New album Nonetheless

For general discussion of Pet Shop Boys topics.
Message
Author
Wish
Posts: 347
Joined: Thu 10 Oct 2013, 11:32 am
Contact:

Re: New album Nonetheless

#151 Post by Wish »

Sorry, but someone has to say it.

The bus driver and his mate!

User avatar
raggatwin
Posts: 4057
Joined: Thu 18 Dec 2003, 4:31 pm
Been thanked: 2 times
Contact:

Re: New album Nonetheless

#152 Post by raggatwin »

Single person households growing massively in the UK over the last couple of decades...a lot of loneliness...I wonder if the boys have partners...
Hello my name is Neil Tennant and I'm Chris Lowe and we're of the Pet Shop Boys.

User avatar
telys
Posts: 1742
Joined: Tue 23 Jun 2015, 9:03 pm
Been thanked: 2 times
Contact:

Re: New album Nonetheless

#153 Post by telys »

raggatwin wrote: Fri 09 Feb 2024, 11:46 am Single person households growing massively in the UK over the last couple of decades...a lot of loneliness...I wonder if the boys have partners...
Surely hope so. Loneliness at old age must be horrible.
----
You've got me all wrong

Nickname
Posts: 7644
Joined: Thu 30 Oct 2003, 2:52 pm
Contact:

Re: New album Nonetheless

#154 Post by Nickname »

I don't know but I think the new era is going to give us more videos and less tour dates. In fact, this new album is not going to have a tour by itself is just the GH tour with little music changes. Basically, 2 or 3 new songs from the album.

User avatar
IRONFLAME.de
Posts: 85
Joined: Thu 27 Jan 2011, 3:10 pm
Contact:

Re: New album Nonetheless

#155 Post by IRONFLAME.de »

Nickname wrote: Mon 12 Feb 2024, 4:17 pm I don't know, but I think the new era will bring us more videos and fewer tour dates.
I would very much welcome that. I've grown rather weary of their clap-along hit parade shows, which you can only endure if you're hoping for the occasional B-side to be included in the programme. The fact that they have focussed so much on touring in recent decades was obviously for economic reasons. It's nice to see that they are once again financially supported by a major, which allows them to embark on more daring and luxurious endeavours.

User avatar
Old Soak
Posts: 1191
Joined: Tue 03 Apr 2012, 11:06 pm
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: New album Nonetheless

#156 Post by Old Soak »

miguelito wrote: Wed 07 Feb 2024, 1:46 pm loneliness only in uk?

https://www.campaigntoendloneliness.org ... tatistics/ which states:

In 2022, 49.63% of adults (25.99 million people) in the UK reported feeling lonely occasionally, sometimes, often or always

Approximately 7.1% of people in Great Britain (3.83 million) experience chronic loneliness, meaning they feel lonely ‘often or always’

Loneliness is ‘a subjective, unwelcome feeling of lack or loss of companionship. It happens when there is a mismatch between the quantity and quality of the social relationships that we have, and those that we want’

So it really is a growing social problem, and which seems to be exacerbated in the social media age rather than helped by it. I think Neil is right on the money with this - per NHS, older people are especially vulnerable to loneliness and social isolation – and it can have a serious effect on health. I really hope this isn't partly autobiographical and doesn't mean him personally as he approaches 70 and which would be sad given the joy he's brought to so many. Neil has skirted around the issue several times before:

Left to my own devices
Invisible
The Forgotten Child
Later Tonight

Just as examples. I could see Loneliness used in an advert for The Samaritans easily.
And at the end/ Your funny Uncle staring / At all your friends / With military bearing

User avatar
Shopper
Posts: 2308
Joined: Thu 30 Oct 2003, 12:52 pm
Contact:

Re: New album Nonetheless

#157 Post by Shopper »

Queer folks would perhaps feel this more? Many are not partnered or have a steady set of friends. Social Apps are cruel and discriminatory. There is a funny but dark joke. "How to be invisible on Grindr...put your age as 30+"
Left to my own devices, I probably would...

https://www.instagram.com/chit2clix/

User avatar
Dog
Posts: 3303
Joined: Thu 30 Oct 2003, 10:41 pm
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: New album Nonetheless

#158 Post by Dog »

I don’t think the lyric to Loneliness is as straightforward as that. Neil’s empathy is only going so far. In the Ringo verse he’s accusing this person of essentially playing the part of a lonely person. It’s contrived and of their own making. It’s within their gift not to be lonely - they just need to say yes more. Neil is also clearly tired of having to be there to pick up the pieces: “Who is here to help you out? Oh tell me - can’t you guess?” There’s also the “wounded pride” jibe. Neil often sings about how you can take control of your own life and dictate your own emotional response to it. Happiness is an option is an example. Miserablism is another. Here he’s saying: “I know a thing or two about loneliness - if you change your attitude you’ll be ok.” It could be a lockdown thing. Or advice to another older person. I kind of imagine him singing to the person in the last PSB single, I don’t wanna.
Woof.

