At Home, At Work, At Play I’m bringing Reinforcements (A Propaganda Deep Dive)

 Hello everyone, it is Jack/Noodle here with another deep dive. This deep dive is done in collaboration with numerous other blog writers to celebrate record store day and 50 years of Propaganda which in my opinion is the most overlooked of the two albums that came out in 1974, when I am doing my absent minded research around sparks in my free time I learn how Ron can barely remember recording this album and Russell has vague memories too. But we are going to give it a full pampering today, yes I bought some lovely shower gel and shampoos and even decided to paint the albums nails and give it a skincare routine. So without much hesitation I thought I’d begin the episode, and for those wondering; yes I started working on this a month before the big date and started to write it a week before you see it. Currently I’m writing a dissertation around autism representation in media so I may be sharing some of my findings here someday if I feel comfortable, but I’m also using this blog page as part of my work experience (this episode is going to hopefully be a part of that since it’s a collaborative piece). Another update in my life, a man who I see as an awful human being has made himself a living being again and is at my university and it is making my anxiety around going into university a living hell for me so I’m very exhausted from fighting my anxiety, one day I might discuss him further but for now he’s my problem and battle, no one else’s. But without much hesitation I’m going to start us off. Please feel free to read this in sections or chunks as this might be a long read. 

(Propaganda album artwork)

So to begin let’s discuss the albums background, this album came out November 1974, November 11th to be exact (which is 13 days before my birthday). This album was one of the first chart topping albums in the UK for sparks (just after Kimono in my House). In reviews this album was labelled a “power pop” album and favoured well with critics and fans alike, my favourite thing about this album is when they were performing it over in their home country, Americans did not get the stopping and starting of the track B.C. The infamous art or photograph was taken by Monty Coles and has been open to numerous interpretations over the years, some say the story ends with them drowning, others say they escape and are free. 

Time for our track deep dive. I really enjoyed doing this because I care deeply about this album so much I have it on CD, Cassette and Vinyl. I am an avid Pro-Propaganda supporter and listener. 

Propaganda/At Home At Work At Play when I first stick on this album I hear the catchy earworm ready sound of an acapella, which almost feels like I’m returning home after a long day of work, in our modern world we rarely hear sweet melodies like it. It merges into At Home, At Work, At Play which is one of my favourite sparks songs, I first heard this in 2022 and immediately started changing my wardrobe to fit Russell Mael's. The song begins with us in the middle of someone’s important conversation with the line “I know you’re unavailable from dusk to dawn”. A theory I have is it is a discussion in a bar as in the same verse it is state that the narrator “ain’t a glutton for a lot of sweaty company” implying he doesn’t like being around the wrong crowd. It is clear the narrator loves this person and he wants to spend time with them, but he can’t seem to fix a time. I am always fascinated by the line “Stop. There’s gotta be a million girls like her, though I can’t think of one” as it implies the narrator has been so transfixed and absorbed on chasing the one person he has forgotten there’s more fish out there. Similar to my I Married Myself deep dive I feel this song relates to the loneliness but the desperation that comes from it, it is clear that the narrator is trying their best to talk to someone but they are being told “Don't let her calendar be any cause to pout” which can imply that the narrator is upset that they spend more time alone than with someone they want to love. The line “'cause half the day she’s at home, work or play” could be interpreted many ways but for me (if I’m glancing at it from the perspective of someone who is lonely) they are scheduling their time and understand where she is at a certain time which they try to use their advantage. Another lyric I can’t help thinking about is “time is fleeing the scene of the crime” as a neurodivergent person, metaphors are usually really hard for me to understand and grasp, however, this one is very simple. This metaphor could be in reference to how time passing the narrator by as they wait to see the girl again and it is eating and chewing at them as they love that girl. It is very clear that whoever is our narrator is a lonely person who only sees this girl as their friend and waits hours just to see her, however, the girl isn’t seeing them this way until the end. 

