Pet Shop Boys ~ West End Girls

DW's septum represents the control of the means of production

*ahem*

I like the new one too, the one that sounds a bit like 'Sowing the Seeds of Love'. And I liked the last one, 'Home and Dry', that had the same *essence* I was talking about. I think the word is 'poignance'. Time has been less kind to the later 'housey' records, I feel.

Gareth, perhaps it reminds you of 'Absolute Beginners' because of the Patsy Kensit connection. I know that's why it reminds me of Big Audio Dynamite.

The video was shot at Waterloo, yes?

We were in assembly at school, and our head teacher, after he finished going on about how to be nice to people etc, decided to put on "Ge West". "Listen to the lyrics," he said in the kind of patronising way that head techers can muster "they speak of a better place where we can all go. I don't know if I was the only one in the hall to be aware of the hmoerotic undertones of the song - certainly our head wasn't.

Thank you for listening.

Why is it so hard to find an mp3 of the 1984 version? dammit. The 7" version, that is. I don't need the extended 12" version. :(

(wait, why's this thread on ILE?)

Not anymore...

I'm going to see them in a couple months. Can't wait.

eventually realised the other day that this is my fave psb song and all-time top 10 material. think i always knew, actually.

Hmm, well all the frenzy about finding the original version paid off. I found it on slsk after wading through 5,000 remixes, extended versions, albums versions, dubs, etc. And... it's not that good. The familiar album version is superior in just about every way imaginable.

The familiar album version is superior in just about every way imaginable.

Yes, absolutely. Although their second take on it preserves the overall feel of the first version, Julian Mendelssohn's production is vastly more polished. What really kills the original is Bobby O's "I've just bought a sampler" tomfoolery - in particular, taking a short vocal snippet and playing irritating, Chipmunky runs up and down the keyboard with it. ("Uh-uh-uh-UH-uh-uh!") It must have sounded cool to people at the time, because a bunch of electro records of that era are afflicted by the same problem.

The original is closer to the sinister minor key atmospherics of "In the Night."

Vast Halo, it was Stephen Hague, not Julian Mendelssohn, who produced the second version.

I'm glad there is a thread about my favorite song of all time!

not very much of this video is actually filmed in the west end is it? its all waterloo station (amazing how it looks just like today) and the south bank. not really the west end. also, didnt see many girls.

i'm kinda digging this bobby o version despite the annoying "lol i have sampler" moments. i especially love the absence of the diva vocals at the last bar of each verse. the way neil's last words just HANG there (esp. "which will you choose a hard or soft option") is an awesome tension raiser.

the Stalin line is a total dad joke.

should have a cheesy comedian drum crash after it imo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvFRuio-3fI

this song just came on in the hotel I'm sitting in

it's…it's…fuck it's amazing isn't it

i know you all know. i've even heard the song a few times myself, but this was transportative

the entirety of Please is as good, if not better (okay maybe not "Violence" but still, one of the best debut albums ever)

I spent most of early last week listening to Please again. When I hear songs as cool, austere, and sleek as "Two Divided By Zero" and "Why Don't We Live Together" sometimes I conclude they never topped it.

I really liked that 'Love Is A Bourgeois Construct' song from last year - I think PSB and I are in need of some quality time

basically every album is good to amazing aside from Release (which has a couple of amazing songs on it but ends up just being okay overall) and Elysium (which is hands-down the most embarrassing thing they've ever done)

I've only ever heard Please, I'm not proud of it

in most ways, that's better than being a person who has only heard Very

thx for telling me that I'm a good person, DJP <3

Please is the weakest of their first 5 at least. Quite an amazing run (plus Alternative, of course)

I won't disagree but if by weakest you mean a "3.5 or 4-star record," sure.

in most ways, that's better than being a person who has only heard Very

hey!

i've since heard most of the records but for a long time i was a person who had only heard very

Actually > Please > Behaviour > Very > Introspective

I won't disagree but if by weakest you mean a "3.5 or 4-star record," sure.

absolutely. It just occured to me that I forgot about Introspective. IMO Nightlife was their first substandard album. Even that one is very very good in spots.

