so what's your favorite album, and why?

do you have an all time fav psb song???

any particular video's you really like?

what was the first album you bought?

etc etc




[Edited 3/22/07 11:17am]

FIrst album was Please. My brother and I got cassttes we both didn't want and traded and then each got what we liked. Please was my first.

Favorite Album? Very Relentless. Gotta be the whole deal. WHat I liked most besides the songs, was the packaging and the extra disc. It was the first time I had experienced another artist doing something like that. It also came out at a time when I was going out to the clubs a lot, so I heard these songs EVERYWHERE. The Videos from that time were also very very well done.

Favorite Albums:

Very
Behavior
Actually
Fundamental

Favorite SOngs:

2 Divided by Zero
Opportunities
Rent
One More Chance
Heart
It Couldn't Happen Here
Left To My Own Devices
My October Symphony
This must be the place...
Liberation
Absolutely Fabulous
Some Speculation
Decadence
My Head is spinning
FOrever in Love
Discoteca
For Your Own Good
Closer to Heaven
Home and Dry
Psychological
Minimal
Bright Young Things
Party Song

so what's your favorite album, and why?
I think Behaviour is their masterpiece.It flows perfectly from start to end

do you have an all time fav psb song???
Being boring

any particular video's you really like?
Being boring though the jumping dog always gets me
I also love the extended videos from their DVD compilation

what was the first album you bought?
I bought Please when I heard the second single. And have loved them ever since.Always buy their albums on their release date.
Some up to 4 times: Vinyl (I didn't start with CDs til 89), CD, Special edition and Expanded remastered Further Listenings
I also collected the CD singles for the B-sides though lately I'm getting them at iTunes for they will be released eventually in their respective Further Listening

for me personally, the first four albums are very special
"please", "actually", "introspective" and "behaviour" are
all an essential part of my youth and my growing up.

first pet shop boys album i bought was "actually" in fact
i had my mom buy it, lol. i didn't have a cd player at the
time and she liked the singles so she got it.

i put it on a tape and took it everywhere.

next i got "please" for myself after i got my own cdplayer
and bought all consecutive albums.

i kind of fell off the psb bandwagon around the release of
"bilingual" which i totally did not like.

got interested again round the time of "PopArt" and someone
very friendly and kind sent me all the bsides that they've
released since "Alternative"

i now have everything they've ever released

fav album is probably a tie between "behaviour" and "very"
like superspaceboy said, the total package together with
the "relentless" bonus disc is just phenomenal and all of
the songs are amazing. Neil's vocals are superb on all.

my fav song is "In The Night" the version from "Disco"

fav video is indeed "Being Boring" because it's classy and
fits the style of the song and album to a t.

so what's your favorite album, and why? None. I get aggressive just hearing them.

do you have an all time fav psb song??? West End Girls. It was their first hit and that was before I realised how gay they were.

any particular video's you really like? There was this clip at a pool with half naked boys. But that could have been any given Take That video as well.

what was the first album you bought? None! I have had an allergic reaction to them when I found out their Gay Factor®. This actually has NOTHING to do with the PSB, probably. It has more to do with me, being gay without wanting to transmit 'gay' by liking the Madonna's, the Cher's, the Barbra's, the PSB's.
So I always cut them out. They never registered. PSB fans in the recordstore I used to work at in the 90's SCARED me.

Then, of course, I grew up. I now kinda like Madonna and own cd's by Streisand AND Madge, but, admittedly, still no PSB or Cher.

Lars will gimme a nice selection of breakthrough songs, I suppose. He's good at breaking me in.

Please will always resonate with me. I actually got turned on to that album by watching TLC's Favorite Videos on MTV back in 1999. They played "West End Girls."

I taped it and watched the video over and over.

A few years later, got the album.

WEG is still great, but I LOVE the song "Why Don't We Live Together?" The production on that song is infectious. In my PSB top 10.

....
[Edited 3/22/07 11:45am]

HamsterHuey said:

i will. in fact, i've been thinking of songs to put on that
collection all day long.

perhaps (smallll chance) i will even burn it to disc before
tomorrow and bring it along this weekend.

Hmmm I cant name just one Alternative, Introspective and Behavior would rank as my top 3 discs.

