What’s the one album or film that changed everything for you? On The Spark Parade, host Adam Unze sits down with actors, musicians and other cultural icons to explore the music and movies that ignited their creative journeys. Each episode is a deep dive into a single transformative work of art — from cult classics to chart-topping albums — and how it continues to shape their lives and careers. You’ll hear from artists like Margaret Cho, Maya Hawke, Chris Gethard, Beth Ditto, Bob The Drag Que ...
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Consequence and Sony bring you an exploration of iconic albums and their ongoing legacy. Join host Adam Unze as he examines how masterpieces continue to evolve: shaping lives, shaking rafters, and ingraining themselves into our culture. Maybe you’re a longtime fan who wants to go deeper. Maybe you’re a first-time listener curious to hear more. Either way, you’re in the right place.
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Ok Go front man Damian Kulash's Spark Is Fugazi's Repeater
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37:26Damian Kulash, lead singer and guitarist of OK Go, joins Adam for an unforgettable conversation about the album that changed his life: Fugazi’s landmark 1990 release Repeater. Damian shares his teenage memories of discovering Fugazi in the heart of the Washington, D.C. punk scene and how Repeater gave him a blueprint for making music that was raw, …
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Suzanne Vega's Spark Is Lou Reed's Berlin
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28:42Legendary singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega joins Adam to discuss her deep connection to Lou Reed’s 1973 concept album Berlin — a haunting, operatic record that became a major influence on her songwriting, especially her iconic hit “Luka.” Suzanne shares how seeing Lou Reed live for the first time at Columbia University blew her mind, how Berlin’s bru…
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Legendary drum and bass DJ and producer Goldie joins Adam for a deep dive into the cultural force that helped shape his identity: the groundbreaking graffiti documentary Style Wars. From his first encounters with the film and Subway Art to his close relationships with graffiti pioneers like Henry Chalfant and TATS CRU, Goldie unpacks the profound c…
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Freaky Tales and Captain Marvel directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's Sparks Are The Outsiders And The Shining
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35:15Filmmakers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Captain Marvel, Half Nelson) join Adam for a rich and nostalgic dive into two beloved films: Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders and Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. They explore how both films shaped their creative lives, the emotional and stylistic impact of each, and their unique experiences discovering them.…
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This week on The Spark Parade, Adam is joined by the incredible musician Corook for a deep dive into Juno, the 2007 indie classic starring Elliot Page and Michael Cera. Together, they unpack the film's raw honesty, its nuanced approach to teenage life, and the way it portrays relationships with humor and depth. Adam and Corook also explore Elliot P…
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In this episode, Adam Unze sits down with ZORA, the genre-blurring artist and producer, to dive deep into the nostalgic world of Spy Kids 2 and its lasting cultural impact. They discuss why the film remains iconic, how early-2000s music and aesthetics shape ZORA’s sound, the evolution of nostalgia-driven reboots, and the unexpected celebrity connec…
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David Gray's Spark Is Van Morrison's Astral Weeks
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29:35🎙️ In this episode, host Adam sits down with singer-songwriter David Gray to explore his deep connection to Van Morrison’s iconic album Astral Weeks. From his first listen at university to his eventual obsession, David unpacks the album’s hypnotic power, poetic brilliance, and unique soundscapes. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ How Astral Week…
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50th Anniversary: Blood on the Tracks: How Dylan Birthed Bootleg Culture
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28:56Bob Dylan’s iconic 15th studio album Blood on the Tracks was released on January 20th, 1975. To celebrate the landmark record’s 50th anniversary, we’ve dug into the archives all the way back to 2018 to re-release the very first season of The Opus! Hosted by journalist and author Paula Mejía, The Opus: Blood on the Tracks explores the legacy of both…
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50th Anniversary: Blood on the Tracks: Evaluating Dylan's Cinematic Legacy
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32:48Bob Dylan’s iconic 15th studio album Blood on the Tracks was released on January 20th, 1975. To celebrate the landmark record’s 50th anniversary, we’ve dug into the archives all the way back to 2018 to re-release the very first season of The Opus! Hosted by journalist and author Paula Mejía, The Opus: Blood on the Tracks explores the legacy of both…
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50th Anniversary: Blood on the Tracks: Beth Orton and Kevin Morby on Dylan's Songwriting Process
