We hope you enjoy your visit.

You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.

Join our community!

If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
The official Pet Shop Boys thread; New album "Super"
Topic Started: Oct 30 2008, 11:59 AM (18,113 Views)
Riverwide
Member Avatar
Administrator
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
From their official site:

Parlophone/EMI have confirmed March 23rd as the release date for the new new Pet Shop Boys' album, "Yes", in a press release sent out to all media today. The full text reads:

IN THE POP COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR, PET SHOP BOYS TEAM UP WITH PRODUCERS XENOMANIA FOR THEIR NEW STUDIO ALBUM “YES” WHICH WILL BE RELEASED ON PARLOPHONE ON MARCH 23.
THE SINGLE “LOVE ETC” IS RELEASED ON MARCH 16.

In what is surely the pop collaboration of 2009, PET SHOP BOYS have teamed up with the hit production team Xenomania (Girls Aloud, Sugababes, Gabriella Cilmi etc) for their new studio album, “Yes”, which will be released on March 23rd.
Pet Shop Boys, who will receive the Outstanding Contribution To Music award at this years Brit Awards on February 18th, co-wrote three of the eleven new tracks on the album with Xenomania. The other tracks were written by Tennant/Lowe with a little assistance from Tchaikovsky on “All Over the world”. The album was produced by Brian Higgins/Xenomania.

Chris Lowe comments: "This album is amazing and it was great working with Xenomania!" Neil Tennant says: "It's a fantastic, wide-ranging, pop record."

Johnny Marr plays guitar on several tracks and orchestral arrangements on "Beautiful people" and "Legacy" are by Owen Pallett (Last Shadow Puppets, Final Fantasy).

The album track listing is as follows (* written by Tennant/Lowe/Xenomania):

Love etc *
All over the world
Beautiful people
Did you see me coming?
Vulnerable
More than a dream *
Building a wall
King of Rome
Pandemonium
The way it used to be *
Legacy

The release of “Yes” will be preceded by the single “Love etc” on March 16. Pet Shop Boys describe the song as "a post-lifestyle anthem which sounds like nothing we’ve done before."

Pet Shop Boys are currently planning a very special performance at the Brit Awards in February. They have also co-written with Xenomania the current Girls Aloud single “The Loving Kind"; the two groups met when both were recording at Xenomania’s studio in Kent.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
GimmeSomeRiver
Member Avatar
When I lay in bed I touch myself and I think of you
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
From good old PopJustice:


Right so we've had 'Yes' on rotation for a few weeks now and have, of course, listened to it so much that we have lost any of the sense of perspective you, the reader, might have found useful in the context of a 'review'. SORRY. Anyway as you know by now this album is 'Yesterday When I Was Mad' hitmakers Pet Shop Boys working alonside Xenomania, the production team behind hits for Frank and Texas. As well as producing 'Yes' in it entirety, Xenomania also have writing credits on a few of the songs.

TWO THINGS WE ALREADY KNOW:
1. Pet Shop Boys have, historically, been quite good.
2. Xenomania have, historically, been quite quite good.

There was a danger here that the collision of two quite good groups of people could have resulted in something very, very terrible indeed - who can forget the harrowing 'Walk This Way' incident of March 2007? - but the good news is that 'Yes' doesn't find the Pet Shop Boys subjected to the clattering, bells and whistles, hen-party-falling-off-a-fire-escape production sound Xenomania sometimes favour, incredible as that would have been. Instead, this is still very much a Pet Shop Boys album. It's not, in other words, the sixth Girls Aloud album with Neil singing. It's the happy sort of collaboration which seems to thrive on an exchange of ideas and attitudes. The warm, downplayed backbeat of 'King Of Rome', for example, is proper PSB, while the sound and structure of a song like 'More Than A Dream' (with its surprise "driving through the night, just you and me" second chorus) is a great example of the Xenomania influence.

