Past PSB Survey Results - 2005 Surveys

This page presents the results of surveys I've conducted in the year 2005. The results of surveys conducted in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008 appear on separate pages.

Note: The response in each survey that received the most votes is highlighted in bold red. I usually list the responses in descending order according to the number of votes, but in a few cases I've decided that the results may be clearer or more meaningful if I list them in some other order. Incidentally, I do vote in my own surveys—and, yes, I vote only once. More often than not, what I vote for doesn't come in first place. In the results below, the symbol ¤ appears after the item(s) that I voted for in each survey.

For many years the Pet Shop Boys have been sending the members of their official Fan Club a Christmas card or gift each December. Whether or not you have that particular item yourself, what is your favorite Pet Shop Boys Christmas card or gift?

	51.0% - 1997: "It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas"CD ¤
	17.5% - "I don't feel that I'm familiar enough with these items to make a choice."
	04.9% - 2005: Pet Shop Choirboys
	04.2% - 1994: Chris and Neil in "DiscoVery" costumes in an ice field
	04.2% - 1996: PSB Advent calendar
	03.5% - 1993: "A Very Merry Christmas" with snowy "Go West" costumes
	03.5% - 2003: "Miracles"-style die-cuts
	02.8% - pre-1991 (precise date uncertain): Chris and Neil with dog and Christmas lights*
	02.8% - 2004: Battleship Potemkin preview DVD
	01.4% - 1992: "Pet Shop Boys wish you a Merry Christmas" (a design inspired by the soon-to-be-released Very)
	01.4% - 2000: PSB "Christmas interview"
	00.7% - 1998: Christmas tree ornaments with Neil and Chris as angels
	00.7% - 1999: "Nightlife-look" headband
	00.7% - 2001: "Merry Christmas from Pet Shop Boys"
	00.7% - 2002: "Pet Shop Boys Say No to War"
	00.0% - 1991: "Merry Christmas from Pet Shop Boys" mobile with roses and "Was It Worth It" dolls of Chris and Neil
	00.0% - 1995: "Merry Pet Shop Boys," showing Neil wearing bananas and Chris wearing a wig

Thanks to Mike and Stephen, the respective webmasters of Confidential and So Pet Shop Boys, for providing the original sources of many of the graphic images of Christmas cards shown above. Please visit their sites to see larger images and to read more about many of these cards.

*There were several pre-1991 cards, but I have no firsthand knowledge of them. One voter, however, described a "fake tour pass" 1987 Christmas card, and two told of the 1988 "Introspective Christmas tree card." One of them even sent me a graphic image of this 1988 card, shown here on the right. It bears the actual signatures of Neil and Chris, as opposed to later cards that have mere signature reproductions. I regret that I didn't know about this card in time to include it in the options for this survey.

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Would you like to see a return to "costumes" (à la Very and Nightlife) for the upcoming Pet Shop Boys album Fundamental and its singles?

35.0% - No.*
26.8% - Yes—a wide variety of costumes as they did for Very.
23.2% - Yes—a fairly consistent look as they did for Nightlife.
15.0% - Maybe—if they're not too outrageous. ¤

*It's important to note, however, that even though a plurality of voters picked the single "No" option, that figure is exceeded by the total of those who picked one or the other of the two "Yes" options. So actually more fans would like to see a return to costumes than those who would not.

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What do you think of Fundamental as the title for the next Pet Shop Boys album, scheduled for mid-April 2006 release?

51.7% - Great album title!
26.2% - I'll reserve judgment until I see how it "fits" the songs on the album. ¤
14.4% - It's OK, but not great.*
05.5% - I don't have any opinions about it one way or the other.
02.2% - Boring and/or stupid title!

*A few voters said that they would have preferred Fundamentally, as in "Fundamentally, Pet Shop Boys."

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How many issues of the Pet Shop Boys Fan Club magazine Literally do you own?*

57.3% - None
08.9% - 2-5 issues
07.3% - 6-10 issues
07.3% - 11-15 issues
06.8% - All 29 of them!
04.2% - 16-20 issues ¤**
04.2% - 21-25 issues
04.2% - 26-28 issues
00.0% - Just one issue

*At the time this question was asked, 29 issues had been published.
** So far I have 17 issues: #13 to #29.

