y/n/y
― StanM, Thursday, 20 March 2008 10:50 (sixteen years ago) link
in principle definitely, yes.
― banriquit, Thursday, 20 March 2008 10:50 (sixteen years ago) link
Pet Shop Boys critical love is based on a very short burst of half-decent singles in the mid 80s. Erasure achieved higher peaks than PSB ("Always", "Sometimes", "Stop"), and over a long period of time (I make their run of perfection eight years, 86 to 94)
― Dom Passantino, Thursday, 20 March 2008 10:53 (sixteen years ago) link
Pet Shop Boys critical love is based on a very short burst of half-decent singles in the mid 80s
wrong like a hongro - 'Behaviour' and 'Very' are considered their best albums by most
― blueski, Thursday, 20 March 2008 10:57 (sixteen years ago) link
"Behaviour" only came out four years into their career anyway, meaning they have half the staying power of Erasure
― Dom Passantino, Thursday, 20 March 2008 10:58 (sixteen years ago) link
peak era is 87-88, can live without rest.
― banriquit, Thursday, 20 March 2008 10:59 (sixteen years ago) link
For PSB or Erasure?
― Dom Passantino, Thursday, 20 March 2008 10:59 (sixteen years ago) link
PSB
― banriquit, Thursday, 20 March 2008 11:00 (sixteen years ago) link
2 Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield What Have I Done To Deserve This Aug 1987 8 Pet Shop Boys Rent Oct 1987 1 Pet Shop Boys Always On My Mind Dec 1987 Notes 1 Pet Shop Boys Heart Apr 1988 7 Pet Shop Boys Domino Dancing Sep 1988 4 Pet Shop Boys Left To My Own Devices Nov 1988
^^ can't front on that
― banriquit, Thursday, 20 March 2008 11:01 (sixteen years ago) link
whatever
Erasure's last genuinely good single = 'Love To Hate You'. Abba-Esque EP greater than the sum of it's parts.
― blueski, Thursday, 20 March 2008 11:03 (sixteen years ago) link
Didn't _any_ 80s band drop a 90s joint as hot as "Always"?
― Dom Passantino, Thursday, 20 March 2008 11:03 (sixteen years ago) link
I think you mean 6 years, Dom. I like Erasure but you only need the singles album, their regular albums are patchy at best, and filled with keech at worse.
― Billy Dods, Thursday, 20 March 2008 11:04 (sixteen years ago) link
drama! is the only erasure single i consider truly great. but it is truly great.
― electricsound, Thursday, 20 March 2008 11:08 (sixteen years ago) link
Enjoy the Silence 1990
― ledge, Thursday, 20 March 2008 11:10 (sixteen years ago) link
lol goths
― banriquit, Thursday, 20 March 2008 11:12 (sixteen years ago) link
sorry i have an app that posts that when ever depeche mode come up.
― banriquit, Thursday, 20 March 2008 11:13 (sixteen years ago) link
New Order, Regret, 1993
― ledge, Thursday, 20 March 2008 11:20 (sixteen years ago) link
Duran Duran, Ordinar... ahem cough.
― ledge, Thursday, 20 March 2008 11:25 (sixteen years ago) link
what's the darkest Erasure song?
― blueski, Thursday, 20 March 2008 11:26 (sixteen years ago) link
"Blue Savannah"?
― Dingbod Kesterson, Thursday, 20 March 2008 11:55 (sixteen years ago) link
"Ship of Fools"
― Mark G, Thursday, 20 March 2008 11:57 (sixteen years ago) link
yup.
― ledge, Thursday, 20 March 2008 11:58 (sixteen years ago) link
Erasure had zero peaks. They were the Hollies of their time - chart reliables, always on TV, always in the top ten, almost never at number one, never dreadful but hardly ever more than dull.
― Dingbod Kesterson, Thursday, 20 March 2008 11:59 (sixteen years ago) link
This may have been true in 1991.
― Geir Hongro, Thursday, 20 March 2008 11:59 (sixteen years ago) link
(The header, I mean)
Very was released seven years after "West End Girls."
Pop! The First 20 Hits is solid, and Andy Bell's a fine singer, but, boy, did Clarke run out of tricks fast.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 20 March 2008 12:43 (sixteen years ago) link
poor bastard, having to share a name with that cock out of hurricane #1
― electricsound, Thursday, 20 March 2008 12:44 (sixteen years ago) link
Alfred pretty much OTM -- I still have the albums up through Chorus but after that it was patchy as hell. The self-titled one is an odd bird, though -- Clarke's prog indulgence, indirectly. (Guest singers including Diamanda Galas!)
