One Media One Media

Santos and Takeshi deep dive into Kdrama; Love to Hate You & Sparks - Propaganda 

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Takeshi and Santos take two pieces of media and take deep dives into them. Find out what they'll pick this week.

Intro:

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Storygram:

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Takeshi:

Hello. Welcome to one video one media, where we love to hate you, but we're still alive. That's right. I am Takeshi. With me, have Santos.

Takeshi:

And today, we're gonna talk about love to hate you. It is another K drama. So it's called love to hate you, but the actual literal title is love battle, which makes sense to say the least.

Santos:

Yeah.

Takeshi:

It is on Netflix right now. It is 10 episodes. Each one is about forty three to sixty minutes. It was released February. Here we go.

Takeshi:

English I mean, Korean. Kim Jong Kwon. It's directed by Kim Sung Kwon. And in American, it is

Santos:

Kim Yoon Kwon.

Takeshi:

Kim Jong Kwon. And let's see if he's done anything else. I'm on, like, Asian Wiki right now. So let's see what else he's done. He's done Are You In Love?

Takeshi:

So it seems like he does slice of life. Snow is on the sea, Heartbreak Library, Miracle of the Giving Fool, a man who went to Mars and ditto. He's done a lot. Nice. Screenwriter and go team.

Takeshi:

Here. And the writer is Choi Soo Young. Choi Soo Young. Choi Young. Alright.

Santos:

Choi Soo Young. You're always in between languages. I'm glad that It's not as American as the American sound.

Takeshi:

I'm glad that it you know, I I'm right in the middle.

Santos:

You are. Even with Japanese and now with Korean. So look at you. So they wrote between pronunciation.

Takeshi:

Yes. So they wrote love to hate you, ID Gangnam Beauty, Cunning Single Lady, and Pure Love. Never watched any of them, but they'll probably pop up on Netflix one of these days. Yeah. So it is starring Kim Okvin.

Takeshi:

No. Alright. Here we go. Kim Okvin. Kimokin.

Takeshi:

Alright.

Santos:

Kimokin.

Takeshi:

Why is it translated from Swedish?

Santos:

What? That's Swedish? Kimokin.

Takeshi:

There we go. Kimokin.

Santos:

Kimokin.

Takeshi:

And it's also sorry. It's also starred you you too? Tio? Here we go. You.

Takeshi:

You, Tio. Tio. Alright.

Santos:

Tio, you.

Takeshi:

Alright. He well, let's figure out what other shows Kim's been in. Yeah. She was in disclosure, the villainous, the unfair, 11AM. That was kind of the most current ones.

Takeshi:

And then she's in the Arthel Chronicles two, Love to Hate You, Dark Hole, Arthel Chronicles one, these are all drama series, Steelheart, The Blade, and Petal. So she might be in more like, I'd say, action romance.

Santos:

They sound like period pieces too?

Takeshi:

Yeah. Totally.

Santos:

A fantasy or something?

Takeshi:

Yes. So, yeah, they started it. There's a couple other actors and actresses. Okay. So you want me to start it, do you wanna start it?

Santos:

Well, I just have to say the first episode is like an explosion. There's a lot.

Takeshi:

Yeah. Maybe you should save that. Let's get into the plot Yeah. First.

Santos:

But it's not so linear. So, like, pulling back to, like, the highest level, what is this about?

Takeshi:

And by the way, when we see spoiler, we're pretty much just spoiling, like, the first episode ish and then giving our thoughts on the rest of the show. Mhmm. It's not like we're ruining the whole entire except for fruit bat fruits basket.

Santos:

But I think that's okay. I think I like a play by play.

Takeshi:

So the way it really started off in a sense so there's this lawyer firm. I can't remember the name of the lawyer.

Santos:

No. Like, well, first of all, the first episode starts with this woman walking along at night, like, la da da da da da And then you see a man who's drunk at a bus stop, and drinking plays a big theme. Drunk people in this show. Like, there's always someone a little bit tipsy or drunk. And he's at a bus stop, but he's so out of it.

Santos:

And a guy comes up to him, and it looks like a good Samaritan. And he's like, hey. Hey. Hey. But then it turns out this supposedly good Samaritan is stealing this man's wallet.

Santos:

And then this man is like a thief. He has a knife too. So it gets scary. And then he's like, ah. And then that all of a sudden, he's, like, throwing or hit or something, and it's that woman who is walking home alone in the dark.

Santos:

She's beating up this thief and really hardcore beating him up. Not just like, oh, pushed him off. Like, she's pounding his face in, like, intense. That's the opening of this episode, the first episode.

