PSB songs that they themselves apparently dislike
It should come as no surprise that artists themselves sometimes come to dislike certain works of their own creation. The Pet Shop Boys are no exception. Here I list several PSB songs I know of that Chris and/or Neil have said (or have reportedly said) at one time or another that they really don't care for. These songs are listed in alphabetical order.
- A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi
- A Different Point of View
In the booklet accompanying the 2001 reissue of Very, Neil said that "Chris never liked this song." Chris agreed, adding (though perhaps somewhat facetiously), "I did my best to mess it up." Nevertheless, it found its way onto the album.
- Hell
Chris isn't very fond of this song. As a result, he vetoed its inclusion on Elysium. He would at least, however, later grant it the faint praise "It's not bad."
- Hit and Miss
Chris reportedly dislikes this song, thereby ensuring its relegation to b-side status (at least until the release of the Format compilation).
- The Loving Kind
The fact that Chris didn't care for this song after they had written it inspired them to hand it over to Girls Aloud. Conversely, however, he admitted being "thrilled" when Girls Aloud recorded and released it.
- Metamorphosis
Neil once referred to this as his "least favourite lyric of the Pet Shop Boys' catalogue." He's even said that it "embarrasses" him now to hear it: "It makes me cringe."
- Motoring
Neil wrote in his diary (reproduced in Issue 25 of their fan club publication Literally) that neither he nor Chris liked this song, even immediately after they wrote it in 2001. Thus they held off on releasing it until their 2017 reissue of Release with bonus tracks.
- Paninaro
When asked in the letters section of their Annually 2017 publication whether he was ever going to perform this song live again, Chris adamantly asserted that, no, he wouldn't: "It's embarrassing. I don't like the track.… And the lyrics are rubbish. The first line's good, and then the rest of it is rubbish.… It's just not going to happen. It was from a different time." The Boys reversed themselves, however, and performed it at the Edinburgh Hogmanay festivities for the transition from 2022 and 2023 as well as during many of their 2023 Dreamworld Tour shows. (Or is it "Paninaro '95"? It's still basically the same song.) "Actually, I don't mind doing it," Chris said in Annually 2023, a comment that nevertheless seems somewhat begrudging. "Not minding" something isn't the same as liking it.
- Party Song
- A Red Letter Day
A perhaps questionable addition to this list seeing as how Chris doesn't actually dislike the song, although he does outspokenly dislike how it was arranged and produced. As he once elaborated when talking about it, "I don't like the style…. The production lets this song down. I think the song's better than the record. It's a bit clippety-cloppity."
- Screaming
Neil has offered this succinct assessment: "My least favourite song in the Pet Shop Boys' entire catalogue."
- So Hard
Amazingly, in the booklet accompanying the 2001 reissue of Behaviour, Chris asserts, "I don't like 'So Hard.' It's a blot on this album." On another occasion he clarified this point, stating that "It spoils the mood," so maybe it's not so much that he dislikes the song itself, but rather only that they included it on that particular album.
- Twentieth Century
Neil once pointed out that this is Chris's least favorite track on Fundamental, to which Chris added, "Yes, and I still don't like it very much." He likes how it ends, though.
- The View from Your Balcony
Neil has said that Chris doesn't much like this song, either, likely leading to its consignment as a b-side. (It's clearly the fate of many such products.)
- Was That What It Was?
Neil regards this as one of his least favorite PSB songs.
- We All Feel Better in the Dark
Although this is widely considered among fans to be Chris's masterpiece and received an unforgettable live treatment in their Performance stage show, Chris himself has expressed dismay at its lyrics: "The words are terrible. Awful. Embarrassing."
Neil thought this song about dictators enduring eternal punishment with each other was funny, but Chris didn't, so it became another song thereby excluded from Elysium.
Neil has noted that this is one of his "least favourite songs in the Pet Shop Boys canon," although he concedes, "Actually, I don't hate it that much."
- What Keeps Mankind Alive?
An instance where the Boys seem to be in full agreement on their dislike of a track: they've stated collectively that they're "not that keen" on their recording of this Brecht/Weill tune.
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