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May 20, 2012

I've posted the final results of my survey this past week, in which I asked my site visitors under which of the Pet Shop Boys' five managers (to date) they believe the best decisions were made for their career. This week's poll was inspired by something I read not too long ago in an online fan forum, where someone complained that the Boys didn't treat their fans very well. That made me want to put the question to my faithful site visitors: what do you think? Do the Pet Shop Boys indeed treat their fans badly? Or do they treat them quite well? Or maybe it's somewhere in-between. I'm very eager to learn how the fans themselves—or at least that subset of fans who visit my website—feel about this.

As a follow-up on my commentary a few days ago on the passing of Donna Summer, I'm rather bitterly amused by a new Billboard article about how the leadership of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is now expressing regret over how she had been bypassed by that institution. This article rightly suggests that this oversight is the result of the profound anti-disco bias of the voters. Nominating committee chairman Jon Landau is quoted as referring to this as "an error [he] can only hope is finally and permanently rectified next year." Well, better late than never, but too late for Donna to appreciate it. As for my own hopes, it would be nice to think that this admitted error may shake the arbiters of inclusion out of their rockist biases sufficiently for other artists so strongly associated with dance music—such as our own musical heroes—to achieve more serious consideration. But I'm not betting the mortgage on it.

By the way, I'm going to have a period of "radio silence" for about 24 hours starting around mid-day today, lasting until sometime mid-day tomorrow (Monday the 21st). So if you write to me or if something major happens in the PSB universe and you don't hear anything from me in response, that's why. I'll resurface as soon as I'm able.

May 19, 2012

In this relatively quiet time leading up to the release of new Pet Shop Boys music within the next few months—the calm before the storm, as it were—I find myself attending to and writing things that have little if anything to do with them. So I hope you understand if I use this particular forum to share my thoughts in this way.

Nearly two weeks ago I bought Out of the Game, the new album by Rufus Wainwright (yes, another one of my other favorite artists, and one with quite a few "PSB connections"). After listening to it a number of times, I find myself a bit disappointed. That's not to say that it's not a good album—on the contrary, it is—but I just don't think it's as good as I would have expected. In terms of quality, I would place it squarely in the middle of his body of work: better than his first two albums, and probably even an improvement over the immediately preceding All Days Are Nights (which, despite the amazing songwriting prowess it displays, tends to wear thin after a while on account of the "sonic sameness" of its strict piano-only accompaniment), but not as good as Want One, Want Two, and Release the Stars. Rufus has suggested that the rather pop-oriented Out of the Game may represent his final stab at achieving mainstream pop stardom. But I would consider that a losing proposition—which I suspect he realizes all too well, hence the album's title. The sheer sophistication of his songwriting, his idiosyncratic vocal style (an acquired taste), and his open gayness stack the "big pop stardom" deck against him. I think he should stick to what he does best, which is to write and record somewhat arty songs and albums while regularly challenging himself with even more ambitious projects, such as his recent opera Prima Donna. So while I can recommend Out of the Game, I really can't recommend it as strongly as I would several other albums. If you're a "Rufus virgin" but still wish to check him out, I suggest you start with the marvelous Release the Stars—which, for us PSB fans, offers the added bonus of having been executive-produced by Neil Tennant and subtly featuring him on several tracks.

See—I managed to bring it back to the Pet Shop Boys after all! wink

May 17, 2012

I'm saddened to learn of the death today of Donna Summer from cancer at age 63. I consider Summer—one of my other favorite artists—important for a number of reasons:

So I'm going to spend some time this evening listening to Donna Summer's music. And you can bet I won't be the only one.

Rest in peace, Donna.

May 14, 2012

Originally from Los Angeles but more recently using Berlin as their base of operations, the electronic duo of Eddie Chacon and Sissy Sainte-Marie—professionally known as The Polyamorous Affair—have recently covered "West End Girls." You can hear their version on Soundcloud as well as on the Planet Notion website. Of course, I've noted this on my page that lists remakes of Tennant-Lowe songs. Although I can't say that I'm personally fond of this particular rendition, I do appreciate the fact that Planet Notion refers to WEG as "a classic song that pretty much everyone adores."

May 13, 2012

I've posted the final results of last week's poll, in which I asked my site visitors to choose their three favorite questions they would like to ask the Pet Shop Boys from a list of twenty that I selected from questions submitted by visitors the week before. My sincere thanks to everyone for taking part in this very unusual two-parter! And, as promised, I've gone ahead and followed the instructions recently posted on the official PSB website to submit the three most popular questions for consideration. It will be interesting to see whether Chris and Neil choose to respond to one (or more) of them in the next issue of their Fan Club publication Literally.