Takeshi:

The first episode, I'll I'll admit, like and I even warned Santos about this that it's really hard to understand what's going on because there's so much going on at the same time. But I'm gonna try to, like, scrape through and, like, get to the main plot. There's this lawyer firm that I can't remember the name of it. That's specifically, like Ilmu. Ilmu?

Santos:

I think so. Something like that.

Takeshi:

That specifically works with celebrities. And so there is a high class celebrity that was going through a divorce, Choi Soo Jin.

Santos:

Mhmm. She's like an actress? Or

Takeshi:

Yeah. Yeah. She's going through a very public divorce, and she's really fed up with the lawyer firm that she's working with. And she's like, I want a female lawyer. I'll leave if you don't give me one.

Takeshi:

And so since she's such a high profile client, the lawyer firm has to do it. And she actually is the one that is gonna be giving the actual interviews. It's she's gonna be a part of the interviews.

Santos:

Yeah. She's like, I'm gonna help hire this person. She I'm gonna help. Right?

Takeshi:

Yeah. So then that's which is so hilarious. And so now that's kinda like the main plot of the first episode. Basically, there's this lawyer firm looking for a female lawyer who never hires females

Santos:

No. It's all men. It's pretty sexist.

Takeshi:

Very. Okay. Kim Liu Law Firm. Yeah. Okay.

Takeshi:

And so basically, Yo Mi Ran, she's a very awesome person because she basically, like, went through attorney school, and she's very physical. So she knows all these martial arts, which she learned more about a little bit later

Santos:

Yeah.

Takeshi:

In the series. And she had her own firm, and then she found out her partner was a complete skis bag, and so she broke it up. Like, she disbanded from the business. And so she was about to move in with that guy and her best friend. I think she was a lawyer too or something.

Takeshi:

A partner.

Santos:

Best friend is a flight attendant.

Takeshi:

But wasn't she a part of

Santos:

No. They just live together. I was confused by that, though. I only know this because of, like, episode five. She's a flight attendant, and then I pieced together that she is kind of down and out on her financial gain because she got, like, scammed by some guy or something.

Santos:

So because that's why it's so important for Mehran to make money because that's a key component because her other work with her friend who was the guy was more community work or, like, social. They're

Takeshi:

making quite a bit.

Santos:

But they made a joke that they got paid in, like, potatoes and, like, an acre of land or something.

Takeshi:

Well, that guy did.

Santos:

Yeah. So

Takeshi:

She got paid in the potatoes. She was making the money. But

Santos:

Just making okay money, but I think it was more but it was more criminal case than different things. It wasn't, like, fancy select she wasn't in it for the money as much as she's in it for, like, justice, I felt like.

Takeshi:

Yeah. I can't remember what kind of lawyer that is. Justice lawyer, I suppose. So she broke it up, and then they were about to move out together. So and the the funniest thing is too is, like, she had this moment with her dad.

Takeshi:

She's like, I put together how much you paid for my tuition, how much my rent was, and here you go. And she basically paid them off and moved out.

Santos:

The first episode builds in all this information. You don't really know where it's going at first. So I'm glad you told me it was confusing because at first when I started watching it, Mo, it's not that confusing. Then I was like, oh, it's very confusing. So you just have to you're like, sit tight through the first episode.

Santos:

It'll make sense.

Takeshi:

It'll make sense, and it'll get better in the last five minutes.

Santos:

But when you meet her, she's so driven, and she's very strong. And she's not even controlling her. So, like, that's and her dad was a naysayer in her career path and was like, why? I didn't know if you'd even pass the bar. And so that's why she wanted to pay him off so he didn't owe her anything.

Santos:

Like, there is nothing imbalance, I feel like. And she also protected her mom a lot because her dad is kind of a jerk and, like, yells at the mom.

Takeshi:

Verbally abusive.

Santos:

Yeah. And so and not, like, really, really mean, but just, like, like, nagging, like, kind of, like I don't know. She just wasn't happy there. So she was they were shocked she was moving out, though, because I don't think it's common necessarily to move out on your own, you know, if you're not married or something.

Takeshi:

Right. So she moved on her own even though she knew she didn't have well, she basically moved on her own, and then she found out, like, her partner was a skis bag.

Santos:

Mhmm.

Takeshi:

So then she was forced to find a job. And so everywhere she looked, she couldn't find anything except for this one thing, a gimmu gil gil Is

Santos:

it Gilmu or Gimlu? I always mix it up in my mind.

Takeshi:

Gilmu? Here. Let's figure out how to say it right.

Santos:

Is it g I m?

Takeshi:

Here we go. Here we go. Gimu. Oh, no.

Santos:

Gilmoo. Gilmoo. Okay.

