High Justice Complex and Change (A Sparks Deep Dive)

 Hey everyone, it is Jack/Noodle here again. I was planning this episode for the past few days as I have been using this blog as example of me sharing my work/behind the scenes as part of my university work and it’s my proudest work in terms of my writing. Before I begin todays deep dive I thought I’d like to say this episode I created around a sparks song that I feel gets often overlooked, many know it for the infamous UK interview where the Mael brothers (Ron especially) expressed their anger for a low budget which was only enough to record the song and get a bit of cardboard. Yes that song is Change. A standalone song (it’s on compilation albums and I believe it’s sometimes bundled with Music You Can Dance To). So feel free to get a tea, coffee, water or whatever and feel free to add and contribute in comments your own viewpoints, I’m more than happy whenever I share these ideas/concepts and someone understands them or adds their spin on it; I got suggested I make more deep dive episodes because so many loved reading my last one. For that I’m ever so grateful and without much more rambling I start the dive into the deep waters. 

Sparks around mid 80s, not related to the era Change was created. I just liked this image. 

Where do we begin? Change is a protest song. To roll credits and turn the lights back on and let you leave the room and feel accomplished. But if we look deeper, it is very relevant in today’s world where we hear “nurse strikes” or “train driver strikes” as Sparks are a part of the creatives who are constantly exhausted and having steam coming out their metaphorical ears because they’re worked everyday and every minute because they want the hits. In recent times, the creatives world essentially went on strike, creating a few pieces of lost media such as Batwoman. Back before the Mael's had full creative control over whether they create a hit or not, they belonged to a label who wanted hits as it was in an era where sparks weren’t making hits. I can understand the labels frustration as so many teachers are waiting on me to create a masterpiece or do something exciting after my downward fall in no great works. But I also have sympathy for the Mael brothers because it’s overwhelming when everyone wants a great piece from you and you just want something authentic and had time and energy poured from your heart. But when we hear change, it’s not a positive “Here’s some pop music I made this lovingly because we are afraid our slip in the charts is making us turn into ash dust”, it’s an angry chant and rage that’s brewed since 1981 and it is saying, “here’s a fucking pop song, take it or leave it”.

 When I first heard it, I was blown away by how it starts slow, almost like when someone’s angry but doesn’t want to let it show. The line “I feel like a dog that’s been kicked out in the street. I know dogs can’t drive cars, but that’s about the only difference between us now” I hear the anger in Ron, he wanted to say how he was enraged that Sparks were seen as this inspiration but treated like fools. In my life, I’ve had moments where holding in rage and frustration at people is my only solution. I worked events where I’ve had people come up to me, learn I’m autistic and treat me like a small kid; the frustration holding is real as I mask most my traits so I can smile and laugh at their jokes about how their friend didn’t want to come because it was too much for them. Another line in this song is “You can argue all day long about if love really exists or not. It’s a complete waste of time” I can tell that both Mael brothers were just exhausted of living just for entertainment and wanted people to see they were a real and serious band. They also wanted to evolve and not just stay still in terms of musicality. Another line I want to pick out is “Paradise was here, paradise is gone” suggesting that while they had massive media hype and attention in the early 80s they had “paradise” which was because of the money they gained from being successful, but due to the dip in popularity they lost it. I’ve had moments where I’ve lost “paradise” such as my university’s lack of a sensory area so my small bit of possible paradise is gone. 

Next things I’d love to talk about is the music itself, when we take away lyrics about rage and anger. The song sounds very messy, almost like when someone’s so angry they trash a room and it’s scattered photos and trinkets and CDs everywhere. I also feel it sounds like a messy painting, almost like when I don't give my paints time to dry. The section at the end, after the lyric “Vaudeville was here, vaudeville is gone” there’s a mash of instruments which sounds like the smashing  of objects. The rage is real. Sparks want to be taken seriously! The piano after this destruction sounds like someone trying to take a deep breath or two before resuming their life. I’ve had moments where the only solution to feeling overwhelmed is to hide in a bathroom and count to 10 or 30 and breathe because everything feels too much. Another part of the music is love to share is, what I mentioned in the beginning, the slow start of the music; it is almost as if the narrator is trying so hard to hold in the rage. 

Holding in my rage because someone treated me like a child because of my autism.

Rolling credits and lifting the lights but shining a spotlight on the record labels for exhausting people now, this song as mentioned earlier is protest. Whenever I hear this it sounds like a march and everyone’s chanting “Change, every dog is gonna have their day” because they want equality. They want to be able to do what they want, they want to be able to make make music how they want and when they want. Whenever I hear this I wonder if in their personal lives, things were going on and they were angry their label was demanding more hits. I shove the metaphorical bright light into the eyes of this label and wonder why they demand so much. I often theorise this song was the breaking point for the Mael's and gave them the adrenaline in creating their own label. 

Connecting this deep dive to the title of this blog to this deep dive, I want to mention high justice complex. I have been doing research on autism and the interesting ways it seems to appear in AFAB (assigned female at birth) people, and high justice complex is where we feel passionate and strong and powerful about a topic. For me, it’s transgender and queer politics. I am SO passionate about these because I live in the UK and I’ve had rights nearly taken away from me thanks to numerous governments and I don’t understand why they get so worked up about us just existing. This sparks song feels like something I’d scream at a protest or a march because I want to see Change. Change isn’t going to happen unfortunately overnight, however, I would love to see it happen over a few months as I get exhausted being treated like rats. Change isn’t going to magically convert the general population into allies who ask for pronouns and apologise 50 times because they misgendered you, change is going to be accepting not everyone will like it but people will be understanding of all kinds of shapes exist on this planet. Change isn’t a trans flag raised high at Buckingham Palace and government bodies marching and shouting for us, change is MPs trying to push their views and getting the public to talk too. I know it won’t magically happen, but I hope for the slow day change starts. 

Voting can help in making change, emailing local MPs too, signing petitions also

That is it, I pull up the curtains and take my bow. I also want to thank Monte who convinced me to create more deep dives. Earlier, I went on a “side quest” where I walked through an old muddy path to get photos and enjoy the weather as a friend promised to hang with me but they didn’t turn up. Anyways, I bow to you all and hope you enjoyed my episode today, I’m trying to keep this regular and next month I have an extra special deep dive which is a collaborative effort. I am Jack/Noodle and this was Soundwaves from Noodle.