A Fundamental listen

Message

No Muscle Mary · #1 Post by **No Muscle Mary** » Thu 27 Apr 2006, 3:17 pm

Fooled you, I'm going to be controversial and not actually talk about Fundamental at all...

I rediscovered Nightlife the other day and was thinking what a dark album it is.
It really is My Drugs Hell by Neil Tennant.

Except for New York City Boy, which should have been a b-side!!!!

Nightlife is almost like a drink/drugs cycle over 24 hours...

Out in a club high as a kite on drugs courtesy of your drug-dealing boyfriend (who's been messing you around a bit):
For Your Own Good
Closer To Heaven

Have big dramatic bitch fight with boyfriend after he eyes up a younger model in the club:
Don't Know What You Want...

Going home with aforementioned boyfriend at the end of the night:
Happiness is an option

Boyfriend buggers off after a shag, leaving you alone, insecurity creeps in:
You only tell me you love me when you're drunk

Drugs starting to wear off, feeling like hell:
Vampires
Radiophonic

Depression sets in:
The only one
Boy strange

This one doesn't fit in but possibly is aforementioned boyfriend's life story:
In denial

What the hell is this one doing here?
New York City boy

Accepting your situation with crappy boyfriend cause it would be worse if you were alone:
Footsteps

Steve Fett · #2 Post by **Steve Fett** » Thu 27 Apr 2006, 3:23 pm

Brilliant stuff....you've hit the nail on the head with that synopsis - thats what I thought back in the day

....and I guess thats why its my fave PSB album thus far !! It was the soundtrack to my life, song by song - day by day back in 1999 !!

I did it all

Brilliant, brilliant album

No Muscle Mary · #3 Post by **No Muscle Mary** » Thu 27 Apr 2006, 3:31 pm

I'm a few years (hem, hem, QUITE a few) younger than the boys so sometimes when they release new material I know what it means but I haven't lived it myself.

Then I put an album down and I don't listen to it for a long time and I get on with living my life and having different experiences.

Then I listen to the album anew a few years later and it totally relates to something that has happened to me in the recent past and I understand it 100%.

Happened with Very. Happened with Nightlife.

In a few years, I might fall in love with Release.... I'd doubt it, but you'd never know

Steve Fett · #4 Post by **Steve Fett** » Thu 27 Apr 2006, 3:33 pm

Release IS an excellent album !!!

No Muscle Mary · #5 Post by **No Muscle Mary** » Thu 27 Apr 2006, 3:53 pm

Steve Fett wrote:Release IS an excellent album !!!

No it's not!!!

wow · #6 Post by **wow** » Thu 27 Apr 2006, 3:54 pm

I agree with you Steve. I think it's one of their best albums!

Steve Fett · #7 Post by **Steve Fett** » Thu 27 Apr 2006, 4:48 pm

No Muscle Mary wrote:
Steve Fett wrote:Release IS an excellent album !!!

No it's not!!!

YES IT IS

skyhigh · #8 Post by **skyhigh** » Thu 27 Apr 2006, 5:11 pm

Steve Fett wrote: I did it all

you're a drug dealer?

Very · #9 Post by **Very** » Fri 28 Apr 2006, 12:43 am

Steve Fett wrote:Release IS an excellent album !!!

I totally agree

Steve Fett · #10 Post by **Steve Fett** » Fri 28 Apr 2006, 1:08 am

paninaro28 wrote:
Steve Fett wrote: I did it all
you're a drug dealer?

nope - no drug dealer here thank you very much

Danimal · #11 Post by **Danimal** » Fri 28 Apr 2006, 4:39 am

Well, I don't know if it's one of their best albums, but it certainly captured the period of life I was in at the time: 27 years old, single, newly successful and responsible but still going out to the clubs and bars most nights of the week looking for, and occasionally having, adventures (but many more misadventures). Then, you soon reach that point where you realize (and it's criminal that this song was left off the album because it sums the whole thing up so precisely) that "nightlife babe is always the same."

No Muscle Mary · #12 Post by **No Muscle Mary** » Fri 28 Apr 2006, 8:10 am

It was probably record company pressure.

At a guess I'd say they were told to drop a track and put something 'uplifting that sounds like a hit' on instead.

Hence Nightlife dropped and New York City Boy put on.

It would be great if we could just get the album the boys want to release without record company interference. And without suggestions from other people about what singles they should release. I think they have a better instinct for these things themselves.

Vicki · #13 Post by **Vicki** » Fri 28 Apr 2006, 1:24 pm

No Muscle Mary wrote:
Steve Fett wrote:Release IS an excellent album !!!

No it's not!!!

Yes it is, it's brilliant indeed.

But Nightlife is my personal favourite.

So I've been thinking about the story behind the album's songs for years.
First of all, it's not personal. Personal ones are Behaviour, Bilingual, Release... This is not, it's on another topic reflected in its title. Fundamental's not personal either it's very political.

I don't think the topic of it is Neil/Chris's own drug hell.
It's a kind of musical or a story told by Mr.Tennant where he's playing the role:)

joncool5 · #14 Post by **joncool5** » Fri 28 Apr 2006, 2:19 pm

Nightlife is obviously their worst album as the lyrics are embarrassing and the production is far too glossy. It contains a few good songs but the majority of the album is below par by their standards. As for the song "Nightlife" it's probably in their top 5 worst ever list (NYC Boy is even worse though!).

GalataPSB · #15 Post by **GalataPSB** » Fri 28 Apr 2006, 2:39 pm

Steve Fett _______________________________________________________________________ No muscle Mary

YES IT IS -> <-NO IT IS NOT