New single „Dancing star“ (digital April 3rd / CD May 3rd)

[ea39]

I’ve no idea why but I hear elements of Up Against It in Dancing Star

Same chords (albeit different key)!

[bongsteve]

Lyrics for new tracks:

Dancing Star
Amalfi
Blue skies, blue sea
It’s a long way from Siberia
How did you get here?

Jumped the barrier at Orly Airport
Claimed political asylum there
Took all the KGB boys by surprise
I think they thought that you would never dare
But you knew you had to take a risk
You broke the rules over and over again
A fiery talent with a reputation
A trouble-maker among sombre men

Dancing star
That’s what you are
Came so far
You’re a dancing star
Dancing star
More power than a tsar
Yes you are
You’re a dancing star

When the streets of London sang with pop stars Well the truth is that they always do
In the 60s you could feel the freedom
and the brightest star in town was you
Always a scandal and a real heart-breaker
Boys and girls both threw themselves at you

Dancing star
That’s how bright you shine...
Dancing star
...when all your stars align
Dancing star
More power than a tsar
Yes you are
You’re a dancing star

Dancing star
Dancing star
Dancing star
Yes you are
You’re a dancing star

Paris
New York
Copenhagen
Vienna
San Francisco
St Petersburg
The world wanted you
How bright you shone
and still shine now
although you’ve gone

Dancing star
That’s what you are
Came so far
You’re a dancing star
Dancing star
More power than a tsar
Yes you are
You’re a dancing star


Sense of Time
I was thinking about a dream I had
I had it again today
where I was losing all sense of time
the hours slipped away
I was wondering if you were here
somewhere nearby
but I couldn’t remember where I was
or if we’d said goodbye

No sense of time
Not even night and day
No sense of time
What time is it anyway?

I was drifting through
an ancient town
speaking schoolboy French
listening to the avant garde
trying to make sense
Though everything
was falling apart
there was music in the streets
and dancing
in a different party
to repetitive beats

No sense of time
No perfect tense
No sense of time
It all made perfect sense

No sense of time
No sense of time

In these imminent dark ages
if you find it too bizarre
and nothing
seems to make sense any more
just remember who you are

I didn’t know what year it was
I wondered if I’d died
and found a world
where living and dead
were walking side by side

No sense of time
Not even night and day
No sense of time
What time is it anyway?
No sense of time
No perfect tense
No sense of time
It all made perfect sense

If Jesus Had A Sister
If Jesus had a sister
would she bring him down to earth?
Say “Jesus, I’m your sister
I can say for what it’s worth
You might find immortality
but what’s the good of that to you?
Your father is a carpenter
why don’t you get a trade too?”

The authorities won’t tolerate
these claims he tends to make
Calls himself a Messiah
when he’s assumed to be a fake

If Jesus had a sister
she’d say “Get real, Mister!”

Of course he has a mother
and though she’s very nice
She never seems to offer
any sensible advice
If Jesus had a sister
she might put up a fight

Climbing up a mountain
preaching to one and all
It might sound like a humble sermon
but pride comes before a fall
The truth may still elude us
but it’ll catch up in the end
or my name isn’t Judas
and Jesus is not my friend

If only he had a sister
to say “Get real, Mister!”

[MikeyC]

Every time I start Dancing Star I can't help but believe that Go West is going to start playing.

I think that’s intentional! x

[Parkol]

It's definitely better than Super, Electric and Hotspot in terms of sound quality. That's for sure, I haven't listened to the B-sides. The track sounds ok, but the chorus is a bit twitchy. Probably just out of habit. The remixes didn't make a strong impression. I hope the album will be good.

Why there is no video is a mystery.

[Harry]

I am really enjoying "Dancing star", it's catchy, intelligent and one of those tracks that reveals more each time you listen to it on a better sound system. I love the "Honey" sample! A definite shiny pop single.

What really strikes me is how good the two self-produced bonus tracks are. They've really polished their homemade production skills.

"Sense of time" has come just as I'm feeling a bit weird about turning 40 in a couple of weeks. It's just right. The line "In these imminent dark ages" has to be one of Neil's best lines in years. It actually made me a bit emotional.

"If Jesus had a sister" is very interesting. I love the sound of it. A grower, I think.

[Nickname]

It's a bit like Holiday from Madonna.

[Parkol]

Guys, I listened to If Jesus had a sister. I'm speechless.
I'm just speechless.
Why the f...k are the Pet Shop Boys hiding such masterpieces from a wide audience?

That's the kind of song that should be released as a single. It's the best song since Lost. And only fans will end up listening to it.

Sense of time is good for a b-side, but no more.

I've been listening to If Jesus had a sister on repeat five times. It's the Pet Shop Boys song of the year. That's why we love them, because it brings tears to your eyes and makes your heart beat faster. Cos their music will melt hearts.

I'm feeling really strong right now. Beautiful music.

[Gabby]

Not to veer off too far off topic but felt that Music Complete was easily their best album since Technique.

I'll veer off a little more

MC was a solid album, no doubt, but it really did need the Hooky magic in it to bring it to the next level and was lacking because of it. I've become more of a flag waver for Peter Hook as the years have progressed. I think Bernard Sumner has shown (through projects like Electronic - post PSB - and Bad Lieutenant) that although he definitely was the backbone to the, eventual, New Order sound, Peter Hook brought enough to the table to make a difference (some of the Monaco stuff is tremendous, and I'd say his other stuff is no more consistent than Sumner's "solo work" either).

It's sad that people were rather forced to "pick a side". Neil and Chris included. I'd love to hear some meaty Peter Hook bass on a PSB track, but I doubt it will ever happen.

[minimal]

It’s only a week ago that I visited the Rudolf Nureyev exhibition at Palais Garnier in Paris and Dancing Star feels like a nice contribution.

m+

[panda magic]

LOVE the chorus of "Dancing Star" but the verses remind me a little of "The Pop Kids" in that they sound like Neil wrote the lyrics first and then tried to squeeze them into a melodic structure afterwards. So you end up with some awkward phrasing where certain words feel rushed so that everything will fit within a line, giving everything an "improvised on the spot"
vibe. Compare that to the measured intentionality of "Rent" or "Dreaming of the Queen" where it feels like there's a more harmonious relationship between lyric and melody.

The production has a nice spare quality to it, though it's odd that it all feels a bit more rudimentary than what they were doing 30+ years ago with "Music For Boys," "The Man Who Has Everything" and so on. Really dazzling stuff with bold choices and complicated programming. Nowadays there's a bit more of an "off the shelf" quality to their production, especially with percussion.

Even with these issues it still feels miles better than anything their 80s contemporaries are doing in the 2020s.

[jules]

A lot of new things to process.
All the new songs are great.
Dancing star is good especially in the second part.
I thought the melody in the solumun remix would be in the single.
Sense of time has a lot of differents parts.
Jesus is beautiful and you can't believe it's only a b side already.

[jules]

Sense of Time is the single

Dancing Star is the b-side


They got it backwards.

It's true that even with the strings in the back, sense of time and jesus seems to have an heavier production.

[ChoonHound]

It’s just catchier and more relevant to our times.

[Lleonard Pler]

The music is kind of a reworking of Madonna's Holiday in the style of Please/Actually.

But I'm not loving the melody and Neil's voice sound so weird, didn't love it tbh. Very b-side material, unlike Loneliness that was a strong leading single.

I prefer Sense of time. Less pretentious and more straightforward and honest.

[Integralist]

They've really lost their way with a melody. Yes, the 80s-sound and self-referencing stuff is cute, but the melody is so nothingy and limp. Another dud.

I'm no more enamoured with the b-sides either.