Actually no. I've always liked Winner. OK not their strongest ever song but better than somethe8thark wrote:I must have the distinction of being the only person in the world that really likes Winner. I really like the album version. The HapySad mix of this though is just something else. Just so good.bookshopboy wrote:Elysium - Winner
For obvious reasons. One of their worst tracks ever!
Name a track of each PSB albums that you always skip
Re: Name a track of each PSB albums that you always skip
Re: Name a track of each PSB albums that you always skip
When it comes to "Winner", I tend to shift to the instrumental version, which many agree is actually gorgeous.
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Re: Name a track of each PSB albums that you always skip
Put me down as a fan of Winner as well (all versions: the extended mixes and the instrumental are particularly great, but I like the original mix too). I don't understand why it gets so much hate, to be honest. Always feels like one of those Internet-based herd things that become accepted, to me: "...and of course EVERYONE hates Winner". Er, no. The only track I can't get on with on Elysium is 'Everything Means Something'.
On the other hand, I always think I like Bilingual, as an album — and I do, it's got some fabulous stuff on it (It Always Comes As A Surprise must be in my all-time favourite ten tracks by them) ...but there's no doubt that I skip more tracks on it than on any other PSB releases when I'm listening to it. Metamorphosis, The Survivors, Before... in fact, I'm not really wild about *any* of the last four tracks!
Like everything else, this kind of stuff changes over time, too. I used to skip tracks 3 to 6 inclusive on Behaviour when I first got it, after the first few listens, because I thought To Face The Truth, Only The Wind and My October Symphony were incredibly boring, and I couldn't stand the cheesy swingbeat version of '...Seriously?'. Time has not mellowed my opinion of the latter, but I have now seen the error of my ways with the others...
On the other hand, I always think I like Bilingual, as an album — and I do, it's got some fabulous stuff on it (It Always Comes As A Surprise must be in my all-time favourite ten tracks by them) ...but there's no doubt that I skip more tracks on it than on any other PSB releases when I'm listening to it. Metamorphosis, The Survivors, Before... in fact, I'm not really wild about *any* of the last four tracks!
Like everything else, this kind of stuff changes over time, too. I used to skip tracks 3 to 6 inclusive on Behaviour when I first got it, after the first few listens, because I thought To Face The Truth, Only The Wind and My October Symphony were incredibly boring, and I couldn't stand the cheesy swingbeat version of '...Seriously?'. Time has not mellowed my opinion of the latter, but I have now seen the error of my ways with the others...
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Re: Name a track of each PSB albums that you always skip
Please- Why Dont We Live Together
Actually- Heart
Introspective- None
Behaviour-None
Very- One & One Make Five
Bilingual- Electricity
Nightlife- Happiness is an option
Release- I get along
Fundamental- Integral
Yes- More Than A Dream
Elysium- Hold On
Electric-Shouting In The Evening
Super- Undertow
Actually- Heart
Introspective- None
Behaviour-None
Very- One & One Make Five
Bilingual- Electricity
Nightlife- Happiness is an option
Release- I get along
Fundamental- Integral
Yes- More Than A Dream
Elysium- Hold On
Electric-Shouting In The Evening
Super- Undertow
Many roads will cross through many lives, but somehow we'll survive
Re: Name a track of each PSB albums that you always skip
In isolation, Winner is not as horrific as some fans claim. However:
- it was the lead single from a new PSB album and didn't remotely match up to expectations
- it felt like a crass attempt to cash in on the Olympics, a song in search of a London 2012 montage
- it doesn't fit with the rest of Elysium thematically, or musically
For the hardcore fans it was a huge disappointment at the time. The memory of that disappointment weighs heavily on the listening experience even today.
- it was the lead single from a new PSB album and didn't remotely match up to expectations
- it felt like a crass attempt to cash in on the Olympics, a song in search of a London 2012 montage
- it doesn't fit with the rest of Elysium thematically, or musically
For the hardcore fans it was a huge disappointment at the time. The memory of that disappointment weighs heavily on the listening experience even today.
Last edited by CroMagnon on Fri 08 Apr 2016, 10:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
Love comes quickly, but is a catastrophe and a bourgeois construct etc.
