The most coveted spot on the dance floor has always been under the giant disco ball (Hail Twilo!), but today’s Sparkle Video reminds us that they’re not just for hanging from ceilings. In this clip of Hot Shot performing “Fire in the Night”, our eyes can’t help but pass them over for the mirrored orb on the floor behind them and try as they might, we know who the real star of this video is! And it spins magically with gobs of billowing smoke coming from all sides as well as pouring down from the sky. An excellent touch if you ask me, and a sparkling example of what “More is More” is all about.
SPARKLE MONSTER!
Today’s Sparkle Video is an excerpt from a very short-lived variety show from 1980 called “Pink Lady & Jeff”. Jeff Altman was the comedian part of the team and Pink Lady was the famous Japanese singing duo, known for their disco hit “Kiss in the Dark”. What’s really weird is that all of the information online refers to this show as the “worst show ever made”, but I strongly disagree. One look at this clip where Mie and Kei are performing a song called “Monster”, while dressed in LeGaspi-esque costumes complete with sparkle accents and space cuffs (get some!) and the most disco-smokiest entrance known to man, is one of the most amazing showbiz moments I’ve ever seen. And just think Soldiers- there were only five episodes made of this magical splendor, but there could have been so many more! I guess people were just not ready for this kind of fabulous on TV, because that’s the only thing that explains it.
SPARKLE DOWN SOLDIERS!
Get ready because today’s Sparkle Video is gonna take you there! And by “there”, I mean KABLAM! Witness Rick James and band “Throw Down” in the most dazzling way possible, which is by looking like glamorous spaced-out-sparkle-sluts. I really can’t say it enough Soldiers, but this is exactly how superstars are supposed to look. Spandex, metallics, sequins and glitter are all holding court on that stage, including the background singers who are rocking “dancing-school fabulous” accented with cheek contour for days. It’s true perfection indeed, but then top it off with gobs of billowing smoke and there you have it: KABLAM!
I FEEL SPARKLE VIDEO GOOD!
Today’s Sparkle Video is pretty much EVERYTHING. Thanks to the Videodrome Discotheque vault, we have this exceptionally disco-tastic clip of the Ritchie Family, singing the anthem of anyone who has ever felt the urgency of needing to get on the dance floor immediately. “I Feel Disco Good” as a video has personified that feeling by showing the ladies climbing the walls and writhing around in so much disco smoke, you can barely see them. Thankfully, they’ve got those super high n’ tight ponytails (the only kind that matter) and sexy flowing chiffon dresses to make sure our eyes “stay on the prize”- them! A special bonus is the seamless incorporation of footage from several classic disco movies . This makes for such a show-stopping finale, that I’ve decided to stay home today, crank up the AC and watch each and every one of these fabulous films again.
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!
GROUND CONTROL TO SPARKLE VIDEO!
Never has travel in outer space been as fascinating as in today’s Sparkle Video. DÖF creates a very unique take on aliens with “Codo”, and while my German is still pretty spotty, it seems to be about a planet with no love and no fun. Clearly somewhere no one would ever want to go except that they have fabulous outfits. Even Da General can put up with a little “no fun” if I am able to fly around in a shimmering blue cape ensemble or chiffon-esque princess gown– but then again, that would make it fun! Also, I must confess that the guy in the plastic bag who’s fashion is so dangerously suicidal makes me a little uneasy. Can it be that no one ever told him that his bag was not a toy, or is he literally bored to death and no longer cares about living? Either way Soldiers, make sure to avoid his situation by having maximum fun coated with maximum sparkle at all times.
TRIPPIN’ ON SPARKLE VIDEO DAY
Today’s Sparkle Video had me from the moment the boot shaped mirror ball hit me with a dazzling sparkle onslaught. I love that People Under The Stairs chose to style “Trippin’ At The Disco” after our beloved vintage music shows and they definitely hit upon the most important elements. Flashing lights, smoke machine and star filters are all included here and there’s even some old school rolling video effects for just the right touch of camp. It’s obvious the boys are feeling the fabulosity of the era and even though they’re having a laugh overall, what’s no joke is their silky rap stylings layed over a classic disco beat.
On a more serious note, I know I touched upon this topic last week, but pay special attention to Thes One’s lyrics about seeing a hipster at the disco who is too cool to have fun. “With his can’t dance pants and a can’t dance beard” and that he may have grown up in a “can’t dance house with a can’t dance mom”. A “Can’t Dance Mom”? Soldiers, if you are going to take on the responsibility of raising another human being that the rest of us have to deal with, bring your children up to value what’s important. First and foremost: when you are on a dance floor…DANCE!
SUPER SPARKLE VIDEO DAY!
Today’s Sparkle Video is like an episode of “Lost in Space” gone fabulously right. Our beloved “Supernature” gets reworked by the boys of Erasure who’ve turned that stage into a dreamy planet of colorful flashing lights and disco smoke where everyone wears spandex spacesuits accented with dazzling sequins. All of this yumminess is dramatized by their slow motion movements, strobe light pods and monsterous eyeball plants hovering about like they’re going to eat them all at any second. Oh l’amour!
Sparkle Ashtray Key Chains: APPROVED!
It never ceases to amaze me how adding glitter to an object I could care less about turns it into something I can’t live without. Just look at these adorable portable Sparkle Ashtrays I picked up in Iowa (of all places!) which also happen to be Key Chains. Fascinating isn’t it? Especially because I don’t smoke, however the idea of having this number handy for my friends that do smoke seems so fabulous. Picture this- you’re at a party and someone is searching madly for an ashtray before they make a mess on the light-up dance floor and then KABLAM! I whip out this baby, to the delight of my audience, and am at your service! Yes Soldiers, good manners are very important and I think that adding this dazzling item to my repertoire of charm is priceless because it not only catches those unsightly ashes, but it sparkles, it carries keys and it’s APPROVED!
Join the Sparkle Army 