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It was ace.
I know they are a bit tetchy about people making recordings at gigs, but these lo-fi, wobbly moments really shouldn’t be anything to be concerned about. It’ll help me remember what was a fantastic night from an act who are still managing to surprise and innovate 25 years on.
Well done, guys!
Best bit: Neil’s cube head when he came on stage. Kerazy!
It’s gig time and tomorrow night I see the Pets for the fourth time live in concert.
The first time was in 1999 in The Point in Dublin (now reborn as the O2 incidentally) avec the Mexican Ex (henceforth known as t’ExMex). It wasn’t a sellout and they barely filled half the venue. Oopsies! They were pretty good though.
The second time was in London at the Astoria (RIP) for their Release tour. Again with t’ExMex. Amazingly that was my first ever visit to London, where I now live! ‘Acoustic’ and great atmosphere.
Fast forward to 2007 and a Hallowe’en gig back in Dublin. Are we not jolly. Gig was great but a slight bit lifeless at times. Still, we looked utterly deranged in our outfits, no?
And now it’s time to see them in the monster venue of the o2. 16,000 sellout it appears. Who would have thought, eh?
I’ve heard no reports of the gigs so far, but the vids on YouTube at least look impressive. The Boys themselves are a bit grouchy about people making shaky video recordings on phones and Flips (hee hee), but we shall forgive them as they are getting on and no doubt a bit precious. (They have embraced Twitter though, which is pretty impressive.)
So, just to annoy them, here’s The Way It Used To Be and Jealousy from Moscow.
Um, it’s been a while…
I had only two criteria:
- Can this be danced to?
- Can it just be listened to?
Over to you…
Tracklist
Pure Imagination Gene Wilder
Lullaby We Plants Are Happy Plants
M.A.G.I.C. The Sound Of Arrows
Method of Modern Love (Richard X “Join Our Clique” Remix) Saint Etienne
The Way It Used To Be (Left Of Love Dub) Pet Shop Boys
Easy (feat. Valeska) Trick & Kubic
Love Kills (Buffetlibre vs Sidechains remix) Little Boots
The Girl And The Robot Röyksopp
No. 1 Song in Heaven Sparks
Miracle Sally Shapiro
Erase/Rewind (Kleerup Remix) The Cardigans
If I Can’t Hold You Desire
Lisztomania (Classixx Remix) Phoenix
Two Weeks (Fred Falke Extended Mix) Grizzly Bear
Bonny (Leo Zero Edit) Prefab Sprout
Walking On A Dream (Treasure Fingers Remix) Empire Of The Sun
There’s a Better Place! Crazy Penis
- Intro: Pure Imagination * Gene Wilder
- Lullaby * We Plants Are Happy Plants
- M.A.G.I.C. * The Sound Of Arrows
- Method of Modern Love (Richard X “Join Our Clique” Remix) * Saint Etienne
- The Way It Used To Be (Daddy or Chips Extended Version) * Pet Shop Boys
- Easy * Trick & Kubic feat. Valeska
- Love Kills (Buffetlibre vs Sidechains remix) * Little Boots
- The Girl And The Robot * Röyksopp with Robyn
- The No. 1 Song in Heaven * Sparks
- Miracle * Sally Shapiro
- Erase/Rewind (Kleerup Remix) * The Cardigans
- If I Can’t Hold You * Desire
- Lisztomania (Classixx Remix) * Phoenix
- Two Weeks (Fred Falke Extended Mix) * Grizzly Bear
- Bonny (Leo Zero Edit) * Prefab Sprout
- Walking On A Dream (Treasure Fingers Remix) * Empire Of The Sun
- There’s a Better Place! (edit) * Crazy Penis
PS: I took the constructive criticism (ahem!) below and twiddled with the intro so it’s not as cacophonous. Re-download if you will, please.
2002
PSB: “We hope you like our new direction! Guitars!”
Parlophone: “Love it! What do you want as first single?” {Please say Home and Dry}
PSB: “Home and Dry”
Parl: “Yay! This is why we love you guys; you still have your finger on the pulse. And for the video…?”
PSB: “About that...”
2006
PSB: “Hi guys! Album time again. This time, we think that…”
Parl: “You think nothing. This time we talk, you listen. No rats, no poncy boring youths being androgenous. This time the first single will be ‘I’m With Stupid’ and you shall make a proper video with the Little Britain guys because the punters love them. Not rats.”
PSB: “Um, ok. But we choose the second single.”
Parl: “Fine, but you will have a budget of about £65 for the video (no rats)”
2008
PSB: “Hi guys! We’ve gone all pop again. AND it’s our turn to choose first single and the video!”
Parl: “Shit. OK, but we get to choose the second single and remember not to spend too much money on the video. And no frigging rats.”