Re: Name a track of each PSB albums that you always skip
Double post
Love comes quickly, but is a catastrophe and a bourgeois construct etc.
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Re: Name a track of each PSB albums that you always skip
You know, CroMagnon, you might be onto something there. Perhaps the weight of expectations is what finished Winner for many PSB fans.
I, by contrast, had no expectations. I didn't even know Winner had been released at all until the Autumn, and I completely missed the Olympics. In early 2012, I had a newly born son who was very ill for a bit, and my father was also ailing, and (as it turned out, but I didn't know that then) terminally ill. I wasn't even aware there was a new PSB album in the works, and I don't think I would have had time to investigate even if I had known!
I bought Elysium just after my Dad died, shortly after the album was released, and didn't even know Winner had *been* the single, much less of any Olympic connection.
Seen in that light, I liked it. I could do without the Boyzone-like semitone-upward key change (what I shall forever think of as the 'when they get down from the stools they've been singing on' moment), but given the inspiration from Take That, I can understand it in retrospect.
I always preferred Leaving (the lyrics of which, given what had just happened when I bought the record, really hit home for me — a perfect example of what many fans have called 'living their lives through the Pet Shop Boys') but I see nothing really bad about Winner.
But perhaps, if you were sick of the build-up to the Olympics, and at the same time, you'd been waiting and waiting for something new from the Pet Shop Boys, logging on here every day to see if anything had leaked yet... etc etc... I can see how you might feel Winner had let you down. I might have felt the same, if I had been doing that at the time. But I wasn't.
I, by contrast, had no expectations. I didn't even know Winner had been released at all until the Autumn, and I completely missed the Olympics. In early 2012, I had a newly born son who was very ill for a bit, and my father was also ailing, and (as it turned out, but I didn't know that then) terminally ill. I wasn't even aware there was a new PSB album in the works, and I don't think I would have had time to investigate even if I had known!
I bought Elysium just after my Dad died, shortly after the album was released, and didn't even know Winner had *been* the single, much less of any Olympic connection.
Seen in that light, I liked it. I could do without the Boyzone-like semitone-upward key change (what I shall forever think of as the 'when they get down from the stools they've been singing on' moment), but given the inspiration from Take That, I can understand it in retrospect.
I always preferred Leaving (the lyrics of which, given what had just happened when I bought the record, really hit home for me — a perfect example of what many fans have called 'living their lives through the Pet Shop Boys') but I see nothing really bad about Winner.
But perhaps, if you were sick of the build-up to the Olympics, and at the same time, you'd been waiting and waiting for something new from the Pet Shop Boys, logging on here every day to see if anything had leaked yet... etc etc... I can see how you might feel Winner had let you down. I might have felt the same, if I had been doing that at the time. But I wasn't.
Re: Name a track of each PSB albums that you always skip
I think Winner is a good song; not great but not even the worst on the album. Initially the positivity of the song was a put off but it grew on me. I never watch the olympics so there's no association there for me. Lyrically, it speaks to any situation where someone has overcome years of discontent and has finally reached a state of content, keen to understand that it won't last so make the best of it.
Re: Name a track of each PSB albums that you always skip
See if people can make alternative interpretations of that song like you're supposed to, and not pin it squarely on the Olympics then that song might be more liked.
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Re: Name a track of each PSB albums that you always skip
No herd mentality here - "winner"'s flaws are plain to see even if you're not familiar with the prevailing fan opinion. The instrumentation is bland and off-the-shelf, the sentimentality is hackneyed, and the key change near the end is groan-inducing boiler plate. I feel like it's a betrayal of their original convictions, like it's the sort of overblown pop ballad they would have made fun of back in the 80s and 90s.Dead In Marseilles wrote:I don't understand why it gets so much hate, to be honest. Always feels like one of those Internet-based herd things that become accepted, to me: "...and of course EVERYONE hates Winner".
Luckily Andrew Dawson's "happysad" remix smooths over a lot of the original's more offensive qualities and is my preferred version by far.