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Do you think Chris should provide more vocals on Pet Shop Boys recordings?

49.0% - "I like the way they've been doing it, with Chris taking the very occasional lead or backup vocal, but no more than that." ¤
19.5% - "Yes, Chris should sing more lead vocals!"*
11.9% - "Speak or rap, yes. But sing, no."
09.0% - "No more lead vocals—but 'background' or 'support' vocals, yes, definitely."
06.7% - "It doesn't matter to me one way or the other."
03.8% - "No, he should quit recording vocals altogether."

*One voter noted that he would love for Chris to sing more—if he took voice lessons. He felt that Chris had a "pleasant but unrefined" voice. But another believed that fans were "just being fans" (that is, just being nice to someone whose music they love) when they said that they wanted more Chris vocals. Of course, it's all a matter of taste, isn't it?

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How would you say that Neil's singing in recent years compares to his singing in the early years of the Pet Shop Boys' success?

23.1% - "I'd say it's about the same. I don't think his singing has changed much at all through the years."
21.1% - "It's hard to generalize. Sometimes or in some ways he's a better singer nowadays, but at other times or in other ways he was better in the early years."
21.1% - "In general, I think he's a slightly better singer now than he was in the early years."
16.6% - "He's a much better singer now than he was in the early years."
08.5% - "I think he was actually a better singer sometime in the 'middle years' than he is now or was at the start." ¤
05.5% - "In general, I think he was a slightly better singer in the early years than he is now."
02.5% - "He was a much better singer in the early years than he is now."
01.5% - "I have some other opinion about his singing."*

*Expressions of other opinions included the following:

"There can be absolutely no doubt, that when it comes to 'live' performances, Neil has developed his voice and is able to take on songs that previously he would have struggled with in the early years. I'm thinking of songs such as 'Love Comes Quickly' and 'Rent.' Remember, Neil had singing lessons from the person who trained the 80's singer Marilyn, so I guess he knows himself what his singing limitations are. Dare I say it… Neil and Chris now write and compose their new material to suit Neil's style and method of delivering a song!? And quite right too!"

"Let's face it, Neil has never been vocally expressive, and I like that.… I do feel, however, Neil has become much more effeminate in the vocal deliveries. I'd say it all started to seem more vivid in 'Go West.' I really don't mind it, because I'm a fan forever. But I'd like to Neil go all out in a song occasionally, as well."

"I think Neil actually sounds more American now when he sings than he used to. For example, if you listen to early songs, he always used to pronounce 'can't' the 'RP' (received pronounciation or 'BBC English') way; now he pronouces it like an American would."

"The question would be better put: were his vocals [as opposed to 'singing'] better earlier on, later on, and so forth."

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What are your favorite and least favorite post-Alternative single b-sides/bonus tracks?**

*Not everyone who participated in this survey voted for both favorite and least favorite track. The number of voters listed here reflects the total number of votes cast in whichever half of the poll received the larger number of votes. But the percentages are based on the number of votes cast in each respective half of the poll.

**Because they had appeared in previous favorite/least favorite polls, I didn't include "Positive Role Model" and "Break 4 Love" in this list, despite the fact that they, too, served as single b-sides. However, I did include "Sexy Northerner," despite the fact it had also appeared in a previous favorite/least favorite poll, because the version included on the Disco 3 album was so radically different from the b-side version that it seemed unfair not to include it.

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Several Pet Shop Boys songs that were singles didn't appear on one of their regular "studio albums," so they were overlooked in my previous album-by-album favorite/least favorite song polls. But now's their chance. What are your favorite and least favorite "non-album" Pet Shop Boys' singles?

*Not everyone who participated in this survey voted for both favorite and least favorite track. The number of voters listed here reflects the total number of votes cast in whichever half of the poll received the larger number of votes. But the percentages are based on the number of votes cast in each respective half of the poll.

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Would you like for Neil and/or Chris to release a solo album?