PSB: “Deal! Oh, and we’ll put Did You See Me Coming? on the b side and give it away for free with the Mail on Sunday“
Parl: “Um…. are you sure….?” [whispers to marketing people] We can still put that out as a single again anyway, right?”
Marketing: “Oh yeah, nobody buys PSB singles except the fans and they’ll buy ANYTHING”
PSB: “What are you talking about over there?”
Parl & Marketing: “Nothing! Love the new specs!”
Did You See Me Coming? is out on 1 June as the 2nd single from Yes. (Despite the fact that it was a b-side to Love Etc, an album track and included on the 2.5 million copies of the PSB CD given away for free with the Mail on Sunday. I’m sure there is logic in this somewhere.)
I love how Chris Lowe has totally gotten into Twitter this last while. He’s great at uploading Twitpics from television studios and various other popstar situations. And you can eavesdrop on tweets between PSB and other ’slebs. How v modern.
He just uploaded this pic of Neil and Tom ‘Superchumbo’ Stephen (Neil’s ex, I think) having tea*.
It makes me feel slightly better about YouTubing our SingStar exploits, Twittering at conferences and the like.
* And how English of them to be having tea at 4pm.
I’m not referring the Yes, the new album (out this week, get it), which is delightful, but the Best Thing Ever is a track on the album called The Way It Used To Be‘ or ‘The way it used to be’ if you are a PSB punctuation pedant.
It’s low key, grown-up, sophisticated, crammed with hooks and is a co-write/produce with Xenomania. According to the commentary, they imagined it as a duet with Tina Turner no less.
Unfortunately, I’ve just read the lyrics and am most disappointed to learn that Neil sings ‘I was there caught on Tenth Avenue’ not ‘I was there, cow-tipping, and you…’ Check it out at 2:50. Oh well.
‘Cleaning out my closet’ as Eminem once mellifluously rapped. I bet he didn’t have to contend with 24-year-old mixtapes, Minidisc players, photos of self and others looking obscenely young, and alarming cassettes of the Now That’s What I Call Music 7 variety. Oh no, I bet it was all Uzis and Harley Davidson lighters with Eminem…
And the HD version of the video is on YouTube. There were quite a few leaks (all plugged) so EMI must have decided to release the clip a day early.
With PopArt back in the UK Albums Chart at 19, the Brits, and now this, it looks like PSB might enjoy another successful chart run.
Is this their post-post Imperial phase?
Leo Giamani a little more overdressed than usual.
Of course it’s not really NSFW (except for Lily Allen’s naughty swearing).
Yes, it’s mix time again, and we move from my latest (EOTS) and my oldest darlings (PSB) through some moody stuff. And then it’s funky house all the way home. Or ‘nosebleed house’ as Other Half inexplicably calls it (sheesh, it’s hardly bloody gabba). This might be a good mix to put on to get the cool kids to dance and then while they are up, they may as well stay up.
It also features some ropey transitions as I couldn’t get my paws on proper extended versions of a couple of tracks, but I’m sure you’ll overlook that as you frug wildly in a drunken haze around the living room.
Tracklist: NSFW
- We Are The People (Burns Remix) Empire of the Sun
- Love Etc. (Gui Boratto Mix) Pet Shop Boys
- Blue Monday (Vandalism Remix) Kurd Maverick
- Need To Feel Loved (Adam K & Soha Vocal Mix) Reflekt feat. Delline Bass
- The Fear (Stonebridge Explicit Club Mix) Lily Allen
- Call Me (Original Short Version) Shark & Sylvain feat. Lara Love
- The Night (Bailey & Rossko Mix) Nick Fiorucci feat. Kelly Malbasa
- Starstrings (Tocadisco Remix) Jody Wisternoff
- Sister Walk Away (James Le Freak & Marco Monaco Mix) Pat Farrell
- Open Up Your Heart Andrea Carnell
- Come Back To Me (Seamus Haji & Paul Emanuel Radio Edit) Utada
- Keep This Fire Burning (Freemasons Remix) Outsiders
Download NSFW (62 mins continuous mix, 320kbps, 143MB) [Mediafire direct link]
PS: Who the heck is downloading Cool Intentions? It’s been grabbed almost 2,000 times in 6 weeks! Am I missing something?
10 years ago on this forum, I suggested that the PSBs were beyond pop and were artists in the most sincere sense of the word. Tonight showcased that in a way that their live shows often do, but this time to a mass audience who never really understood. How gratifying to imagine the heathens finding the whole experience weirdly arcane. The audience at Earl’s Court betrayed all of the body language redolent of the fanbase during Performance in 1991: slack-jawed bemusement. What *are* we watching? From Drico on Pet Shop Boys Community Message Board
See previous post. Especially No. 5.
They rocked. And didn’t the new tracks, Love Etc and All Over The World, sound pretty good too?
(iTunes has 30-second snippets of the new album available now)
