Because you dance to disco and you don't like rock

[rivkat]

The Pet Shop Boys were fun, lots of pageantry and spectacle, including what I think may have been weird manipulated clips from Battleship Potemkin. Perhaps I've been spoiled by Nsync videos, but I thought the not-quite-synched dancers were the weak point. If only they had the dancers from the Minimal video. But they blended the end of Minimal into the beginning of Shopping, which makes amazing sense. Also: Rent! And Can You Forgive Her? There is a whole 'nother musical in the PSB ouvre about a gay boy's liberation, even setting aside the songs from/used for Closer to Heaven. Also, Wikipedia turns out to have a detailed debate over the capitalization of the songs -- I love my academic gay band!

The second half was mainly songs I love less than the ones in the first -- such as Dreaming of the Queen, over what looked like footage of Princess Diana's funeral, turning a song I always thought of as an AIDS song into a sort of more reflective Candle in the Wind. I could have skipped Home and Dry, and I'm not a huge fan of Always on My Mind/Where the Streets Have No Name, but on the latter point I think I was alone in the concert hall -- it was very popular. The encore was It's a Sin followed by Go West, which never really works for me when I'm listening alone but was awesome in a hall full of people who knew all the words. Attendance seemed about 80% male, which I think makes me an honorary fag hag.

Other highlights: I'm With Stupid, the Bush/Blair song from Blair's POV; I didn't quite know what to think when, every time they got to the chorus ("I'm with stupid") the lights swung out to the audience. Unless the famous Velvet Mafia was in attendance (which I suppose is possible), I doubt there were all that many Bush voters present. Integral, probably my favorite song from the new album, showed up in fine form. It's about national identity cards, though if you search on YouTube you will discover that several people have considered it just the right song for a Cybermen video. (Wikipedia fact: David Tennant took his stage name from Neil Tennant.)

Comments

[giandujakiss.livejournal.com]

I only have one Pet Shop Boys album -- the orange one with Go West and Dreaming of the Queen on it, although of course I'm familiar with the 80s hits. Is there another album I should buy? (Yes, that's right, I buy physical CDs - used - rather than downloading). Teach me.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

I am a huge fan, so I think they're almost all important! But a good way to start would be Discography, which has a bunch of the greatest hits, and Alternative, which has a whole lot of b-sides, often among my favorites.

[mindyfromohio.livejournal.com]

I was on "Jeopardy" a million years ago (I didn't win) and I got a $1000 question (back when that was the biggest amount) for knowing the names of the Pet Shop Boys (thank you, imported Smash Hits magazine addiction).

[(Anonymous)]

Seems like "Integral" would be a great song for a S3 BSG vid, no?

Personally, I love "Always on My Mind," but I find the merging with "Where the Streets Have No Name" they like to do almost inexplicable. However, I understand Bono threw a hissy about "Streets," which does make me like it more.

--Sarah T.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

I agree with you on all counts, though I think the sacrilege is the explanation; when you hear the songs performed like that, Streets becomes a ballad on the same order as Always on My Mind. I just don't have any need to have that proved to me.