Takeshi:

Gilmoo Law Firm. And they sent her a text saying, okay. You've been approved for an interview. Because all the other ones, she like, she spent a day or two just trying to find a job, and all they said was, we'll give you a callback. And you kinda learn that, like, the industry, especially for the kind of the the higher up jobs and everything, is pretty damn sexist within the first, what, ten, fifteen minutes.

Santos:

Yeah. And there is sexism rampant through this whole show. It's, like, very highlighted. Oh, yeah. Attitudes towards women, and her attitude towards men is atrocious.

Santos:

Like, she thinks all men are awful. Like and then the one guy that she thought was okay turns out he wasn't good either, the partner in her law firm. So he has a grim outlook on men.

Takeshi:

Definitely. And so she finally gets this interview, and it's, like, 10 guys and her. She feels like she's very lucky to get the job and everything. Meanwhile, at the same time, the other character is Nam Kang Ho. Let's make sure I

Santos:

got That sounded good.

Takeshi:

Yeah. Well, let's make sure. Yeah. Nam Kang Ho.

Santos:

Nam Kang Ho.

Takeshi:

Yeah. Alright. Alright. Good. Good.

Takeshi:

He's like this really popular actor who mostly does romance movies, it seems like.

Santos:

Yeah. He's like known for being like the god of romance. Yeah.

Takeshi:

And so he's like working on this new movie, and it's not going very well.

Santos:

Oh, yeah. His coworker, the actress, his co lead.

Takeshi:

Yeah. Which I forgot to put her in there.

Santos:

I forget her name, but he does not respect her as an actress.

Takeshi:

She's kind of a prima donna in a sense.

Santos:

Very silly and not in a fun way silly, but just, like, ditzy. And

Takeshi:

Yeah. And she's basically wasting money, and that's the biggest problem because it seemed like he was almost producing it or his manager, Duwon Yoon, was producing the movie too or something because they were very concerned about how much money she was wasting. And then there was, like, this makeup. The whole entire situation started with this makeup thing where she wanted to wear her own makeup, but because the advertisement is giving them makeup for free, they have to use it. And that's a pretty big thing.

Takeshi:

You can't just say you're not using the makeup and everything. Oh, so irritated. She left the shoot. Well, at first, now I'm getting ho, talk to her, and he's not really good with words at times. Sometimes he's a little bit too blunt.

Santos:

Well, he's really rude to women. Yes. Too. Like, he kinda talked down to her.

Takeshi:

Yeah. That's very true.

Santos:

And she was annoying. So it's like, at first, you're like, ah, which is kinda annoying. He doesn't soften anything for her, and that's his costar, and he didn't even try to be kind of nice about it. He just cut her down.

Takeshi:

He totally cut her down, and she left. And so, basically, she held up the chute, which when you hold up a chute, you're basically paying for everybody for the whole entire day. And so if you ruin that whole entire day, not only are you ruining the actual where they're renting the place out at, you're paying for everybody who works there. So she ruined a full day, and that's a lot of money.

Santos:

Yes. And it looks bad on the actors and their careers probably too of, like, if you don't play nice.

Takeshi:

Of course, Nam. He was very pissed off, which he has every right to be pissed off. And so during that time, he was going off on her saying this woman is just ruining it for everybody else, and he said some pretty rude

Santos:

He said that she just wanted to be like, she's only in this for the status so that she can marry Rich. And this is not what all women want. It's just to marry Rich and so they don't have to do anything. Like, he kinda, like, generalized a lot. But he wasn't a bad he's mad.

Santos:

He was mad at someone specific, but he made some general comments about women in general. So Meanwhile,

Takeshi:

Yo, Biron, she was helping out a client.

Santos:

Oh, yeah.

Takeshi:

And after she helped out the client, she overheard him say this. She's like, wait a minute. Isn't that that one actor? And he was saying this vile because he was just venting to his manager about it. And she's like, that guy is such a monster.

Takeshi:

He's such a dick. And then ever since then, she hated his gut.

Santos:

Hated him because he has a pristine image in the public. He is a god of romance. He has cheese charming. He has manners. Like, they make him out to be just so wonderful.

Santos:

And so she just was like, what? So, like, to hear something so hypocritical come out of his mouth. And this was before her interview. So this is just a little bit of a flashback. Like, so it makes sense.

Takeshi:

Like, a day or two later. So she's wasting a lot of money now. And so the actress does apologize to Nam Kang Ho and his manager, Deo Wan Joon, about what happened. And he was like, that's not good enough. You have to go to every employee there and apologize to them too, Or else she was gonna owe them Mhmm.

Takeshi:

The company. Like, I think it was, like, 8,000,000,000 won or something. Yeah. Quite a bit of money. And so she was like, okay.

