Revelation - Official ILX Pet Shop Boys tracks poll results

You know what other song I missed that I wish some of you mentioned? "Was It Worth It." It gets better with each listen.

Didn't they leave that off PopArt because it was their first single not to make the Top 20? Amazingly, only two subsequent singles (Numb and Did You See Me Coming?) have missed the Top 20 and both did better than Was It Worth It?

Recap 50-18.

18 Go West Very 223 10 1
19 Home and Dry Release 216 10 0
20 Se A Vida E (That's The Way Life Is) Bilingual 215 9 1
21 Suburbia Please 205 9 0
22 I'm Not Scared B-side 195 8 0
23 Domino Dancing Introspective 195 10 0
24 Young Offender Very 194 7 1
25 I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing Very 189 9 1
26 I Want A Dog Introspective 169 7 0
27 I Want To Wake Up Actually 162 6 1
28 Flamboyant Standalone 161 7 1
29 Jealousy Behaviour 158 9 0
30 In The Night B-side 157 7 0
31 We All Feel Better In The Dark B-side 138 6 1
32 Try It (I'm In Love With A Married Man) Disco 3 136 5 0
33 I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Anymore Nightlife 129 6 0
34 Your Funny Uncle B-side 124 6 0
35 One More Chance B-side 123 5 0
36 The Truck Driver and his Mate B-side 120 6 0
37 It's Alright Introspective 118 4 0
38 My October Symphony Behaviour 116 5 0
39 Losing My Mind (Liza Minelli) Collaboration 109 6 0
40 Miserabilism B-side 106 6 0
41 It Couldn't Happen Here Actually 105 5 0
42 It Must Be Obvious B-side 98 5 0
43 Some Speculation B-side 98 4 0
44 Love Etc Yes 94 5 0
45 Where The Streets Have No Name(I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You) Standalone 87 4 0
46 A Red Letter Day Bilingual 83 4 0
47 Liberation Very 81 4 0
48 To Face The Truth Behaviour 77 3 0
49 Do I Have To? B-Side 76 4 0
50 I'm Not Scared (Eighth Wonder) Collaboration 69 4 0

17-1 coming up soon. If you want to try predicting the top 10, now's the time to do it.

OK then. No particular order:

Being Boring
West End Girls
Rent
What Have I Done to Deserve This?
Always on My Mind
Left to My Own Devices
It's a Sin
Paninaro
So Hard
Can You Forgive Her?

Further down: Drunk, Dreaming of the Queen, Zero, King's Cross, This Must Be the Place… and some other stuff

I am still holding out hope for appearances by at least one of "Don Juan", "Jack The Lad" and "You Know Where You Went Wrong"

I'll add Opportunities and Shameless to the predictions list for the full 17.

in order: West End Girls - Left To My Own Devices - Being Boring - Rent - What Have I Done To Deserve This? - King's Cross - So Hard - Can You Forgive Her? - Paninaro - It's A Sin

gah, that's practically the same ten

Funny that Fundamental has been rated higher than Release and Yes and yet it doesn't look to be represented in this poll.

It's a much stronger album but it doesn't have a standout track - I could have voted for Integral, Indefinite Leave, Casanova in Hell, Sodom and Gomorrah or Minimal but ended up choosing none of them - whereas Release and Yes have obvious highlights and a fair few duds.

17. So Hard. (1990, Behaviour, 223 points, 10 votes, 1 number one)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFAA6Z_YIEM

Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/track/7imWD2KFgk54awjfjmK3cJ

RIF: The track contains a sample from a porno movie featuring a woman moaning the title.

I voted for "Minimal", as I think that's one of their strongest singles in a while. I was tempted to vote "Casanova in Hell" for the Rufus Wainwright version, but I don't guess that would have gathered much steam.

xpost

Aah, I didn't vote for it, and I didn't expect to see it here, but it's always been one of my favourite singles by them. I think the "so whose matches are those" line is what made me realize I really loved the band back when I was first listening to them.

Also, isn't that Gazza's daughter in the video?

Me too. I also love the contrast between all the different elements in the arrangement - it's almost too cluttered but it works.

I didn't end up voting for "So Hard" but it is a great, great song

This was in my head for days while making the poll. Very scattershot track but every part of the chorus is seriously catchy and the bass line is awesome.

while making my top 20 I mean

16. You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk. (1999, Nightlife, 235 points, 10 votes, 1 number one)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHVMCugvrMg

Spotify:http://open.spotify.com/track/0lu6VJmIZSC5hPAfpLo4Xp

RIF:The godlike BJ Cole provides the pedal steel on this track.