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 20 March 2008 12:47 (sixteen years ago) link
They have actually released some pretty strong albums lately. They had a strong down period from the mid 90s until the early oughties though. Sure, you could say the same about Pet Shop Boys (And Erasure have never released anything as downright pointless as the "Release" album), but "Nightlife" was pretty good.
― Geir Hongro, Thursday, 20 March 2008 13:59 (sixteen years ago) link
The Innocents is the only Erasure album I currently own (got rid of Chorus years ago), and no way is it as good as Introspective or Actually.
I won't say that Tennant's lyrics and point of view are the make-or-break point, but they DO inflect the music in subtle ways, as lyrics should. Meanwhile Bell seems too content with singing romantic generalities, and the music follows suit.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 20 March 2008 14:05 (sixteen years ago) link
I consider "The Innocents" the weaker of the "classic" Erasure albums. It has Stephen Hague's typical late 80s standard "pop" sound stamped all over, and sounds less like a synthpop album than any other of their albums.
― Geir Hongro, Thursday, 20 March 2008 14:10 (sixteen years ago) link
As a singles act I've always preferred Erasure. PSB are pretty unloveable, and irritating sometimes. The only albums I've owned/heard are The Innocents and Introspective, and I only liked the tracks that were singles on both (except "It's Alright").
― DavidM, Thursday, 20 March 2008 14:45 (sixteen years ago) link
PSB are pretty unloveable,
Perhaps the most insane thing I've ever read. Care to explain?
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 20 March 2008 14:46 (sixteen years ago) link
The premise of this thread is madness. As for 90s synthpop legends best singles:
Enjoy The Silence > Regret > Can You Forgive Her > Always. I'm not sure where Go West fits in here.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 20 March 2008 15:11 (sixteen years ago) link
PSB have the edge in songwriting -- tunes and lyrics both. Erasure are fine on the former, often horrible on the latter. I'll call it a draw on vocals -- Tennant has a very limited instrument but uses it to great effect, Bell has range and volume but can get awfully shrill at times.
As for arrangements and instrumentation, PSB are certainly more tapped-in to dance music, but there's often something "canned" about their use of synths -- like they've loaded in the latest presets, bought the high-end sample libraries, hired the top programmers, but the arrangement ends up being about what's trendy instead of aligning with the feel of the song. Whereas Erasure's arrangements -- putting aside their unmemorable recent ventures into acoustic instrumentation -- are timeless and organic and really make their songs work. You could say: Tennant writes better melodies, but Clark writes better counter-melodies.
― Paul in Santa Cruz, Thursday, 20 March 2008 15:26 (sixteen years ago) link
Unfortunately Erasure's arrangements are 1983 and Peter Powell and their songs were the kind of thing which Big Dennis Taylor reckoned was good pop on the Saturday Superstore Video Panel.
― Dingbod Kesterson, Thursday, 20 March 2008 15:32 (sixteen years ago) link
PSBs: ideas
Erasure: feelin's
― Bodrick III, Thursday, 20 March 2008 15:50 (sixteen years ago) link
"feelin's" of nausea morelike
― Dingbod Kesterson, Thursday, 20 March 2008 15:56 (sixteen years ago) link
blue savannah song i like u
― remy bean, Thursday, 20 March 2008 15:57 (sixteen years ago) link
Am I Right? is my fave, lol amirite
― ledge, Thursday, 20 March 2008 16:01 (sixteen years ago) link
or amijusdreamin
― Bodrick III, Thursday, 20 March 2008 16:03 (sixteen years ago) link
meleeECI (4 weeks ago) Show Hide -1 Poor comment Good comment Marked as spam Reply Erasure has the stupidest videos ... I love their music though. Just to put my 2cents in ... Gay is wrong but the music is good .. 2 different things. arona1969 (2 weeks ago) Show Hide +1 Poor comment Good comment Marked as spam Reply whats wrong in being gay? where are you from ? meleeECI (2 weeks ago) Show Hide -3 Poor comment Good comment Marked as spam Reply The creator, God, made man and woman to be together. Homosexuality is as wrong as hetero sex outside of marriage. God has a design and a plan. That plan does not include sexual activity outside of the bounds he created it for. That is why Gay is wrong .. this is the wrong forum to be discussing it though.