Takeshi:

I guess I have to do this.

Santos:

And she did the apology too because it wasn't a part of her contract that she couldn't get out of that movie.

Takeshi:

And So you couldn't get out of it.

Santos:

And Right. Is there I forget. There's some there's a lot of lawyer contract stuff going on during this.

Takeshi:

So She couldn't get out of it unless she could pay, like, a whole bunch of money Mhmm. And kind of get out of it, but she knew that she'd be broke pretty much.

Santos:

Yeah.

Takeshi:

And then it'd all get out that she left them and then she'd lose even more money for being so bad. You know, there's a whole bunch of crazy layers going on in a sense. Meanwhile, Ma'am Gang Ho, you learn that he really has problems with doing the kissing scenes and the romance scenes in movies. And you don't really know why yet, and you learn a little bit later, but you don't know exactly what's going on in that part. And so I think Nam, Kang Ho, and Deo Wan Joon were both going to the lawyer firm at this one point while Yo Mi Ran was about to get into an interview.

Takeshi:

And, no, everybody loves Nam Kang Ho. They're the greatest guy ever. And then she sees him walk past. And while he's walking past him, she trips him.

Santos:

Yes.

Takeshi:

Flat on his face. And I was like, after I saw that, was like, this is a good series.

Santos:

It's so good. It's so funny because she's sitting amongst those, like, nine or 10 other dudes who are waiting for their interview. So they're all sitting in their interview clothes, like, quietly in the hallway. And then here comes this celebrity, and everyone's like, wow, a celebrity. And she just stealthily sticks her shoe out, like her foot out, and he just goes down.

Takeshi:

They're like, base plants.

Santos:

Base plants. And he's like, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. And his manager is like, laugh, and then they start laughing, like, very fake and awkwardly.

Takeshi:

Yeah. So that's one part of the whole entire series. And then there's this other part. So she learns pretty much the only reason why she gets hired because I wanna skip some of the stuff and everything. Is the only reason why she gets hired is because she is female, and that drives her crazy.

Santos:

Because she thought she beat out all those dudes.

Takeshi:

Yeah.

Santos:

But then it turns out, no. The actress just wanted a woman lawyer. And so that's how you and no other word lawyer applied because they don't hire women, so no women apply to that firm, basically. So it's like a really yeah.

Takeshi:

She does make a really good lawyer for this one actress and everything. So it's not like she's a bad lawyer.

Santos:

She No.

Takeshi:

Understanding and everything. But she when she learns that, she's like, oh god. I can't believe I got reverse sexism going on. And it's

Santos:

like Yeah. She's like, this is what reverse sexism feels like. Like, she's so upset. Subpart, she had a boyfriend. I don't know.

Santos:

They were cheating on each other or something. So you'll watch the show and see, but he works at that law firm. So she took this job based on the money. Like, it's not a desirable job for her to have in a lot of ways because I don't think it aligns with, like, her principles because it's just working with celebrities versus, like, she's doing more, like, criminal justice kind of stuff before. And then it's like her scummy ex boyfriend's working there.

Takeshi:

Yes. There's that. Then I'm gonna kinda skip to this other part where Nam Kang Ho is in a newer movie, and it's kinda like an action movie, which he really wants to get into. So there's all these fight scenes, and he already knows that Yo Mi Rong is really good at street fighting. And so when he was rehearsing his action scenes, the director kept on saying, oh, look.

Takeshi:

You're too sporty. You gotta be more natural about it. It's gotta look like a street fight. We can't have this action guy. And so he hires Yo Miran to actually teach him how to street fight, And she just beats the living out of him because she thinks that he is, like, this child predator and everything.

Santos:

Oh, yeah.

Takeshi:

So she, like, totally just oh, man. He he, like, made her, like, him pass out, and she looked through all this So that's the other, like, real subplot.

Santos:

Yeah. Because she trips him because she's like, got her little revenge. But then she sees him at some point on accident, whatever. And he she sees a young girl with him that looks like a minor and him giving her money and leaving. And so she decided, like, wow.

Santos:

I think he preys on children. So she gets obsessed with trying to solve that. Like, so she gets into his life more. So you're like, why would she wanna you know? So she ends up getting into being his lawyer, getting to be his fight coach because she just really wants information about him so she can take him down around that.

Santos:

But so she's just really vindictive, or she's lot of vengeance in her. And one of my favorite lines ever, she says something like, I like violence more than justice. If I was a cop, I had been fired for beating up suspects. And the other one was because at the beginning, I told you it opens up on her basically fighting this dude off. Right?

