Today’s Sparkle Video was chosen for two reasons. One: because it’s Sylvester and Two: because it features a remix from “Mighty Real: Greatest Dance Hits”, a collection of his music (including 12″ versions!), set for release this coming Tuesday. This clip is an edited montage of videos showcasing Sylvester in some of his most glittering outfits along with a hypnotizing roller disco guy that I just can’t get enough of. Then there’s the show-stopping melange of dancers in satin hot-shorts that starts at 1:57 and pulls you through an unrelenting rise to a sparkling peak at 2:56, when our angel raises his sequined covered wings in full disco glory! Now I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t ususally care for remixes of the disco classics and this one is a bit speedier than I would personally choose (I’m a classic 4/4 girl), however I do believe that Sylvester would approve of this fun and exciting take on his music and therefore, so do I.
SPARKLE’S THEME
I am so in love with today’s Sparkle Video because it’s truly beautiful. The sweet sounds of orchestrated strings calibrated to the disco beat always makes my heart flutter, and combined with the vocals of Love Unlimited takes this classic to a whole ‘nother level. “Love’s Theme” performed live (yes, really live!) is also a visual treat starting with the Barry White & Love Unlimited light-up sign on top of the flashing lights of the Soul Train stage. Then we have our three lovely ladies in matching big hair, bedazzled sparkle outfits, and hands adorned with gobs of gold rings and amazingly long nails– a style I’d like to see more often today. On top of all that is the color. The overwhelming warmth of red and yellow everywhere, from the stage down to the all the dancers in the crowd seems like everyone got a memo telling them what to wear. However, I prefer to believe that like all things fabulous, it just happened magically.
SPARKLING EXPECTATIONS!
Today’s Sparkle Video has a fabulously unusual open which is accompanied by that disco beat that makes my heart pound and my booty shake! It all begins with flashing lights and the suspense of the camera pushing into a room filled with gobs of disco smoke until finally, we see the lovely ladies of First Choice in their brightly colored spandex catsuits. They sure know how to create “Great Expectations” on that tinsel and glitter-filled stage and lucky for us, they also know how to deliver!
CAN YOU HANDLE SPARKLE VIDEO DAY?
I love funk just as much as the next General, however today’s Sparkle Video was chosen for one reason only: the sparkle outfit to end all sparkle outfits. I’m gagging over the most singular sensation of head-to-toe sequins I have ever seen! The singer from Graham Central Station is a vision in glittering silver made all the more sublime by bell sleeves, matching pants and a commanding rhinestone necklace (I’ll be honest, I could live without the wig, but I’ll never deny a Soldier their right to fabulously big hair). I think that “Can You Handle It” is the perfect name for a song sung by one wearing this ultra-dazzling ensemble because not only can I handle it, but I want it. Bad.
ONCE UPON A SPARKLE VIDEO
Today’s Sparkle Video is true perfection because not only does it feature our beloved queen, Donna Summer, but it also has a fabulous intro about the positive effects that going to the disco can have in one’s life. This should be shown in schools all over the world so that future generations will understand the importance of flashing lights, disco balls and laser beams- plus I’m sure it’s what Donna would’ve wanted. I’m also sure that if we could speak to Donna now, she would say that her one regret in life was not wearing enough sparkle outfits, as many of her performance clips are “sans sequins” like this one. However, that never stopped her from shining bright like a glittering diamond! I can’t believe it’s been a whole year since her passing, and I don’t think it gets any easier to believe she’s gone, but thankfully we have these videos to enjoy and celebrate her eternal beauty and also to remind us that we are not Donna Summer, and therefore, sparkling is required at all times – especially on the dance floor.
SOLID GOLD SPARKLE!
Today’s Sparkle Video is a “mash-up” edit of an extended disco classic married to various Solid Gold countdowns featuring the show’s sexy dancers with fabulous hair and gobs of satin, sequins and glittering pizzazz. It’s the fashion show of my dreams set to the sparkling sound of “Souvenirs” by Voyage and accented by the swirling light from disco balls. I want this to run in a loop all day, everyday- then my life would truly be complete.
THE SPARKLE VIDEO HALL OF FAME!
Today’s clip features a group that is our first inductee into The Sparkle Video Hall Of Fame. Boney M has graced our Fridays several times over the years, and will continue to do so with their never ending supply of musical classics and wardrobe filled with infinite disco fashion– and this particular version of “Rasputin” is all about the FASHION! Everyone in the group looks dazzling wearing a gorgeous shade of purple, the color of royalty, accented by thousands of sparkling sequins. It’s like a runway show featuring nothing but the most supreme disco fashion with swingy “dance floor” fabrics, asymmetrical shoulders and my personal favorite, the dramatic “bat wing” effect. All of this glamour on one stage is further dramatized by the background of a majestic staircase and a stage filled the gobs of smoke. HELLO.
SPARKLE VIDEO’S ALIVE!
Today’s Sparkle Video is one of the most invigorating, life-affirming extravanganzas I’ve seen in a while (well since last Friday anyway). I mean, is it me or is Saphir performing on a stage decorated exactly like my dream home? Colored neon, rotating disco lights, and murky smoke billowing around the boys who are wearing a fabulous combo of satin/headband/mustache fashion. “I Am Alive” is, as of this moment, my new favorite song and I’m designating it as the official summer anthem of 2013 for its sparkling ability to make me want to hop on a plane to Berlin immediately… or at least get me to the nearest dance floor pronto!
SPARKLE MACHINE HEAVEN!
Today’s Sparkle Video is something I like to call, “Off Da Chain!”, featuring The Commodores. Yes Soldiers, The Commodores, who even though their outfits have always sparkled madly, are mostly known for their sweet and sometimes tear-jerking ballads like “Three Times A Lady”, “Sail On” and “Lady”. However, there was a time long before the pop charts when they were full of funk, and as witnessed by this clip from a fabulously stage-lit Soul Train, that they were outright “trippin’-on-acid-y” . This instrumental performance of “Machine Gun” is two minutes and 36 seconds of heaven, watching the guys get down in their blue bedazzled jumpsuits accented with fluttering white feathers and magically lit with glorious star filters. The whole thing makes me wish I could jump in a time machine and head over to the studio so I could bug-out on the dance floor and, if I’m extra lucky, maybe even get in on a line dance!
Mirrorman of L.A.: APPROVED!
According to his website, artist Gustav Troger aka Mirrorman, is a living sculpture and who’s mission is for “people to question reality by looking at him and seeing themselves instead”. His amazing suit is made from hundreds of mirror pieces that are attached in layers instead of glued flatly down on the fabric. This allows for greater flexibility in movement and a smashing “theme track” when he walks. He’s also created a dazzling Mirrorcar with the same geometric-style cuts of glass, which must be quite a spectacular sight when he’s driving it! I think what I love most about his suit is that it’s the closest any human has ever come to achieving “invisibility” and for that- he is APPROVED!
Now all he needs is some lasers!
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