33.2% - "Only if it didn't interfere with creating more music together." ¤
18.8% - "No, definitely not—neither of them!"
14.4% - "I'd prefer if they didn't, but it wouldn't bother me."
10.9% - "It doesn't matter to me one way or the other."
09.2% - "Yes, but only if they both do."
07.4% - "Only if (heaven forbid!) PSB should break up."
03.1% - "Neil, yes—but Chris, no."
02.6% - "Chris, yes—but Neil, no."
00.4% - "Only under some other condition."*

*One person wrote that he would have preferred to vote "Yeah, sure, if either of them feels inspired," but I don't know whether that is the condition that the voter who chose this option would have wanted.

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Which of the following statements comes closest to expressing how you feel about the fact that the Pet Shop Boys' next album (scheduled for release in Spring 2006) is being produced by Trevor Horn?

41.8% - "It's terrific—I expect a great album!"
30.6% - "It's promising." ¤
08.2% - "I don't have strong feelings about it one way or the other."
06.0% - "Trevor who?"
05.2% - "I don't think the producer matters all that much."
04.3% - "I'd like it better if Horn were producing part of the album but not all of it."
03.9% - "I have mixed feelings about it."
00.0% - "It doesn't bode well."
00.0% - "It's terrible!"

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Do you have the Neil Tennant/Superchumbo collaboration "Tranquilizer" and, if so, how did you get your copy?

64.7% - "No, I haven't even heard it yet."
10.3% - "No, I don't have a copy, but I have heard it (at least in part)."
08.8% - "I downloaded 'Tranquilizer' without paying for it."
06.9% - "I bought Superchumbo's album Wowie Zowie."
04.9% - "I purchased 'Tranquilizer' online and downloaded it."
02.9% - "I downloaded it and then bought the album." ¤
01.5% - "I got a copy on tape or CD from a friend."

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What are your favorite and least favorite tracks on the Pet Shop Boys' album Disco 3?

*Not everyone who participated in this survey voted for both favorite and least favorite track. The number of voters listed here reflects the total number of votes cast in whichever half of the poll received the larger number of votes. But the percentages are based on the number of votes cast in each respective half of the poll.

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What are your favorite and least favorite songs on the Pet Shop Boys' album Release?

*Not everyone who participated in this survey voted for both favorite and least favorite song. The number of voters listed here reflects the total number of votes cast in whichever half of the poll received the larger number of votes. But the percentages are based on the number of votes cast in each respective half of the poll.

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What are your favorite and least favorite songs on the Pet Shop Boys' album Nightlife?

*Not everyone who participated in this survey voted for both favorite and least favorite song. The number of voters listed here reflects the total number of votes cast in whichever half of the poll received the larger number of votes. But the percentages are based on the number of votes cast in each respective half of the poll.

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What are your favorite and least favorite songs on the Pet Shop Boys' album Bilingual?

*Not everyone who participated in this survey voted for both favorite and least favorite song. The number of voters listed here reflects the total number of votes cast in whichever half of the poll received the larger number of votes. But the percentages are based on the number of votes cast in each respective half of the poll.

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What are your favorite and least favorite songs on the Pet Shop Boys' album Alternative?

*Not everyone who participated in this survey voted for both favorite and least favorite song. The number of voters listed here reflects the total number of votes cast in whichever half of the poll received the larger number of votes. But the percentages are based on the number of votes cast in each respective half of the poll.

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What are your favorite and least favorite songs on the Pet Shop Boys' album Relentless?

*Not everyone who participated in this survey voted for both favorite and least favorite song. The number of voters listed here reflects the total number of votes cast in whichever half of the poll received the larger number of votes. But the percentages are based on the number of votes cast in each respective half of the poll.

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What are your favorite and least favorite songs on the Pet Shop Boys' album Very?

*Not everyone who participated in this survey voted for both favorite and least favorite song. The number of voters listed here reflects the total number of votes cast in whichever half of the poll received the larger number of votes. But the percentages are based on the number of votes cast in each respective half of the poll.

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Are you planning on buying the CD of Pet Shop Boys' score for the film The Battleship Potemkin?