― Bodrick III, Thursday, 20 March 2008 16:11 (sixteen years ago) link
philipbutlin (5 hours ago) Show Hide 0 Poor comment Good comment Marked as spam Reply i'm as straight as it gets but this group was fantastic
― Bodrick III, Thursday, 20 March 2008 16:16 (sixteen years ago) link
Srsly tho, just soulseeked "Sometimes", awesome.
― Bodrick III, Thursday, 20 March 2008 16:18 (sixteen years ago) link
Enjoy The Silence > Regret > Can You Forgive Her > Always.
I cannot possibly view "Regret" a synthpop song. "World" maybe, "Regret", no.
As for PSB/Erasure:
Erasure:
Positive: - Really strong melodies, some killer choruses - The prementioned counter melodies. Those "polyphonic" synth melodies in the background are maybe the best thing of all about all of Vince Clarke's musical projects - Some really cool synth sounds. Vince is a masterful synth programmer. Even late 80s FM synths he often managed to get to sound cool, which was extremely difficult. - With the exception of "The Innocents" and some late 90s/early 00s stuff, always faithful to their synthpop roots. - Usually avoiding failed experiments with musical styles they better not visit too often
Negative: - Extremely irrelevant for most of the 90s - Andy Bell. I am sorry, but his vocals are sometimes terribly annoying - Not that I am very interested in lyrics, but, yes, they are sometimes very horrible - Could sometimes have benefited from being slightly more ambitious, and yet, the one time they were (the eponymous mid 90s album) they kind of failed. - They aren't Yazoo nor Depeche Mode
As for Pet Shop Boys:
Positive: - A strong row of 90s albums - A great tongue-in-cheek and slightly ironic approach that gives their music sort of a double edge - Some really classy songs - Neil Tennant's vocal style fits perfectly
Negative: - To many "hard" digital samples in their 80s material at times - Some really ill-advised attempts at experimenting with "dance" styles they should have left untouched (house, latino etc.) - The "Release" album. Worse than anything Erasure have ever done.- - From the 90s onwards, Neil Tennant has sometimes sung in the same annoying falsetto way that Andy Bell does, decreasing his lead in the vocals part
― Geir Hongro, Thursday, 20 March 2008 21:07 (sixteen years ago) link
Geir OTM re: Erasure, not so much re: PSB.
I like both these bands; which one I prefer depends on my mood.
― Curt1s Stephens, Thursday, 20 March 2008 21:50 (sixteen years ago) link
PSB tower over Erasure.
― Spencer Chow, Thursday, 20 March 2008 22:39 (sixteen years ago) link
In my mind this is true; in my ear I'm not so sure.
― rogermexico., Thursday, 20 March 2008 22:58 (sixteen years ago) link
let's not think about the PSB's towers, please.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 20 March 2008 23:04 (sixteen years ago) link
Geir has a couple of valid points, but this thread shouldn't even exist. True, the PSB have their highs (Actually) and lows (Release). But Erasure at their best is far from being at the same league as the the PSB at their best.
― daavid, Friday, 21 March 2008 01:01 (sixteen years ago) link
No such thing as a "classic" Erasure album. Unless you mean "record" to include singles.
I've heard all of them through 1995 and there ain't much difference to my ears. The ABBA-esque EP sounds particularly cut-rate. Bell is often a blank singer, and to my ears Clarke's dumb little hooks need a singer with personality to put them across (Moyet, Sharkey could; Bell too on occasion).
"Hack" isn't necessarily an insult, but in Erasure's case where the guys worked hard without much imagination for so many years it makes sense.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 1 September 2015 23:09 (eight years ago) link
Yes, I meant "record" to include singles, although again, I'd argue that The Innocents and Chorus are classics, both being highly regarded by not only Erasure fans, but also dedicated fans of UK synthpop. If I had to rank my favourite UK synthpop albums of all time, both of those albums would be in there without any hesitation. That they haven't had big critical acclaim outside of dedicated synthpop circles like the Pet Shop Boys have is a whole 'nother matter entirely.
I've heard all of them through 1995 and there ain't much difference to my ears.
You're implying that Wild! and I Say I Say I Say sound the same, and they don't.
― You’re being too simplistic and you’re insulting my poor heart (Turrican), Tuesday, 1 September 2015 23:27 (eight years ago) link
Well, let's put it this way: I'd love to read a reconsideration.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 1 September 2015 23:29 (eight years ago) link
I'd highly recommend giving Nightbird from 2005 a listen. It's a beautiful record and manages to capture everything that's great about them.
