November 30, 201014 yr Been Boring was so much better than So Hard, as So Hard was the lead single from their studio album
November 30, 201014 yr Author No M!key, not #1 but... 3. Always On My Mind http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/80/AlwaysOnMyMind.jpg/220px-AlwaysOnMyMind.jpg Score: 9.2/10. Highest vote: 11 (gooddelta). Lowest vote: 8 (SKOB, Ghosthunter, Dandy) UyQrubg4i5A "The Pet Shop Boys, then in the full flush of their early popularity, were among a number of artists who were invited onto a 1987 British TV show commemorating the tenth anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. Each artist was asked to perform a rendition of a song made famous by "The King." Not particular fans of Elvis, the Boys were initially cool to the idea, but ultimately decided in favor of it. They chose to perform "Always on My Mind," one of Presley's latter-day successes. One of the reasons they picked it was because, as Chris has put it, the song was from Elvis's "bloated Vegas period," which Chris professes to prefer to his fifties "rockabilly" heyday. Although Neil and Chris considered it a one-off, public reaction was overwhelmingly positive. The fans essentially demanded it as a single. So our heroes obliged—their very first cover song. Critics quickly commented on the almost mechanical, icy-cold performance, which transformed what had previously sounded tender (as in Willie Nelson's hit version from a few years before) into something that seemed rather callous, at least to many ears. One writer even described it as "singularly mean-spirited." In fact, when you pay close attention to the lyrics, it really comes across as a somewhat nasty song. In essence, the narrator is saying, "Yeah, I know I've been a rotten pig who treats you like dirt, but you should be pleased that at least I think about you a lot." One site visitor has noted that the last line sung by Neil in the Introspective version is "Maybe I didn't love you…," suggesting a final realization by the narrator that he has indeed never really loved the person to whom he's singing, despite his efforts to convince himself otherwise. Perhaps this song even expresses his sense of guilt over this fact—an interesting and quite tenable hypothesis. More than two decades later, in a 2010 interview with Mike Atkinson of the Nottingham Evening Post, Neil himself neatly summarized his and Chris's take on the song. It's "sung from the point of view of a selfish and self-obsessed man, who is possibly incapable of love, and who is now drinking whiskey and feeling sorry for himself. It’s a completely tactless song." Selfishness, self-obsession, and tactlessness aside, it was a brilliant rendition and proved to be one of the Boys' all-time biggest hits. The extended Introspective mix melded it into a brief PSB original titled "In My House," punning on the pronounced influence of house music on the track." Another song that's often considered amongst the group's most popular ever, but it's not #1 on our countdown, even if it was Christmas #1 in 1987. I wish this recharted every year instead of the Pogues (whose Shane MacGowan once complained of being beaten to #1 by "two queers and a drum machine" :rolleyes:). If I ever release my hi-NRG cover of Fairytale Of New York, I'm stealing that name. Anyway the good kind of PSB cover again, and with a video, taken from their film "It Couldn't Happen Here" that is even better than the song.
November 30, 201014 yr Author 3 Go West 2 What Have I Done To Deserve This? 1 Always On My Mind Go West was at #12... keep up :P
November 30, 201014 yr Hmm, you can tell I'm not overly fond of their earlier singles by the fact most of the lowest scores for each song came from me :lol: . I am however shocked at how low West End Girls is, definitely my favourite single from them during this time period. Always On My Mind is alright, but I've always held a grudge against it for holding Fairytale Of New York off the top spot :(
November 30, 201014 yr Another song that's often considered amongst the group's most popular ever, but it's not #1 on our countdown, even if it was Christmas #1 in 1987. I wish this recharted every year instead of the Pogues (whose Shane MacGowan once complained of being beaten to #1 by "two queers and a drum machine" :rolleyes:). If I ever release my hi-NRG cover of Fairytale Of New York, I'm stealing that name. :lol:
November 30, 201014 yr Hmm, you can tell I'm not overly fond of their earlier singles by the fact most of the lowest scores for each song came from me :lol: . I am however shocked at how low West End Girls is, definitely my favourite single from them during this time period. Always On My Mind is alright, but I've always held a grudge against it for holding Fairytale Of New York off the top spot :( I'm the opposite, I've never really loved FONY, although I listen to it because it does make me feel xmassy, I don't enjoy the full song - if it was a solo Kirsty song I would but I really can't stand Shane. Always On My Mind on the other hand is great :wub: It's just a shame that I only ever seem to see the video on those 'xmas #1's countdowns' that they do every December.