Reinforcements This song was written by Russell and Ron, so it is up for debate on who did what and this song could have multiple meanings. In my experience with this band, I’ve found songs usually are up for debate and several tracks can speak plenty of stories.  The lyric in the first verse “You won't tell me why the shrubbery moves”, this could reference the love of war films both brothers have as it was known they watched military films and war films and westerns growing up. I also could see this lyric as a reference to Russell's anxiety at this point in time as the shrubbery could reference a crowd dancing or moving and Russell not knowing how to cope with that surge of fame. The lyric “He summons help fast” could suggest the numerous times Russell is outnumbered by people taller than him (little does he know, I’m happy he is short as it makes me feel less sad about being a tiny person myself) and that lyric could suggest he felt intimidated by this overcrowding as the next line is “unilaterally I withdraw” implying he walked away and didn’t want to get involved in this. When we look back in sparks career we can tell they like their westerns and war films. The line “I could use a strong rear guard” could be in reference to this love of those films, it could also reflect Russell's need for security as fans would overcrowd him because he was attractive and because he was a lead singer. I personally gulp at the spoken word part as it brings a shiver down my spine as the line “you intercept my S.O.S in order that no news of my distress will ever reach the Homefront” which could be read a couple of ways one way I read this line is that Russell wanted to openly discuss his anxieties and mental health struggles (if he had any at that time) and he was shut down or silenced so fans didn’t hear of how nervous he was or hear that he wasn’t comfortable performing everyday. The song ends with a repetition of the line “I could use a strong rear guard” I think this repetition can imply the band weren’t taken seriously or listened to often, they wanted space and the ability to have switch off away from fans and time to process how popular they became so quickly 

Thanks But No Thanks my first time I heard this song, I wasn’t impressed, maybe it was because to my early diving into this band I heard too much of the same sounds from this album in comparison to their previous album, Kimono in my House. The first important lyric I listen to when looking into this song is “I don’t see why I must go home”, there are many ways this line can be interpreted which is great as a listener as no sparks song should be one straight answer, if you can manage to get more than one idea from a song, you’ve understood sparks. My first thought was that it is a drunk man who is angry that his wife or friends are saying he needs to go home and that he is needed, maybe his wife is pregnant or she’s sick, which could be straining the husband away from her. Another thought I had was that this line could be in relation to not feeling comfortable in being home as they don’t feel happy there, this could be seen in a sad way or a joking way as they want to hide what is going on. The line “so many that my eyes are numb” which suggests the narrator is so drunk he has stopped feeling anything, whether it was intentional or not, the story never solves this. Another thing this could reference is how they might have been punched so much it’s hurt their eye to the degree their eye is numb, again this links back to the belief the guy was drunk. This song also could have some reference to working in a label with the “my orders come from high above me” which could reference how they have people above them who create orders and they can do nothing about it, one being what is and isn’t said by the Mael brothers. I think about how Ron is an observer as he describes the other characters in the song as “in tweedy suits and pointy shoes” which is very reminiscent of the fashions of the time, when I look into 70s fashion, a lot of it is brown and beige and tweed suits, which often were worn by high figures in society. My favourite line in this song is “my parents say the world is cruel” which makes me smile as I relate heavily to it as growing up my parents also told me the world is a cruel place and tried to get me away from dressing how I wanted, until they gave up when I was 17. I also feel this comes from the narrator, if he is drunk maybe the line was said to them because their wife was sick or had just lost their child. 

Don't Leave Me Alone with Her I feel like this song is in reference to Ron in his personal life, or maybe even Russell. I said earlier, never take sparks songs literally, however, this song seems to be personal but wrapped in metaphors to make it not seem this way. In the first verse there are multiple lines which stand together well and they are “Nobody's having fun/How about another drink/Or maybe just a snack”. The way these lyrics are delivered is almost like someone getting anxious and wanting to impress a female and being awkward and not knowing how to talk to her. The line “I know it’s started slow” also could be in reference to the narrators awkwardness and wanting the girl to stay even though they don’t know what to say to them. I know a lot of sparks songs aren’t serious or literal, however, the lyric “And if you all go, who'll say no to her” which is a line from the chorus, this one lyric is why I thought this song was a personal song, which could be in reference to them at the height of this fame being attached by girls and not knowing what to say to them and not wanting to be rude to them. The next verse says “you look at her and say, ‘she looks okay to me’” which could be in reference to band mates or characters who are friends with the narrator not seeing an issue with fans who stalk or try and get their attention, especially if they were stalking, the sad reality is men aren’t taken seriously if they come out with their tales of stalking as people automatically assume we lied for the attention or believe all women are bad; none of these assumptions are true, especially in the case of Baby Reindeer, where fans tried to go detective themselves and assumed Richard Gaad had lied about this story for attention and fame. The lyric “Unwitting chaperones, how come you cannot see” is almost a question in anger as the narrator is confused and angry at how they didn’t notice the toxicity of their relationship and thought it was normal and assumed they loved each other. 