Meanwhile, my new survey for the week ahead focuses attention on the Boys' talent/business managers throughout their career. I'm wondering under which of them you believe the best decisions were made—at least as best we can tell from our perspective as "outsiders," so to speak. Thanks so much to John McFadden for suggesting this intriguing question, as well as for providing the list of managers and their respective dates! That saved me a little extra research time and effort.

I've also happened upon a very nice rendition of "Suburbia" by the German pop-rock band Radiostar, which serves as the opening segment of a live medley of hits from the eighties and nineties. I've now cited this on my page listing cover versions of Tennant-Lowe songs. And if you'd like to hear it for yourself, you may do so on YouTube.

On an altogether separate note, I'm delighted to learn that the "About" page of Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks's own official website has seen fit to quote me—in fact, a line borrowed from a page on this very website. Regarding my own feelings about this, it makes me realize that it's possible both to be humbled and to have one's ego stroked at the same time. wink

And finally, on an even more distinctly non-PSB-related note, I went this weekend to see the long-awaited (at least by me) new Dark Shadows movie starring Johnny Depp. Although it has received decidedly mixed reviews, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I especially liked the little touches that director Tim Burton and screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith inserted apparently to appeal specifically to fans of the old TV show—things that would fly right past anyone else. There are quite a few of them, but my favorite is the scene where Dr. Hoffmann describes how young David Collins believes that his dead mother possesses a sort of "cyclical immortality," even as an intensely blazing fireplace roars behind the boy himself. If you're a DS devotee like me, you know the significance of that scene's language and underlying symbolism. But, that being said, you don't have to be a fan of the old show to enjoy this new film. My partner George isn't a fan, but he seemed to like it every bit as much as I did. No great art, to be sure, but it is a rollicking good time at the movies.

May 12, 2012

Regular site visitor Tom Haridon wrote to remind me that Morten Harket's album Out of My Hands, featuring the Tennant-Lowe song "Listening," is being released in the U.K. this coming Monday. But rather than add this to my "On This Date…" page for that date, I felt it more appropriate to add an item for April 13 instead, making note of the fact that it received its first-ever release (in Harket's native Norway as well as in Germany) on that date. So thanks, Tom, for this little "nudge"; I appreciate it!

I'm also indebted (as I so often am) to the Pet Shop Boys Community Forum (in this instance specifically to fellow member "Nightlife") for noting that the Boys made a surprise appearance night-before-last performing for charity at London's Kensington Palace Gardens. I've added this fact as well to my "On This Date…" page—although of course it won't pop up there until next year.

The unsigned Swedish band Bicycle Repairmen have posted their evocative, somewhat bluesy cover of "It's a Sin" onYouTube. I quite like it! I mean, if you're going to do the umpteenth remake of a song, you might as well put a distinctive, rather unusual spin on it. Needless to say, I've cited it on my page listing cover versions of PSB songs. And if you'd like to hear it for yourself, here's the link.

Last but by no means least, my home page's "Flag Counter" indicates that I've received my first site visitor from the Indian Ocean island nation of Seychelles! So I've added Seychelles to the appropriate list on my "A World of Pet Shop Boys Fans" page. And I extend a hearty welcome to my first Seychellois visitor!

May 9, 2012

Thanks so much to Felicity for telling me about the latest use of "It's a Sin" on TV—in this case the April 30 episode of the U.K. Channel 5 show 10 Things I Hate About…, which happened to focus on the year 1987. I've made note of this in the pre-existing entry at #21 in my list of Pet Shop Boys songs that can be heard in non-musical films and TV shows.

May 7, 2012

I've noticed—and several of you have emailed to inform me—that the Pet Shop Boys' official website is now soliciting questions that may be answered in the next issue of their Fan Club publication Literally. Despite my polls last week and this week, it's almost certainly just a coincidence. Nevertheless, I'll plan on submitting to them one or more of the top vote-getters in this week's poll for their consideration. Of course, there's no guarantee they'll actually choose one or more of them to answer, but we won't know unless we try.

I'll concede that it's a questionable inclusion, but I feel no less obliged to cite the new Edinburgh Evening News staff's "Go East" recording and video—which is indisputably a takeoff on "Go West"—at least as a "borderline case" on my page listing "performance parodies" of the Pet Shop Boys. If you'd like to see and hear it for yourself, it's readily available on YouTube.

Another borderline item found on YouTube is a new acoustic cover of "I'm Not Scared" by an indie artist who calls himself Einila. I think it's good enough to transcend the "amateur" status that would have barred it from my page listing remakes of Tennant-Lowe songs, so I've gone ahead and added it there.

