Musik - Cabaret and EP

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psbfannyc
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Re: Musik - Cabaret and EP

#211 Post by psbfannyc »

papierklemmen wrote: Sun 11 Aug 2019, 5:20 pm It hope it's not too strange of a first post lol but is everything alright with Chris? He hasn't appeared in any of the promo for Musik, not even on radio with Graham Norton where you can't potentially see his face (if that's what bothers him). Does that happen often? He always seemed to have been present at least for some of the promo, or was it just my impression...
I'm almost starting to suspect this is some Black MIrror's "Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too" situiation.
You must be "new" to Pet Shop Boys...

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Re: Musik - Cabaret and EP

#212 Post by papierklemmen »

I am new! Sorry then.

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Re: Musik - Cabaret and EP

#213 Post by james23_uk »

papierklemmen wrote: Mon 12 Aug 2019, 3:22 am I am new! Sorry then.
Chris is famous for doing what he can to avoid the limelight. Shouldn't worry too much about his lack of visibility. :)
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Re: Musik - Cabaret and EP

#214 Post by telys »

For me two tracks stand out from Musik EP. Mongrel and For every moment. I could even go as far as to say they are masterpieces. The lyrics have reached another level. Did they have help from Jonathan Harvey in writing the lyrics for the songs? Mongrel stays true though to Neils interest in Russian history. For every moment is a beuatiful performance by F Barber, her phrasing of "Come back in 10 years, I'll tell you all about it" is wonderous. The chords in these two songs are 100 % PSB. Just push the repeat button and continue to listen.
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Re: Musik - Cabaret and EP

#215 Post by Gabby »

I have to admit some confusion to the positive reaction to Musik and the negativity toward Agenda.

Dont get me wrong, I like the songs from Musik a lot but to suggest "Soup" is some kind of masterpiece and that "On Social Media" is drivel makes no sense.

Am I missing something?

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retrofuturist
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Re: Musik - Cabaret and EP

#216 Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings Gabby,
Gabby wrote: Mon 12 Aug 2019, 10:53 pm I have to admit some confusion to the positive reaction to Musik and the negativity toward Agenda.

Dont get me wrong, I like the songs from Musik a lot but to suggest "Soup" is some kind of masterpiece and that "On Social Media" is drivel makes no sense.

Am I missing something?
Probably the different fan expectations associated with a "Closer to Heaven spin-off" vs a "new Pet Shop Boys EP".

Either that or (without wanting to go off-topic) Agenda didn't get the overall fan reception they may have hoped for, because not everyone agrees with Neil/Guardian politics and even those that do, might not have been enamored with the sub-standard tunes / melodies.

Retro. :)
"Politics are too emotional now. Contemporary culture generally is too emotional, really... I'd rather people looked to the truth." (Neil Tennant)

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Re: Musik - Cabaret and EP

#217 Post by lucienchardon »

I've been listening to Musik on my work commute everyday since it came out. Another great release. Love the new songs. Mongrel has a great chorus. Soup has understated and funny lyrics. Ich bin Musik is one of my favorite things they've done recently. I like it more than some of their lead album singles (The Pop Kids, I'm with Stupid and Before). I hope there is an extended mix of this song. And For every moment is very uplifting and a great finale for the EP.

I'm constantly surprised by their amazing productivity, especially compared to other groups. It's not just that they write a lot of songs, but they are really good. Agenda was a total surprise this year. Give stupidity a chance is my favorite political satire pop song of all time and On social media is a great observation of that whole phenomenon. And we still have the My Beautiful Laundrette music and a new album to look forward to. Good times.

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ype
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Re: Musik - Cabaret and EP

#218 Post by ype »

Here's my two cents: Musik is ridiculously good. It's everything you want from the PSB - except maybe for Neil's voice, but Frances Barber does such a good job that I'm not even sure of that. I think it's their best work since Leaving. Oh, and For every moment is utterly fantastic. I hope the boys will perform it live some day.

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Re: Musik - Cabaret and EP

#219 Post by daveid »

I've listened to this about three times now and enjoy it more each time. The two familiar songs sound much fuller in these recordings than in Neil's versions. Barber really breathes nicotine-lunged soul into them. Mongrel is a highlight although the third verse is a bit crass. Ich bin musik is reasonable but the production is typical cheap PSB by numbers in delivery. The highlight is probably the last track despite it suffering from some of the same problems as IBM. As someone mentioned the second spoken passage merges rather beautifully with the background melody. I don't know how they pull off these little momentary gems.

