Tuesday, December 18th, 2007 ... 8:15 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. ... KZSU, 90.1 FM

(Return to playlists.)

Brainchild of our own GM, Kyle, the Three Track Special is an excuse to get DJs together to know each other better -- and to get some kick-ass music onto the airwaves in the process. Any DJ at KZSU is welcome to show up -- this includes non-air-cleared trainees, I believe -- and plays exactly three tracks. No more, no less. You can make it messy and random, or actually try to communicate something. And there's on-air banter, and (SSSHHH!!) beer.

Sparks is releasing their 21st album next year, and they're prefacing it with performances of the other 20 albums, one per night, at the Carling Academy in Islington, London. As shown earlier, I'll take any excuse to enforce Sparks on an unsuspecting public. They've had a career that's not only long, but astondingly varied. Not every one of their moves has been brilliant, nor is every song a work of genius, but they've got lots of gems in the catalog, and I earnestly admire their perseverence.

Here, then, is my contribution to the Three Track Special. Represent!

Format:
ARTIST -- "TRACK TITLE" -- ALBUM TITLE (LABEL, YEAR)
Horizontal lines denote microphone breaks.

Sparks -- "Amateur Hour" -- Kimono My House (Island, 1975)

From the glam days, when Sparks used cabaret-inspired piano lines and blazing guitars to make oh-so-fey rock music. This album's their biggest success, and some of the songs are still remembered in the UK -- sort of the same way "(Don't Fear) the Reaper" is remembered here (to namedrop another underrecognized band).

A dopier song that doesn't stand up to my favorites from Angst in My Pants, but it was the band's most popular single in the U.S. Goofy enough to fit the three-track mood, I was hoping.

The colossal, faux-symphonic answer to "Bohemian Rhapsody" but with bigger, crushing guitars. I think I've said that before. Another DJ, Josh, called it "Queen meets the Oompa-Loompa Song." Go seek out the video on YouTube.

-- Go back to Memory Select playlists.
-- Bay Area free/improv music calendar: http://www.bayimproviser.com.