May 6, 2012

As usual, I've posted the final results of my poll last week—but on account of the very unusual nature of that poll, those results are somewhat out of the ordinary. Having asked my site visitors to propose questions that they would like for the Pet Shop Boys to answer, I received 159 submissions. To be honest, considering that I generally have 300–400 voters in my surveys each week, I was surprised that I didn't receive a lot more. At any rate, as promised, I've narrowed the field down to my twenty "favorites"—a tough challenge, to be sure. I feel that at least that many more are equally well worth asking. (In the aforementioned "final results" I briefly summarize, at least at a very general level, my rationale for selecting the ones I did. I do apologize if I didn't select a question that you submitted, but such was the nature of the game.) So for this week's poll I'm asking you to choose your three favorites—or at least the three you think are most worth asking—from my selection of twenty. Let's see which ones prove most popular! In the meantime, I extend a very hearty thanks to everyone who submitted one or more questions last week! Even if I didn't choose yours, I truly appreciate your suggestions! And who knows? – maybe at some point I'll grab another set of twenty and ask you to vote on them as well!

May 2, 2012

Thanks to Juri Petruhhin for catching a typographical/spelling error on today's "On This Date…" page, which I've now corrected. (I had incorrectly spelled Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, with only one L.)

Someone has very kindly posted on YouTube a brief segment in which the late Don Cornelius speaks to the Pet Shop Boys during their famed 1986 appearance on the U.S. TV show Soul Train. (It's not the finest video quality, but it serves its purpose.) What I find especially noteworthy about this particular excerpt—aside from the very fact that PSB did indeed appear on Soul Train—is that, unusually, Chris does all the talking. I'm not sure whether it's simply because Cornelius gravitated toward Chris and profferred him the microphone or that the Boys hadn't yet firmly developed their eventual "public personae," but whatever the case, it's a striking change from the usual pace.

April 30, 2012

I'm grateful to Andrew Shaw for telling me about an excerpt from a recent interview with Rufus Wainwright concerning the song "Perfect Man" from his brand new album Out of the Game. Apparently Rufus wrote the song "for" Neil (whatever he meant by that), and its chorus seems to echo the Pet Shop Boys' own "Miracles." Much too good to ignore, I've gone ahead and added this item to my already lengthy set of "PSB connections" for Rufus on my "other favorite artists" page. Thanks, Andrew!

April 29, 2012

I've posted the final results of last week's survey, in which I asked my site visitors to pick the song that constituted "the most pleasant surprise" on the Pet Shop Boys' recent Format collection. This week's poll is the first half of a very unusual two-parter. Imagine the Boys answering, without reservation, any question that you might wish to ask them. Under such circumstances, what question would you ask? Please share your questions with me! I'll then go through all of the questions submitted and select between ten and twenty of them as my own personal favorites. Next week, for "Part Two," I'll list the 10-20 that I've selected and ask you to vote on them as the question that we, collectively, would most like the Pet Shop Boys to answer. Of course, there's absolutely no guarantee that they would answer any such question. But still it should be fun!

An update: As I type this (at about 2:45 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time), I've so far received 33 questions. Now, normally this might seem like a poor turnout since by this time each Sunday my polls have generally received around 70–80 votes. But most of the questions that have been submitted so far have been excellent! So that tells me that you folks are taking your time to come up with great questions! That's fantastic—although it does mean that I'll really have my work cut out for me narrowing them down to no more than twenty for next week's follow-up. But keep 'em coming—and thanks!

I've also created and set up a new audio widget for my section on songs written by Chris and Neil for other artists. Only some of the songs are currently available for inclusion in the widget, but among them is the new track "Listening."

April 28, 2012

Well, it happened again: I had another one of my "PSB dreams." This one was not only unusually detailed but had a remarkable twist at the end. And it involved my subsconscious mind's speculation about their upcoming new single and album. If you're interested in that sort of thing, check it out.

Meanwhile, I've added the first cover version (at least to my knowledge) of "I Get Along" to my list of Pet Shop Boys songs covered by other artists. Offered by one Adam Wood, it's one of those recordings that—as is so common in this age of YouTube and Soundcloud—blur the line between amateur and professional. Although I make it a practice not to list "amateur renditions," I decided to give this one the benefit of the doubt. Speaking of YouTube, you can hear it there for yourself if you like.

I was very pleased to hear today from Richard Porter of Sniff Petrol fame, who both complimented my website (thank you!) and noted that he and his colleagues are "huge Pet Shop Boys fans" who meant their "Pit Stop Boys" parody—long cited in my list of "PSB performance parodies"—to be an affectionate tribute. He also pointed out that they've recorded several other similar tribute/parodies now available on Soundcloud. Thanks again, Richard!

