Synth oldies

[whateverman42]

The PSB are in a unique position; regarded by many as an 80's band, and a band who hit it big in their 30's halfway through the decade, they are among the oldest of the surviving synth/electro-pop bands. Therefore, they will step into brand new territory; being old and writing pulsating dance music.

Music right now is littered with oldies from the 60's and 70's getting by on their old material and sometimes writing worthwhile new stuff(Bob Dylan is the best example). And while the boys greatest achievement may be that they have been getting better writing new and exciting stuff well into their second decade(name another artist who can say the same), an intruiging aspect is that the old stars are basically all rock, country, and mainstream pop performers. The type of music PSB play is infused with synths and beats; which has proven more disposable than other forms of music, and therefore, those that played it have faded into oblivion. Perhaps this is because dance music is somewhat insipid, and those that perform it are likewise simple, and cannot maintain consistency. Or perhaps because dance is for the youthful generation, and all old people must listen to aged rock and old country. Who knows?

Now that they are close to their 60's, and have a contract guaranteeing plenty of new material, one can only assume they will continue writing the same style they always have, and not break out acoustics and country-and-western it up to the end of their career. So the PSB, along with Erasure and perhaps Depeche Mode, will be venturing into uncharted territory: can people the age of your grandparents write danceable music? Since Disco simply died, the 80's bands will be the first to test this out, which could perform as a template for the distant future, where the mish-mash of 90's and 00's artists late-stage careers will not depend on what style of music they write.

[dVTB]

Nice read, but I think you're exaggerating a bit. Pet Shop Boys are younger than my parents, for instance. So many artists in their late 40s or early 50s are still around in music business.

I also don't see why PSB should continue to write dance music. I wrote a text recently, called 'Drop the beat', where I said that PSB should try to do something completely different. That thought was based on the current live performance of Home And Dry. The song sounds much better, much more pure, in this current live version.

The strength of PSB is their songwriting, not the dance beats. Fundamental isn't dominated by dance tracks, nor was Release. Many songs are midtempo or ballads. The future of PSB isn't in dance music. Dance tracks are nowadays often based on great production skills, rather than good songwriting or interesting progressions.

I think PSB should focus on what they do best: writing great pop songs. For themselves and perhaps even more for others. If you listen to different sounding renditions of songs like Rent (acoustic, electro, orchestral), Can You Forgive Her (dance, 3/4 beat, swing), Was It Worth It (disco, acoustic), A Red Letter Day and many others, you can hear that the songs SURVIVE.

[Radiophonic]

I agree that the Pet Shops Boys style has developed rather than changed. I don't see this changing in the near future.

It would be interesting to see how many albums they think they have left in them. I think at least two more.

[One of the crowd]

Neil Tennant is 53 and Chris Lowe 47 (48 in October).

Hardly close to 60s is it?

[whateverman42]

7 years is about 2 albums away, and I think they have much more in them, so I see Neil doing his thing in his 60's. And oh dear, I didn't know Chris was that much younger. He's not aging that well unfortunately.

I'm sorry I called their music 'dance', and I completely agree with you; their strength is their songwriting, not their instruments. I merely think songs like It's a Sin, Go West, Integral, ie) 'stompers', aren't written by old people, because the dance genre was only invented about 30 years ago. The Stones can put out a new album of generic classic rock, Dylan more bluesy riffing, but where are the elder dancers? I think the Pets are the leading echelon in this new phenomenon, because they've only gotten better as they've aged, so why would it stop?

[Danimal]

As mush as I love the Boys, I cringe every time I see Rod Stewart on stage and think "oh god, the man looks like Richard Dawson with a wig on." Maybe they should switch to producing only once Neil turns 60.
Anyway, I think that they've beaten this synths into strings thing to death after Nightlife, Potemkin, Fundamental, and Concrete. I don't think that they necessarily have to do dance, but I would like to see them return to the electronic roots from which they sprang. As early as 1996 Bob Krushaar and Pete Gleadal have stated in Literally they're always pushing the Boys to use sparser mixes.
I liked the idea they had a few years ago to work with Dr. Dre's programmer. To be honest, a spare electronic album like Kraftwerk or Depeche Mode's Violator would be perfect right about now.