Never Turn your Back on Mother Earth - many people have stated this as a pro-environment song and many times the band have fought back this title of the song, especially Ron as he reminds people if we mess with Mother Nature, it will bite us in the butt. Which I feel is very powerful considering the world we live in currently, I can’t speak on behalf of the awful weather in America, however, in the UK (where I spawn from) we have had intense summers and violent storms (most being tail ends of American storms) when I heard this song first I was powerful song about nature and a narrator missing his friends. In the first verse “Don't be tempted by her favour” suggests the narrator is being lured in and people want the narrator to snap out of it. I relate heavily to this lyric as I have been through an emotional abusive relationship before and I was lured into him and wanted him to love me as I was. One day when my brain doesn’t lock me out of these memories, I will open up further and be more comfortable in exposing that abuser. But this lyric could also link to people wanting to test the planets limits in making fossil fuels and much more. Another lyric from this verse which I believe makes people confused and believe it is a nature song is “Towns are hurled from A to B” which I feel can imply a hurricane or tsunami. When towns are moved by Mother Nature it can mean a violent weather pattern has occurred and maybe the metaphor after this song “by hands that look so smooth to me” suggests the narrator sees Mother Nature as a person, maybe they’re an old lady who moisturises daily. I find this song beautiful, I used to see this song as an orange and brown spiral and it hasn’t changed, the spinning is beautiful and dreamy and makes you daydream and feel like you’re on clouds or out in the rain the lyric “gaze at clouds that come down crashing” is amazing, it makes me feel like I’m eating my favourite food. I love how this seems to be a reference to how the earth is dying, in 1974 no less. I believe this line might be looked at from a film obsessed view as Ron seems the sort to enjoy sci fi films, maybe you can see it as the films which ‘predicted the future’. The line “anything that brings a quick return to my friends” is very powerful, before reading up these lyrics, unfortunately I misheard a lot of them not because they don’t make sense, but because I process words differently; sometimes it makes a situation worse or sometimes people understand it. I’ve had people joke I’m going deaf because sometimes when I’m swamped by sounds I can’t hear properly and often people’s accents confuse me. But this lyric I look at as the narrator is wanting to go home as he misses his friends and maybe they went away with a crazy woman and she wasn’t what they expected. The guy who emotionally abused me he used to take me away and isolate me from everyone, I remember him laughing anytime I mentioned I had friends and work, he’d take me away and say he was depressed without me, when I look at this lyric it reminds me of times I wish I had someone to beg to and take me back home, but I never got the words out. The last lyric I’ll look at is “I’ll admit I was unfaithful” as this the narrator admitting even though the girl was bad, he was just as bad and maybe he toyed with ‘Mother Nature’ trying to get it to do what he wanted and it caused awful consequences. Another way to look at it is when people are abused, they often admit they did just as bad, often I sit frozen, numb thinking I was at fault because I joked with my abuser over messages as I “let things happen”. But from reading the song and a bit of wording from me personally, it is not your fault. The narrator was taken advantage of, like me. The narrator was lured into love, like me. But it was not our faults. 