April 27, 2012

I've added a new paragraph to my entry for "So Sorry, I Said," relating the story that Neil revealed in a 2010 interview about how he and Chris had originally envisioned the song as a duet between Liza Minnelli and Frank Sinatra. If you would like to see the video of the interview that included this remarkable tale, you can indeed do so on the MSN Music website.

I'm grateful to "Tom Angel" of the Pet Shop Boys Community Forum for bringing to our attention NME's "100 Best Tracks of the Eighties." Not surprisingly, our musical heroes made the list not once but twice with "It's a Sin" at #15 and "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" at #30.

OK, I would have included them more than just twice. wink

April 23, 2012

I've been prone to a lot of embarrassing errors lately. The latest was in my April 22 entry just below (now corrected), in which I had wrongly stated that radio station KXUA 88.3 is in Arizona, when actually it's in Arkansas. (No excuse for my faulty interpetation of the state abbreviation: I should know better.) Thanks so much to d.w. mckim (whom I've added to my Thank You page) for catching and reporting my mistake!

April 22, 2012

I've posted the final results of my poll this past week, in which I asked my site visitors whether they believe considerations of the Pet Shop Boys' sexuality are relevant to discussions of their songs. My new survey for the week ahead turns our attention back to the recently released Format collection. And, unusually for my polls, the question is directed primarily to a subset of my site visitors—in this case, to those who weren't already familiar with every single one of the album's tracks before its release. I'm wondering which of the Format tracks proved to be the most pleasant surprise for you. Now, as I state in a note accompanying the survey dialog, I can think of two circumstances in which one of its tracks may have been a surprise:

But if you honestly can't say that any of the tracks proved a "pleasant surprise," I offer an option to that effect at the bottom of the list. (I always do my best, you know, to be totally inclusive.) Thanks to longtime site visitor Mark B for suggesting this most engaging question!

As stated on the Pet Shop Boys' official website, Arkansas radio station KXUA 88.3's weekly The Homage Show devoted two hours yesterday morning to their music. But it's not too late to hear this broadcast for yourself! You may do so by downloading an mp3 file from the show's own Facebook page. Please don't be put off by the extremely eccentric hosts—one of whom is a little reminiscent of the legendary Dr. Demento—and their very questionable pronunciation of the word "homage." But they've clearly done their homework, and I'm pleased to report that they cover pretty much the Boys' entire career (non-chronologically), presenting an eclectic selection that grants their post-eighties music rare exposure on U.S. radio. I'd like to think this may be the start of a general rediscovery of the Pet Shop Boys by the U.S. public, but that's perhaps overly optimistic of me. wink

A note completely unrelated to the Pet Shop Boys – I was saddened to learn the other day of the passing of actor Jonathan Frid, best known for his portrayal of the vampire Barnabas Collins on the 1960s TV show Dark Shadows (of which I'm quite a fan). Considering his advanced years, his death wasn't really surprising, but it's nonetheless a shame that it came on the eve of the release just next month of the new Tim Burton/Johnny Depp film adaptation of the show. I'm pleased, however, that many of Frid's obituaries have made note of one rather profound long-term contribution he made to the "vampire genre": he was the first ever "sympathetic" vampire. Before he came along, vampires were invariably thoroughly evil, villainous creatures. And the producers of Dark Shadows originally intended Barnabas Collins to be very much in that same mold. But there was something about Frid's somewhat hesitant, tortured portrayal that struck a chord with viewers and turned him into an anti-hero, even an unlikely teen idol. Almost from day one, you could sense the man behind the monster. Viewers responded enthusiastically, transforming a TV show on the verge of cancellation into a huge hit. Instead of driving a stake through his heart after twelve weeks, as the writers had originally planned, they allowed Barnabas to endure and evolve into a full-fledged romantic hero. In his wake, sympathetic and even outright good vampires have become rather commonplace in popular culture. Indeed, they're now something of a cliché. But when Jonathan Frid did it more than forty years ago, it was anything but a cliché. It was revolutionary.


All text on this website aside from direct quotations (such as of lyrics and of other nonoriginal content) is copyright © 2001-2012 by Wayne Studer. All Rights Reserved. All lyrics and images copyright © their respective dates by their respective owners. Brief quotations and small, low-resolution images are used for identification and critical commentary; it is therefore believed that they constitute Fair Use under U.S. copyright law. If, however, the owners of any copyrighted items object to their use on this site, I will immediately remove the pertinent items upon request and verification. Billboard chart data are copyright © their respective dates by Nielsen Business Media, Inc.

 

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