I honestly didn't care much for the boys when the first hit the scene. I thought "West End Girls" was okay but nothing special, though I Did enjoy "It's a Sin" only cause I was at the point in my life where i was taking the FU approach to everyone that was having problems with my sexuality. A couple of years later I heard "Left To My Own Devices" and was hooked, something bout the opening grabbed me and I've been a fan ever since. Behavior sealed the deal.

Video wise I do like "Being Boring" not only for the message but also I'm a sucker for Black and White. I also really like "I wouldn't normally do this kind of thing."


These days I usually put in Alternative and just enjoy the whole range of sounds they had going on from the beginning to to when it was released. I find their B side stuff more enjoyable and i guess fan fun, cause you really have to listen to figure out and maybe research what Neil is saying figuratively. He's a very smart writer.

I would have enjoyed PopArt The Videos better if Neil and Chris were actually commenting on the videos and not what happened to this or that dancer and what club they went out to after the filming. But Whatever...

so what's your favorite album, and why?

That's a tough one, because they've never had a bad album in my opinion. If I had to pick one that I like the best, I guess I'd go with "Very." Some amazing material, and very few weak points.

do you have an all time fav psb song???

Too many to list... But I will mention a few of my top faves:

"Being Boring"
"Don Juan"
"Birthday Boy"
"In Denial"
"Discoteca"
"To Step Aside"
"Dreaming of the Queen"
"Liberation"
"Minimal"
"I Didn't Get Where I Am Today"
"Rent"
"Flamboyant"
"Left To My Own Devices"
"To Speak is a Sin"

any particular video's you really like?

I'm not really huge on the videos, since only the early ones got much airplay here in the US, and I didn't get their PopArt DVD collection until recently, and honestly haven't paid it much attention. I've never been a huge video person, for any of my favorite artists. That said, I might go with "Flamboyant." I love that song and video.

what was the first album you bought?

I bought "Please" when it was first released, and I've been a huge fan ever since

IstenSzek said:

I too fell away from them after Bilingual. I remember it was song number 5. The first four were really good and then Se a vida e. And pretty much the rest of the album except Before, I never warmed up to. I can appreciate Se a Vida E now, but it is still one of my least favorite singles.

Then Nightlife came out. I had heard NOTHING from it and was so close to buying it (i was intrigued by the double disk thing again). FOr some reason I didn't get it. I heard NYC Boy and thoguht it was HORRENDOUS and way way to gay. It seemed like they were "pandering" to the gay crowd. I passed the album. First PSB album I didn't buy when it came out.

It wasn't until PopArt came out and I found myself liking almost all the singles put out from Nightlife and release. I then had a renaisance of sorts...seeking them out all over again. I said I was never going to take a 4 year break from the PSB's again.

Now we're a happy family!

HamsterHuey said:

I can see you easily being converted with a disc worth of material. Yes I see the "gay" thing, but there is sophistication that goes beyond "gay". You'd probably like Behaviour...their least sounding Gay album.

I assume you must Hate Erasure then

IstenSzek said:

Neil Tennants CD of the Back to Mine is really really good.

lazycrockett said:

I enjoy the second disc of Alternative as the songs sound like they could have been on the albums they represent. Yes Neil is a fantastic song writer. Left to my own Devices is proof of that. It's funny because much of the time I'm not really cognizant of what he's talking about. On the song This must be the place I've waited Years to Leave the first words "Each morning after Sunblest" Sunblest is a brand name of a bread. I thought it was simply word play.

Yeah the commentary of the videos could have been better (at least they are all there). They ruined the video for Left to my own devices when I found out what the director was telling them to do.

IstenSzek said:

The DVD collection is really really good. I pretty much tuned out of them from the mid 90's but I really like their more recent stuff.

They're playing in town next week and I haven't got a ticket

superspaceboy said:

You assume right.

I so did my best not to be ermmm, pidgeonholed into that whole gay category back then I kinda closed my mind off to anything with dyed hair, make up and sequins stitched pants.

Let alone a singer that sounded like Alison Moyet while prancing around like Cher. BIG turn off. I am sure nothing in THAT area could convert me, except back to alcoholism.

"Hi, my name is Herman and I am a fervent Erasure disliker, now where's the booz?"

Introspective.

