Interpretation and Analysis of Every Song By Pet Shop Boys
July 13, 2019 1:35 PM Subscribe
Every song for nearly 40 years by Pet Shop Boys has analysis and interpretation by Wayne Studer, Ph.D. The front page is a bit opaque, so try "Click Here To Go To..." at the top of the page for a menu.
I still remember watching West End Girls live on Top Of The Pops when I was *checks notes* 8 (sob) and thinking how cool Neil Tennant looked. Thanks, this is a nice link.
Also I can always tell a hippybear post from the title :)
posted by billiebee at 2:10 PM on July 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
Also I can always tell a hippybear post from the title :)
posted by billiebee at 2:10 PM on July 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
(West End Girls is arguably the first British rap song ever on the charts.)
posted by hippybear at 2:24 PM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 2:24 PM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
I hate to break it to you, that's not "live".
*ducks*
posted by humboldt32 at 3:11 PM on July 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
*ducks*
posted by humboldt32 at 3:11 PM on July 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
(West End Girls is arguably the first British rap song ever on the charts.)
That raises the tricky question of how we're going to define "rap", though surely? I mean, Max Bygraves' Deck of Cards has spoken-word vocals throughout and spent 15 weeks in the UK charts in 1973, so it that rap?
posted by Paul Slade at 3:55 PM on July 13, 2019
That raises the tricky question of how we're going to define "rap", though surely? I mean, Max Bygraves' Deck of Cards has spoken-word vocals throughout and spent 15 weeks in the UK charts in 1973, so it that rap?
posted by Paul Slade at 3:55 PM on July 13, 2019
Also, I see Wham Rap got to number 8 in 1983, two years before West End Girls hit the charts.
[The PSBs' song might be able to claim the first British rap number 1, though.]
posted by Paul Slade at 4:14 PM on July 13, 2019
[The PSBs' song might be able to claim the first British rap number 1, though.]
posted by Paul Slade at 4:14 PM on July 13, 2019
Just for context, here's three early American rap hits and their peak positions in the UK charts:
Sugar Hill Gang - Rappers' Delight - got to number 3 in Dec 1979
Blondie - Rapture - got to number 5 in Jan 1981
Grandmaster Flash - The Message - got to number 8 in August 1982
posted by Paul Slade at 4:32 PM on July 13, 2019
Sugar Hill Gang - Rappers' Delight - got to number 3 in Dec 1979
Blondie - Rapture - got to number 5 in Jan 1981
Grandmaster Flash - The Message - got to number 8 in August 1982
posted by Paul Slade at 4:32 PM on July 13, 2019
I love Pet Shop Boys and I can tell I'll be spending some quality time on that website.
Per their twitter, they're working on a new album to be released in January.
One of the best concerts I've seen was a Pet Shop Boys show at the Universal Amphiteatre in Los Angeles - they played "Go West" for one of the encores and it was an amazing experience.
posted by mogget at 5:01 PM on July 13, 2019
Per their twitter, they're working on a new album to be released in January.
One of the best concerts I've seen was a Pet Shop Boys show at the Universal Amphiteatre in Los Angeles - they played "Go West" for one of the encores and it was an amazing experience.
posted by mogget at 5:01 PM on July 13, 2019
I still think West End Girls is about the coolest thing to come out of the Eighties, but maybe that's just me.
posted by blue shadows at 6:30 PM on July 13, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by blue shadows at 6:30 PM on July 13, 2019 [4 favorites]
Oh wow, the Pet Shop Boye were just on my mind. Obvs.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:50 PM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:50 PM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
For me it's Suburbia. A few years earlier I'd seen the Penelope Spheeris film, back home in DC, and now here I was in LA myself, hearing this song coming out of KROQ on my car radio as I drove 'round becoming familiar with the Full Horror in those first few months.
posted by Rash at 8:05 PM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Rash at 8:05 PM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
I happened to have “Rent” running through my head right when I read this post, and have never been sure how to feel about the song, so I read that one and enjoyed the site owner’s tour through various interpretations. Thanks!
posted by eirias at 9:47 PM on July 13, 2019
posted by eirias at 9:47 PM on July 13, 2019
> I still think West End Girls is about the coolest thing to come out of the Eighties, but maybe that's just me.I presume many will already have seen the Flight of the Conchords' homage to "West End Girls" but just in case some of you have missed it: Inner City Pressure.
Not just you, blue_shadows. It was/is iconic.
Very is my favorite Pet Shop Boys album but I feel like not many people share that opinion. (I would also have chopped the cover of "Go West" off the end of the album; I'm not sure that opinion is generally shared, either.)
posted by Nerd of the North at 10:04 PM on July 13, 2019 [4 favorites]
At any rate, we're probably best off throwing up our hands and admitting that "Left to My Own Devices" is about a lot of different things, and just leave it at that.
I think I would have drawn the same conclusion - but Dr Wayne still makes a valiant effort - and here is Jon Savage "the friend whose a party animal" talking about his morning conversations with Neil Tennant.
posted by rongorongo at 5:06 AM on July 14, 2019
I think I would have drawn the same conclusion - but Dr Wayne still makes a valiant effort - and here is Jon Savage "the friend whose a party animal" talking about his morning conversations with Neil Tennant.
posted by rongorongo at 5:06 AM on July 14, 2019
So, as a nerdy sniffy kid, one of my relatively few pure pop culture outlets was this cool-as-fuck DJ on late at night who was an insane crossover genius--remembered now primarily for his deep funk/soul roots, but who also routinely played stuff like Kraftwerk. I first heard the PSB on his show and was riveted. My attitude towards them has gotten, uh, more complicated (inevitable over such a long career regardless of quality variations, I guess), but there's really nothing as cool as the cool song you hear on the radio late at night when you're ten.
posted by praemunire at 2:54 PM on July 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by praemunire at 2:54 PM on July 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
Nerd of the North: "Very is my favorite Pet Shop Boys album but I feel like not many people share that opinion. "
I like it quite a bit, but I'd still put it tied for #2 with Please (#1 is Actually).
(I would also have chopped the cover of "Go West" off the end of the album; I'm not sure that opinion is generally shared, either.)
Ah, I see you're trying out for History's Greatest Monster.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:59 PM on July 17, 2019
I like it quite a bit, but I'd still put it tied for #2 with Please (#1 is Actually).
(I would also have chopped the cover of "Go West" off the end of the album; I'm not sure that opinion is generally shared, either.)
Ah, I see you're trying out for History's Greatest Monster.
posted by Chrysostom at 2:59 PM on July 17, 2019
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posted by Webbster at 2:08 PM on July 13, 2019 [1 favorite]