Pet Shop Boys: best kept secret

Really banal pop lyrics are much rarer than people generally think, I reckon. (Not to mention I'd rather have a million lyrics about "baby" than one more piece of stream-of-consciousness Beck-ish rubbish, but that's a different thread altogether)

At university, a kid from Hong Kong I knew was very keen on the Pet Shop Boys and used to sing along to 'Opportunities' in an enthusiastic kind of way. I talked to him about the song and pointed out that the 'Let's make lots of money' chorus was an ironic statement about Thatcherism rather than an enthusiastic call to wealth creation. Obviously, I felt like a bit of a tosser doing this, but he seemed very interested and grateful for the insight.

The majority of the people who sent It's A Sin to #1 DON'T care, you're right. They didn't send it to #1 because they were making a statement about Catholocism, they sent it to #1 because they liked the whole song. However, the majority of the "thinking pop community" as I define it DO care, and they care too bloody much.

The Pet Shop Boys and St. Etienne are in the same boat, the indie people all love them because they are "clever" and schoolish, unlike that "daft pop" that the masses love. The only difference is St. Et actually has good songs (til recently) and good singing.

Hey - run that one by me again. I think I must have misheard it.

""Hey - run that one by me again. I think I must have misheard it.""

Come on.

It would be difficult to argue that (for example) Suburbia or West End Girls did not have memorable tunes. An individual liking or disliking the record personally is a moot issue.

Also, I don't want to push the 'clever' tag too much. We don't measure how clever the lyric is by counting the words or syllables. Or how many latin tags we can squeeze in.

Rather, is the lyric "saying something"? We know it's not easy to saying something interesting or new within the confines of the pop vocabulary. However, some people do manage it.

The fact that the PSBs can do this *and* be on Top of The Pops is a rarity.

Another poster mentions Saint Etienne. These guys have made 1 or 2 *really good* records, but in the main they are intriguing rather than good I would argue. Bob Stanley is definitely better employed in journalism - you could practically feel his enthusiasm when he did reviews. I think the records they make are a little too reverential and are more misty-eyed recollections of what they believe were "the best times."

I simply fail to see how Jealousy is putting forth a "new" way of saying something while, say, Baby One More Time is not.

And to paraphrase you, an individual liking or disliking the song is a moot point.

For the record, I can't imagine Ocean Colour Scene sounding exciting, even in the 1050's, much less the 1950's. If you're dull, you're dull. All there is to it ;)

witness: - singers whose voices are an "acquired taste" - voices that are all-too-appropriate for the lyrics - and the lyrics! clever, clever. - dollops of irony.

as far as saying things interesting/new, three examples: - "can you forgive her" -- chart hit about man coming to grips with his homosexuality after his girlfriend reams him for his "performance" - "it couldn't happen here" -- one of the first, if not *the* first songs to bring the aids epidemic to light. - "rent" -- another chart hit about the love between a gay man and his rent boy, a somewhat parasitic relationship that also reflects the greed and extravagance of the 80s.

and very is about as frank as any album i can think of when it comes to a gay pop artist singing about love. i mean, hell, even elton john still uses female pronouns.

to get back to the original question, i hardly think the pets are undervalued by whomever the "thinking pop community" is. if anything, they come close to being overvalued, lauded more for their "clever" -- and can we have a moratorium on the use of that word when describing their -- lyrics than for their fantastic tunes.

And remember, a UK artist being accepted in the US is a nail in the coffin in terms of one's creative output (cf. Siouxsie, Morrissey etc.), so I think the PSBs have a way to go yet :-)

Recently put on Please and Actually for nostalgia's sake (I DID grow up in the 80s) and was surprised by how well they held up! Why do New Order get so much indie love while the Pet Shop Boys - a far better band - are comparatively ignored?

Why do New Order get so much indie love while the Pet Shop Boys - a far better band - are comparatively ignored?

1. Neil Tennant hits the notes properly.
2. Pet Shop Boys had four #1 hits in the UK during the 80s, New Order had none

3. new order like guitars

Manalishi, any cursory search of our archives will reveal PLENTY of PSB love.

think Saint Etienne will be survived by "Nothing can stop us" and that's about it :-)

-- Bruce Ramsbottom, Friday, March 23, 2001 1:00 AM (6 years ago)

Ouch. It's too bad when you can actually have your predictions checked out.

it's not as easy as it was, nor as difficult as it could be, for the samurai in autumn