I still doubt I'll purchase this as it's more of a collaborative side project than a proper release but I give it a fair thumbs up quality wise, despite its rather under-produced demo-ish quality.

Incidentally I notice this has been classed as an EP but with six tracks it's surely more of a mini-album, not that these distinctions mean much in 2019.

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Re: Musik - Cabaret and EP

#220 Post by BlueSwan »

OK, I didn't even discover this until today. Shows you how much out of the loop I am. Anyway, a mini-rant coming on:

The production on this is PISS-POOR. This is arguably the worst production I have heard on any "proper" release by any artist in decades. Frankly, maybe ever.

And this is coming from a duo who should know better than most how important SOUND is to a record. After all, while Tennant and Lowe are amazing songwriters, they made their career from releasing absolutely fantastic sounding singles, that while each adhering to somewhat the same aestethic, still each sounded unique and carefully crafted.

If West End Girls, It's A Sin or Suburbia had sounded like this, nobody would ever have heard of the Pet Shop Boys.

I mean we are talking production that goes beyond just being lazy. The drums sound like unprocessed general MIDI rhythm presets. It tells you everything that the two best sounding tracks are Run Girl Girl - a rerecording - and Friendly Fire, another rerecording, despite still featuring that horrible synth that tries to be an electric guitar.

I spent years in the 00's listening to demos from hundreds of amateur musicians and the vast majority sounded way better than this.

As a general rule one should NEVER use synths unless they are used to make the recording sound good. If you intent on using general MIDI rhythm patters and stock preset pads on everything, then you are MUCH better off just singing the songs to a backing of pianos or acoustic guitars.

And this is from the Pet Shop Boys. A group who helped revolutionize the standards of modern pop productions in the 80s.

I have been retired from music production for more than 6 years, but give me one day with each of these tracks and I guarantee you I could make them sound 10 times better. And I am a complete amateur.

Damn.

EDIT: Having said all of that, the songs are actually good, which makes it even more of a shame, frankly.
Last edited by BlueSwan on Wed 14 Aug 2019, 1:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Musik - Cabaret and EP

#221 Post by Drico One »

Well, it’s no Sinister but Fragile, that’s for sure.

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BlueSwan
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Re: Musik - Cabaret and EP

#222 Post by BlueSwan »

LOL, yeah. :-D
http://www.soundcloud.com/blueswan (Blue Swan tracks, my solo tracks and remixes)

http://soundcloud.com/groups/inspired-by-pet-shop-boys (A collection of various artists PSB covers, PSB remixes and original songs inspired by PSB - anyone interested can contribute tracks)

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Re: Musik - Cabaret and EP

#223 Post by Ghost within this house »

BlueSwan wrote: Wed 14 Aug 2019, 11:43 am OK, I didn't even discover this until today. Shows you how much out of the loop I am. Anyway, a mini-rant coming on:

The production on this is PISS-POOR. This is arguably the worst production I have heard on any "proper" release by any artist in decades. Frankly, maybe ever.

And this is coming from a duo who should know better than most how important SOUND is to a record. After all, while Tennant and Lowe are amazing songwriters, they made their career from releasing absolutely fantastic sounding singles, that while each adhering to somewhat the same aestethic, still each sounded unique and carefully crafted.

If West End Girls, It's A Sin or Suburbia had sounded like this, nobody would ever have heard of the Pet Shop Boys.

I mean we are talking production that goes beyond just being lazy. The drums sound like unprocessed general MIDI rhythm presets. It tells you everything that the two best sounding tracks are Run Girl Girl - a rerecording - and Friendly Fire, another rerecording, despite still featuring that horrible synth that tries to be an electric guitar.

I spent years in the 00's listening to demos from hundreds of amateur musicians and the vast majority sounded way better than this.

As a general rule one should NEVER use synths unless they are used to make the recording sound good. If you intent on using general MIDI rhythm patters and stock preset pads on everything, then you are MUCH better off just singing the songs to a backing of pianos or acoustic guitars.

And this is from the Pet Shop Boys. A group who helped revolutionize the standards of modern pop productions in the 80s.

I have been retired from music production for more than 6 years, but give me one day with each of these tracks and I guarantee you I could make them sound 10 times better. And I am a complete amateur.

Damn.

