"It's not as easy as it was, or as difficult as it could be."
― Gukbe, Thursday, 23 June 2011 22:46 (twelve years ago) link
Also: don't overlook the silent diffusion in America of the knowledge that they were gay. And British. Being British was a bad thing in '94 and '95 unless you were Tricky and Oasis.
― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 23 June 2011 22:49 (twelve years ago) link
I got into them in the late 90s and people in the US either thought "lol80s" or "lolGAY". I remember being really surprised at their larger acceptance when I moved to the UK as well as the middle-class family audience when I saw them in Germany.
― Gukbe, Thursday, 23 June 2011 22:51 (twelve years ago) link
I didn't like "Numb" until England went out of the 2006 World Cup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZByrHy7nrE
― Gukbe, Thursday, 23 June 2011 22:53 (twelve years ago) link
Great writing, Alfred.
And I do mostly agree, they lost 'their moment'. I have been continuously surprised that they remained such a high profile the last decade in the first place. Which is a massive accomplishment, re-inventing yourself, or rather, re-inventing your audience. Because next to the hardcore fan base they managed to attract new fans in three decades.
For me personally though, and this goes for a lot of people I know, I just took a different turn after 'Very'. I can't put my finger on it now, but the people that grew up and were young and heavily into music around 'West End Girls' got on, enjoyed the ride up until Bilingual, and got off at the next stop after that one.
― Frogbs Day Afternoon (Le Bateau Ivre), Thursday, 23 June 2011 23:02 (twelve years ago) link
It says something about their continued vitality that their last album nearly debuted at #1 in the UK and they themselves could inspire this response at Glastonbury last year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y8JyDbwmRg
― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 23 June 2011 23:05 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWJtWuMoeNs
― oppet, Thursday, 23 June 2011 23:28 (twelve years ago) link
all of the aforementioned CD reissue booklet interviews are here: http://www.petshopboys.net/html/interviews/Interviews-1d.shtml
― piscesx, Thursday, 23 June 2011 23:58 (twelve years ago) link
the very reason You Tube was invented is basically this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGg3e_PBLX4
still the best documentary/tv stuff i've ever seen about the boys
― piscesx, Friday, 24 June 2011 00:01 (twelve years ago) link
"and if they stop liking pop music, they'll hear a hard days's night on the radio and they'll suddenly remember the first time they fell in love or what it was like doing their O-levels or something"
― oppet, Friday, 24 June 2011 00:28 (twelve years ago) link
Opening made me wish for a Pet Shop Boys edition of In Our Time.
― Gukbe, Friday, 24 June 2011 00:29 (twelve years ago) link
Been listening to Discography and Please today and finding the sonic palette a little...samey. Good background music for getting some work done, though. Sorry PSB fans!
― frogbs went a-courtin' (WmC), Friday, 24 June 2011 01:45 (twelve years ago) link
I was surprised to see the performance they gave recently after receiving some kind of UK music lifetime achievement award - the entire crowd, straight and gay, male and female, was enjoying and singing along to tracks that made either a minimal impact in the US or are seen as "lol80s or lolGAY", e.g. "It's a Sin". To the extent anyone knows that here, it's as a gay anthem, not just an anthem. My straight peer group knows "West End Girls" and perhaps "Opportunities" but that's about it, and even most of my gay peer group is mostly clueless about them.
My first PSB albums were Bilingual and Nightlife at age 16; I'm not sure how I would have reacted to tracks like "You Only Tell Me You Love Me" and "New York City Boy" if I had grown up with the pre-Very stuff. There is certainly a different vibe, I'd argue a less universal one. Those albums made a lot of sense to me but neither the production nor the lyrical content obviously resonates with the typical "West End Girls" fan, let alone the typical American listener.
― skip, Friday, 24 June 2011 01:48 (twelve years ago) link
yeah, time to drag out those Further Listening CDs that I paid so much damn money for and have barely opened since ripping them to digital.
I ripped the Further Listenings into three or four mega-albums of Twelves, B-Sides, Mixes and maybe something else. This was an A+ decision.
I'd actually forgotten how much I like this song; I should really get around to replacing this album soon
Dan if you don’t have the remasters of the first six you are doing yourself a massive disservice. (I was going to say “for the booklets alone” before pisces and someone else linked them.)