Santos:

Like, she's like a vigilante. Yeah. And it got Batman. It got recorded, and it went viral, but you no one knew it was her except her best friend could tell it was her. And her best friend called her a female thug, and she goes, you didn't have to call me a female thug.

Santos:

I'm just a thug. Like, it was that's what she was mad about. I just thought it was really funny. And she does street fights, so that's her skill. And that's what the actor really wanted from her was like but she won't tell him.

Santos:

Like, no one knows except her friend.

Takeshi:

Explain it. She explains it literally.

Santos:

Oh, she does give kind of her background story of, like, why she started training and yeah.

Takeshi:

Yeah. It's just It's

Santos:

so funny. So I don't know if we explained. Like, this show is very funny. There's a camp factor to it. It's kind of campy and silly.

Takeshi:

Yeah. I think on Netflix, they explained it as, like, a better version of business proposal. I'm gonna say no.

Santos:

No.

Takeshi:

It's still really funny and really good.

Santos:

They're in the same class.

Takeshi:

I'm gonna say it's still

Santos:

I would not say I haven't finished it. I'm halfway through, and every episode builds and gets better and it, like Okay. Unfolds and things are revealed. So that's that's why Takeshi is probably like, I don't wanna spoil alert because it's really fun to watch it.

Takeshi:

It's fun to watch. And okay. So here's some of my other thoughts

Santos:

Mhmm.

Takeshi:

On it. I like the sound effects. I thought they were really silly. And then episode nine kinda falls off.

Santos:

Okay. There's only 10 episodes.

Takeshi:

Only 10 episodes. So that's where the tipping point where everything just kinda falls off. I'm just worrying everybody.

Santos:

Uh-huh.

Takeshi:

And then the last episode was good, but it kinda sucked at the same time. I didn't like the resolution too much. And you have to watch it to kinda understand what I mean. And also episode two where they're singing in in the club, it has function ones, and that's really cool. Function ones are these really nice speakers.

Santos:

Oh, yeah. And I just wanna say, like, she is someone who is serious and fierce, but she throws herself into stuff. So this law firm is like, oh, well, we do karaoke, and we do silly stuff so that we entertain our clients. And they're kinda goofy, like wearing costumes, and she thinks it's so dumb. But she throws herself into it like an A plus student.

Santos:

So she's, like, putting on a costume, singing her heart out, dancing around. Like

Takeshi:

Oh, even during the interview, she had to sing. That's the thing. I believe

Santos:

that was

Takeshi:

the song she sang.

Santos:

Yeah. They made her do a talent show for her interview, and that's not even sexist. That's actually just the actress being strange. She's, like, wanted to get to know her. But she will just she's kinda like a super achiever.

Santos:

So even if it's not something she really cares about, it's kinda like you'll hear her thoughts sometimes.

Takeshi:

Yeah. Definitely. And I like the character dynamics and, like, how they all play off of each other and how there's these different plots and everything. And my biggest beef, especially more towards the end, is just like, what's her name? Yo, Miron.

Takeshi:

She's just good at everything. And eventually, that gets a little annoying, but it's not especially the last couple episodes.

Santos:

And she's bad at, like, her relationships. She's a player too. Just, you know, she's like a total player. Like, she just would hook up with people.

Takeshi:

Totally. Which does bite her in the butt later. I don't wanna ruin too much else because I know Santos needs to watch the rest of it.

Santos:

I need to finish it. And I just have to say, like, I don't know. Like, when they claim it's better than business proposal, I say no just in the in the structure even of, like, business proposal you were in right away. It wasn't confusing. It was great.

Santos:

This one's a little bit more confusing.

Takeshi:

I'll admit, though, because I dig through a lot of Korean dramas. It's always the first episode where you have to, like, stick with it and see if it's actually gonna be good or not. Because you can't do that with other series and stuff like that, like animes or anything else. You could kinda tell within the first ten minutes if it's gonna be good or not, if you're gonna like it. With Korean dramas, especially, I guess, real Korean dramas in a sense, you have to watch through the first episode.

Takeshi:

If the first episode doesn't make much sense, then you have to watch the second episode to see if it's any good.

Santos:

It's funny because in American TV, I feel like the first episode sometimes is weak, but you know what's going on. And it's the second episode when the character chemistry is there. Whereas I feel like the character chemistry was all there the first episode. It's just like, I did not know the plot. Like, I was like, oh, it's finally coming together.

Santos:

Like, they don't spoon feed you. Like, it's like, it you're surprised the whole time, and that's okay too. So I guess it's just different storytelling techniques.

Takeshi:

You're definitely being thrown in blind, and you don't know what's going on.

Santos:

Yeah. That's kind of cool. Yeah. But I I guess, to me, like, business proposal didn't have that. So that's why I think it was I just really liked it.

