Radiophonic

For general discussion of Pet Shop Boys topics.
Message
Author
User avatar
glennjridge
Posts: 8205
Joined: Sat 01 Nov 2003, 9:28 pm

#16 Post by glennjridge »

Drunk is one of their all time best.
radiophonic is good, it starts off promising but after the second verse and chorus it sort of goes into autopilot mode and it seems kinda repetitive.

User avatar
dannii
Posts: 749
Joined: Sat 18 Feb 2006, 8:58 pm

#17 Post by dannii »

I was just listening to Nightlife and reminded myself how great song ''Radiophonic'' is
it's really trancey and atmospheric, one of the best PSB dance tracks
it's a pitty that it's less-known, without any remixes and never performed live
would be so good if they did it on Nightlife tour
they should make more tracks like that

heilgrl

#18 Post by heilgrl »

I don't recall where, but I read a comment that a guy posted wondering about what was Neil on when he wrote/composed (or whatever he did w) Radiophonic. It's my opinion; it doesn't have rhythm & doesn't make sense. He thought it actually sucked, I couldn't agree more.

User avatar
glennjridge
Posts: 8205
Joined: Sat 01 Nov 2003, 9:28 pm

#19 Post by glennjridge »

radiophonics good, I just thought it was too repetitious.if you listened up to the first chorus you pretty much heard the whole song.

Eldritch
Posts: 4050
Joined: Wed 10 Dec 2003, 8:24 am

#20 Post by Eldritch »

glennjridge wrote:radiophonics good, I just thought it was too repetitious.if you listened up to the first chorus you pretty much heard the whole song.
Really? For me the last minute really makes the song, when the trance synth hook kicks in. The parts of the song with vocals are quite weak in comparison.
Click click drone

User avatar
glennjridge
Posts: 8205
Joined: Sat 01 Nov 2003, 9:28 pm

#21 Post by glennjridge »

I guess I just never got into the relentless range of their music.
the synth work arrangements are excellant on radiophonic. I would have just preffered some other chord change to take the song up a bit rather than the progression that pretty just swirls around.

oddly I like how I learned to hate rock and roll though.

User avatar
Fugitive1979
Posts: 6135
Joined: Tue 31 Oct 2006, 11:05 pm
Contact:

#22 Post by Fugitive1979 »

Radiophonic is one of my favourite tracks from Nightlife.
:| :o

User avatar
Danger
Posts: 1789
Joined: Thu 10 Aug 2006, 5:30 pm

#23 Post by Danger »

Radiophonic is a great song, for me the collaboration with Rollo is one of the best collaborations in the PSB-era. A different mix of Radiophonic could be the perfect b-side if PSB had released For Your Own Good (the #1 song in Nightlife) as single. But for Nightlife is full of good songs (I don't know what you want but I can't give it any more, Drunk, NYC Boy, Happiness Is An Option) even if a lot of people think it's a weak album. Maybe only Boy Strange and In Denial are not so good like the others.
Image

Eldritch
Posts: 4050
Joined: Wed 10 Dec 2003, 8:24 am

#24 Post by Eldritch »

Danger wrote:Radiophonic is a great song, for me the collaboration with Rollo is one of the best collaborations in the PSB-era. A different mix of Radiophonic could be the perfect b-side if PSB had released For Your Own Good (the #1 song in Nightlife) as single. But for Nightlife is full of good songs (I don't know what you want but I can't give it any more, Drunk, NYC Boy, Happiness Is An Option) even if a lot of people think it's a weak album. Maybe only Boy Strange and In Denial are not so good like the others.
Nightlife falls spectacularly apart in the last third. The first eight songs are up there with almost any other PSB album, but then Boy Strange, In Denial, New York city boy and Footsteps step in to ruin the day. All these tracks are terrible by PSB's standards and they don't flow together at all - they are all weak in a different way: Boy Strange (tuneless), In Denial (cringeworthy musical ballad), New York city boy (wretched camp), Footsteps (bland). It's by far the worst four-song sequence on any PSB album, even if the Disco series is included. The musical really was to blame. If they had just put that silly trifle aside for six months and concentrated on Nightlife, we would have a classic PSB album in our hands now.
Click click drone

User avatar
Zog
Posts: 2271
Joined: Wed 29 Oct 2003, 1:37 pm
Contact:

#25 Post by Zog »

Rorie wrote:
bookshopboy wrote:
psbfan wrote:i made a mistake
i just want to know if theres a remix
There were rumours of PSB releasing Radiophonic as a single but I think it was a load of rubbish.
No, back after the Nightlife Tour there was talk of a "shed tour" of the US along with other acts, and president of Sire was keen on the Pet Shop Boys (which is why I don't know what you want but I can't give it any more was released with the Rauhofer mixes).