52.0% - "Yes, definitely, though I haven't placed an advance order for it."
16.5% - "Probably, though maybe not right away."
11.7% - "Yes, of course! In fact, I've already placed my advance order." ¤
09.7% - "I'm not sure yet."
04.8% - "I might buy a DVD of the film and score if it were available, but probably not just the CD."
02.4% - "No—I don't count a primarily instrumental recording as being a 'real' PSB album."
01.6% - "No—from what I've heard, I don't think I'd like it."
01.2% - "No, for some other reason."

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What are your favorite and least favorite songs on the Pet Shop Boys' album Behaviour?

*Not everyone who participated in this survey voted for both favorite and least favorite song. The number of voters listed here reflects the total number of votes cast in whichever half of the poll received the larger number of votes. But the percentages are based on the number of votes cast in each respective half of the poll.

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What are your favorite and least favorite songs on the Pet Shop Boys' album Introspective?

*Not everyone who participated in this survey voted for both favorite and least favorite song. The number of voters listed here reflects the total number of votes cast in whichever half of the poll received the larger number of votes. But the percentages are based on the number of votes cast in each respective half of the poll.

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What are your favorite and least favorite songs on the Pet Shop Boys' album Actually?

*Not everyone who participated in this survey voted for both favorite and least favorite song. The number of voters listed here reflects the total number of votes cast in whichever half of the poll received the larger number of votes. But the percentages are based on the number of votes cast in each respective half of the poll.

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What are your favorite and least favorite songs on the Pet Shop Boys' debut album Please?**

*Not everyone who participated in this survey voted for both favorite and least favorite song. The number of voters listed here reflects the total number of votes cast in whichever half of the poll received the larger number of votes. But the percentages are based on the number of votes cast in each respective half of the poll.

**For the purposes of this survey, I didn't include "Opportunities (reprise)" among the choices.

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Which of the following statements comes closest to expressing how you feel about the Pet Shop Boys' use of background vocalists in their live shows?

55.4% - "I think their use of background vocalists is generally just right."
25.4% - "I don't feel qualified (for whatever reason) to respond to this question."
11.9% - "I think they make too much use of background vocalists."
05.1% - "I don't think they make enough use (or good enough use) of background vocalists."
01.7% - "I have no problems with how they use background singers or how often, but I often don't like their choice of singers." ¤*
00.6% - "I can't generalize about this. It varies quite a bit from tour to tour and from show to show."

*Allow me to add, however, that although I don't particularly care for her in Performance, I've generally enjoyed the Boys' most "regular" background singer, Sylvia Mason-James, in her other appearances with them.

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Which of the following statements comes closest to expressing how you feel about the Pet Shop Boys taking part in charity concerts?

54.4% - "I think their current occasional involvement in charity concerts is about right." ¤
19.9% - "I think they should take part in charity concerts more often!"
14.6% - "In general I would prefer if they didn't take part in charity concerts, but really big events like Live 8 are special, so in those cases it's OK."
11.2% - "I really wish they had stuck with their old policy of not taking part in charity concerts, period."

Note: I had considered including among these choices "It all depends on the charity." But then I decided against it since surely we all can think of certain causes that we would not want the Pet Shop Boys to support. Therefore the nature of the particular charity was a moot point for the purposes of this poll.

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Not counting a few songs written for others, certain oddities, and some officially unreleased recordings, the following ten Pet Shop Boys tracks ranked the lowest in my "Rating Project." But which of these ten relatively unpopular PSB tracks do you really like? That is, which ones do you genuinely enjoy listening to as much as or perhaps even more than many other PSB songs?

41.8% - Hit Music ¤
37.1% - Vampires ¤
35.3% - Boy Strange ¤
31.3% - The Only One ¤
30.5% - Electricity ¤
30.2% - What Keeps Mankind Alive? ¤
22.9% - If Love Were All ¤
22.9% - The Sound of the Atom Splitting*
16.4% - Transparent ¤
15.3% - Je T'Aime… Moi Non Plus ¤

*As you can see, the only song that I didn't vote for in this poll—the only one of those listed that I dislike—is "The Sound of the Atom Splitting." As I note elsewhere on this website, that and "Love Is a Catastrophe" are the only two PSB songs that I don't like one bit.