― Kitchen Person, Tuesday, 1 September 2015 23:46 (eight years ago) link
I've found myself listening to I Say I Say I Say a lot today... man, did Vince and Martyn Ware get some wonderful synth sounds on this record. In fact, I think at this point Vince wasn't even using any drum machines and all of the drum sounds come from Vince's collection of synths, just like The Human League did on their first couple of albums before they started using the Linn. 'Take Me Back', 'So The Story Goes', 'Run To The Sun', 'Always', 'All Through The Years', 'Miracle' and 'Because You're So Sweet' are all-time Erasure tracks for me, and I enjoy 'I Love Saturday' and 'Man In The Moon' ... really, there's only 'Blues Away' that I'm not so keen on.
― Turrican, Wednesday, 2 September 2015 16:56 (eight years ago) link
otm
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Wednesday, 11 May 2022 02:24 (one year ago) link
PSB like Depeche Mode... if you weren't there in the 80s, I don't see how you become infatuated with them, takes a leap of faith to believe they were amazing
Erasure? A little respect is all you need
― corrs unplugged, Wednesday, 11 May 2022 13:56 (one year ago) link
I love PSB. I didn't listen to them until very late, but I actually tie them more to the early-mid '90s. That's just me - I love Discography and even without reading the dates, those clearly feel like they were conceived in the '80s in terms of sound and content. But Very is my favorite PSB album and it evokes memories of my first encounters with gay culture and AIDS in the '90s. It was bewildering to me as a kid because I didn't know anyone who was gay growing up (a few would eventually come out as gay when they were older) and yet the national debate was visible and the stigma from a conservative culture was still prevalent where I was. Even people who didn't have any animosity towards gays didn't see them as equal or normal. Even if they were embracing gay artists, they were still embracing a pop culture that frequently denigrated or mocked gays in some way. But I could see the beginning of change - it may feel like a backward time and place now, but from what I can tell, it was a big leap from the '80s. Also, I didn't grow up with anyone with AIDS, but it was a big, widely-known cause and the schools in retrospect did a great job in educating students about it. That's in stark contrast to the horrific picture painted by people I know now who were living here in NYC in the Village during the '80s. Every time I put on Very I actually choked up a bit for how mournful and hopeful it sounds, and it builds to that wonderful peak in "Go West." It's similar to what it's like listening to Sam Cooke or Aretha Franklin sing about civil rights. So yeah, I wasn't there, but I love PSB, I think they're one of the greats.
I enjoy Depeche Mode a lot too, I went from mildly liking them to loving them over the years, partly because I didn't realize how charming they could be. Their live shows are great, some of the best I've seen visually. They're still primarily a singles band to me though. (I know many have argued for their albums, but I still prefer to hear their singles strung together on a compilations.)
And I enjoy Erasure a lot too - I knew several people who had Pop! and became familiar with those songs even before I knew who they were or really anything else in pop music.
― birdistheword, Wednesday, 11 May 2022 14:43 (one year ago) link
Erasure are very much the better band
― we need outrage! we need dicks!! (the table is the table), Wednesday, 11 May 2022 17:10 (one year ago) link
As a New Order fan, I didn't pay much attention to either of these bands. PSB definitely had better hooks.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Wednesday, 11 May 2022 17:18 (one year ago) link
I did like Bronski Beat though.
And I don't know why I thought Vince Clarke was in Bronski Beat. Senior moment.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Wednesday, 11 May 2022 17:21 (one year ago) link
I'm seeing New Order and PSB in the fall (at least I hope), but I would have to say New Order is the greater band - what they accomplished is tremendous, few can match it.
― birdistheword, Wednesday, 11 May 2022 17:53 (one year ago) link
I like a lot of Erasure: Pop! is wall-to-wall jams. "Chains of Love" and "Love to Hate You" are frequent karaoke jams. Andy Bell comes off as an average guy with average thoughts, which is a large part of his charm and attractiveness as singer/lyricist.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 11 May 2022 18:29 (one year ago) link
Depeche Mode exists for my 19-25 y/o students. They know "Enjoy the Silence" and "Personal Jesus" by name.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 11 May 2022 18:30 (one year ago) link
Those are literally the two Depeche Mode songs I was thinking about on the bus this morning.
