I believe the name Sparks is in the dictionary under the phrase quirky bands. What’s not to love about an LP with a title punny enough for the pun community? It is, of course, a pun on the Rosemary Clooney hit, Come-on-a My House. I haven’t heard this album for awhile but the music is pretty darn good as well.
Kimono My House originally caused a stir in music circles by not having the band or album name on the cover. Those were obviously simpler times:
Here’s a faded scan of the LP in its gatefolded glory. It looks like it spent too much time in the sun:
The 1970’s were the heyday of promotional materials. I quite like this poster:
Here’s the original album in its entirety:
Although not a recent development, I was happy to see that Ron Mael abandoned his, um, Charlie Chaplin moustache in favor of the pencil.
But, IMHO, the pencil moustache belongs to John Waters. No one else has the panache to absolutely own that look.
Although honorable mention goes to Jackie Gleason as Buford T. Justice.
As long as I’m derailing this thread right out of the station with remarks on things hirsute, (weak segue, but I have no shame) be sure to check out TPM’s front page. The “Denny Hastert spotted” photo looks like a frame from the infamous Patterson-Gimlin bigfoot film.
I think William Powell and some of his peers rocked the pencil thin mustache as well. My late father had one in his younger days inspired by Powell and Cesar Romero.
And Vincent Price! I guess I overlooked a few.