Please is an incredible album (with the definite exception of 'Violence', which I've never taken to) ... I rate it much higher than Actually, come to think of it.

sometimes I do too because I don't care for "Hit Music"

Oh god, yeah, that's my least favourite track on Actually too. This thread has just reminded me I haven't given Introspective a spin in a while!

keep that streak up

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sometimes I do too because I don't care for "Hit Music"

― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, August 27, 2014 12:36 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

Many years ago I was listening to this with a friend who kept singing "It's a bbbb---siiiideee...on the allllbuuuumm"

I'd actually say 'Hit Music' is less than a B-side by Pet Shop Boys standards.

I'll never understand DJP's eternal hatred of Introspective... those long versions of 'Left To My Own Devices' and 'Domino Dancing', the best version of 'I Want A Dog' and the underrated 'I'm Not Scared'... great stuff!

I do like the single version of 'It's Alright' compared to the one on the album, though.

everything about Introspective is great EVERYTHING; the cover, the running order, the inner sleeve with their yellow t- shirts dyed to match the yellow background, the wee puppy, the fact that the running time printed on the sleeve isn't right because Neil 'forgot there were 60 seconds in a minute' EVERYthing.

and a cat's no help with that

The version of "I Want A Dog" on Introspective is a fucking travesty that destroys everything I love about the original song and it never, ever, ever, EVER should have happened.

Also "Domino Dancing" was terrible enough before it went on for 35 minutes

all day all day

24 hours with the domino dancing

"A chiwaahwaah"

sometimes when "I'm Not Scared" is unfolding and crashing and undulating -- this syncopated electronic melding of rue, disillusionment, and garbled history -- I think it's the greatest PSB track.

I basically love the Boys when they record long arpeggiated tracks like "Love Comes Quickly," "Don Juan," "I'm Not Scared," and "Some Speculation."

For years "I'm Not Scared" was the only Introspective song I would listen to. Alfred OTM.

IF I WAS YOU

(Although "arpeggiated" isn't the right word given that there aren't actual arpeggios in any of those songs; it's about those single-note syncopations.)

true

"It's a bbbb---siiiideee...on the allllbuuuumm"

Ha ha.

My fave arpeggiated song by the PSB for a while was This Must Be The Place I've Waited Years To Leave. Though maybe it's just more generally sequenced. Thinking of the synth/bass line.

this song is good, but i also like the flight of the concords parody of it *ducks*

sometimes when "I'm Not Scared" is unfolding and crashing and undulating -- this syncopated electronic melding of rue, disillusionment, and garbled history -- I think it's the greatest PSB track.

Disco Mix of the original >>> PSB version

Favorite PSB arpeggios: Felix Da Housecat "London" remix on Disco 3.

"I'm Not Scared" is actually my favourite off Introspective now, and I love that album.

yeah I'm Not Scared is incredible. it was given short shrift in the PSB poll. i wonder if the Eighth Wonder version puts some people off.

I like it too. It's impossible to fuck up.

started with Behaviour, gonna work my way back to Please

Behaviour is awesome of course

think Introspective might be even better? close-run thing

It's better.

(today at least)

yeah it's really elegant music, although Behaviour might be more vivid

this has some kind of indisposable charm, some hint at timelessness

'i'm not scared' was the tipping point into me posting that fwiw

basically every album is good to amazing aside from Release (which has a couple of amazing songs on it but ends up just being okay overall) and Elysium (which is hands-down the most embarrassing thing they've ever done)

― Star Gentle Uterus (DJP)

Agree that these are their only two weak albums but Release is still their lowest point for me. Think there are more embarrassing moments on Elysium but there are songs I like more than anything on Release.

Please is a fantastic album but Actually, Behaviour and Very are their three masterpieces. I wouldn't change a single thing about any of them.