making a really good film . Regardless of whether it was Sparks or not , he just made a really good music documentary , and Sparks happened to be the beneficiary of his great work .
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