Seriously, is there anything better than the Pet Shop Boys?

Dan OTM about their post-Introspective American profile.

I disagree -- for instance, I remember "Go West" getting a lot of video play. But after "Very", they disappeared into a pit, absolutely.

Also, this DM/PSB teenagers/adults things is straying into r*ckism (sorry) -- obviously there's no a priori reason why one should find greater artistic value in "adult" themes as opposed to "teenaged" themes. (I'm not sure that anybody is arguing that, but I think the implications are there in certain posts).

There's nothing wrong with teenaged themes - the time-honored themes of having fun, sex, drinking, breaking the rules, rebelling, etc are the staples of much of the rock canon. However, Depeche Mode's themes are more the themes of an adolescent who prematurely wants to be old - who thinks they understand more than they do - who's just read Nietzsche for the first time and thinks they have figured something out that the rest of the world hasn't - who takes themselves way too seriously and resents the world for not playing along. And Depeche Mode has absolutely zero ironic distance between themselves and this adolescent viewpoint and no discernable sense of humor - which makes their stuff kind of hard for an adult to swallow with a straight face.

::nods:: Amen! It always horrified me when DM, PSB, New Order were spoken of in the same breath.

Yes, yes, but grouping and context played such a role, though. (Maybe this is mentioned upthread.) I always noted that in terms of general marketing and 'audience' as perceived the four key figures in 80s alt Anglophilia in a KROQ etc. sense were Depeche, New Order, the Cure and the Smiths, each of which had very different goals, aesthetics and approaches. (PSB due to the immediate pop success were similar yet removed, but could still easily be lumped in.)

YET ANOTHER REASON TO HATE THAT FUCKING SONG.

"Domino Dancing": The song that drove PSB off the American Top 40. THANKS A TON GUYS.

This doesn't really apply outside of "Black Celebration"-era DM. Also, lyrics have never been DM's strongest asset, and abviously Martin Gore's lyrics can't measure up to Neil Tennant's. Fortunately, there are lots of other things to love about DM.

This is a completely adolescent reading of Depeche Mode.

BUT ANYWAY Pet Shop Boys: GREBT.

Back to our regular scheduled programming.

I would love to see this.

Depeche Mode have credibility? DM strive to be dark and serious, but I think quite a bit of it rings hollow. This isn't to say that it's crap, but that it's simply teen-angst-courting artifice.

I mean, outside of this thread, in the real world, there are so many people who think the PSBs are just an embarassing blip from the 80s and early 90s? I don't mean total ignorami either, isn't that kind of a recieved wisdom among alot of music fans?

I know more people who'd be embarassed to have their copies of Black Celebration discovered in their collection than anything by the PSB,

"Leave in Silence" admittedly not their most Geir-friendly song, but, you know, "News of the world".

xpost

I believe that Susan has said that she lives in San Francisco.

Well, at least nobody that I talk about music with. I don't know any total rock purists. Most people I know are either music nerds like me who like a little bit of everything, or else they are very casual music listeners who have a few acts that they listen to, which might be pop, neo-folk, rock, country or whatever, but though they might have a favorite style they usually profess to like a few things outside that style as well.

Yes, they did have that look, although they didn't appear a lot on the video. BTW I live in Montreal too.

I wonder if they're so thoroughly off the radar partly because of Tennant coming out in '94, letting programmers shunt them into a 'gay' cul de sac.

OTM

Likely because Much Music caned that video when it came out. "What Have I Done to Deserve This" and "Go West" also got a fair bit of airplay, but nothing close to what "Domino Dancing" got.

Really? I wish I could've seen your costume!