Takeshi:

Maybe business proposal was definitely, like, they had the American audience in mind or something, or this one did not.

Santos:

Maybe it's cuter than this one. They're both good. Both good. I Hard for me to say one's

Takeshi:

better, though. Proposal more, but this one's still amazingly good. I love to death. I

Santos:

love it.

Takeshi:

It's fun. But I'm just warning you, the ninth and tenth episode.

Santos:

Such a bummer that it's not as good. It's it doesn't end strong.

Takeshi:

You'll see.

Santos:

There gonna be another episode or another season?

Takeshi:

No.

Santos:

No. It wraps up.

Takeshi:

It wraps up. But 10 is good. I just don't agree with some things, and that's just all opinion. You know? It's not like end all or anything like that.

Santos:

I want everyone to watch it because I'm having a blast. It's really fun. If you wanna laugh, it's so funny because she's just Laugh out loud. Wild. Yeah.

Santos:

There's, like, so many funny parts to it.

Takeshi:

Okay. So that's one thing. I think business proposal, there is some funny bits in it where this truly has some, like, laugh out loud moments where you're, like, just laughing hysterically at things. Mhmm. So it does have a little bit more comedy to it.

Takeshi:

So, anyway, check it out. Let's not ruin it for everybody. Alright. So we'll be right back in just a moment. StoryGram Network.

Takeshi:

Hello. Welcome to One Media and One Media. I'm your host, Takeshi. And with me, have Santos, and we take two pieces of media and we take a deep dive on them, kind of. We just talk about it.

Santos:

Kind of.

Takeshi:

Hi.

Speaker 2:

My name is Laura Lee, and this is It's Not About Food. So it's not about food, and it's not about weight. What is it about?

Santos:

It's the intersection of possibility where what ifs and why nots collide. Some on the cutting edge, others on the cutting room floor. It's a place I like to call the bleed.

Takeshi:

And we are back and we're gonna talk about Sparks propaganda. And they are a rock duo of Ron and Russell Mayo. Mayo? Literally forgot how to say that right. Hold on here.

Santos:

How's it spelled? Mao.

Takeshi:

Mao? Mao. What? Yeah. M a e l.

Takeshi:

That's American.

Santos:

M a e l. Oh, that's a weird last name. Yeah. Yeah. Maele.

Takeshi:

Yes. They've been around for a while. They're originally from Los Angeles, California. And okay. First off, there is a really good documentary about Sparks.

Takeshi:

It's called The Sparks Brothers. It's on Netflix right now. It gets a little bit long. I'm just worrying everybody. So if you're not interested in the whole entire history of Sparks, then you're probably gonna taper off around an hour and a half in or so.

Takeshi:

Just to be honest.

Santos:

I need to watch that.

Takeshi:

Yes. It's pretty interesting. So they claim their inspirations is definitely like cinema in a lot of their music. So their first act that they did, I think it was called either as half Nelson. They even got signed to a major label, but their album was never sold.

Takeshi:

They came out with like at least two albums. And so the manager suggested they change their name to Sparks. At first, it was the Sparks Brothers, and then they chained this or cut it down to just Sparks. And, of course, it didn't sell.

Santos:

It still didn't. Oh, that's funny. And was that in the sixties or in the early seventies?

Takeshi:

Late sixties, early seventies. And then so they just decided to do kinda like the Jimi Hendrix thing where you move over to England to make it big. Well, they did that twice once before, but they decided to disband the group and they wanted to hire a fully English group. If I remember right, A little rusty because I watched it over a week ago. Yeah.

Takeshi:

And then they hired Muff Wynwood to produce a kimono in my house. And that's where they really blow up in England.

Santos:

Is that before or after propaganda?

Takeshi:

It's before.

Santos:

Okay.

Takeshi:

That's the one that has this town ain't big enough for the both of us. And they actually were on top of the pops or whatever, and that's how they got really popular in England. If you make it there, if you're actually played there, then all of a sudden, you're gonna, like, have a nice career for the rest of your life. So Propaganda was released 11/11/1974. It is 33.

Takeshi:

It is on Island Records and is produced by Muff Winwood. There's not really that much information about it except for what you get on the Sparks Brothers documentary. It seemed like it was just kind of like a continuation of Kimono in my house. And then the ones after that, they start changing quite a bit. Like, indiscreet, I think, is kinda similar, but, like, that's during the time when, like, punk rock was coming around and they just didn't really care about it at all.

