One of the highlights of the Pet Shop Boys’ glitzy, colorful Pandemonium tour this year was the duo’s mashup of their own 1988 classic “Domino Dancing” and Coldplay’s 2008 #1 hit “Viva La Vida.” The Boys announced via Twitter earlier this month that a studio recording of the two blended songs—produced by Stuart Price—will be included on Christmas, a five-track EP released, appropriately, in December.
Have a listen to the Pet Shop Boys’ synth-y “Viva La Vida” cover after the jump. MORE »
Now that the British music establishment has declared its favorite home-grown albums of the year with the Mercury Prize nominations, the cheeky British pop site Popjustice has seen fit to announce its shortlist for The Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize, which honors the best British single of the year. The artist behind the winning song gets twenty pounds, and the voting is decided by you! (And me, and anyone else.) So all you commenters who want to avenge Lily Allen’s being left off the Mercury Prize list can. Other nominees include the Pet Shop Boys’ “Love Etc” and Saint Etienne’s “Method Of Modern Love”; I’m probably going to throw my weight behind Girls Aloud’s “The Promise,” what with it being completely overplayed (yet not played enough) by my assortment of digital-music players in recent months. All the nominees, after the jump! MORE »
The Pet Shop Boys are bringing their Pandemonium Tour–”a multi-media show that will include Pet Shop Boys’ greatest hits and celebrate the new album,” directed by PSB and Kanye West collaborator Es Devlin–to North America later this summer, with dates scattered across the country. Full schedule after the jump! MORE »
The Pet Shop Boys will take over BBC Radio 2 on May 25–a bank holiday in Britain, Memorial Day in the States–for Pet Shop Boys: Wired, a two-hour special where they’ll “be looking back at their personal pop highlights of the last decade and showcasing new artists and top producers.” [Pet Shop Boys] MORE »
The idea of even speaking to the Pet Shop Boys–one of my favorite acts–was nearly too much for me to take, and it completely obliterated any pretense of journalistic cool I might have previously had. What do you ask Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, who made me nearly burst into tears when they performed “It’s A Sin” at the Arizona State Fair? I managed to largely keep it together, share a few memories about the aforementioned fair, and talk a bit about the new album in chats with each member–although for some reason my digital audio recorder decided to only record Chris when he sang a portion of “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” near the end of our discussion. He’s a delightful interview, however, one who laughs more than I would have imagined. My conversation with Neil below the cut. MORE »
I assumed that I would enjoy any group that takes its name from a Pet Shop Boys song, but I had no idea that there was a Swedish female pop duo out there performing nothing but Pet Shop Boys covers. Thank you, West End Girls, for making my head explode with joy. MORE »
Ever since the leak of “Love etc.”, my affections for the Pet Shop Boys have been revitalized; the performance commemorating their lifetime achievement award (or whatever they called it) at the Brits earlier this week really reminded me of how great they are. In that spirit, here are my five favorite Pet Shop Boys singles. (I have no idea why I’m restricting this to just singles, other than doing so restricts the possibility of me slapping my head later wondering why I forgot [fill in the blank].) MORE »
Above, the medley of the Pet Shop Boys’ greatest… MORE »
Speculation surrounding the Pet Shop Boys’… MORE »
ARTIST: Pet Shop Boys
TITLE: “Love etc.”
WEB DEBUT: Feb. 6, 2009 MORE »