HamsterHuey said:

Obviously, music was not a "comfort zone" for you when it came to coming out. While I am not fond of Erasure now, thier music was importannt to me when I was discovering my sexuality. Oft times the lyrics spoke volumes and were easy to identify with while I was younger. Also bands such as Erasure made it a point to be, I dunno, like a voice for our generation. Pet Shop Boys, for me started later in this respect (reluctantly) and it wasn't until mid career that they started vocalizing their gayness. It's because of this that their music has endured for me.

Actualy I'm not a big fan of Erasure. I love some tunes...especially some of Nightbird...The rest are too "coloufull" and gay for my taste.

Now about PSB. I became a fan with Release! (I always become a fan of artist with their worst albums.) I remember buying the album on the used record store near my part-time job. I was won with Release. It's basically a Neil solo album imo.

About my favorite album, I think it's a tie between Intropective and Very. PSB are one of the few albums that have something special on their albums

what, no one else likes "In The Night"?

and here i was, always thinking this is
an uber cool song, lol.

i also really like Paninaro but only on
Disco, featuring that interview with an
irritating Chris.

"i don't like much really, do i?"

Favourite PSB album is Behaviour - a dark, heartbroken, tragic album about personal and spiritual loss. For once Chris Lowe's glum look didn't come across as contrived.

Favourite PSB song: Left To Own Devices - pure exuberance, like the very best disco songs; although the exuberance was cryptic and inscrutable.

First album I bought was Please. When it originally came out. I've got all their albums. I think they went off the boil after Very/Relentless.

Shapeshifter said:

yeah i hear you. although i think in essence their albums are still
great after Very, they seem to suffer from weird song choices since
so many of the b-sides are much more vintage pet shop boys than sum
of the album tracks.

it also hurts when you pull singles from your albums like Se Avida,
or New York City Boy which are just horrendous.

that made me instantly dislike the whole concept of the albums they
were on, thus prohibiting me from buying them first time round.

it made me long for the way they used to be poppy and cynical both
at the same time. when their songs had an aura of mysteriousness,
or were charmingly uncaring and distant at first listen only to be
revealing more depth at repeated listens.

i think they've lost a lot of their magic, much like prince, much
like madonna etc etc.

but with all the material they release on bsides and on the disco
sets, they obviously made some weird choices for their albums as
they could have easily released classic after classic up til now.

IstenSzek said:

The Resurrectionist!

MikeMatronik said:

MikeMatronik said:

Well, if Release won you over, you proabably had no problem with the others! I can't listen to Release that much.

IstenSzek said:

It's OK. I used to like it ALOT. It seems a bit dated for me now. Though it is one of the few on Disc one of ALternative I CAN listen to. To me In the Night and Paninaro sound like the demos off Please.

Shapeshifter said:

What do you mean by Chris being Glum? I just took at many of his previous efforts as learning curve.

IstenSzek said:

This last album is a FINE example. I think it's probably their best effort since Very. Many of the songs are strong, including the slower ones. For some reason the tracking is very uneven. And there are way too many slow songs. It's not that they are slow, but they sound very similar...mostly piano and strings. What struck me odd iss that ALL of the B-Sides for THIS album could have replaced most of the slower numbers. WHy Girls Don't Cry, Party Song, and especially Bright Young Things didn't end up on the album, I'm not sure.

What do you think of their musical Closer To Heaven?



I like it

so what's your favorite album, and why?

Very, because I think it has the strongest (great songs)/(total tracks) ratio. I really love Behavior and its morose mood, but I also think a few of the tracks aren’t terribly memorable – the stretch from How Can You… through So Hard doesn’t do much for me, basically. Very just has a better batting average in my estimation – Can You Forgive Her, I Wouldn’t Normally…, Dreaming of the Queen are home runs, there’s a handful of multi-base hits and nothing closely resembling a strike-out.

do you have an all time fav psb song???

I realize that it’s a rather minor song in many ways, but my top slot goes to I Want a Dog. I think it’s almost perfect - the rhythm, the instrumental break, the low-key melody – I might get rid of that horn solo if given the choice, though.

Runners-up would be Dreaming of the Queen, This Must Be The Place…, Some Speculation and Left To My Own Devices.

any particular video's you really like?

I thought the Very videos were great eye candy – really striking and memorable. Being Boring was very stylish as well, of course.

what was the first album you bought?

Please, predictably enough, though I didn’t pick it up until I spotted it in a 2nd hand bin a year or two after its release. It wasn’t until Behavior that I really fell for them.
[Edited 3/23/07 3:12am]