Takeshi:

So they decided to do more, like, our pop stuff and, like, add strings and and then they came out with, like, Big Beat, which is kind of more of a trashy rock album, but that's something else that's completely different. And that's when they let go of their band in England and decide to have, like, an American band and do, like, weird glam rock, hard rock stuff. This band, these brothers are so interesting because after, like, you know, a couple albums or whatever, they get bored and they'll just change their style completely.

Santos:

That's what I heard. That's a little bit of that I heard and read about them was that they just kept changing. And so it's not helpful in keeping fans necessarily.

Takeshi:

Well, but David Bowie did it, and it was fine. But they did, like, drastic changes. And so we

Santos:

There's one thing to, like, evolve your sounds. Like, David Bowie, maybe it's, like, more, like, grew and evolved. I don't know if he made, like, one eighties or totally

Takeshi:

He changed a lot, but it was always kinda similar in a sense where all of a sudden in the late seventies, they came out with the number one song in heaven. That inspired Joy Division and it was just beats. I think if I remember right, it's beat music. It's like techno. And I think it's Russell on his keyboard and then Ron is singing.

Takeshi:

But that's kinda like the first inception of a synth pop band. And so seeing that, it inspired like Joy Division, Dipesh Mode, and all these other bands, which is really amazing. So let's circle back to propaganda.

Santos:

1974.

Takeshi:

'19 '70 '4. It's called propaganda, and then the cover is them being tied up and taken away on a boat. Yeah. And there's two other pictures, and you actually see that because if it's in a record, you see the other pictures of one with a phone and they're trying to call, but they're still being tied up and all of this

Santos:

Uh-huh.

Takeshi:

And it's really, really interesting. The singles on here are never turn your back on mother earth, propaganda, something for the girl with everything. By the way, marry me. Or I don't know. And Achoo, which is such a good song.

Takeshi:

They were pretty much good after this, pretty much, until they decided to change their styles. And listening to this album, it's very interesting because at points, it kinda reminds you of a musical or a soundtrack or something like that. Yeah. Definitely. I'm trying to wondering, are they copying somebody else or are they really this original at this time?

Takeshi:

And I I can't tell. And it's interesting because you could tell that it wasn't written by a guitar player and it was written by a piano player because the guitars aren't in the forefront of the album. It's pretty much the piano even though you hear guitars in the background, but it's not like this lead instrument like in other rock albums in a sense, which really surprised me.

Santos:

Yeah. I like what you said. Like, feels like a story or a play or something.

Takeshi:

Yeah. And I can't tell if they're mocking the listener for what it is or what they are doing.

Santos:

They're quite playful in well, if you listen to this on Spotify or maybe it's on everything, of course, the last song isn't a song. It's an interview.

Takeshi:

Oh, yeah. And

Santos:

that kinda just gives you a little idea of, like, their personality a little bit, and they are kind of playful and silly and kinda sarcastic. So I guess that would make me question, like, yeah, like, what's the tone there with their music? But the album is upbeat and fun.

Takeshi:

It's really interesting and, like

Santos:

Easy to listen to.

Takeshi:

Very, very easy to listen to. And the craziest thing is I could hear all these bands that got inspired from them Mhmm. Or music that's similar to it. And it drives me crazy just listening to it because it's just like, wow. This is really a thing.

Takeshi:

One of the funniest quotes from the documentary is Beck. He's like, whenever I'm on tour, there's always someone who brings up sparks, and then we end up going on this wormhole talking about sparks for however long.

Santos:

It's like so, yeah, that's what I would like to watch documentary too if they talk about, like, a lot of the people who are inspired and continue to be inspired. Because they've been making albums forever.

Takeshi:

Like got 25 albums.

Santos:

Yeah.

Takeshi:

And it's funny because it shows that, like, when they were playing in England during this time, Queen opened up for them.

Santos:

Yes. If you like Queen, I think you'd like sparks.

Takeshi:

Yeah. This one and the one before, it reminds me of Queen in a way. And it's very interesting. And there's this other band, they're called Mindless Self Indulgence. They're very offensive.

Takeshi:

So if you ever look them up and there's their top eight songs on Spotify, one of them, they have a song on there that's very derogatory. And it's basically, I'm not gonna defend them, but the song is not gay bashing. It's about people calling them this word, the singer this word, and because he's effeminate or whatever. So anyway, it's up there. But anyway, the singer is very inspired by this band.

Takeshi:

Like, it sounds like an updated hardcore whatever version of Sparks, especially this era. It's very, very weird and creepy in every way. That's all I gotta say about that.

Santos:

So That's so funny. Yeah. That album just feels creative. If you listen to it, it feels, I don't know, just so original.

Takeshi:

Yeah. It's very original. I like it a lot. It's a lot of fun.

Santos:

Have you listened to their other albums?

Takeshi:

Yes.