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22:43Bob Dylan’s iconic 15th studio album Blood on the Tracks was released on January 20th, 1975. To celebrate the landmark record’s 50th anniversary, we’ve dug into the archives all the way back to 2018 to re-release the very first season of The Opus! Hosted by journalist and author Paula Mejía, The Opus: Blood on the Tracks explores the legacy of both…
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50th Anniversary: Blood on the Tracks: Canonizing Bob Dylan's Human Opus
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29:54Bob Dylan’s iconic 15th studio album Blood on the Tracks was released on January 20th, 1975. To celebrate the landmark record’s 50th anniversary, we’ve dug into the archives all the way back to 2018 to re-release the very first season of The Opus! Hosted by journalist and author Paula Mejía, The Opus: Blood on the Tracks explores the legacy of both…
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Bishop Briggs' Spark Is My Chemical Romance's The Black Parade
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36:15Singer and songwriter Bishop Briggs loves the sweeping emo theatricality of My Chemical Romance's breakout album The Black Parade. She's drawn to its punchy lyrics and anthemic melodies, but also loves the risk taking aesthetics that border on camp. In a wide ranging conversation, Bishop talks to Adam about her love for MCR, Lady Gaga's fearlessnes…
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Chris Diamantopoulos' Spark Is George Michaels' Faith
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31:47Prolific actor Chris Diamantopoulos latched onto George Michael's monster hit solo debut album Faith at a young age. It resonated with him as a fellow singer of Greek descent, but he was also blown away by Michael's songwriting prowess and the singular sound of his legendary singing voice. He's marveled at Michael's ability to create timeless songs…
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Singer and musician Lubalin has been infatuated with Steven Spielberg's classic sci-fi family movie E.T. The story's emotional depth and (for a kids movie) surprisingly complex character development stuck with him from the moment he first saw it as a child through to adulthood. The production design and overall aesthetic have had a big impact on hi…
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Barlow & Bear's Sparks Are Katy Perry's One Of The Boys And West Side Story
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31:10GRAMMY-Award winning songwriting and composing duo, Barlow & Bear (Emily Bear and Abigail Barlow) have been breaking boundaries in musical theater by independently carving their own path in the heavily male dominated space. Part of their success is their vastly different tastes and influences, as evidenced by their Spark choices. Abigail absolutely…
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Bastille front man Dan Smith first saw Scream as a pre-teen and instead of being terrified, he was instantly hooked on the horror genre. It was also his gateway to a whole world of cinema, including films by directors like David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick. Scream had a huge influence on his approach to music making, helping him to infuse his work wi…
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Rosie Lowe's Spark Is Erykah Badu's Mama's Gun
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35:29Singer and songwriter Rosie Lowe became infatuated with Erykah Badu's second album Mama's Gun at an early age. She's continued to love its eclectic musicality and powerful melodies into adulthood. But it's the lyrics that hit her the hardest. Badu talks about body image, heartbreak, motherhood and other weighty topics with humor and joy. It's a com…
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Orla Gartland's Spark Is Imogen Heap's Ellipse
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27:32Irish singer, songwriter and musician Orla Gartland has always been fascinated by Imogen Heap's unique approach to music making. Her use of ambient sounds and new technologies has always pushed Heap's work to the forefront of the musical landscape. Gartland is enamored of Heap's lyrics and her forward thinking production and has taken inspiration f…
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Singer/songwriter KIMBRA loves the creativity and experimentation that runs through The Love Below, Andre 3000's half of Outcast's monster hit double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. She loves his fearlessness and its served as a model in the creation of her own work. Andre 3000 took a left turn from hip hop to genre's including r'n'b, soul and j…
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Maxïmo Park's Paul Smith's Spark Is George Michael's Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1
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33:30Maxïmo Park front man Paul Smith's first CD purchase was George Michael's legendary album Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1. The album imprinted itself on his brain because of Michael's skill as a lyricist and musician. But he was also infatuated with the album's weirdness. Excluding the hit single Freedom '90, it's an album full of ballads and meande…
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Travis front man Fran Healy first heard about the Academy Award nominated film Aftersun in an interview about the importance of music in film. This reference would resonate through Healy's relationship with the film. It spoke to him and sunk into his consciousness in a way that only music had done before. He watched Aftersun over and over, getting …
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Noga Erez's Spark Is Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly
