Party song

[BlueSwan]

A Man Could Get Arrested
Was That What It Was
Do I Have To?
I Get Excited (You Get Excited Too)
It Must Be Obvious
Shameless
Too Many People
Hit And Miss
Delusions Of Grandeur
Screaming
Positive Role Model
The Resurrectionist
Party Song
Bright Young Things

.... all B-sides that might as well have been singles.

A big N.O. to each one of those except for Do I Have To, Shameless, Hit And Miss and Screaming and even those four are just songs that COULD have been singles - not necessarily songs that SHOULD have been singles. None of them are guaranteed hits by any means.

[dVTB]

A big N.O. to each one of those except for Do I Have To, Shameless, Hit And Miss and Screaming and even those four are just songs that COULD have been singles - not necessarily songs that SHOULD have been singles. None of them are guaranteed hits by any means.

Nor is Numb. Even a song that sounds like a song with hit potential, isn't a guaranteed hit. See Minimal. Looking at the list of 39 (?) PSB singles, I only selected a bunch of B-sides that might as well have been singles. Come on, if you release I don't know what you want but I can't give it any more as a single... there's hardly any B-side with less hit potential

Numb, in its current mutilated radio-edit state, has less hit potential than its two B-sides, I think. Party Song may be below par for PSB, but it's exactly what radio stations love to play nowadays. It has qualities that some people refuse to see because they're too busy slagging off PSB. Bright Young Things is one of the best PSB B-sides ever. A great track, well-produced.

[BlueSwan]

Nor is Numb.

True. Numb should never ever EVER have been a single. I've been arguing against Numb as a single since day one. Fugitive should have been THE single from Fundamental.

Even a song that sounds like a song with hit potential, isn't a guaranteed hit. See Minimal.

The only song on Fundamental that sounds even remotely like a hit single is Sodom & Gomorrah. If you include Fundamentalism, then obviously Fugitive is THE single of the Fundamental era.

Come on, if you release I don't know what you want but I can't give it any more as a single... there's hardly any B-side with less hit potential

I guarantee you that if I don't know what you want but I can't give it any more had been a b-side, everyone and his cousin would have argued that it should have been a single. But I agree - it wasn't a very good single choice, but still a better choice than most songs on your list.

Party Song may be below par for PSB, but it's exactly what radio stations love to play nowadays.

No, it's really not. Party Song sounds absolutely nothing like anything the radio plays. At some point it tries to sound like Benny Benassi, but utterly fails.

[dVTB]

Nor is Numb.

True. Numb should never ever EVER have been a single. I've been arguing against Numb as a single since day one. Fugitive should have been THE single from Fundamental.
The only song on Fundamental that sounds even remotely like a hit single is Sodom & Gomorrah. If you include Fundamentalism, then obviously Fugitive is THE single of the Fundamental era.

I'm not saying Numb should never have been a single. It's not necessarily a wrong choice. I agree with you on Fugitive, though. It's amazing that this track is not on Fundamental, nor a single. I would have been the best possible comeback for PSB.

I guarantee you that if I don't know what you want but I can't give it any more had been a b-side, everyone and his cousin would have argued that it should have been a single. But I agree - it wasn't a very good single choice, but still a better choice than most songs on your list.

We'll never know. We only know that I don't know what you want but I can't give it any more is the lowest charting PSB lead single ever.

Party Song sounds absolutely nothing like anything the radio plays. At some point it tries to sound like Benny Benassi, but utterly fails.

Let's agree to disagree.

[daveid]

In the Night, anyone?

[Dipso]

I assumed it was a shot at the record label, or similar - it sounds like an angry response to being told to write 'a party song with a good time lyric' - that continued misconception that the PSB are actually a gay disco band, you know the one. I never even considered taking it at face value, but... this doesn't seem to have come up elsewhere, so am I wrong? I figured the irony came that they'd put it on the B side of what clearly wasn't a Party Song - but then the track that follows actually IS about a party, and somehow combines the two idioms. Perhaps this is reading too far into the CD2 tracklisting.

I completely agree. I think Neil is probably incapable of writing a lyric like "you need a party song with a good time lyric" while being sincere at the same time!

[space boy 1 uk]

I like this one too The beginning sounds a bit like DR WHO ,,n a bit satisfaction

[Harry]

It sounds a bit like Blue on Blue, both similar sounding, both have the same ending. Sounds alright though not bad, and I love his KC And The Sunshine Band sampling.

It's exactly the same sound effect, isn't it? I quite like that. The two tracks are obviously from the same sessions. Does anybody know if 'Blue on blue' and 'Party song' are brand new or from the vaults?

Harry.

[!]

I want to hurt it. It's awful, end of discussion.

Does anybody know if 'Blue on blue' and 'Party song' are brand new or from the vaults?

Blue On Blue was from 2003 and Party Song sounds like it's from that period too.

[GalataPSB]

Blue On Blue was from 2003 and Party Song sounds like it's from that period too.

2 songs are crap!

[!]

Blue On Blue was from 2003 and Party Song sounds like it's from that period too.

2 songs are crap!

They did plenty of other songs though that are good. Blue On Blue, though I hated it at first, has grown on me a bit. I can't see the same happening for Party Song though...

[Drico One]

Fugitive should have been THE single from Fundamental.

As much as I believe Fugitive to be one of the most powerful, provocative, and affecting records they've ever done, I fail to see how a single with the hook "You are my brother, I'm really gonna miss you" would be suitable single material for an assault on the upper echelons of a chart the reflects the preoccupations, misconceptions, and imperfections of spotty 16-year-olds and Simon Cowell.

In truth, there's nothing of huge commercial potential on Fundamental or its "ism" and anything with the name "Pet Shop Boys" becomes immediately obsolete in terms of mass market exposure in 2006. PSBs are old hat in terms of hit-making prowess and only a collaboration with the likes of Robbie Williams will return them to the top 10 for anything longer than a week.

The music industry has moved on since 1987. Younger bands and potential cash cows need media exposure, while old established forces such as our heroes will continue to be gently milked with minimal effort and promotion. The industry is all about pushing the next big thing. There's only so much exposure to go around, and bands such as the PSBs get their share based on the captive core audience that they've held on to and which will continue to support them.

The only bands/acts of the PSB generation that still consistently make big hit singles are those that have been prepared to effectively submit their private personas to the public's perennial gaze. Madonna is a brand name, an image as vacuous as any fashionable label. Her whole existence is geared towards attracting publicity. She's in the news for reasons other than her records as much of the time as she is for her music. Famous for being famous. She's very good at what she does, but she's forever in the constant and merciless pursuit of publicity. Neil and Chris just aren't geared to that type of machinery, however they might wish to be. Let's face it, they've got to depend purely on their raw talent to an extent that the likes of Madonna never have or will, and they are not operating in a purely meritocratic environment.

Drico.

[Decisional]

Am I the only one who thinks that the Scissor Sisters should have done this?

[Ramzy]

Actually, in an unfortunate twist, I think the lyric could be just as geared at the fanbase as a record label. Think about it, it's as much of a potential attack on 'the only thing they should have considered for single release is X', or 'Integral is fast so should have been the single' or, urm, 'Fugitive should have been THE single'. I'm not saying I agree or disagree with any of these points, but we *are* very up ourselves all the time and there *was* the whole This Must Be The Place fracas.

Meanwhile, I agree that it sounds very 'Blue on blue'. Actually, a large amount of their recent output sounds very similar in terms of drum sounds, compression etc. 'Psychological' and 'Flamboyant' are almost absurdly cohesive, something I really enjoy.

[patrick]

our heroes will continue to be gently milked with minimal effort