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Which of the following recording artists—my favorites other than the Pet Shop Boys—do you also like well enough to consider yourself a fan (or would count among your own favorites)?*

55.7% - Depeche Mode
43.6% - Erasure
38.3% - Madonna
30.7% - Abba
27.3% - George Michael
25.4% - David Bowie
24.6% - Beatles
20.5% - Queen
20.1% - Elton John
16.7% - Pink Floyd
16.7% - Prince
16.3% - Kate Bush
15.5% - Bee Gees
14.0% - Donna Summer
12.9% - Simon and Garfunkel
11.7% - Fleetwood Mac (the "Buckingham-Nicks edition")
11.7% - Talking Heads
11.0% - Beach Boys/Brian Wilson
10.2% - Carpenters
10.2% - Genesis
09.1% - Billy Joel
09.1% - Stevie Wonder
08.3% - Thomas Dolby
08.0% - Rufus Wainwright
06.1% - Steely Dan
06.1% - Yes
05.3% - Joni Mitchell
05.3% - The Who
04.5% - Joe Jackson
04.2% - Paul Simon
03.8% - Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
03.4% - Patsy Cline
03.4% - Moody Blues
03.0% - Manhattan Transfer
01.1% - Randy Newman
01.1% - Procol Harum
00.4% - Rickie Lee Jones

*The figures reflect the percentage of voters who chose that artist as among their own favorites. Since voters could make more than one selection, the total adds up to considerably more than 100%. Because of the nature of this question, it would have been nonsensical for me to vote in this poll, so I didn't. Therefore none of the choices here are marked with the usual ¤ symbol denoting my own vote(s).

A number of voters offered their own personal favorites aside from those in my own list. Since there were literally dozens of other voter favorites, I won't list them all here, but I will list those mentioned more than once (in alphabetical order): B-52s, Electronic, Human League, Joy Division, Moby, Morrissey, New Order, OMD, REM, Saint Etienne, and the Smiths.

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If the Pet Shop Boys were a vegetable, what would they be?*

13.6% - asparagus
11.1% - carrots
08.0% - cucumbers
06.2% - tomatoes
05.6% - broccoli
05.6% - peppers
04.9% - olives
04.3% - potatoes
03.7% - mushrooms
03.7% - brussels sprouts
03.1% - celery
03.1% - eggplant
02.5% - artichokes
02.5% - bok choy
02.5% - spinach ¤
02.5% - watercress
01.9% - cabbage
01.9% - cauliflower
01.9% - radishes
01.2% - corn
01.2% - onions
01.2% - pumpkins
00.6% - beets
00.6% - kohlrabi
00.6% - lettuce
00.6% - okra
00.6% - parsnips
00.6% - peas
00.6% - scallions
00.6% - yams
03.1% - Some other vegetable not listed here

*This was an admittedly rather silly poll, but I think it's good to run silly polls every now and then just for the fun of it. Besides, the comments that some of the voters made (which I've excerpted below) show that there was actually some pretty solid rationale behind their choices:

• beets - "They've got the beets."
• bok choy - "Because they're the Pet Bok Choys."
• carrots - "Because in a world where most vegetables are green, carrots have the courage to strike out in a different direction."
• celery - "I was looking for something with two different 'parts,' if you like. I didn't really see them as cauliflowers, so celery was definitely the one. I see Neil as the elegant main stalk and Chris as the leafy bits at the top. Celery is delicious both raw and cooked, which reflects the variety of their work, and smells gorgeous. I understand Chris and Neil always smell lovely (though not of celery I presume!)."
• cucumbers - "Because they are as cool as…."
• eggplant - "Because, quite frankly, the thought of Chris and Neil as eggplants makes me chuckle the most."
• mushrooms - "I would describe them as mushrooms as they sure seem like a couple a 'Fun-gis' to me!"
• onions - "They have many layers to them and they bring tears to your eyes when you least expect it."
• potatoes - "I chose the potato, as they are very versatile."
• spinach - "One of my favorite vegetables—at least when raw or freshly cooked. Canned spinach, however, is awful, and frozen is only slightly better. But I don't think I would like canned or frozen Pet Shop Boys, either. What's more, spinach is very, very good for you, chock-full of vitamins and minerals. PSB may not be full of vitamins and minerals (well, perhaps they are…), but I do think they're very good for you." ¤
• Some other vegetable not listed here - "I had to choose something else, because they are versatile enough to be any vegetable, so long as it was well-prepared and finely presented."

