Seriously, is there anything better than the Pet Shop Boys?

-- The Ghost of Dan Perry (djperr...), February 24th, 2005.

And I finally agree with Dan Perry about something! (Domino Dancing)

"Watch them all fall down" vs. "Put our problems all in a row/Watch them fall like dominoes"

Okay.

Absolutely 100% OTM. My favourite song of all time.

... except that their comments are wholly unilluminating. I was so disappointed by the lack of insight offered by the dialogue. The Pet Shop Boys have probably the most interesting back-catalogue of singles and promo videos of any of their peers, and Chris Heath had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to draw out the thoughts of Neil Tennant, one of the most intelligent and articulate pop stars of the twentieth century, on this treasure trove of finely-wrought picture and sound.
Heath's commentary, however, rarely rises above the level of, "That's a nice hat you're wearing there, Chris."

As I listened and the words hit my ears / I cried sudden tears

"Domino Dancing" is easily one of my top 3 PSB tracks - my reasons for which are detailed on another thread. Please note that Dan tends to have excellent taste in artists, but then either loves or reviles random and/or odd tracks for reasons which escape me!

Also: Always thought Tennant's allusion to Edmund Wilson's To the Finland Station in "West End Girls" was dead cool as well.

This is actually a direct reference to Lenin's famous itinerary during WWI.

Come on! It's worth it for Lowe's hat knowledge alone!

And to answer the question, no. "Rent" is the best thing they've done.

Sure, some of their conversation is entertaining. But almost none of it is insightful, which I found disappointing. They're very interesting people, and at its best, their work has been culturally significant. Chris Heath knows that, and I feel he should have tried to induce a more reflective or analytical mood for the voiceover session.
Ah well. Screw art, let's dance.

Absolutely 100% OTM. My favourite song of all time.

WOW mine too!

I wonder how high it will rank in the 80s poll (if it ever happens).

This is actually a direct reference to Lenin's famous itinerary during WWI.

The title of the book is as well. One in the same, Spence.

xpost

A funny PSB story (also from my teenage years):

When I was a senior in high school, I got good enough grades to take classes at UCSC. I was a nice kid, but pretty clueless. So one day I'm riding the bus up to UCSC, with a PSB t-shirt on (the one with Neil holding a giant bundle of long-stemmed roses), and this guy starts chatting with me about what a big Pet Shop Boys fan he is, and how I should come over to his dorm room and check out his collection of rare B-sides, etc.

Needless to say, I was very excited. We made plans, and I ended up in his suite, listening to Pet Shop Boys records and tapes for a few hours, before heading back home. He seemed a little confused and annoyed when I left, but I thought nothing of it at the time, and we never hung out again.

It took me about 4 years before I realized what a clueless straight-boy I was.

My favorite PSB song is "Being Boring."

I remember hating West End Girls when it came out. I didn't come around until later.

And is there a thread for "Electronic," my favorite supergroup of all time?

This is actually a direct reference to Lenin's famous itinerary during WWI. "

i always hoped it was a reference to finlandskii station in st petersburg. thanks for confirming!

The title of the book is as well. One in the same, Spence.

Or rather, is there something about the song that leads you to believe this is a specific reference to the book, and not just to the historical event? Did the book 'popularize' the event?

You may be on the money here, Spence. I was under the impression that it was the book that popularized the expression, but I might be entirely wrong.

Post- that release, probably lots that might be better. Their quality control seemed to go to shit & they became the joke that was always made about all their songs 'sounding the same'. They seemed to get lazy & much less inspired.

Sounded so clunky I remember though. It was like they ran out of gracefulness in musical and lyrical ideas really suddenly. Which was about the only thing that really saved them when paired with the thin and near-formulaic programming they had in their music.