Re: Name a track of each PSB albums that you always skip
Please - None
Actually - It couldn't happen here
Introspective - It's alright
Behaviour - Jealousy
Very - To speak is a sin
Bilingual - It always comes as a surprise
Nightlife - Boy strange
Release - You choose
Fundamental - Twentieth century
Yes - Beautiful people
Elysium - Ego music
Electric - None
Super - None
Actually - It couldn't happen here
Introspective - It's alright
Behaviour - Jealousy
Very - To speak is a sin
Bilingual - It always comes as a surprise
Nightlife - Boy strange
Release - You choose
Fundamental - Twentieth century
Yes - Beautiful people
Elysium - Ego music
Electric - None
Super - None
Re: Name a track of each PSB albums that you always skip
Great points and a good read, thanks for posting!Dead In Marseilles wrote:You know, CroMagnon, you might be onto something there. Perhaps the weight of expectations is what finished Winner for many PSB fans.
I, by contrast, had no expectations. I didn't even know Winner had been released at all until the Autumn, and I completely missed the Olympics. In early 2012, I had a newly born son who was very ill for a bit, and my father was also ailing, and (as it turned out, but I didn't know that then) terminally ill. I wasn't even aware there was a new PSB album in the works, and I don't think I would have had time to investigate even if I had known!
I bought Elysium just after my Dad died, shortly after the album was released, and didn't even know Winner had *been* the single, much less of any Olympic connection.
Seen in that light, I liked it. I could do without the Boyzone-like semitone-upward key change (what I shall forever think of as the 'when they get down from the stools they've been singing on' moment), but given the inspiration from Take That, I can understand it in retrospect.
I always preferred Leaving (the lyrics of which, given what had just happened when I bought the record, really hit home for me — a perfect example of what many fans have called 'living their lives through the Pet Shop Boys') but I see nothing really bad about Winner.
But perhaps, if you were sick of the build-up to the Olympics, and at the same time, you'd been waiting and waiting for something new from the Pet Shop Boys, logging on here every day to see if anything had leaked yet... etc etc... I can see how you might feel Winner had let you down. I might have felt the same, if I had been doing that at the time. But I wasn't.
Also, I hope your son is doing well!
Re: Name a track of each PSB albums that you always skip
Please - I want a lover
Actually - what have i done to deserve this ?
Introspective - always on my mind
Behaviour - nervously
Very - go west
Bilingual - sé a vida é
Nightlife - New York city boy
Release - The night i fell in love
Fundamental - The sodom and gomorah show
Yes - Love etc.
Elysium - Memory of the futur
Electric - Axis
Super - The pop kids.
Actually - what have i done to deserve this ?
Introspective - always on my mind
Behaviour - nervously
Very - go west
Bilingual - sé a vida é
Nightlife - New York city boy
Release - The night i fell in love
Fundamental - The sodom and gomorah show
Yes - Love etc.
Elysium - Memory of the futur
Electric - Axis
Super - The pop kids.
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Re: Name a track of each PSB albums that you always skip
Thanks, Mikey. He was fine after a couple of months - he just needed to put on some weight. And now he's a strapping lad of four and a half...!MikeyC wrote:
Great points and a good read, thanks for posting!
Also, I hope your son is doing well!
He actively likes the Beatles, but he looks a bit blank when I put Neil and Chris on. I will have to start a proper programme of systematic PSB indoctrination before too long...
Re: Name a track of each PSB albums that you always skip
Every time someone says something about their children and PSB and how they just get up and dance to it, I feel like you guys have done more than simply play PSB for them to do that. Brainwashing. I picked up a lot of tastes from listening to music my parents and brother played, and the most I've ever danced to anything as a child was Sexuality by Billy Bragg. Can't think why I did. I never listen to Billy Bragg and I don't like him anway.
I'm a proud sycophant because I like Wedding in Berlin
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Dublin 19/06/2011, Manchester 20/06/2013, Edinburgh 31/12/2013, London 23/07/2014, London 23/07/2016, London 02/04/2017
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Dublin 19/06/2011, Manchester 20/06/2013, Edinburgh 31/12/2013, London 23/07/2014, London 23/07/2016, London 02/04/2017
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