TWO BITS IN 'BUILDING A WALL' WHERE CHRIS LOWE HAS A BIT OF A SING-SONG:
(Well it's not proper singing but you know what we mean.)
1. In the middle eight. It goes into a spooky spoken word thing with birds tweeting and Neil banging on about sand in sandwiches, then Chris pops up and says "who do you think you are, Captain Britain?". Unfortunately it ruins the song completely SONGSPOILER FOLLOWS if you swap 'Britain' for 'Birdseye'.
2. There is a sort of call and response thing with Neil and Chris which kicks the song off and also works as a bridge in the second verse. Neil: "Protection!" Chris: "Prevention!" Neil: "Detection!" Chris: "Detention!" Neil: "There's nowhere to defect to any more!" (Ooh - political.)

You usually want to steer clear of people throwing the phrase 'return to form' around the place but 'Yes' certainly takes us back to the feel of a Pet Shop Boys most fans - and most record buyers - first fell in love with. In terms of songwriting quality it builds on the revived drive evident in 'Fundamental'. Not only that but where 'Fundamental''s production sometimes dragged songs in the direction of THE ELDERLY 'Yes' has a youthful spring in its step with sparky production, modern ideas and optimistic outlooks. Songs like 'Pandemonium' and 'Did You See Me Coming?' - which kicks off like a long lost track from the first Electronic album - are up there with 'i Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing' and 'Liberation' in the happiness stakes.

THE THREE BEST SONGS ON THIS ALBUM:
1. 'The Way It Used To Be'. (A bleak 'n' pulsating ballad-that's-not whose lyrics start with a simple "I'm here, you're there - come closer, tonight I'm lonely" then go on to pick apart an empty relationship. Structurally but not sonically it's a bit of a 'Biology' - it relentlessly drives through a series of different segments, doesn't have a chorus and builds to an incredible climax but does this in a really unselfconscious way. It's hypnotic, atmospheric, almost danceable but also very very sad.)
2. 'All Over The World'. (This should be the second single and should in fact have been the first - it's a mid-tempo but euphoric celebration of music and love with irresistible handclap action, a Tchaikovsky sample and a "this is a song about boys and girls - you hear it playing all over the world" chorus.)
3. 'Pandemonium'. (Hints of 'Starman' and 'Knock On Wood' to a Glitter beat but spookily, at the same time, none of the above. It's a song about your partner causing mayhem whenever they turn up but being quite loveable nonetheless: "I thought I was shockproof until I saw what you get up to - when you think about it it's quite an achievement that after all I still love you". Neil will probably do his palms-to-the-heavens hand thing quite a lot when he does this live.

If you're interested in tempo, you might like to know that 'Yes' features four uptempo songs, two proper ballads and five midtempo songs although two of the mid-tempo songs sound up-tempo when in fact they're not. The single, 'Love Etc', is a bit of an odd one. (FYI the best bit in 'Love Etc' is officially when Neil goes "OH!" before the chorus, like when Kylie goes "OH!" in 'In My Arms'.)

THE TWO WORST SONGS ON THIS ALBUM:
1. 'Beautiful People'. (This has a harmonica on it and is a bit of an ill-advised exploration of a sort of 'sixties sound' - it's about wanting to be a part of an exciting scene. "I wanna live like beautful people, give like beautiful people, with my beautiful people around," and so on. It would make a good b-side, or 'iTunes bonus track bundle song' or whatever we're supposed to call them in 2009.)
2. 'Legacy'. (It's all over the show and actually includes the line "that Carphone Warehouse boy has been on the phone, he wants to upgrade the mobile you own".) (???!!)

Will this album win the band new fans? Will it win back old fans? Is the Xenomania connection somehow a route for Neil and Chris into iTunes playlists of 14-year-old girls? That's all down to the Brits performance, really. Ignoring what other people might think of it and concentrating on how it sounds to these ears, 'Yes' is a big, happy, sad, modern-sounding proper pop album. We've been hammering it over the last three weeks and we think you'll want to do the same when it's released in March. Basically, it's better than 'Disco 2'.