Something for the Girl with Everything - This song I heard properly when I began working on a graphic novel around the book “Yellow Wallpaper” and I felt this song was very similar to the story, only the ending is different and the narrator isn’t lovebombing his wife. The lyric “you bought the girl a wall/complete with a matching ballpoint pen” is eerie yet it’s so sweet, a letter to my boyfriend (who will read this) please get me a brick or a wall to draw on. I feel this lyric is relating to the guy not sure what to do with his girlfriend who might be insane and the boyfriend isn’t sure how to fix it and he is ashamed of it as he tells someone they tell him how he shouldn’t worry too much as the girl has a wall and a pen, essentially saying the girl is trapped. The lyric “Have another sweet my dear/Don’t try to talk my dear” is another lyric I feel is twisted yet romantic, it is so clear that the guy loves this girl and wants her to know this. Maybe the story isn’t a man struggling or a girl struggling, maybe the story about the girl having an affair, and instead of it ending in the man accepting isolation and shame, he traps her and love bombs her to try and keep her under control. The lyric after this is “here’s a flavour you ain’t tried” it feels almost desperate and almost like this guy is trying his best to make it up to this girl and begging her to stay, this lyric could also be the guy being manipulative and making sure this girl stays and doesn’t leave him in shame. The lyric that is powerful and twists this story and turns it on the heads is “bearing gifts to aid amnesia” which I feel twists this story as it implies that the girl or the guy in this story has amnesia and both want to forget that. The love bombing to the girl, suggests that she has amnesia and maybe from a car accident as later verses mention “a really pretty car” implying they had to get a new car to fix that. Another lyric that stands out is “she knew way back when you weren’t yourself” which feels so emotive as growing up I were never myself, I only recently started embracing myself and my mum used to see that. My mum used to worry I wasn’t ever going to see mg 21st birthday, I did but she didn’t. The lyric “nobody’s gonna hear a thing you say” implies the car was bought to cover up what the girl wants to say, anything this narrator buys he is covering up his wives view.  The lyric “make sure that there’s a clear path to the door” this lyric suggests that the guy wants to escape from his wife and lock her away as he is controlling but wants to lie about what is going on. It is almost similar to the story of Ronnie Spector, a member of 60s pop group The Ronette's; Ronnie was abused and held captive by Phil Spector, he was so abusive to her she escaped bare foot. I believe Ron read about this story as she escaped in 1972 and this inspired the song loosely. 

Achoo - psychologically you want to sneeze looking at this song name, I know I do. When I look at the lyrics they’re very simple and not to be taken too literally but they seem to use achoo as a replacement for other words. The lyric “powerful sting that’ll stop any opera” is humorous and makes the listen laugh as it suggests the narrator is talking about someone who can't sing and that person doesn’t  see that, yet everyone else does. The lyric “one breath, the deed has been done” which comes after the narrator sneezes or says achoo, suggests that they are in a spy movie and they are using the sneeze to cover something up; as mentioned before when my initial thoughts were written about. Another idea I have around this lyric is that the narrator is still trying to get away from this girl, I feel in this story he took her to an opera and is now trying to get rid of her by sneezing to cover up his exits. In the next verse the line “for a girl who needs care” this lyric to me suggests that the narrator wants to leave this girl in the hands of someone who will care about her and also because he is possibly actually Ron or Russell and both want to go on the road for the tour, this could make sense as the next line is “I do hope that he makes you well” suggesting they found someone to take on this girl and we are getting only one side of this conversation, I wish we got the girls side as maybe she’s upset the narrator can no longer love her and she longs to understand what she can do for them. The lyric “You can’t ignore that sort of air” also feels like a metaphor for love, when I hear the phrase ‘love is in the air’ I take it literally or I get confused as how can love be in the air, however, with this lyric it suggests the narrator is angry or annoyed at themselves because they don’t get how they can ignore the chemistry between him and that girl and pawn her off the nearest guy he knows. The last lyric I want to look at is “open wide and say goodbye, you’ll be ok” which is both sung in a cheery way but I feel like it is a sad and upsetting lyric, the happy sound of the lyric feels like the narrator hiding how he really feels as he opens his arms for a hug then knows to say goodbye and knows this girl will be okay. Examining this lyric from a personal view I feel like it relates to the last time I saw my mum, I opened my arms wide and hugged her and said goodnight and in those arms I felt like she said “you’ll be okay” and I often don’t believe it. 

