Track-by-Track: From Please to Nonetheless

[NotInvisible]

They were back in the Swedish Top 10 in 1999 with New York City Boy

They were in the Top 20 with the same song in a real pop market. Let’s not pretend the Swedish charts are remotely relevant.

[NotInvisible]

Top ten when NYC Boy was released:

1. Eiffel 65 - "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" Ear worm that they'd be hated for today
2. Lou Bega - "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...)" Cooler ear worm, but not their type of latin, largely annoying today except for you Uncles at your 3rd wedding
3. DJ Jean - "The Launch" Coolish 90s dance. Probably unhelpful for them to have success with, but any number of B-side remixes could have gone in this direction.
4. Vengaboys - "We're Going To Ibiza!" Trash but hey they could have done a followup single for Ab Fab in this vein, except that was a one-time comic relief concept and who even wants it?
5. Shaft - "(Mucho Mambo) Sway" Fun yet annoying mix of an old song, not something you really want on your Best Of
6. Enrique Iglesias - "Bailamos" First and only actual proper strong pop song that isn't trash/gimmickry. They could do a slower latin, like Surprise, but maybe Se a Vida was their strongest contender.
7. Lolly - "Mickey" scraping past the barrel bottom, are we digging to china?
8. Martine McCutcheon - "I've Got You" Fair enough, maybe they could have written a song to give away to an East Enders actor at some point for chart success?
9. Bob Marley vs. Funkstar De Luxe - "Sun Is Shining" Fun remix of an old track. Again, something like this might of surfaced from a B-Side remix when working with a dance producer, but doesn't fit on a Best Of necessarily.
10. DJ Jurgen presents Alice Deejay - "Better Off Alone" Cut above most 90s DJ tracks, simple lyrics and strong original hook. It's hardly Discography level, but well done to them

So much for the “quality wins” argument, too!

[NOBODY75]

Top ten when NYC Boy was released:

1. Eiffel 65 - "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" Ear worm that they'd be hated for today
2. Lou Bega - "Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...)" Cooler ear worm, but not their type of latin, largely annoying today except for you Uncles at your 3rd wedding
3. DJ Jean - "The Launch" Coolish 90s dance. Probably unhelpful for them to have success with, but any number of B-side remixes could have gone in this direction.
4. Vengaboys - "We're Going To Ibiza!" Trash but hey they could have done a followup single for Ab Fab in this vein, except that was a one-time comic relief concept and who even wants it?
5. Shaft - "(Mucho Mambo) Sway" Fun yet annoying mix of an old song, not something you really want on your Best Of
6. Enrique Iglesias - "Bailamos" First and only actual proper strong pop song that isn't trash/gimmickry. They could do a slower latin, like Surprise, but maybe Se a Vida was their strongest contender.
7. Lolly - "Mickey" scraping past the barrel bottom, are we digging to china?
8. Martine McCutcheon - "I've Got You" Fair enough, maybe they could have written a song to give away to an East Enders actor at some point for chart success?
9. Bob Marley vs. Funkstar De Luxe - "Sun Is Shining" Fun remix of an old track. Again, something like this might of surfaced from a B-Side remix when working with a dance producer, but doesn't fit on a Best Of necessarily.
10. DJ Jurgen presents Alice Deejay - "Better Off Alone" Cut above most 90s DJ tracks, simple lyrics and strong original hook. It's hardly Discography level, but well done to them

So much for the “quality wins” argument, too!

I knew you were taking your sweet time finishing off the ball they left you with.
A Top 10 with the Eiffel Tower guys, Vengagarbage, and that damn Enrique Iglesias is indefensible.
Anyway, I didn't say "succeed," I said "matter."

[markus]

Better Off Alone came out the same week that I don't know what you want but I can't give it any more was released, fact fans! I remember buying them both in the Virgin Megastore at Tottenham Court Road.

I do think they were trying to reflect the commercial dance zeitgeist with Nightlife but failed pretty spectacularly.

I had Better Off Alone as a ringtone on my Nokia. People around me started to dance when the phone rang.