^^^^^^ can imagine Merle Haggard covering it.

Listened to this a lot recently and seriously considered it for my #1. I think my love for Joe Meek swayed me towards it as much as the song itself.

"What a performance tonight" - "dissing him like a punk" - sorry, I can't see Merle singing those line. I'm always reminded of this bar in Atlanta that has line dancing - it's like the theme song for the queeny country boy.

This is the kind of song that means I get angry when people call them post-modern ironists. There's a mile-wide streak of emotional vulnerability in their songs. I think Disappointed is one of Tennant's quintessential titles. His heartbreak songs are rarely angry or vengeful or melodramatic - they're disappointed.

OTM. It's just a beautiful song.

xpost

Yes, absolutely. There's a vein of pomo irony in some tracks, one coming up soon, but 'Drunk' is cards on the table, heartbreakingly honest.

"What a performance tonight" - "dissing him like a punk" - sorry, I can't see Merle singing those line.

this is the guy who sang "Footlights" and "How Did You Find Me Here." Drop the "g" in "dissing" and he's in business.

15. Opportunities (Let's Maker Lots of Money). (1985, Please, 237 points, 11 votes, 0 number ones)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di60NYGu03Y

Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/track/31gybC6HkcvWvHHaAckY9K

RIF: Chris Lowe came up with the hookline "I've got the brains, you've got the looks, let's make lots of money."

Guys, check out this live version from 1986 – both Neil and Chris play!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzKR_5aaYck

this was my #2, seems low. Then again I didn't grow up with it and haven't heard it played to death.

I bet this song gets on the PSBs' nerves sometimes. I remember this and Shopping being hugely misunderstood by people who only listened to the choruses. Meanwhile half the people who did understand them tagged them as postmodern ironists for ever more.

Another fun fact: the only hit that charted higher in America (#10) than England (#11).

I never heard it as much as "West End Girls," which might explain why I always perform it at karaoke.

This is the first song I ever knowingly heard by them, and even then I didn't catch their name and it was months before I figured out who it was. I saw the video when MTV2 premiered.

Big jump in points from now on.

14. Can You Forgive Her? (1993, Very, 253 points, 12 votes, 0 number ones)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me4AhOi6LYE

Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/track/3NIX0G2ajYENIRQzhLQ4Ua

RIF: The title is borrowed from Anthony Trollope's 1865 novel of the same name.

Wasn't going to vote for it, but the "cricket pavilion" line is just too good.

Opportunities and Shopping are great political songs. Also, Integral. Not I'm with stupid though.

I've come to really like "I'm With Stupid" over the past few weeks, after years of really disliking it.

I've gone the other way. Liked it first time around, but relistening to Fundamental this week it was one of the weakest tracks.

Whatever Tennant-Lowe say, I still hear "I'm With Stupid" as a love song, not a "political commentary" (yes yes love is politics).

a sequel to "Young Offender" or "Boy Strange."

Can You Forgive Her is too low

xp When they'd done the political-alliance-as-love-affair thing so well with I Get Along I don't know how they could have done it so lamely with I'm With Stupid. And the Little Britain video too - ugh.

top 13 and 13 left of my list still to show up. guessing viva le vida/domino dancing and miracles are gonna be the let downs. still holding out hope for the way it used to be tho.

xp. i want to wake up is FAR too low.

13. Two Divided By Zero. (1986, Please, 266 points, 11 votes, 1 number one)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oDhGiNKsyM&feature=fvsr

Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/track/64MccFRFPz3xAxwwTLp1hu

RIF:The 'computer' voice is sample from a talking calculator Tennant bought for his father.

TOO LOW

Sometimes I think "Two Divided By Zero" is all one needs of the Pet Shop Boys.

It's got everything: compelling synth pattern, awesome percussion, great Tennant vocal, and a pocket calculator sample.

Chris Lowe is pretty hunky on the Please cover huh?

12. Heart. (1987, Actually, 272 points, 10 votes, 0 number ones)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aucIfj7VFcg&feature=fvsr

Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/track/6N5n6vJeOGNAoVXEMW833i

RIF: Was originally intended to be used in the Spielberg produced film 'Innerspace'.

this is one of the few remixed singles of this era where I didn't despise the single version as compared to the original

Lowe was at his hunkiest in this period:

http://wpcontent.answcdn.com/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/32/PSB_Love_Comes_Quickly.jpg/220px-PSB_Love_Comes_Quickly.jpg

Rowr.

i have no idea how 2/0 didn't make my cut tbh. was in my final 25 or so and then... i don't know. how did Heart not make the top 10? one of their most perfect pop moments and one of neal's best vocals.