Santos:

I wanna listen to the one that you said was inspired.

Takeshi:

Oh, Joy Division?

Santos:

Yeah.

Takeshi:

That one, I believe, if I remember right, it's more a synth pop. And they have like like I said, they go all over the place. And so when you go through the catalog, it's hard to really pinpoint which one you like to like and everything. I mean, they worked with a singer from, I think it was the Go Go's. Mhmm.

Takeshi:

So it's really tough. And I know they worked with, like, Giorgio Marauder, which he's a disco founder in a sense. And so they do have a lot of synth pop stuff.

Santos:

Oh, and there's music is I mean, I don't know the names are really kinda silly, like angst in my pants. Or

Takeshi:

Yeah. It's not too serious, which that's why I'm always wondering, are they just mocking us?

Santos:

I feel like they're mocking us. I think they're having a good time, and they're very playful and kind of surreal. And Yeah. I mean, it's so crazy to look at all these albums starting from '71 is on that's what's available

Takeshi:

on there.

Santos:

You see that there's probably a couple from the sixties. Right?

Takeshi:

Well, computer girl, that's actually from, like, half Nelson.

Santos:

Oh. But then it goes all the way through to 2021.

Takeshi:

Yeah. Like, they're a pretty prolific band. They deserve to be a lot bigger. Maybe they are. I mean, I don't know.

Takeshi:

It doesn't seem like they get a lot of love because a lot of people don't know who they are and who they inspired or, like why they're so quintessential as a band and Mhmm. And how they did shape modern pop music. So like, they are very important and I really do think they should be in the rock and roll hall of fame whether they will ever or they should be.

Santos:

Yeah. Like, we are putting them in there. Yeah. They're in our rock rock and roll hall of fame. There's so many albums to choose from.

Santos:

Start with propaganda because it's great. A fantastic album to kick off your sparks rabbit hole. And then I'm excited to watch that documentary, actually.

Takeshi:

Yeah. Check it out. It's absolutely amazing to an extent.

Santos:

Do you have a favorite song of this album?

Takeshi:

Oh, it's so hard to choose a song from this.

Santos:

I think a good album means it's hard to pull one song out of because it flows together so well.

Takeshi:

Yes. There's two I really do like, and I think I was you know what? I'm gonna I'm gonna do a chew. Anyway, so good. So damn good.

Takeshi:

I gotta play you mindless self indulgence. It's pretty funny. Like, how much the singer sounds like this guy. I'm not gonna play the bad one. Here we go.

Takeshi:

Sounds like the singer. It's so creepy.

Santos:

Yes. That is so cool. That's really cool. I'll have to look at them.

Takeshi:

They're cool, but they're extremely offensive. Just warning everybody.

Santos:

I know. Sometimes I

Takeshi:

That's their point. And I I I think I told that story Am I trying

Santos:

to be offensive to groups of people or just like they're vulgar?

Takeshi:

They're just vulgar. And Okay. I love a vulgar musician. Yeah. Yeah.

Takeshi:

But there are the band I think I told you about where the singer held up the sign after they're they're they're done playing that said kisses $1. And then it said on the other side of the sign, STDs from a rock star priceless, which was blocking that credit card ad. But Yes. And he did that. He made out with everybody until they left.

Takeshi:

It was so gross. But it was so good. Yeah. He did that. Anyway, so propaganda.

Takeshi:

What's another good song? Go ahead and

Santos:

Bon Voyage.

Takeshi:

Oh my god. Such a good song.

Santos:

I love that song.

Takeshi:

Bon voyage. Right? Bon voyage.

Santos:

It's such feel good music.

Takeshi:

Oh, yeah. Here we go. Right? So good.

Santos:

So good. Think of, like, Alice in Wonderland or something. Like, they're Yeah. Teachers from a different realm. They're just having such a fun time making music together.

Takeshi:

Yeah. Definitely. Definitely. It's very good. So we recommend it.

Santos:

Oh, yeah.

Takeshi:

And definitely dig through their catalog because it's gonna trip you out.

Santos:

You know, like, you're like, I'm kinda tired of this sound. Don't worry. They probably tired out of it too and moved on to a different sound.

Takeshi:

Yeah. Yeah. And it's pretty interesting because I do interview the people, like, the heads of their labels at the time or the producers of the albums before, and they're like, well, they're artists and they do what they want to do. It's just like right on. Yeah, so they do have a lot of artistic integrity regardless.

Takeshi:

Check them out. It's fun.

Santos:

Yeah.

Takeshi:

Let's wrap this up. You could find me at all social medias at glitch unicorn.

Santos:

And you can find me at some social medias as sister Santos.

Takeshi:

Alright. Talk to you next time.