[Towa]

I do think they were trying to reflect the commercial dance zeitgeist with Nightlife but failed pretty spectacularly.

So do I, and they failed. I love IDNWYW, it’s a great song, but the production really sounded dated and a bit tired from day one. …as most of the times when PSB have tried to sound really contemporary. Maybe “Yes” is the exception?

[NotInvisible]

So do I, and they failed. I love IDNWYW, it’s a great song, but the production really sounded dated and a bit tired from day one. …as most of the times when PSB have tried to sound really contemporary. Maybe “Yes” is the exception?

IMO they're always at their best when they do their own thing, which is why armchair quarterbacking their career is pointless.

[markus]

They were back in the Swedish Top 10 in 1999 with New York City Boy

They were in the Top 20 with the same song in a real pop market. Let’s not pretend the Swedish charts are remotely relevant.

Wasn’t the UK market the first to get stuck obsessing over Britpop, and then in 1999 embraced dance pop like the rest of the world? Why is that the more important market?

Nightlife sold about 200,000 copies in Germany alone. “I Don’t Know What You Want but I Can’t Give It Any More” and New York City Boy delivered those numbers. Do you really think Closer to Heaven or For Your Own Good wouldn’t have helped sales more than Drunk did?

[matt74uk]

ummm, what track had we got up to on Bilingual?

[Patrick Bateman]

Track 96: "The Survivors"

Chronology: Bilingual, Track 9

Another strong song with a beautiful lyric. Unjustly slagged off in that review they refer to in the Further Listening booklet as it's obviously totally sincere and moving.

I always love their London songs too.

[NOBODY75]

Briilliant and beautiful melody.
One of their best bridges.
The final part with the female choir is sublime.
In short, for me, Pet Shop Boys are near their peak

[markus]

“‘The Survivors’ is a decent song with the right gay subtext for the time, but the backing track sounds so cheap it makes Ace of Base feel like an Abbey Road production. I had a Casio with the same preset.

[Patrick Bateman]

“‘The Survivors’ is a decent song with the right gay subtext for the time, but the backing track sounds so cheap it makes Ace of Base feel like an Abbey Road production. I had a Casio with the same preset.

Well, Neil said it was the song that he most regrets not releasing as a single, so perhaps the intention was to remix it eventually.

It's a coda to Dreaming of the Queen in many ways. The same tempo and poignant lyric, just at the next (defiant) stage of the trauma. There really are some fantastic tracks on Bilingual and its b-sides - it could have been a near-perfect album with a few substitutions.

[NotInvisible]

Wasn’t the UK market the first to get stuck obsessing over Britpop, and then in 1999 embraced dance pop like the rest of the world?

The UK never abandoned its interest in ‘dance pop’ even during Britpop.

Why is that the more important market?

This isn’t a serious question.

[NotInvisible]

Well, Neil said it was the song that he most regrets not releasing as a single, so perhaps the intention was to remix it eventually.

It’s a brilliant track, classic PSB. Wouldn’t have been out of place on Behaviour, although that’s not necessarily a pop endorsement in 1996. One of the best bridges of their career!

[NOBODY75]

“‘The Survivors’ is a decent song with the right gay subtext for the time, but the backing track sounds so cheap it makes Ace of Base feel like an Abbey Road production. I had a Casio with the same preset.

Well, Neil said it was the song that he most regrets not releasing as a single, so perhaps the intention was to remix it eventually.

It's a coda to Dreaming of the Queen in many ways. The same tempo and poignant lyric, just at the next (defiant) stage of the trauma. There really are some fantastic tracks on Bilingual and its b-sides - it could have been a near-perfect album with a few substitutions.

I didn't know Neil had said that. I don't see my favorite, "It Always," as a single. Right behind it would be "Se a Vida E" and "The Survivors," and in that case, I do see it as a single. My problem with "Bilingual" is that on previous albums, I'd swap one B-side for a song from each album... Here, I'd swap three. And the third song I'd remove from the album would be one of "Before" and "Single," the songs that were the first and third singles. These two factors make the album seem less valuable to me than it could have been.