User avatar
Drico One
Posts: 6040
Joined: Tue 16 Sep 2003, 8:56 pm
Has thanked: 41 times
Contact:

Re: New album Nonetheless

#159 Post by Drico One »

Oh, Loneliness is a classic, serotonin-driven psychodrama, a "pull yourself together" pep talk replete with strings, beats, and undercurrents of resentment. It is reminiscent, in some ways, of Drive by the Cars (which the BBC once notoriously used to soundtrack a George Best binge drinking news story), but this time the protagonist of A Red Letter Day has become too comfortable waiting for Godot whilst reserving the right to indulge in self pity. There's an echo of "Admit you love me and you always did" about Loneliness, and a touch of bitterness in "Who is here to help you out, oh tell me can't you guess." Our narrator is no longer the passive wallflower of yore, silently accepting his invisibility as he gets passed over for the more exotic.

So, this is a well-meaning excoriation - which is rather like what a truly caring individual might very well feel driven to deliver when dealing with the implacable, self-absorbed, and destructive willfulness of a loved one. The affection on display is obvious, but there's every chance it remains unrequited and patience is clearly running out. In the end, it's a "yes, you've got problems but you've got to help yourself and I'm here to help you too - or haven't you noticed" message. The wallflower now comes with a barb.

The backing vocals are magnificent, adding depth to the stately grandeur and desperation of the arrangement. There is a definite sense that the pervading sadness (baleful strings and foreboding flourishes) encapsulates not the predicament of the "downcast Ringo" - but of our increasingly indignant narrator: continuously taken for granted, ignored, and, essentially, condemned to his loneliness.

An intriguing start to Nonetheless, then. Well, I'm immediately drawn in, anyway.

Drico.
The pale kid that hides in the attic behind his PC...

User avatar
Remark
Posts: 955
Joined: Fri 23 Jun 2006, 11:37 pm
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: New album Nonetheless

#160 Post by Remark »

Drico returns with a splendid summary of robust paragraphs and accurate descriptors! I too, am immediately drawn in... :clap:

User avatar
Andie
Posts: 1372
Joined: Fri 08 Feb 2013, 8:41 am
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: New album Nonetheless

#161 Post by Andie »

Drico One wrote: Tue 13 Feb 2024, 8:05 am Oh, Loneliness is a classic, serotonin-driven psychodrama, a "pull yourself together" pep talk replete with strings, beats, and undercurrents of resentment. It is reminiscent, in some ways, of Drive by the Cars (which the BBC once notoriously used to soundtrack a George Best binge drinking news story), but this time the protagonist of A Red Letter Day has become too comfortable waiting for Godot whilst reserving the right to indulge in self pity. There's an echo of "Admit you love me and you always did" about Loneliness, and a touch of bitterness in "Who is here to help you out, oh tell me can't you guess." Our narrator is no longer the passive wallflower of yore, silently accepting his invisibility as he gets passed over for the more exotic.

So, this is a well-meaning excoriation - which is rather like what a truly caring individual might very well feel driven to deliver when dealing with the implacable, self-absorbed, and destructive willfulness of a loved one. The affection on display is obvious, but there's every chance it remains unrequited and patience is clearly running out. In the end, it's a "yes, you've got problems but you've got to help yourself and I'm here to help you too - or haven't you noticed" message. The wallflower now comes with a barb.

The backing vocals are magnificent, adding depth to the stately grandeur and desperation of the arrangement. There is a definite sense that the pervading sadness (baleful strings and foreboding flourishes) encapsulates not the predicament of the "downcast Ringo" - but of our increasingly indignant narrator: continuously taken for granted, ignored, and, essentially, condemned to his loneliness.

An intriguing start to Nonetheless, then. Well, I'm immediately drawn in, anyway.

Drico.
Welcome back Great observations 8)
Don’t be scared, for only the dark can show you the stars

User avatar
telys
Posts: 1742
Joined: Tue 23 Jun 2015, 9:03 pm
Been thanked: 2 times
Contact:

Re: New album Nonetheless

#162 Post by telys »

Remark wrote: Tue 13 Feb 2024, 8:42 am Drico returns with a splendid summary of robust paragraphs and accurate descriptors! I too, am immediately drawn in... :clap:
Nah, to me it's just a meaningless word sallad.
----
You've got me all wrong

User avatar
rashomon
Posts: 2121
Joined: Mon 26 Sep 2005, 11:44 am
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 2 times
Contact:

Re: New album Nonetheless

#163 Post by rashomon »

It’s a strange feeling….I absolutely love the EP and I think Loneliness is an excellent song. Yet, I’m not overdosing on repeat listens … perhaps I’m holding myself back for the next single or album but normally I would be playing the new tracks on repeat multiple times a day
you could say conventional ... and I could claim intentional

User avatar
y3potential
Posts: 1515
Joined: Wed 20 Jul 2011, 8:21 pm
Been thanked: 3 times
Contact:

Re: New album Nonetheless

#164 Post by y3potential »

Welcome back, Drico. It's been far too long :dance:
There is beauty in ugliness and ugliness in beauty.

User avatar
Drico One
Posts: 6040
Joined: Tue 16 Sep 2003, 8:56 pm
Has thanked: 41 times
Contact:

Re: New album Nonetheless

#165 Post by Drico One »

y3potential wrote: Tue 13 Feb 2024, 1:03 pm Welcome back, Drico. It's been far too long :dance:
Yes, I should have left it at the single paragraph, really.
The pale kid that hides in the attic behind his PC...

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Amazon [Bot], Bing [Bot], Google [Bot], popfreak, surrealised and 6 guests