Pet Shop Boys

I also know that part of my issue with _Introspective_ is the super-heavy hand of Shep Pettibone.

(xpost HONOR THE FEY! Er.)

I have to hurt you now.

i smell heavy handed ILX racism at work

Six if you count me. Play With Me is a superb metapop album.

Is anyone else happy like I am that they've released the DVD of their Behaviour tour? Especially since I missed it. When they played LA. In 1991. When I was out of town that week. And couldn't catch them. WHEN THEY PLAYED WHAT WAS APPARENTLY ONE OF THEIR BEST SHOWS ON THE TOUR ACCORDING TO PET SHOP BOYS VERSUS AMERICA. But I digress.

But Marcello, we close our eyes.

Taking Sides:Go West vs. Wang Chung

So come on Pinefox, what *do* you see in Go West?

Don't try it!

It's still my favorite. Though the older I grow, Behavior is starting to sorta creep into my psyche and wedge itself in at a close #1.5

this is pure insanity. There's a desperation in neil's voice that is particularly sad. The only quibble I *may* be able to come up with is the sax solo.

whoa. xposts out the wazoo.

Fine fine, go ahead and nitpick. ;-)

I am deliriously happy about this, as it was recorded at the very same Birmingham NEC concert that I attended in 1991.

they still wouldn't let them use 'cant take my eyes off you' though it says it's on the disc on the box, it actually isnt on the disc. if u get me.

Oh dear. "Love etc" is on the internet.

It's a stinker.

"A stinker's" a bit too much. I'd say it's good some good bits and some parts that really don't work. Like the first verse.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7879322.stm

it's great. it wipes the floor with BEFORE or I'M WITH STUPID as a first single off an album to name two. lovely artwork too.

it's good I think, not a stinker by any means. agree with daavid that the start/first verse doesn't quite work but after that I think it's pretty great

"I remember on Pop Idol, Pete Waterman told someone, very sympathetically, 'The thing is, you're more of a Depeche Mode kind of artist.' In other words, 'What are you doing here, pet?'

He's so right. I wish they'd kick Simon Cowell's ass.

Gui Boratto and the Pet Shop Boys have hit twice with the German Film Star mix and now this Love Etc. remix. Would be great to hear Disco 5 or whatever they're on completely remixed by Boratto.

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Just because they named their new CD "Yes," does not mean that British electro-pop duo, the Pet Shop Boys, will agree to just about anything.

PETA has asked the Pet Shop Boys to change the band's name to Rescue Shelter Boys.

The band has turned down a request from an animal rights group to rename itself the Rescue Shelter Boys.

The organization, the People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals (PETA), sent a letter to Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe acknowledging that its request, at first blush, might appear "bizarre."

But, by changing its name, the band could raise awareness at every tour stop of the "cramped, filthy conditions" that breeders keep animals in before selling them to pet stores, PETA said in its letter. Read how the Pet Shop Boys got their name

The duo, which has performed under its current name for more than 20 years, reproduced PETA's written request in full on its Web site.

The musicians said they were "unable to agree" to the request "but nonetheless think (it) raises an issue worth thinking about."

The animal rights group said it was pleased the Pet Shop Boys had drawn attention to the issue by posting its letter so prominently on the band's site. Talking about its campaign on a blog entry, a PETA staffer wrote:

"I think I may have to stick "West End Girls" on my iPod right now to celebrate."

"West End Girls" is one of the many hits the group has had in its long career.

PETA is no stranger to oddball campaigns. A recent one was aimed to re-christen fish as "sea kittens" because "who could possibly want to put a hook through a sea kitten?"

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/10/peta.pet.shop.boys/index.html

How many songs about pet-shopping have they actually done, though?

I want a dog,
A chihuahua
When I get back to my small flat
I want to hear somebody bark
Oh, you can get lonely

Don't want a cat,
Scratching its claws all over my
Habitat
Giving no love and getting fat
Oh, (oh oh) you can get lonely
And a cat's no help with that

(Bulldog, hound, pug, labrador,
Collie, retriever, Dobermann-pinscher,
Husky, dalmatian, St. Bernard and dachshund,
Mongrel, beagle, cocker spaniel)

my God, I love that song so much

(the original b-side, that is)

Saw them tonight. It was excellent.

Me too.

Oh cool, you were at the Boston show? I thought they were really great. The Coldplay cover threw me but they made it about 1000x better than the original version.

I see them on Wednesday! Looks like they have a higher budget too.

The whole thing was pretty impressive. You'll have a great time.

Higher budget than the Cubism set...?

Yeah, I was at the Boston show. The Coldplay cover was amazing, I thought (and I don't like the original). Was also really impressed with how impressive they made such a minimal stage show.

Love how they make Viva La Vida sound like a Tennant/Lowe song without changing that much - the 4/4 pulse, the rush into the chorus, and the lyrics about leadership (a v Tennant theme) all sound both more joyous and more profound than they do in Coldplay's hands. Because of Tennant's preoccupation with Russian history, it suddenly makes me think of the 1917 revolution.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTYxi5e9SSkqH35b6b3BsytKI2fCuz7ValoMtlMMY8e7_yE93cKjrgsdrhRip4&usqp=CAc

xpost my fave (the Downy's that is)

A further update on that terrible cover -- Nate Patrin remembered the ad for the miniseries using it. You will note, how you say, a creative edit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4R_C2L4Wmk

Re: That Downy ad. I submit for consideration LG selling washing machines by reinterpreting "Got Your Money":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEwxtg35BUo

why are there so many street signs in that montage

Billionaire Boys Club was nominated for four Emmys: Outstanding Miniseries, Outstanding Directing in a Miniseries or Special, Outstanding Writing in a Miniseries or Special, and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special for Ron Silver

lol

Really speaks to the sheer paucity of quality around then. "It MUST be important, it's about wannabe rich assholes in LA like us!"

Whenever I think of the Pet Shop Boys in pop culture I always think of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW8TIAHyAE0

YES! on the Tag Team Geico ad being the #1 ad of the moment. I crack myself up inserting "Sprinkles!" mentally into conversations. The expression on the son's?/daughter's? faces are great, too.

One thing I like about the Tag Team commercial is that I (and I assume a lot of people) had idea what the guys looked like, and even if I did, it's kind of taken on faith that these are the same guys. And yeah, "Sprinkles!"

the tag team commercial also underscores the fact that "whoomp there it is" is a truly excellent song that we've taken for granted

I mentioned this piece briefly but it is worth a read

https://theundefeated.com/features/behind-the-delightful-success-of-tag-team-hit-commercial-with-geico/

AD WARS - tag team's "whoomp there it is" vs. pet shop boys' "opportunities"

bilingual then backwards and anything after bilingual is crap!

nah

Geico wins Mad Men Ace Award because visuals of Allstate spoiled by shitty singing hood ornament, looking like a sweetened-up Wicked Witch, but musically I find "Opportunities" more exciting.

I can't recall many good covers of PSB songs, except by Liza/Dusty etc, but this a lovely and summery, found by accident on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/track/4clr0ehfzrEKvLepw4WffW?si=9c65ffc509534d5c