138: Sparks - Balls (2000) - It's a Knockoff

After a short break, and two recent Sparks concerts, we return to Balls with “It’s a Knockoff,” a song that actually predates the album by several years.Originally written for Tsui Hark’s 1998 Jean-Claude Van Damme film Knock Off, the track was used over the end credits after Sparks had also composed much of the film’s incidental music. We discuss its deceptively simple arrangement, huge low-end bass, oddly childlike synth textures and a melody that quickly won us over.Lyrically, the song turns the idea of counterfeit goods into something much stranger and more personal: fake voices, fake eyes, fake hands and even a potentially fake relationship. It is classic Sparks: funny, slightly surreal and built around a concept nobody else would probably have thought to turn into a pop song.We also look at its unusual history, from being performed live before the film was even released to becoming one of the more streamed tracks on Balls, and why this relatively gentle song works so well as a change of pace after the frantic “Bullet Train.”