― Being cheap is expensive (snoball), Wednesday, 11 May 2022 18:33 (one year ago) link
I'm pretty sure I ended up with Bob Saget's copy of Erasure's Pop! (not going to tell the story so don't ask) and am just absolutely obsessed with "Drama!"
I kind of think Depeche Mode > Erasure > PSB > New Order as far as singles go.
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Wednesday, 11 May 2022 19:00 (one year ago) link
"Victim of Love" and "Drama!" are two of the best imo -- along with their cover of "Take A Chance on Me"
― sarahell, Wednesday, 11 May 2022 19:04 (one year ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX37rIFf9Tg
It's also wild to watch this video with the knowledge that Erasure's entire oeuvre got written about less in solemn terms of "queer identity" than like Frank Ocean or Phoebe Bridgers or whatever
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Wednesday, 11 May 2022 19:11 (one year ago) link
I remember a friend's younger sister going to see Duran Duran when she was 13 or 14, on the Seven and the Ragged Tiger tour; Erasure opened up and she came home saying, in effect, "I was not prepared for that."
― but also fuck you (unperson), Wednesday, 11 May 2022 19:27 (one year ago) link
I'm seeing New Order and PSB in the fall (at least I hope)
So am I! I have tickets for both nights at the Hollywood Bowl. We'll see if it happens this year.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Wednesday, 11 May 2022 20:12 (one year ago) link
Pet Shop Boys are a great “albums” band, imo.
― brimstead, Wednesday, 11 May 2022 20:15 (one year ago) link
I saw DM a few years ago, an old friend was opening for them and so we got absurdly good seats. It was an experience, watching a bunch of Gen Xers screams along to every word of every song. Really fun, tbh!
DM win for me anyday, then Erasure, NO, and PSB.
― we need outrage! we need dicks!! (the table is the table), Wednesday, 11 May 2022 20:15 (one year ago) link
Be prepared to hear the complete collapse of Bernard Sumner's voice, alas.
xxpost
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 11 May 2022 20:26 (one year ago) link
You could have made that statement before any live New Order appearance since 1981, tbh
― enochroot, Wednesday, 11 May 2022 20:41 (one year ago) link
I know!
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 11 May 2022 20:45 (one year ago) link
Pet Shop Boys "Disco" remix album (in the cassette format in this case) was the first album I ever bought, and it's a masterpiece. Listening to the Erasure hits takes me back to youth discos and pubs and they were pretty great. But the PSB one is like a sacred object to me.
― calzino, Wednesday, 11 May 2022 20:50 (one year ago) link
That New Order/Pet Shop Boys tour is Erasure erasure!
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Wednesday, 11 May 2022 20:57 (one year ago) link
NO/PSB neeeevveeeer mention Erasure.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 11 May 2022 21:07 (one year ago) link
Love Erasure! though imo they are very much a singles band, i am not as much of a fan of their album cuts, personally.
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 11 May 2022 21:17 (one year ago) link
Hmm...you sure it was Seven and the Ragged Tiger? Notorious seems more likely since that was 1986 and Erasure were two albums in, where during SATRT they didn't exist yet!
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 11 May 2022 22:14 (one year ago) link
Saw Erasure on concert about 3 years ago and it was genuinely thrilling. Bare bones show with just two backing singers and a nice but basic lighting setup. I am not even a big fan but it was the best thing I've seen in years. Andy Bell is a blast.
― everything, Wednesday, 11 May 2022 23:08 (one year ago) link
Yeah, I had the album chronology wrong, but Erasure opened DD’s two concerts at Madison Square Garden in June 1987.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Wednesday, 11 May 2022 23:18 (one year ago) link
A difference between Erasure and PSB is that the latter has a fairly linear sense of melody for the vocals - fewer notes and closer together let's say. It is less ambitiously composed - whereas Erasure melodies are up and down the scales, often in arpeggios if you think of songs like "Love To Hate You" or "Star" etc. In both cases it complements their backing music which for Erasure relies on springy sequencers and for the Petshop Boys is more chordal, has more synth washes and atmospherics.
― everything, Wednesday, 11 May 2022 23:33 (one year ago) link
Basically the Petshop Boys are the John Lennon of synth pop and Erasure are Paul McCartney. I guess that means Depeche Mode are George Harrison.