Alfred, is that dvd compilation any good? The commentary I mean? (I know the videos are)
It’s very very well done as a DVD as well – you can program your own order, or set it to random, and has extended versions of three clips – but the commentary is absolutely a delight. Neil: “Now the themes here in the song were being undercut by the imagery, I feel at this remove, but what the director, James Smythenby-Ponson, had in mind was a more elliptical representation of my lyrical allusion, as you can see by the repeated scroll in the background. The technology is dated now, perhaps, but it was very cutting edge at the time. We spent 12 days in a freezing warehouse in Barnesly for this shot here, and you can just about see the chilblains forming on the extras noses in a minute – yes, there. Now the cover photo for the single was taken in the same location, but a month later, and –- “ Chris: “Look at that hat I'm wearing, I look bloody stupid. Can we leave this one off the DVD?”
― underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have pwned (sic), Friday, 24 June 2011 01:50 (twelve years ago) link
They're the best-selling duo in British history, right? Unlike their American co-beneficiaries of that honor, Hall and Oates, they're still making the top ten though. Plus, they carry 24 years of accumulated critical and popular good will. They've never been tacky or uncool.
― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 24 June 2011 01:51 (twelve years ago) link
"It's a Sin" was a UK #1 and US top 10; hardly a non-entity/non-impact.
― chupacabra - a delicious burrito (DJP), Friday, 24 June 2011 02:53 (twelve years ago) link
Four other US top ten singles besides "West End Girls" actually.
― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 24 June 2011 02:54 (twelve years ago) link
There's a huge gap between having five top ten US tracks, all of which came before 1988 and only two of which are occasionally still played on the radio, and being one of the best-selling groups in British history who have never had an album not make the top ten over nearly 25 years of making music. "It's a Sin" may not have been a non-entity at the time (#9 in the US according to wiki) but it's just not a high profile track any more, at least in the world I'm in.
― skip, Friday, 24 June 2011 03:26 (twelve years ago) link
Pet Shop Boys are something like the 3rd best selling dance act of all time in the US. I know that doesn't mean much, and I'm right with you about today's perception (the decline of radio airplay of anything pre-1996 that isn't Nirvana or various classic rock tracks has a lot to do with this). 80s Flashback hours in the mid-to-late 90s featured West End Girls, What Have I Done To Deserve This, and Opportunities quite a bit, at least where I lived.
― Gukbe, Friday, 24 June 2011 03:30 (twelve years ago) link
I still hear the five top ten hits all the time, but admittedly only in the last ten years. In the nineties I only heard "West End Girls" and "Always On My Mind."
― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 24 June 2011 03:44 (twelve years ago) link
Pet Shop Boys are something like the 3rd best selling dance act of all time in the US.
Other stats:
the most successful male artists on the U.S. dance charts the most successful duo or group the most successful non-Americans the eighth most successful artist of the 1980s the sixth most successful of the 1990s #3 in the number of dance hits (28), exceeded only by Madonna and Janet Jackson* #5 in the number of Number One dance hits (8), surpassed by Madonna, Janet Jackson, Donna Summer, and Whitney Houston*
― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 24 June 2011 03:47 (twelve years ago) link
Really, anyone who's stuck on the early albums should try Disco 3. First half is flawless, fantastic.
― Let me tell you something about that song. (Eazy), Friday, 24 June 2011 05:14 (twelve years ago) link
Piano London >>>>>>>>> Housecat London
― underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have pwned (sic), Friday, 24 June 2011 06:02 (twelve years ago) link
Man, I love the 7"-inch version of "A Man Could Get Arrested" on the second disc of Please, originally the B-side to "West End Girls." It's the only track about which you can say it sounds EXACTLY like 1985.
― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 24 June 2011 14:39 (twelve years ago) link
This poll is impossible. I'm listening through chronologically and noting down my votes. And i'm just listing every single, and most of the album tracks and bsides. IMPOSSIBLE.
― I'm A Genius, Too! (Jamie_ATP), Friday, 24 June 2011 15:20 (twelve years ago) link
Decided that "Home and Dry" might very well be top 5 for me. Take that post-Very h8rs.
― Gukbe, Friday, 24 June 2011 15:26 (twelve years ago) link
Home and Dry is fantastic.
― I'm A Genius, Too! (Jamie_ATP), Friday, 24 June 2011 15:32 (twelve years ago) link
When is the deadline on this?
― *floods world w/tears* (Abbbottt), Friday, 24 June 2011 15:32 (twelve years ago) link
A week from Sunday.
― Gukbe, Friday, 24 June 2011 15:37 (twelve years ago) link
shit I'm listening to some Fundamental tracks and thinking I need to revise my ballot
― chupacabra - a delicious burrito (DJP), Friday, 24 June 2011 15:41 (twelve years ago) link
Albums were never nearly as consistent post-Very as they were before, but there a lot of absolute gems on them. Fundamental is probably the best of them. Or maybe Bilingual.