And, for the record, none of the voters chose the following vegetables:
• beans
• chard
• chickpeas
• collard greens
• green (string) beans
• kale
• leeks
• lentils
• mustard greens
• squash
• turnips

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Have you ever been as much a fan of any other musical artist as you are of the Pet Shop Boys?

51.6% - "No. I'm more a fan of the Pet Shop Boys than I've been of any other musical artist."

35.9% - "Yes. In fact, I'm as much or more a fan right now of one or more other musical artists."

12.4% - "Yes. Before the Pet Shop Boys came along (or before I discovered them), I was as much or more a fan of one or more other musical artists." ¤

Also, because I neglected to include "Girls and Boys," the b-side of the "Paninaro '95" single, in my poll the previous week about b-sides and bonus tracks that my site visitors consider to be better than the corresponding singles, I also asked the following question:

Do you consider "Girls and Boys" to be better than "Paninaro '95"? (176 voters)

79.0% - No, "Girls and Boys" is not better than "Paninaro '95." ¤
21.0% - Yes, "Girls and Boys" is better than "Paninaro '95."

This result would place "Girls and Boys" quite high in last week's list of b-sides that my site visitors consider better than the respective single: in Xth place, to be precise, just below "Your Funny Uncle" and just above "Always."

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Which Pet Shop Boys b-sides or bonus tracks are, in your opinion, better than the singles on which they appeared? (Select all that apply.) [The titles of the corresponding singles appear in brackets.]*

35.1% - Miserablism [Was It Worth It?]
32.0% - Hit and Miss [Before] ¤
27.2% - The Truck Driver and His Mate [Before] ¤
23.7% - Sexy Northerner [Home and Dry]
22.4% - Your Funny Uncle [It's Alright] ¤
20.6% - Always [Home and Dry] ¤
19.7% - Delusions of Grandeur [A Red Letter Day] ¤
19.7% - Between Two Islands [I Get Along]
18.0% - In the Night [Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)]
17.5% - Paninaro [Suburbia]
16.7% - Shameless [Go West]
16.7% - I Didn't Get Where I Am Today [Flamboyant] ¤
14.9% - Bet She's Not Your Girlfriend [Where the Streets Have No Name...] ¤
14.9% - Positive Role Model [London]
14.0% - Some Speculation [Yesterday, When I Was Mad]
14.0% - The View from Your Balcony [Somewhere]
13.6% - Too Many People [I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing]
13.2% - The Ghost of Myself [New York City Boy]
12.3% - I Get Excited (You Get Excited Too) [Heart]
11.4% - One of the Crowd [It's Alright]
11.4% - The Boy Who Couldn't Keep His Clothes On [A Red Letter Day]
11.0% - Decadence [Liberation]
09.6% - How I Learned to Hate Rock and Roll [Se A Vida E]
09.2% - The Calm Before the Storm [Single-Bilingual]
09.2% - Searching for the Face of Jesus [I Get Along]
09.2% - Friendly Fire [I Get Along]
08.8% - Don Juan [Domino Dancing]
08.3% - Losing My Mind [Jealousy]
08.3% - Music for Boys [DJ Culture]
08.3% - Confidential [Single-Bilingual]
07.9% - Betrayed [Se A Vida E]
07.0% - We're the Pet Shop Boys [Miracles]
06.6% - Casting a Shadow [New York City Boy]
06.1% - It Must Be Obvious [So Hard]
06.1% - Hey, Headmaster [Can You Forgive Her?]
06.1% - Disco Potential [Somewhere]
06.1% - Nightlife [Home and Dry] ¤
05.7% - Was That What It Was? [Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)]
05.7% - That's My Impression [Love Comes Quickly]
04.8% - A New Life [What Have I Done to Deserve This?]
04.8% - Do I Have To? [Always on My Mind]
04.8% - Euroboy [Yesterday, When I Was Mad]
04.4% - I Want a Dog [Rent]
04.4% - We All Feel Better in the Dark [Being Boring]
04.4% - Screaming [I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More]
03.5% - Jack the Lad [Suburbia]
03.5% - If Love Were All [Yesterday, When I Was Mad]
03.5% - Silver Age [I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More]
03.5% - Lies [You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk]
02.6% - Sail Away [You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk]
02.2% - A Man Could Get Arrested [West End Girls]
01.8% - You Know Where You Went Wrong [It's a Sin]
01.8% - Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus [I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More]
01.3% - The Sound of the Atom Splitting [Left to My Own Devices]
01.3% - Transparent [Miracles]
00.9% - What Keeps Mankind Alive? [Can You Forgive Her?]
01.3% - Some other b-side/bonus track not listed here**