November 30, 201014 yr Author 2. It's A Sin http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/80/AlwaysOnMyMind.jpg/220px-AlwaysOnMyMind.jpg Score: 9.5/10. Highest vote: 11 (Tonyttt31). Lowest vote: 7 (AH Gold) dRHetRTOD1Q "While appearing as a guest on the long-running British radio program Desert Island Discs in February 2007—more than two decades after the Boys wrote this song—Neil described it as having been inspired by his years in a Catholic school: "[it] always seemed to be taught that everything was a sin. Everything you wanted to do was a sin. And so I put that in a song." If there's such a thing as an "accusational confessional," this is it. Neil confesses his many sins (or at least his many temptations to submit to them), but in his defense accuses the Church and/or God of making sins out of too many things. "Everything I long to do, no matter when or where or who … it's a sin!" Famous for its over-the-top epic production (complete with a non sequitur sampled NASA countdown just because it sounded so good), this, the first single from Actually, proved to be one of the Boys' all-time biggest hits. Its video, which became an MTV staple at the time, bore memorable images of Neil before the Inquisition (held captive by Chris in the role of his jailer) and personifications of the Seven Deadly Sins (Pride, Anger, Envy, Lust, Sloth, Gluttony, and Greed). The song attracted attention on a number of other counts as well. Some religious leaders actually praised it for raising and seriously discussing the subject of sin, rarely noted in popular culture. Meanwhile, British singer, songwriter, and producer Jonathan King, best known for his 1965 hit "Everyone's Gone to the Moon," publicly and repeatedly accused the Pet Shop Boys of stealing the melody from Cat Stevens's "Wild World." Neil and Chris sued him and won their case, thus prohibiting him from continuing to repeat his aspersions. They donated their monetary award in the case to charity. Neil, incidentally, is what is often quaintly referred to as a "lapsed Catholic." The text that he mumbles, almost unintelligibly, beneath the music at the very end comes from the Latin mass: "Confiteor Deo omnipotenti vobis fratres, quia peccavi nimis cogitatione, verbo, opere, et omissione, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa," which can be translated as "I confess to almighty God, and to you my brothers, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, act, and omission, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault." By the way, Neil has said that it took only 15 minutes to write this, one of their biggest hits. Such is the mystery of art and inspiration. " Well there's a shock - Tony likes something :P It's not so shocking to see this song that high though, as it was one of their biggest hits, again with an incredible video. Having seen them live last year, I can tell you that this is still a highlight of their performance, and I don't think I have ever felt more alive than while silver glitter rained down on me and the rest of the audience during this song... :wub:
November 30, 201014 yr I'm the opposite, I've never really loved FONY, although I listen to it because it does make me feel xmassy, I don't enjoy the full song - if it was a solo Kirsty song I would but I really can't stand Shane. Always On My Mind on the other hand is great :wub: It's just a shame that I only ever seem to see the video on those 'xmas #1's countdowns' that they do every December. Kirsty makes the song brilliant definitely. It's such a shame she never had a number one, especially when They Don't Know could easily have topped the chart in the late 70's for her had there not been a strike going on somewhere that prevent her single going to press. I do like Always On My Mind a lot, but I just think Fairytale would have made a more memorable number one hit that week.
November 30, 201014 yr Author So have you worked out what's #1 yet? I'll be posting it in a minute, then a full run-down of the top 25, and the list of 20 songs that have made the cut for the album track vote.
November 30, 201014 yr Kirsty makes the song brilliant definitely. It's such a shame she never had a number one, especially when They Don't Know could easily have topped the chart in the late 70's for her had there not been a strike going on somewhere that prevent her single going to press. I do like Always On My Mind a lot, but I just think Fairytale would have made a more memorable number one hit that week. It's definitely one of those 'how did it not get to #1' moments, but then Always On My Mind is amongst my favourite xmas #1's of all time, not that it's hard - they're nearly all diabolical :lol: So have you worked out what's #1 yet? I'll be posting it in a minute, then a full run-down of the top 25, and the list of 20 songs that have made the cut for the album track vote. I'm going to hazard a guess at a song which went top 3 in my chart in summer 2008 when covered by a Swedish female duo and a male artist and which I very nearly sent to BJSC?
November 30, 201014 yr Author And the #1 Pet Shop Boys song from 1984-1994 is.... 1. What Have I Done To Deserve This http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5d/WHIDTDTCD.jpg/220px-WHIDTDTCD.jpg Score: 9.7/10. Highest vote: 11 (M!Key, Tom Kay, Suedehead2). Lowest vote: 8 (AH Gold, Ghosthunter) Wn9E5i7l-Eg "This song has an unusual history, its origins dating back to Neil's time as a pop music journalist with Smash Hits. While returning home from work one day on the bus, he came up with a "rap" that would eventually evolve into "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" But the "song proper," so to speak, was written in three separate parts by Neil, Chris, and songwriter/multimedia artist Allee Willis. Chris wrote the recurring melodic motif that opens the track and recurs throughout (the one that always accompanies "What have I, what have I, what have I done to deserve this?"), Neil wrote the verses and most of the lyrics, and Ms. Willis wrote the "Since you went away…" part and possibly—at least according to her own recollections—contributed to the music of the verses as well. The song had been written early enough to have been included on Please, but the Boys were unable to arrange Dusty Springfield's participation in time to record it for that album. (They in fact recorded an early demo of it with Allee singing the part that eventually went to Dusty.) Neil had long been a fan of the legendary and reclusive 'sixties singer—whose 1969 album Dusty in Memphis frequently appears in lists of pop music's all-time greatest discs—and she was very much his and Chris's first choice for the duet. Their record company lobbied hard for Tina Turner, then at her commercial peak of popularity, but our musical heroes stuck to their guns and were rewarded when Dusty came onboard. The song takes the form of a dialogue between the two characters portrayed by Neil and Dusty. "I imagined the two people as an older woman who's in charge of a building site and a man who works for her," Neil once wrote. "They have an affair, they break up, … and then they both regret it." One of the most poignant lines is nearly buried in the mix toward the end of the song, but is more readily discernable when it was performed live during the "Performance" tour: "We don't have to fall apart, we don't have to fight, we don't need to go to hell and back every night."" Got it in one Rich (I presume you were thinking of the West End Girls and Magnus-from-Alcazar version?) For me, this is the perfect pop song, and got big points from across the board, and yet curiosly it's one of very few they recorded with another artist, and wrote with another writer. If they were going to pick a guest artist though, they couldn't have really done better than the fabulous Dusty. Despite the fact that she was in decline at the time of recording the song (and did bear a passing resembelance to Spagna) her vocals here are superb and bring a further touch of class to the recording. Thanks for your votes everyone, hope it's been interesting for you, the list of the top 25 will be up in a minute, along with the list of album tracks you can vote for in the next round.