They looked at trance remixers like Ferry Corsten, but he was busy at the time.

The Shed tour never really got off the ground, the remixers they had wanted didn't seem immediately available, and the momentum seemed lost.

I got this info from people in the know, and it was just mentioned as the plan at the time, and like many plans they do change.

I still remember speaking to Neil outside a club after the Montreal Nightlife show, and him telling me how the Nightlife tour would be extended in the summer of 2000 after they had done Europe, and that this extension, or second leg would be other US cities, he mentioned four or five U.S. cities to me, I recall Philadephia specifically being one of them. This is back in November 1999. They went on not to do any of this, and did the Summer 2000 shows in places like Japan and Israel instead. So even when you get the info directly from them, things change, and don't always pan out.

This is all true... also, a few of us here knew a member of the PSB online comunity (not this forum) who had been asked to remix "Radiophonic".

-Zog

User avatar
Danger
Posts: 1789
Joined: Thu 10 Aug 2006, 5:30 pm

#26 Post by Danger »

Eldritch wrote:
Danger wrote:Radiophonic is a great song, for me the collaboration with Rollo is one of the best collaborations in the PSB-era. A different mix of Radiophonic could be the perfect b-side if PSB had released For Your Own Good (the #1 song in Nightlife) as single. But for Nightlife is full of good songs (I don't know what you want but I can't give it any more, Drunk, NYC Boy, Happiness Is An Option) even if a lot of people think it's a weak album. Maybe only Boy Strange and In Denial are not so good like the others.
Nightlife falls spectacularly apart in the last third. The first eight songs are up there with almost any other PSB album, but then Boy Strange, In Denial, New York city boy and Footsteps step in to ruin the day. All these tracks are terrible by PSB's standards and they don't flow together at all - they are all weak in a different way: Boy Strange (tuneless), In Denial (cringeworthy musical ballad), New York city boy (wretched camp), Footsteps (bland). It's by far the worst four-song sequence on any PSB album, even if the Disco series is included. The musical really was to blame. If they had just put that silly trifle aside for six months and concentrated on Nightlife, we would have a classic PSB album in our hands now.
I love to the point of madness NYC Boy and Footsteps will be not a masterpiece but for me is a good ballad the right ending to For Your Own Good. Totally agree with you for In Denial and Boy Strange (that someone -maybe durnk in my humble opinion- in Italy said to be a tribute to the first Bowie :lol: ). Maybe if they had worked only on Nightlife and not on the musical (that it seems to is not so loved by PSB' fans) we could have a great album like you've said even if Closer To Heaven -a song thought for the musical- is a really good song while Vampires -another musical song- is a quite weak (I love only the piano by Craig Armstrong)
Image

TwizzleUK
Posts: 695
Joined: Fri 24 Feb 2006, 11:22 pm

#27 Post by TwizzleUK »

Funny you should say that. I've always felt there was a very very strong Bowie vibe going on with 'Boy Strange'. It's not particularly a "good song", but I can hear where they were trying to take it, production-wise. A tribute to Bowie???

Andy

User avatar
Dreamcatcher2003
Posts: 798
Joined: Wed 17 Dec 2003, 6:45 pm
Contact:

#28 Post by Dreamcatcher2003 »

Anyone who loves David Bowie and heard his past albums could easily notice that Boy Strange is similar to his tunes....There is no need to be drunk to know that.

By the way, Radiophonic is a very good song with Kraftwerk written all over it...The middle part sucked a little but when I heard that it might be a single, I though Boys would do something for it to be more radio-friendly...alas...
The CELL by Stephen King instantly hit number 1 in New York Times Bookseller Lists selling well over 200 thousand copies in three weeks. This affirms my opinion: People really need an occassional good horror read...

Technotrancemix

#29 Post by Technotrancemix »

Very little "single" material in both Nightlife and Release. Remixed tracks would obviously have made better single choices, like with the US release of I don't know what you want but I can't give it any more.

User avatar
Debussy
Posts: 856
Joined: Thu 30 Oct 2003, 8:06 pm

#30 Post by Debussy »

It's all a matter of opinion really ...I listened to Nightlife again after reading this thread and I agree that it's not a consistent album and there is a sense that the musical may have got in the way (In Denial specifically I dont think fits) - however, Boy Strange and Footsteps are among my favourite PSB songs.

For Your Own Good should have been a single. Period.

Post Reply