*The figures reflect the percentage of voters who included that song among their selections. Because voters could make more than one selection, the total adds up to considerably more than 100%.

**The voters who chose "Some other b-side/bonus track" not listed here didn't share what their other choice(s) was/were. I carelessly neglected to include "Girls and Boys," the b-side/bonus track for "Paninaro '95," among the choices, so it's possible that's what they were thinking of. However, I attempted to make up for this oversight by including a question about "Girls and Boys"/"Paninaro '95" in the following week's survey.

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What, in your opinion, has been the Pet Shop Boys' most under-rated, underestimated, or underappreciated single? Or, to put it another way, which single do you feel most deserved much greater commercial and/or critical success than it actually achieved?

21.4% - Being Boring
06.8% - Miracles
05.6% - Before
05.1% - Flamboyant
04.7% - DJ Culture
04.7% - You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk
04.3% - Love Comes Quickly
03.8% - I Get Along
03.4% - I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More
03.0% - It's a Sin
02.6% - A Red Letter Day
02.6% - Home and Dry
02.1% - Left to My Own Devices
02.1% - Jealousy
02.1% - Was It Worth It? ¤
02.1% - Liberation
01.7% - West End Girls
01.7% - Rent
01.7% - Go West
01.7% - I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing
01.7% - Somewhere
01.3% - What Have I Done to Deserve This?
01.3% - Heart
01.3% - Domino Dancing
01.3% - Can You Forgive Her?
01.3% - Yesterday, When I Was Mad
01.3% - New York City Boy
00.9% - Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)
00.9% - Always on My Mind
00.9% - It's Alright
00.9% - How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?
00.9% - Paninaro '95
00.9% - Some other single not listed here*
00.4% - So Hard
00.4% - Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)
00.4% - Absolutely Fabulous
00.4% - Se A Vida E (That's the Way Life Is)
00.4% - Single-Bilingual
00.0% - Suburbia

*Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, neither of the voters who selected "Some other single" identified that other single—at least not to me.

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Pet Shop Boys' Back to Mine collection of music that they enjoy by other artists consists of two discs: one with tracks selected by Chris and the other with tracks chosen by Neil. Which of the two discs do you prefer?

54.6% - I can't say—I haven't listened to them yet.
21.4% - Chris's
16.8% - Neil's ¤
07.1% - I like them both equally.

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What, in your opinion, has been the Pet Shop Boys' weakest single?*

14.2% - I Get Along
13.9% - Before
08.6% - DJ Culture
07.5% - New York City Boy
06.7% - Single-Bilingual
04.9% - Home and Dry
04.5% - Was It Worth It?
04.1% - Paninaro '95 ¤
04.1% - Somewhere
03.7% - Yesterday, When I Was Mad
03.0% - Go West
03.0% - Liberation
01.9% - Love Comes Quickly
01.5% - It's Alright
01.5% - How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?
01.5% - Jealousy
01.5% - Se A Vida E (That's the Way Life Is)
01.5% - Miracles
01.5% - Flamboyant
01.1% - Heart
01.1% - A Red Letter Day
01.1% - You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk
00.7% - Suburbia
00.7% - Rent
00.7% - Always on My Mind
00.7% - Domino Dancing
00.7% - Being Boring
00.7% - Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)
00.7% - I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More
00.4% - Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)
00.4% - Left to My Own Devices
00.4% - Can You Forgive Her?
00.4% - I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing
00.7% - Some other single not listed here:
     00.4% - Absolutely Fabulous
     00.4% - Do the Right Thing