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32:09Singer, songwriter and producer Noga Erez first taste of Kendrick Lamar's masterpiece To Pimp A Butterfly came when its smash hit single Alright was played for her on the set of one of her music videos. From there, she quickly became infatuated with the beats, rhymes and broad range of sonic influences evident in each of To Pimp A Butterfly's track…
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JJ Perry's Spark Is Jackie Chan's Armor Of God
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27:32The Killer's Game director JJ Perry has idolized Jackie Chan's work throughout his adult life, but it was Chan's career defining film Armor Of God that cemented Perry's devotion to his work. Chan's dedication to his craft, complete fearlessness and infectious joy provided Perry with a template for his career as a stuntman and film director, a templ…
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Singer/songwriter Ashe sits down with Adam to talk about her Spark, Carole King's record breaking, earth shattering, emotionally devastating masterpiece Tapestry. Ashe talks about the direct impact Tapestry had on her songwriting and the inspiration she drew from it while composing her highly anticipated new album Wilson. The Spark Parade is a podc…
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FOALS and Yannis & The Yaw front man Yannis Philippakis was hooked on the singular sounds of Pixies legendary debut album Surfer Rosa from the first time he heard it. Since becoming a musician himself, Surfer Rosa has influenced the way he plays guitar and his approach to writing and recording music. His personal connection to the album even extend…
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Sam Evian's Spark Is The Beatles: Get Back
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33:56Singer, songwriter, producer and engineer Sam Evian has always loved The Beatles music, but seeing Peter Jackson's epic Beatles documentary had a profound effect on the way he makes music. The live to tape recording style used by the band (everyone in the same room playing together live) inspired Evian's preferred production set up and laid the gro…
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Medium Build's Spark Is Weird Al Yankovic's Running With Scissors
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29:41Nick Carpenter, better known as Medium Build, has been a huge Weird Al Yankovic fan since childhood and he clearly remembers getting Yankovic's tenth album Running With Scissors as soon as it was released. Carpenter loves Yankovic's humor, the way he blends multiple musical genres and his daring use of instruments that are rarely found in pop music…
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Sarah Hester Ross' Spark Is School Of Rock
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28:55Musical comedian Sarah Hester Ross loves School Of Rock's... music and comedy, which has (perhaps obviously) had a huge impact on her career path. She really admires Jack Black's warm, funny performance, but also recognizes his skilled musicianship and incredible improvisations. Catch Sarah at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this August with her show…
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Rainbow Kitten Surprise's Ela Melo's Spark Is Scott Pilgrim Vs The World
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28:50Singer, songwriter and front woman of the band Rainbow Kitten Surprise, first saw the film Scott Pilgrim Vs The World as a teenager while living in her home state of North Carolina. She loved the energy of the music and the film's depiction of queerness. The way the onscreen bands played their interest has had an effect on her own playing throughou…
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Bethenny Frankel's Spark Is The Handmaid's Tale
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34:29Bethenny Frankel doesn't really watch much TV, but she found The Handmaid's Tale during the pandemic and was so drawn to its compelling performances and topical themes that she breezed through the entire series. Bethenny finds The Handmaid's Tale to be both a cautionary tale about the world we could be heading towards and a reflection of the world …
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Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Judith Hill has loved Captain EO, the Michael Jackson starring short film that accompanied an attraction at Disney's theme parks, since she was a small child. She loves it's message of spreading joy and positivity through music and has used those principles throughout her career. The first of a two part …
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Daphne Guinness' Spark Is David Bowie's Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
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33:02Singer, songwriter and queer icon Daphne Guinness first listened to David Bowie's sensational fourteenth album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) when she bought it with her saved up pocket money as a child. Little did she know she'd later work with the man himself on her own debut album! Scary Monsters provided a template for Guinness' musical outp…
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Singer/songwriter Girli started watching the classic Reese Witherspoon movie Legally Blonde as a small child and loved that it embraced a traditionally girlie femininity while still embraces feminist principles like the right to self-determination and self-sufficiency. Legally Blonde mostly adheres to a romantic comedy structure and Girli loved tha…
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Maya Hawke's Spark Is Euripides' The Bacchae
