numb

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Markpro · #46 Post by **Markpro** » Tue 02 May 2006, 9:41 am

OK, I've heard the album maybe 20+ times now and i must admit this song is played more than any other for me now 20th and Indefinte are the two weakest tracks on the album, not bad songs but numb is excellent

No Muscle Mary · #47 Post by **No Muscle Mary** » Tue 02 May 2006, 2:59 pm

I don't like the double negative. Neil would never, ever use a double negative, he's too much of a perfectionist.

This song is not up to Neil's songwriting standards. It's the one negative blip on the album.

Jareth · #48 Post by **Jareth** » Tue 02 May 2006, 3:17 pm

I like Numb, but it's true that it doesn't sound like a Pet Shop Boys song. It sounds like exactly what it is, Neil singing over someone elses song.

It just reminds me a bit of Emo music like this: http://michaeljacksonisemo.ytmnd.com

Syncratic · #49 Post by **Syncratic** » Tue 02 May 2006, 3:21 pm

[quote="No Muscle Mary"]I don't like the double negative. Neil would never, ever use a double negative, he's too much of a perfectionist.

quote]

It's Warren's Americanism to blame.

No Muscle Mary · #50 Post by **No Muscle Mary** » Tue 02 May 2006, 7:39 pm

It doesn't sit right with Neil.

Maverick · #51 Post by **Maverick** » Wed 03 May 2006, 7:48 am

It sits perfectly. One of my favourite songs on the album. A very different Pet Shop Boys track. A single release would be interesting.

No Muscle Mary · #52 Post by **No Muscle Mary** » Wed 03 May 2006, 8:32 am

Send that woman back to school to learn her grammar!

I don’t wanna feel this pain no more
- shouldn't that be anymore?

I don’t wanna feel nothing
- shouldn't that be anything?

Can’t find no space to breathe
- shouldn't that be any space?

Joemoz is on the ball, it's a boyband song. Cringeworthy stuff.
I know it was probably written that way (ie dumbed down) on purpose, as a style, but Neil is far too sophisticated to be singing something with bad grammar. He was a sub-editor for God's sake!

It would have worked well in the soundtrack to Zoolander alright. Maybe Warren could go to the school 'for children that don't read good' and get 'teached' some stuff.

bitterblue · #53 Post by **bitterblue** » Wed 03 May 2006, 9:08 am

I love Numb. I didn't think I would after I first listened to the demo version that was passed around some time ago. If I remember it correctly I only listened to the demo once or twice and I hated it.
But I really like Neil singing it. I like the fact that it sounds bare. I think the song would have sounded very different if it had been sung by one of the artists Diane usually writs for. Think of Celine Dion or somebody like this. (And I'm wuite put off by that thought... )
To me they way he sings it, sounds quite heartbreaking.
Also I quite like the "want to lose touch" bit. Lyrically it's not comparable to Neil's way of writing but it's kind of interesting to hear him sing something less rationlized.

jasonjohn · #54 Post by **jasonjohn** » Wed 03 May 2006, 9:19 am

No Muscle Mary wrote: I don’t wanna feel this pain no more
- shouldn't that be anymore?

I don’t wanna feel nothing
- shouldn't that be anything?

Can’t find no space to breathe
- shouldn't that be any space?

That's not her fault... pronounciation is up to the the singer

No Muscle Mary · #55 Post by **No Muscle Mary** » Wed 03 May 2006, 9:31 am

jasonjohn wrote:
No Muscle Mary wrote: I don’t wanna feel this pain no more
- shouldn't that be anymore?

I don’t wanna feel nothing
- shouldn't that be anything?

Can’t find no space to breathe
- shouldn't that be any space?
That's not her fault... pronounciation is up to the the singer

Rubbish. She WROTE the lyrics. Neil hasn't changed them. They're pronounced perfectly by Neil. It's the grammar that's wrong. She has written double negatives that cancel each other out to make a positive.
'I don't wanna feel nothing' actually means 'I want to feel something'.

petshopboys · #56 Post by **petshopboys** » Wed 03 May 2006, 9:34 am

awful song!

boyjohn · #57 Post by **boyjohn** » Wed 03 May 2006, 9:34 am

Haven't you ever watched any american tv shows? That's the way people talk in america. We ain't so edumacated here.

jasonjohn · #58 Post by **jasonjohn** » Wed 03 May 2006, 10:18 am

No Muscle Mary wrote:
jasonjohn wrote:
No Muscle Mary wrote: I don’t wanna feel this pain no more
- shouldn't that be anymore?

I don’t wanna feel nothing
- shouldn't that be anything?

Can’t find no space to breathe
- shouldn't that be any space?
That's not her fault... pronounciation is up to the the singer
Rubbish. She WROTE the lyrics. Neil hasn't changed them.

My point was.... he *could* have changed them.... so he must be happy with them... unfortunately, you're not the person singing it, else it'd be perfect, no doubt

Nightlife · #59 Post by **Nightlife** » Wed 03 May 2006, 10:22 am

Well all you Numb haters had better get your PSB collection ready to burn....

No Muscle Mary · #60 Post by **No Muscle Mary** » Wed 03 May 2006, 10:55 am

jasonjohn wrote:
No Muscle Mary wrote:
jasonjohn wrote: That's not her fault... pronounciation is up to the the singer
Rubbish. She WROTE the lyrics. Neil hasn't changed them.
My point was.... he *could* have changed them.... so he must be happy with them... unfortunately, you're not the person singing it, else it'd be perfect, no doubt

Don't get personal. You made your point badly. Pronounciation is how you pronounce a word, or say it. It doesn't involve actually swapping the word for a different word. He would have needed her permission to do that, and can you imagine requesting that?

Neil: 'Ms Warren, your grammar is awful. Would you mind if I edit the words of the song?'
Ms Warren: 'feck off'.

And by the way, there is absolutely nothing wrong with how Neil sings it. Neil is quite anal about grammar, for example writing West End girls with the small g. So it's just weird to hear him singing a song with bad grammar in the lyrics. Warren's fault, not Neil's.