― everything, Wednesday, 11 May 2022 23:38 (one year ago) link
a George Harrison who affects a love of leather
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 12 May 2022 00:21 (one year ago) link
George Harrison is the vegan Depeche Mode
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 12 May 2022 01:38 (one year ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE7-RlrQx2c
the 1993 channel 4 special 'Camp Christmas' is on youtube in full, co-presented by Andy Bell and Melissa Etheridge, they perform several Christmas songs together. In terms of differences between Erasure and PSB, it's difficult to imagine Neil Tennant replacing Bell here. Also features Derek Jarman, Martina Navratilova, Justin Fashanu, Armistead Maupin, Stephen Fry and many more. Fry called it "ghastly and under-rehearsed".
― soref, Thursday, 12 May 2022 10:02 (one year ago) link
Erasure are the synth-pop Beach Boys, A Little Respect's melody is straight-up Brian Wilson anywayDrama! is the genre's Good VibrationsBlue Savannah is Don't Worry Baby
I mean I could go on
― PaulTMA, Thursday, 12 May 2022 12:07 (one year ago) link
there is no comparison as it is like saying the smiths are better than the cure or the clash are better than the sex pistols!
― xzanfar, Thursday, 12 May 2022 12:20 (one year ago) link
"Blue Savannah" is gorgeous.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 12 May 2022 12:35 (one year ago) link
Fat Vegetarian Goths > Fat Vegan Racists so The Cure wins.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Thursday, 12 May 2022 15:14 (one year ago) link
Was Morrissey racist in the '80s and/or '90s or is this a recent development?
― birdistheword, Thursday, 12 May 2022 15:24 (one year ago) link
The Smiths suck
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 12 May 2022 15:28 (one year ago) link
1986 — “Reggae, for example, is to me the most racist music in the entire world. It's an absolute total glorification of black supremacy... I don’t have very cast iron opinions on black music other than black modern music which I detest. I detest Stevie Wonder. I think Diana Ross is awful. I hate all those records in the Top 40 – Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston. I think they’re vile in the extreme... Obviously to get on Top Of The Pops these days, one has to be, by law, black,” he told Melody Maker.
1992 — He was quoted in Q Magazine saying: “I don’t really think, for instance, black people and white people will ever really get on or like each other.”
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Thursday, 12 May 2022 15:55 (one year ago) link
Ugh. Breaking my heart Moz.
― birdistheword, Thursday, 12 May 2022 16:06 (one year ago) link
How do you regard Erasure in comparison with the Pet Shop Boys? Aren't they very much alike?Erasure In many ways, yes, they are very much alike, at least superficially. Both are British synthpop duos who started off in the 1980s and have openly gay vocalist/lyricists. And I do like Erasure tremendously, counting them among my favorites. But I like the Pet Shop Boys far more. Pet Shop BoysI believe Erasure and the Pet Shop Boys are comparable as performers, although I think Neil and Chris put on a better show overall. I also think the Boys have a better sense of style. But, much more importantly, they're vastly superior songwriters. Clarke/Bell is a pretty good songwriting team. But Tennant/Lowe is, in my opinion, a truly great songwriting team. More pointedly, Andy simply isn't in the same league as Neil when it comes to writing lyrics.
For every two Erasure songs that I like, I can name another that I don't care for. By contrast, out of more than 300 PSB songs to date, I can honestly say that (as I note elsewhere) there are only three that I dislike: "The Sound of the Atom Splitting," "Love Is a Catastrophe," and "Ego Music." To put it another way, I like about 67% of what Erasure does, whereas I enjoy roughly 99% of the Pet Shop Boys' output. Also, I find both the early and more recent albums by Erasure rather weak—I think they peaked in the 1990s with the albums from Chorus through Cowboy—whereas PSB's albums were top-notch from the start and have, in my opinion, maintained an unremitting level of excellence. (Let's just say that Disco 2 was an anomaly. )
I have a warped little dream: that someday Erasure will release an album of nothing but Tennant/Lowe songs, perhaps including a few remakes but ideally made up mostly of previously unreleased originals. Better yet, the Pet Shop Boys would also produce the album, while allowing Clarke a free hand with his synth arrangements, of which he is an absolute master. One song could even be a "duet," in which both Vince and Chris play instruments and both Andy and Neil sing. (Can you imagine a love-duet between those two? Half of me thrills at the thought; the other half cringes in horror.) Such an album could be nirvana. (Please note the lower-case n.) Of course, it will almost certainly never happen, but I still love to imagine it.
C'mon guys—you can work it out.
― xzanfar, Thursday, 12 May 2022 20:02 (one year ago) link