EDIT: Stop emailing! The album's brilliant - we have used the phrases 'quite good' and 'better than Disco 2' for hilarious comic effect.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
FuckBuddy
Member Avatar
Pensioner
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
slightly ot: i've recently rediscovered disco 4 and gone to the conclusion it's rather amazing. besides forming a great pop duo, their skills in remixing add points to their brilliance.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Riverwide
Member Avatar
Administrator
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
I sooooooooo cannot wait for this album!!! It's awesome when you just *know* that an album of gorgeous music is just a matter of weeks away. :drama:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Riverwide
Member Avatar
Administrator
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Posted Image

There's also a rumor going around that there will be an additional disc on a limited edition version of the album called "No."

Gotta love the PSBs! :lol2:
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
GimmeSomeRiver
Member Avatar
When I lay in bed I touch myself and I think of you
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
FuckBuddy
Jan 13 2009, 11:59 PM
slightly ot: i've recently rediscovered disco 4 and gone to the conclusion it's rather amazing. besides forming a great pop duo, their skills in remixing add points to their brilliance.
That disc is worth it for the MONUMENTAL remix of Sorry alone but the mixes for Bowie, Yoko Ono and that metal band whose name I cant recall are all fantastic.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Deleted User
Deleted User

Rammstein.
Quote Post Goto Top
 
GimmeSomeRiver
Member Avatar
When I lay in bed I touch myself and I think of you
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Listening to the Kids remix by the Pet Shop Boys... God I ADORE THEM. I simply CANNOT WAIT for this album. LOVE YOU NEIL AND CHRIS
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
FuckBuddy
Member Avatar
Pensioner
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
there's a psb remix of mgmt's kids? someone please upload it
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
GimmeSomeRiver
Member Avatar
When I lay in bed I touch myself and I think of you
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Here you go darling:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DG860CAQ
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Riverwide
Member Avatar
Administrator
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
PSBs posted this on their website:

Feel very sad and shocked that Boy George has been sent to jail. The 15-month sentence seems very harsh indeed. x
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Mats
Member Avatar
IN THE CENTRE OF A RING JUST LIKE A CIRCUS
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Harsh? Stick to your album, Neil and Chris. And make sure it leaks soon.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Deleted User
Deleted User

Riverwide
Jan 17 2009, 09:50 PM
PSBs posted this on their website:

Feel very sad and shocked that Boy George has been sent to jail. The 15-month sentence seems very harsh indeed. x
:basil:
Quote Post Goto Top
 
Riverwide
Member Avatar
Administrator
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
PSBs will remix Lady GaGa's "Eh Eh (Nothing I Can Say)".
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Riverwide
Member Avatar
Administrator
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
"Pet Shop Boys star Neil Tennant’s father has died. It was announced yesterday that Bill Tennant, of Gosforth, Newcastle, passed away peacefully in hospital on Monday.

Mr Tennant, 85, was married to the late Sheila, and was also father to Susan, Simon and Phillip"

:(
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
GimmeSomeRiver
Member Avatar
When I lay in bed I touch myself and I think of you
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
:(

My thoughts go out to Neil and his brothers and sister.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
FuckBuddy
Member Avatar
Pensioner
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
GimmeSomeRiver
Jan 17 2009, 10:03 AM
cheers!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Riverwide
Member Avatar
Administrator
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Here's the album cover! Love it!! :clap:

Posted Image

Pet Shop Boys' new single, "Love etc.", will get its first exclusive play on radio on BBC Radio 2's Ken Bruce Show between 9.30 am and 12 noon on February 9th.

This week's issue of Music Week, the British music industry magazine, previews "Love etc." in its playlist: "A combination that sounds as good on the ear as it does on paper. Pet Shop Boys and Xenomania get the new album campaign off to a very strong start."

Remixes of the track have so far been completed by Gui Boratto and Pet Shop Boys.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Fembot 1
Member Avatar
SCIENCE OFFICER
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Brilliant cover!

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Riverwide
Member Avatar
Administrator
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Each box in the tick represents a song on the album apparently.

It's boxes in a tick, rather than a tick in a box. How very clever!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Join the millions that use us for their forum communities. Create your own forum today.
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Music Discussion · Next Topic »

Theme by Sith of the ZBTZ and Outline