*Only the singles that received one or more votes are listed above. I left it up to individual voters to define "weakest" for themselves, whether they interpreted it to mean "least favorite," "poorest selling," "least commercial," or anything else. I had listed only the singles released in the U.K. and/or the U.S. and for which a video was created, not counting one-off special cases such as "Absolutely Fabulous" (for which the Pet Shop Boys wasn't listed as the artist) and "Break 4 Love" (by "Peter Rauhofer + Pet Shop Boys = The Collaboration"), although voters were free to cite those or any other singles if they wished using the "Some other single not listed here" option. It's worth noting that the only listed singles that didn't receive any votes as the "weakest" were "West End Girls," "It's a Sin," "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" and "So Hard."

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In general, which of the following statements comes closest to expressing how you feel about the Pet Shop Boys "giving away" their songs to other artists to perform?

47.5% - "I like it, even if we may never hear the Boys' own version. It shows off their songwriting skills and helps expose their work to more people." ¤

21.9% - "I don't mind as long as the Boys make sure to keep their best songs for themslves!"

17.5% - "It's all right, but only if we eventually get to hear the Boys' own version."

08.2% - "It's OK only if it's a song that the Boys have absolutely no intention of ever releasing in their own version. Otherwise we may never get to hear it!"

03.8% - "I usually don't like it. Other artists never (or hardly ever) do as good a job as the Boys themselves."

01.3% - "I don't like it at all! The Boys should save all of their songs for themselves."

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To the best of your recollection, what is the most you have ever paid for any single PSB-related item (one recording, one concert ticket, one collectible, one whatever)?

05.7% - No more than $20 / £10 / €15
37.6% - $21-49 / £11-25 / €16-38
20.4% - $50-74 / £26-39 / €39-57
14.0% - $75-99 / £40-52 / €58-76 ¤
02.5% - $100-124 / £53-65 / €77-95
05.7% - $125-149 / £66-78 / €96-114
03.8% - $150-199 / £79-104 / €115-153
03.2% - $200-299 / £105-157 / €154-229
07.0% - $300 / £158 / €230 or more

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Have you ever had (or do you recall ever having) a dream—yes, an actual dream while you're asleep—about one or both of the Pet Shop Boys?

54.7% - "No, not that I can recall."
18.8% - "Yes, but only a few that I can recall."
12.9% - "Yes, but only once that I can recall." ¤*
07.1% - "Yes, I used to have dreams about them, but not for quite some time now."
06.5% - "Yes, I have often had (and continue to have) dreams about them."

*In my one and only PSB dream that I can recall (which took place, I believe, in 1996), Neil and Chris paid me an unexpected visit in Minneapolis, where I was living at the time. One of the suburbs there boasts "The Mall of America"—aka the "Megamall," the largest shopping center in the United States. It's four storeys tall and more than a mile in circumference, with an indoor amusement park in the center. It has even become a major tourist attraction. So, like a good host to out-of-town guests, I took the Boys for a visit to the Megamall. Chris seemed rather impressed and started on a huge shopping spree, whereas Neil thought it rather dreary and more than a little crass. And that's all I can remember about my sole PSB dream. I can't help but feel, however, that this dream symbolized the Pet Shop Boys' attitudes toward the United States—or, more accurately, my subconscious perception, rightly or wrongly, of those attitudes.

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Think back to when you first heard the news of the death of Princess Diana. Did you feel the urge shortly thereafter to listen to the Pet Shop Boys' song "Dreaming of the Queen"?

57.8% - "No, I didn't. The song didn't come to mind at the time."*
18.2% - "Yes, and I did listen to the song very shortly after."
13.5% - "Yes, but I didn't listen to the song until some time later." ¤
10.4% - "I'm afraid I don't remember."

*The "No, I didn't.…" choice includes those voters who weren't PSB fans (or at least weren't familiar with "Dreaming of the Queen") at the time of Diana's death.

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Of the three primary ways in which Neil has said that he and Chris write songs together (described in a little more detail elsewhere on this website), which of these three methods do you think tends to produce the best songs?