Neilatrone wrote: Mon 26 Aug 2024, 1:32 pm
Two minutes of beauty twinged with sadness.
And raw grief? And possibly some anger? You have to wonder if Neil's friend's parents (and uncle) ever heard this one. It is such a bittersweet memorial.
I was just reading the Introspective FL booklet and did not realize that Neil recorded this one all by himself with piano and sampler while Chris was asleep on the sofa!
Quite apt that the boys finished off their incredible 'imperial phase' by gifting us with one song each as the b-sides to It's Alright.
To summarise the 44 tracks that have been reviewed so far in this thread, from their first 3 studio albums (which all reached the top 3), and further listening discs (UK stats):
- 12 were released as singles, with 4 no 1's, and an average chart position across the 12 tracks coming in at 5 !
- 16 b-sides
- 14 unreleased album tracks
- 2 demo's
In addition to this we got a remix album, albums from Dusty and Liza, a release for eighth wonder, and the boys were starting their first world tour in 89 !
Just amazing output, and sheer quality of music !
Commercially, they would never be as successful again, but (for me) their best was yet to come.
Track 45 : Being Boring
Behaviour Further Listening Disc 1 - Track 1
It's 1990 and the fourth studio album lands. "Behaviour." or "Behavior." depending on where you are in the world. Is this the only PSB album with two different spelt titles for the same content?
The second single from the album opens Side A - so good, it is the only encore ending song that suits the Dreamworld Tour. Beautiful.
Imagine being them. Already famous for pure pop stylings. They take an extra year off between albums. And they return with this strong, lovely mature "bohemian" track. After being pigeon-holed and dismissed by some critics, it must of been so exciting to be them at this time and to return with these new fresh colours.
jasonjohn wrote: Tue 03 Sep 2024, 8:05 am
Imagine being them. Already famous for pure pop stylings. They take an extra year off between albums. And they return with this strong, lovely mature "bohemian" track. After being pigeon-holed and dismissed by some critics, it must of been so exciting to be them at this time and to return with these new fresh colours.
I totally agree. It is where they deviate completely from the expected "same old, same old" trajectory and plot their own course. Introspective was the bold move, Behaviour set them out from the crowd for me, They are the Pet Shop Boys and they will choose their own path to pop immortality.
A wistful, profound, funky punch to the gut wrapped in debonair ambience and cinematic stylings. Core curriculum!
Favourite theme: life is just as much about the quiet, interior moments when you are alone with your thoughts as it is about the external moments of action and busyness. The older I get, and the more I think about relying on a friend, this becomes increasingly true.
Favourite lyric: “I never dreamt that I would get to be the creature that I always meant to be. But I thought, in spite of dreams, you’d be sitting somewhere here with me”. Is this the best line about friendship, loss, and the passing of time you’ve heard?
Favourite motif: the liminal harp sound illustrating time shifting.
Last edited by Too Many Shadows on Tue 03 Sep 2024, 11:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
jasonjohn wrote: Tue 03 Sep 2024, 8:05 am
Imagine being them. Already famous for pure pop stylings. They take an extra year off between albums. And they return with this strong, lovely mature "bohemian" track. After being pigeon-holed and dismissed by some critics, it must have been so exciting to be them at this time and to return with these new fresh colours.
They didn't really take a year off though did they. They worked on Liza's album, half of Dusty's album, the first Electronic single and undertook their first ever tour. Pretty busy!
Being boring is their defining moment. The single release signaled the end of their imperial phase, kicked them out of the pop world expectations... But it also marked the moment we're they could be taken seriously by most critics. They went from pop kids to legends.
Without Being boring and without Behaviour we wouldn't be talking of PSB in 2024. The song is that good.
Everyone was just inspired. Lyrics, composition, production, video. PSB at their best. It's not easy to get everything aligned but they managed.
As the years go by, the song sounds more poignant. It felt very emotional as the closing number of Dreamworld.
It was definitely the highlight for me on the DreamWorld tour. The set list felt like a journey, decades long for most of us and this was the perfect finale.
For me Being Boring, for all it's greatness, has become a bit tired for me over the years. I can not deny what an amazing song it is, but it just doesn't have the impact or resonance it once had.
I have forbidden my relatives to play it at my funeral, threatening to haunt them in the afterlife if they do.