EDIT: Having said all of that, the songs are actually good, which makes it even more of a shame, frankly.
I bow to your superior knowledge, but surely it is produced in such a way as to be fit-for-purpose - i.e. a rough-hewn backing track for a small-venue budget cabaret thesp-fest?
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Re: Musik - Cabaret and EP

#224 Post by alig »

BlueSwan wrote: Wed 14 Aug 2019, 11:43 am OK, I didn't even discover this until today. Shows you how much out of the loop I am. Anyway, a mini-rant coming on:

The production on this is PISS-POOR. This is arguably the worst production I have heard on any "proper" release by any artist in decades. Frankly, maybe ever.

And this is coming from a duo who should know better than most how important SOUND is to a record. After all, while Tennant and Lowe are amazing songwriters, they made their career from releasing absolutely fantastic sounding singles, that while each adhering to somewhat the same aestethic, still each sounded unique and carefully crafted.

If West End Girls, It's A Sin or Suburbia had sounded like this, nobody would ever have heard of the Pet Shop Boys.

I mean we are talking production that goes beyond just being lazy. The drums sound like unprocessed general MIDI rhythm presets. It tells you everything that the two best sounding tracks are Run Girl Girl - a rerecording - and Friendly Fire, another rerecording, despite still featuring that horrible synth that tries to be an electric guitar.

I spent years in the 00's listening to demos from hundreds of amateur musicians and the vast majority sounded way better than this.

As a general rule one should NEVER use synths unless they are used to make the recording sound good. If you intent on using general MIDI rhythm patters and stock preset pads on everything, then you are MUCH better off just singing the songs to a backing of pianos or acoustic guitars.

And this is from the Pet Shop Boys. A group who helped revolutionize the standards of modern pop productions in the 80s.

I have been retired from music production for more than 6 years, but give me one day with each of these tracks and I guarantee you I could make them sound 10 times better. And I am a complete amateur.

Damn.

EDIT: Having said all of that, the songs are actually good, which makes it even more of a shame, frankly.
Why would they spend tonnes of money and time on a fringe project? I'm sure they could have done better but who cares? I don't.
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BlueSwan
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Re: Musik - Cabaret and EP

#225 Post by BlueSwan »

alig wrote: Wed 14 Aug 2019, 3:14 pm
BlueSwan wrote: Wed 14 Aug 2019, 11:43 am OK, I didn't even discover this until today. Shows you how much out of the loop I am. Anyway, a mini-rant coming on:

The production on this is PISS-POOR. This is arguably the worst production I have heard on any "proper" release by any artist in decades. Frankly, maybe ever.

And this is coming from a duo who should know better than most how important SOUND is to a record. After all, while Tennant and Lowe are amazing songwriters, they made their career from releasing absolutely fantastic sounding singles, that while each adhering to somewhat the same aestethic, still each sounded unique and carefully crafted.

If West End Girls, It's A Sin or Suburbia had sounded like this, nobody would ever have heard of the Pet Shop Boys.

I mean we are talking production that goes beyond just being lazy. The drums sound like unprocessed general MIDI rhythm presets. It tells you everything that the two best sounding tracks are Run Girl Girl - a rerecording - and Friendly Fire, another rerecording, despite still featuring that horrible synth that tries to be an electric guitar.

I spent years in the 00's listening to demos from hundreds of amateur musicians and the vast majority sounded way better than this.

As a general rule one should NEVER use synths unless they are used to make the recording sound good. If you intent on using general MIDI rhythm patters and stock preset pads on everything, then you are MUCH better off just singing the songs to a backing of pianos or acoustic guitars.

And this is from the Pet Shop Boys. A group who helped revolutionize the standards of modern pop productions in the 80s.

I have been retired from music production for more than 6 years, but give me one day with each of these tracks and I guarantee you I could make them sound 10 times better. And I am a complete amateur.

Damn.

EDIT: Having said all of that, the songs are actually good, which makes it even more of a shame, frankly.
Why would they spend tonnes of money and time on a fringe project? I'm sure they could have done better but who cares? I don't.
Absolutely no need to spend tonnes of money. Just a little effort really. Or alternatively reel in some young producer who's dying to work with a couple of synth-pop legends for a dime.
http://www.soundcloud.com/blueswan (Blue Swan tracks, my solo tracks and remixes)

http://soundcloud.com/groups/inspired-by-pet-shop-boys (A collection of various artists PSB covers, PSB remixes and original songs inspired by PSB - anyone interested can contribute tracks)

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