So, for clarity's sake, if I was to vote the PSB version of "I'm Not Scared", would that count as separate from those who might vote for the Eighth Wonder version?
― Gukbe, Friday, 24 June 2011 15:49 (twelve years ago) link
lol I had no idea someone else did "I'm Not Scared" until this thread
― chupacabra - a delicious burrito (DJP), Friday, 24 June 2011 15:50 (twelve years ago) link
Oh, Dan you lucky boy, you're in for a treat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkE-UKVEdCo
The different versions of "I'm Not Scared" will be counted seperately.
For info I had a vote for "Viva La Vida/Domino Dancing" and initially counted it as "Domino Dancing" but after listening to it for the first time I'm going to class is as a seperate work.
― The multi-talented F.R. David (Billy Dods), Friday, 24 June 2011 16:13 (twelve years ago) link
Their recent cover of "Viva La Vida" is their best song since 2006.
― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 24 June 2011 16:15 (twelve years ago) link
yes, this is specifically mentioned in the first post
raise the ballots to fifty votes Billy
― underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have pwned (sic), Friday, 24 June 2011 16:16 (twelve years ago) link
whoops xpost
I could easily do 50 songs but I think keeping the limit at 20 is a good idea tbh
It's better than Coldplay's original, I will give you that.
― chupacabra - a delicious burrito (DJP), Friday, 24 June 2011 16:19 (twelve years ago) link
keep it at 20, it's a good mental exercise.
― skip, Friday, 24 June 2011 16:27 (twelve years ago) link
okay the demo version of "Don Juan" is so... different
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJMof6ThawI
― chupacabra - a delicious burrito (DJP), Friday, 24 June 2011 16:29 (twelve years ago) link
My problem with the post-Very (I would even say post-Behaviour) era has less to do with consistency and more to do with a certain shift in the way the Boys decided to present themselves. Their sentimental side gradually became much more obvious (not necessarily in the lyrics, more in the delivery) and somehow that ruined things for me. If "It's A Sin" had been recorded circa Nightlife it would be a very different track and I would've probably hated it.
― daavid, Friday, 24 June 2011 18:48 (twelve years ago) link
Bilingual has great b-sides:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viYi43QU2oA
― LeRooLeRoo, Friday, 24 June 2011 18:50 (twelve years ago) link
I don't buy this, especially considering the Actually singles besides "It's a Sin" were "What Have I Done To Deserve This?", "Rent" and "Heart" (with "Always On My Mind" released during the same era)
― chupacabra - a delicious burrito (DJP), Friday, 24 June 2011 18:54 (twelve years ago) link
I just about prefer "Legacy", partly down to Owen P's contribution, though the paranoid lurch of the lyrics towards the end is my favourite bit. Actually the closers are easily my favourites on both the last two albums. "Viva La Vida" comfortably made it onto my ballot too though - love how much more dramatic they make the entry of the 'oh oh oh oh oh' at the end.
― if, Friday, 24 June 2011 19:49 (twelve years ago) link
Man, I'd never heard "Legacy" before tonight, but the Owen P mention made me look it up and I am hooked!
― Frogbs Day Afternoon (Le Bateau Ivre), Friday, 24 June 2011 21:08 (twelve years ago) link
what's that track playing towards the start of the soutbank show clip? the one that sounds like a Kompakt record from 2003?
― Darren Huckerby (Dwight Yorke), Saturday, 25 June 2011 09:50 (twelve years ago) link
Also, JEEEEEEESUS, 'Losing My Mind' .... just heard this for the first time, am literally gobsmacked...what an incredible record!
― Darren Huckerby (Dwight Yorke), Saturday, 25 June 2011 10:38 (twelve years ago) link
i'm NEVER going to be able to narrow this down.
xp South Bank Show song is this i think Darrenhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1btaBgzGApk
― piscesx, Saturday, 25 June 2011 11:06 (twelve years ago) link
check the Wogan clip of Liza doing Losing My Mind!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR_mjkxc7Ys
― piscesx, Saturday, 25 June 2011 11:08 (twelve years ago) link
making an iTunes playlist with shortlist songs I consider "really good" and I'm already at 17 through the A's (Actually and Alternative). Going to be a fun week.
― skip, Saturday, 25 June 2011 21:53 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cHsyCPUpDQ
This is probably not going to make my top 20 but I really enjoy this track. It's like a tasteful mashup of 2 Unlimited and "Go", or at least as tasteful as that combination can be.
― skip, Saturday, 25 June 2011 21:55 (twelve years ago) link