Who Don’t Like Kids - when googling this song you are most likely greeted by numerous child free people saying they hate children, instead of agreeing with them I am deep diving into this song. The first verse almost mocks catholic families with the line “offspring are springing through swinging doors” which I feel is a metaphor for how catholic families, especially in the 1960s and 1970s did not believe in protection and felt it was better to have multiple children, in my personal life I am a direct descendant of Rob Roy who was a famous real life hero and he after a year of fighting for what was right, was imprisoned and he turned to catholic religion for forgiveness, this passed down many generations but got less and less practiced until we get to me who is not religious in anyway. When I look at this line I just think of how so many catholics are in large families as their religion didn’t have the rule “protection is advised”. Another line in this verse which makes me emotional is “he looks a lot like his father” I feel like the narrator here is getting sick of the comparisons he gets to his dad and wants it to stop as it follows him everywhere. Whenever someone posts a photo of Ron with his dad, the similarities are terrifying sometimes, and I believe he is the narrator here in some way because he probably got a lot of comments on how he looks like his dad. To Ron or anyone reading this, don’t get frustrated too much at those comments, take them as compliments, I get told daily I look like my mum but with ginger hair and glasses. The next verse makes a mock of sex in the “proof that I’m not just a vegetable” this joke around sex is still super common today with many using eggplant emojis for this, this lyric takes a while to set in as a sex joke but I’m guessing the narrator wants to prove how these children are proof he’s more than a sex magnet or pleasure device, he is actually a man who loves creating the next generation. The next verse has another sex joke where it mentions “to body rumblings and rumblings and rote romance” which is mostly a innuendo for having sex. When I read this to try and deep dive I just thought this song was a simple story of someone who enjoys kids and can’t understand why people hate them, however, it’s all a metaphor for sex. I believe this lyric is the narrator wants to detail how much he enjoys the next generation and being in love with someone, it could also be a huge joke on how some many rockstars slept with numerous women, especially in this time period and then left even though they wanted to be a good dad. A lyric which could suggest this being a large joke around celebrities having sex is “kiss him goodbye for me” which could reference how most rockstars only see their ‘accident’ being born and never again, but asks the mum to tell them goodbye from them. It makes one sad to think, how many kids were born because of celebrities  being controlling of what they loved and then leaving out of shame. The last lyric is morning after and the narrator asks them to “recite sweet nothings” which is probably Ron’s closest to sex and how the morning after feels awkward but you still feel love. This line can also be interpreted as the narrator still loves this other person, despite using them and only seeing them as an object. 

Bon Voyage - this is probably my least favourite sparks song but it does have interesting lyrics to talk about. The first lyric I’ll be discussing is “it didn’t matter that we tried. Thy can only take a few from us”, this lyric feels like the end of a relationship not because the two did not love each other, but by hands outside the relationship. The part I’m looking at in particular is the “we tried” suggesting they tried to keep this relationship hidden and away from the attention of their friends or even fans. Another lyric in the first verse I look at is “the randomest sampling is complete” which I feel is in reference to how their relationship to outsiders is a random one, implying many don’t see the pair together at all or when people do see them they look amazed. Another lyric I look at when deep diving on this track is “sneak aboard with you” which could imply that the narrator wants to leave his current life instead of part ways with the one he loves, this could also show that the narrator wants to spend all his time with this love interest. A lyric from the chorus that opens my eyes a bit as it hits me deep is “I wish that I were one of you” which I believe the narrator wants to be seen as a normal person and not have to hide his shame in loving this person. Another takeaway from this line is how many autistic people wish they were normal in order not to be laughed at or stared at. I get so many people staring at me when I walk to my craft group or to the store, it’s terrifying because I don’t understand why asides because I chose to wear what I want and sometimes I make the oddest combinations in fashion. Another lyric which I feel agrees that story that this love was split by second hands is “all governed by rules of chance” suggesting chance got them to meet and fall in love and the narrator feels lucky to have someone like them in their life, this is further agreed with another lyric in the same verse with “goodbye to my lucky friends and foes” which I feel relates to the chance rule as everyone else is leaving, but the narrator can’t part with their lover so they chose to stay and consider friends lucky because they don’t have to experience a forced split. In the bridge the lyric “they will start anew” is sung which I feel relates to how after the popularity of propaganda and slight drop from indiscreet a lot of the backing band started anew as they didn’t know where to work after sparks. 

That is all I can write about today. I have been writing this piece over the course of a few weeks and I’m exhausted. In my personal life, for them unaware or still want confirmation I have a boyfriend now and he is very excited to see this piece so I dedicate my hard work to him. Yesterday we celebrated one week with our first date and had some cake, so I felt it was very fitting propaganda day was the very next day. Also this piece was done in collaboration with numerous other writers and podcasters who are in this wonderful community, so without them I wouldn’t have had the motivation to deep dive all tracks and to that I thank them, I hope you enjoyed my piece and enjoy their pieces too. In the future I might do another full album deep dive again, but until then I am Noodle, you’ve been a very interested reader and please send me messages and comments for feedback as I always get emotional reading it as it warms my heart. Thanks again and until next time