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31:00This week on The Spark Parade, the multi-talented Maya Hawke celebrates Chaos Angel by diving into an old, and we mean old, piece of art that has remained a source of inspired for years -- Euripides' classic Greek tragedy The Bacchae. Listen now. Hawke first became aware of Euripides, expectedly, in school. As a teen, she appeared in a high school …
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Sasha Alex Sloan's Spark Is Fleishman Is In Trouble
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34:58Singer/songwriter Sasha Alex Sloan was so taken by the limited series Fleishman Is In Trouble that it inspired a song on her new album Me Again. Sloan connected with the series' themes of facing middle age, the breakdown of relationships and the pressures put on women to be all things at once. Be sure to check out Me Again which is out now and lear…
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Shannon And The Clams's Spark Is Patsy Cline's 12 Greatest Hits
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35:25Shannon and The Clams vocalist Shannon Shaw has been drawn to Patsy Cline's smooth, sad, devastating voice since she was a small child and the songs on Patsy Cline's 12 Greatest Hits have had a huge impact on her own songwriting. The desperation in the storytelling, the songs' soaring bridges and choices in Cline's vocal delivery have provided a wr…
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Blake Crouch's Spark Is The Coen Brother's No Country for Old Men
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33:18Dark Matter author, screenwriter, and showrunner Blake Crouch was more than familiar with Cormac McCarthy's bleak but beloved novel No Country for Old Men by the time the Coen brothers adapted it for the big screen. Even still, those dang Coens blew his expectations out of the water. On this episode of The Spark Parade, Crouch gushes about the film…
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Jade Bird's Spark Is Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill
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36:11Canadian singer-songwriter Jade Bird first took the jagged little pill as a kid -- yes, that Jagged Little Pill. It might have tasted bitter at the time, but ever since, her admiration for Alanis Morissette and her groundbreaking album has only grown. Listen to her chat about the Morissette and her seminal 1995 record on this episode of The Spark P…
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Rapper Rico Nasty and producer/DJ Boys Noize have made a habit out of turning genres on their head, stepping outside of drawn lines, and adding a somewhat aggressive bent to whatever project they happen to be currently working on. So, it comes as no surprise that both absolutely love the idiosyncratic, wildly creative, one-of-a-kind artist Arca. Li…
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X Ambassador's frontman Sam Nelson Harris was so blown away by Richard Linklater's bold and wildly ambitious film Boyhood that he saw it twice in the same day. And it's a three-hour movie! Sam was struck by the dedication needed to create a film in small increments over 12 years, but it was the end result that really made an impact. He saw himself …
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Fallout actors Ella Purnell and Aaron Moten understand the power of artistic re-interpretation. So, when it comes to their respective 'sparks,' both actors chose songs performed by someone other than who originally wrote the piece. Purnell gravitated towards Brandi Carlile’s breakout hit “The Story,” which was originally recorded by members of her …
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Night Court actor Nyambi Nyambi was enthralled with Kim Jung Gi's sprawling, interconnected covers for Marvel Comics' Civil War II series not just for their artistry, but for the masterful artistic practices used to create it. He attended multiple live demonstrations of Kim's work before his untimely death and has applied his details to his work as…
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Chicano Batman guitarist Carlos Arévalo was given Radiohead’s seminal album Kid A as a Halloween present from his mother, and amidst the sugar rush, the album absolutely blew his mind. The dramatic shift in Radiohead’s stylistic direction and their experiments with electronic sounds opened Arévalo up to a new world of musical possibilities. The Spa…
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Ghosts actor Asher Grodman loves everything about Sidney Lumet's classic Al Pacino starring film Dog Day Afternoon. The story and its themes touch him deeply, but its the legendary performances by the incredible ensemble that really stick with him. Pacino's unselfconscious, honest portrayal of a complicated real-life character is a masterclass in s…
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Ever since hearing their self-titled debut, SHAED felt a special kinship with Sylvan Esso. Both bands came from a folky, acoustic background and were experimenting with electronic sounds -- not to mention they were both family ventures. On this episode of The Spark Parade, SHAED explains how Sylvan Esso helped to further shape their musical style. …
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Gossip frontwoman Beth Ditto loves everything about Missy Elliott’s second album Da Real World. The non-stop bangers, the icy production from Timbaland, the tight vocal harmonies -- it's basically flawless. More than just quality music, though, the record also reminds Ditto of a time when her musical taste was starting to truly develop. On this epi…
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