November 30, 201014 yr Author It's definitely one of those 'how did it not get to #1' moments, but then Always On My Mind is amongst my favourite xmas #1's of all time, not that it's hard - they're nearly all diabolical :lol: Tru dat :kink: Personally I go through phases with Fairytale, it's good but it could be so much better as a Kirsty solo song as Martin said. And I think this is a much better addition to the list of Christmas #1s than that could have been, then again I would have swapped for Mariah Carey any day of the week :lol:
November 30, 201014 yr Author So this is the overall top 25 of the first 10 years of the Pet Shop Boys' career. 1. What Have I Done To Deserve This? 2. It's A Sin 3. Always On My Mind 4. Being Boring 5. I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing 6. West End Girls 7. Can You Forgive Her? 8. Rent 9. Heart 10. Suburbia 11. Left To My Own Devices 12, Go West 13. Opportunities 14. Domino Dancing 15. Love Comes Quickly 16. Yesterday When I Was Mad 17. So Hard 18. Jealousy 19. Liberation 20. How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously? 21. Where The Streets Have No Name/Can't Take My Eyes Off You 22. It's Alright 23. DJ Culture 24. Absolutely Fabulous 25. Was It Worth It? And here, in alphabetical order, are the album tracks you will be able to vote for in the next round... A Different Point of View A New Life Do I Have to Dreaming Of The Queen I Want To Wake Up I'm Not Scared In Denial (with Kylie Minogue) Integral (Album Version) King's Cross Pananiro Pandemonium Radiophonic Shopping The Night I Fell In Love The Sodom And Gomorrah Show The Theatre The Way It Used To Be This Must Be The Place I Waited Years To Leave To Step Aside Two Divided by Zero I'll try and get the Part 2 thread, with the rest of their singles from 1995 to today, and the album track voting up by 9pm tonight. Thanks for reading :D
November 30, 201014 yr So this is the overall top 25 of the first 10 years of the Pet Shop Boys' career. 1. What Have I Done To Deserve This? 2. It's A Sin 3. Always On My Mind 4. Being Boring 5. I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing 6. West End Girls 7. Can You Forgive Her? 8. Rent 9. Heart 10. Suburbia 11. Left To My Own Devices 12, Go West 13. Opportunities 14. Domino Dancing 15. Love Comes Quickly 16. Yesterday When I Was Mad 17. So Hard 18. Jealousy 19. Liberation 20. How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously? 21. Where The Streets Have No Name/Can't Take My Eyes Off You 22. It's Alright 23. DJ Culture 24. Absolutely Fabulous 25. Was It Worth It? That would be a better tracklisting for the Ultimate CD bar the last 4 tracks.
November 30, 201014 yr Author That would be a better tracklisting for the Ultimate CD bar the last 4 tracks. Yeah, but they HAVE done songs in the last 15 years? :lol: Anyway, It's Alright has to be on there :snif:
November 30, 201014 yr As I wasn't here during the countdown... 1. What Have I Done To Deserve This? - Well deserved although a bit surprising...Blame Dusty :P 2. It's A Sin - Genious! 3. Always On My Mind - My favourite Christmas #1 ever. Perhaps their best cover 4. Being Boring - Song to die for 5. I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing - Great song, one of the highlights on Very 6. West End Girls - Tony gave four to ensure this couldn't be #1 here :D 7. Can You Forgive Her? - Classic... Love the lyrics.. But the video is probably their most embarrassing moment... JWell you can laugh at it now 8. Rent - One of the most important songs for me, personally 9. Heart - Adorable and a surprise #1 hit for them
November 30, 201014 yr Author Sorry about that SKOB, I would have done it this evening but tbh I wanted to get it over and done with. I know 45 songs seems like a lot to rate, but it won't actually be that way, I've got a different system for the album tracks, all will be revealed later.
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