057: Sparks - Whomp That Sucker (1981) - Wacky Woman

The album closer on Whomp That Sucker goes out grinning and unhinged. “Wacky Women” is a fast, scrappy, punk-tinged romp where the whole band empties the tank—especially drummer David Kendrick, who drives the song through a series of stop-and-slam accents that cleverly land on the second beat. There’s a cartoony siren/ambulance imitation, manic call-and-response, and a pile-on of little arrangement gags that keep the last minute buzzing. It’s more “studio creation” than sing-around-the-campfire tune, but that’s the point: Side B leans into Sparks’ wilder streak, and this track caps it with a wink. Played fairly often in ’81–’82 (and revived for the 2008 album shows), it’s also inspired like-for-like covers, underlining how tightly the chaos is constructed. A suitably energetic curtain call for a record that deserved far more attention.