Okay, we’ve recovered enough from our Pet Shop Boys pig-out to wrap up a couple of loose ends. Firstly, for those who want to see what we named as the PSBs 10 greatest songs, and the 10 near-misses that made it to our B-sides, we’ve gathered both lists below, with links. Later today, we’re going to blog on a couple of reader requests we received that didn’t quite make our top 20, but we thought deserved a bit of blogging.
Cover of “Actually”, artwork by Mark Farrow, photograph by Cindy Palmano
1. “Can You Forgive Her?” as A Side (“one of Tennant’s most teasing, serpentine melodies”), “Heart” as B Side (“no frills Pet Shop Boys, pure simple pop”) blogged here
2. “West End Girls” as A Side (“PSBs set their idiosyncratic rules of engagement with pop culture”), “Suburbia” as B Side (“rather beautifully dated”) blogged here
3. “Jealousy” as A Side (“from understated melancholy to explosive, glorious melodrama”), “Always On My Mind” as B Side (“fucking amazing”) blogged here
4. “Love Etc” as A Side (“like falling head over heels in love all over again”), “So Hard” as B Side (“seething electronica and slashing, shuddering synth hook”) blogged here
5. “Left To My Own Devices” as A Side (“one of the most magnificent songs in the Tennant/Lowe canon”), “I Get Along” as B Side (“utterly gorgeous”) blogged here
6. “I Want To Wake Up” as A Side (“pop is the single greatest vehicle for expressing the intensity of love”), “Liberation” as B Side (“soft, kittenish loveliness”) blogged here
7. “What Have I Done To Deserve This?” as A Side (“the band reveal and fulfil their ambitions for true pop greatness”), “It’s A Sin” as B Side (“there’s no other song quite like it in all pop) blogged here
8. “Being Boring” as A Side (“a creation of astonishing grace and beauty”), “Rent” as B Side (“elegant storytelling and seductive if occasionally strained melody”) blogged here
9. “Love Comes Quickly” as A Side (“Pop Lifer gets a little emotional even thinking about it”, “Domino Dancing” as B Side (“a bit of a one-off, a bit brilliant”) blogged here
10. “It Couldn’t Happen Here” as A Side (“definitive proof that pop music can be great and powerful art”), “Paninaro” as B Side (“frothy, eccentric, poppy”) blogged here
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This song has one of those lyrics that I anticipate with increasing joyful excitement as it approaches. Like when you’re watching a Naked Gun movie and you know the joke that’s coming but you can’t wait. I’m pretty sure I do a little clap every time I hear:
I’m always hoping you’ll be faithful/But you’re not, I suppose./We’ve both given up smoking cos it’s fatal,/So whose matches are those?
Absolutely agree! Just had a little giggle even reading those words again. The glum tone with which Neil sings it and the slightly awkward rhyme help the joke fly. Don’t suppose you fancy spreading the love by RTing us? We’re going to be a bit pushy and @ you. We’re a baby blog so we’re allowed to mewl and scream for attention – right?
And thanks for comment – we’re comment addicted.
Well said! Good to see another famous pethead!
Thanks for RTing us Mr Addison. Did you know you have a rabid Norwegian fanbase? Or one very very obsessive Norwegian fan with time on his hands who has feverishly clicked and re-clicked on lots of our posts? (Oh God! I hope it’s not THAT Norwegian!)
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