Track by Tracks are great aren’t they? Providing a subjective view of what the hell is going on with the artist assembling their record. All the more fascinating if that record was 25 years in the making. Over to Mike then from sparkle*jets uk to describe some of the critical facets of their new LP Box of Letters…
This Will Be Our Year
I was late to the party with the Zombies' Oddesey and Oracle, and heard it around the time we started working on this album. I thought it would be fun revved up, but also would make a great band manifesto. We'd had a moderate success on our first two albums and were in a good position with many people paying attention. I thought 'This Will Be Our Year' would be a great album starter. We couldn't have known it would take 20+ years..... 'took a long time to come' for sure, but we think maybe we needed to wait until now. Let's hope.
Goodbye X3
This was about bass player Jamie retiring from his old job and starting a new career in Education. We were all soon roped into that situation and the energy of the band went into it. It's a good thing, and we've done good work, but really that's where we've been hiding!
Princess Needy
This song is not about any specific person, just an amalgamation of things that were bugging me at one point in life. I'm wishing now it wasn't gender-specific but the feelings still apply. Some people just need to be at the center of attention, to the detriment of themselves and the people around them they feel compelled to control. It's just a pop song about that, with a disco break in the middle for no goddamn reason whatsoever!
Love Burn
I will pull a recent quote from Susan, who wrote this one:
"(Love Burn is) a… hurts so good, kind of hurt. It is more about LOVE than sex. If something burns when you are having sex, that probably is bad. But something better be burning somewhere if you're talking about a love thing."
I Can't Wait for Summer
It's no secret I'm a Beach Boys fan, and like them I'm So-Cal born & bred. Every summer I do a podcast with a friend of mine and we are always looking for good 'summer' songs and I figured we might as well have one of our own. It just took me 20 years to finish! It's very much a 'New York's a Lonely Town' kinda thing, with a hopeful coda.Little Circles
This was written during the MySpace era, really. As much as things change, they stay the same. It's also where I'm at (still) as a songwriter. I'm trying to create something that will resonate and matter to people. We are all about as significant as gnat shit in the grand scheme of things, but we are everything to the others in our lives. I can't be certain that life has any meaning or purpose, but if it does it is that we love those around us in the time we're here. That's enough purpose for me.
Box of Letters
This was an old demo Jamie had kicking around when the bulk of these songs were written, but it never had lyrics so we never quite got it off the ground. As I was reviving the project a couple years ago, he came forward with some lyrical ideas he'd jotted down after finding some old love notes. Of course, Susan wasn't about to sing something that was totally straightforward, which is why the ending has a bit of a twist. But we were all immediately excited by how well the track turned out, and it re-defined what the album would be called and what it's all about.
Where's the Moment?
I was sitting out in my hammock looking up at the leaves swaying in the breeze, trying to be in the moment. I find doing that almost impossible. I'm looking forward or back. planning or remembering. So I took that moment to lament this. It's a departure from our usual style, but I enjoy doing that anyway. I don't think anything we do is 'usual'! But this is one of the brand new ones, so I'm secretly hoping people will notice!
You Complete Me
Written the same day as the previous track. I wanted the most overtly-sweet twee 60's pop song possible. It reminded me very much of 'No More Girls' from my solo LP which all the pop guys gravitated toward, and so again I asked my Yorktown Lads bandmate Addison Love to contribute the middle eight which he did, brilliantly. I must admit, I didn't really understand at the time what co-dependency meant. My bandmates laughed at the demo and explained that I really had it wrong, so instead of scuttling the whole thing, I just explain this in the third verse. I hope that tracks as charming innocence! Like I said, it's very twee and that's not for everyone but I love it. I also asked Susan to sing it so we had to record it in a couple different keys!
I'm Away from My Desk
This song is about drudging through a 9 to 5 office job. It's been 15 years since I had to do that. This song should resonate with many people with that kind of gig. Where are we going to lunch? Water coolers. Bathroom breaks. I wrote this song (and many others) on bathroom breaks at my old job. I was working for my family business at the time, so I hope they forgive my poetic licence.
One Two Tango
This song is bonkers. I have no idea what it's about. It was a rough birth because the meter of the riff and the meter of the lyrics didn't match. We couldn't figure out how to sing it right, and let it sit for a couple decades. We came back to it with fresh ears, made a few adjustments, and BAM!
Hey Grandma
Back in 2004 a bunch of LA bands went up to San Francisco to play a festival and booked a bunch of rooms in the same Motel. We wanted to play a 'San Francisco' band song and worked up this late 60's Moby Grape tune (which the Move Covered contemporaneously). It became a frenetic workout. I was able to get the multi-tracks working so we could remix it and it turned out so well we had to let it close the album. So we have 60's covers bookending our record. We thought about leaving them off, but they're both fun examples of what we're about.
Essential Info
It's sparkle*jets u.k. Week in Outsideleft (intro)→
Box of Letters LP review by John Robinson→
Track by Track Box of Letters by Mike Simmons
Interview with Mike and Jamie→
Eargraters: 5 Record Mike Simmons would go to the End of the Earth to Never Hear Again...
sparkle*jets u.k. on facebook is here→
Big Stir Records, sparkle*jets u.k. page is here→
