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They're Just...Different
http://petshopboys-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=19969		 Page 1 of 4
Author:  Drico One [ Thu 19 Feb 2009, 2:50 am ]
Post subject:  They're Just...Different
Tonight's BRIT Awards performance by Pet Shop Boys summed up just why they are the most avant-garde of all pop acts of the last quarter century. It also summarised why some of us find them so compelling, simultaneously brazen and vulnerable as they attempt feats that others would shy away from.

From the moment the virtual talking heads of Neil and Chris appeared on screen giving a tongue-in-cheek acceptance speech full of the usual platitudinal cant beloved of the c*ck-rock set ("We love you all", "Peace"), you just knew that there was a trick or two up their perfectly coutured sleeves.

Neil, looking like Karl Lagerfeld at a particularly flamboyant funeral, gave the impression of a man who had seen it all and done it so many times before that he no longer concerned himself with the usual bum notes that peppered his performance. And why would he? It's not about the pitch-perfect vocals and the pop idol looks. It's about pop as art, music as something more than a technical exercise in tonsil-warbling. You almost find yourself singing every note with Neil, nursing him through the performance in an anxious clinch, hoping he'll see it through. And then you realise that this seeming vulnerability is actually an endearing trait in a man old enough to be your father who has written and sold some of the greatest pop records of your lifetime.

For those for whom a pop song is an exercise in vocal gymnastics and technical excellence, Neil and Chris will always be impostors from the leftfield. It's not even a question of compensating for a voice that is simultaneously affecting, unique, and technically flawed, or for a synthetic beat that is provocatively artificial. The multimedia extravaganza that couches art in technology is as much the essence of the performance as the performers themselves. But both act as secondary to the songs. While those who don't get it accuse the duo of masking limitations behind a facade, those who do get it realise that the pyrotechnics are a sincere artistic statement designed to bring the songs to life in a way that flawless but superficial execution never could.

And so we get a thrilling, intense Suburbia, with an added male voice choir, oriental dancers walking out of video walls, virtual talking heads, moving lyrical quotations, the tribute of two of the biggest pop stars in the world, and a glorious moment of sheer fecklessness from Chris, who decides to not even bother to pretend that he's playing the keyboards any more.

Paninaro's synthline infects Go West (and works), Che Guevara and Debussy make an iconic appearance, and Chris recounts what music means to him in the context of his Blackpool upbringing and Neil's evocative Being Boring verse. In essence, the distillation of a life in pop.

Whether you love the Pet Shop Boys or loathe them, it was clear to all that nobody else on the face of planet pop could produce a performance like this. Whether you liked it or not, it was unique. Pop as art. Art as a technological installation. Technology in music. And it merits replays, if only to explore the hermetically-sealed world that they created on that stage.

10 years ago on this forum, I suggested that the PSBs were beyond pop and were artists in the most sincere sense of the word. Tonight showcased that in a way that their live shows often do, but this time to a mass audience who never really understood. How gratifying to imagine the heathens finding the whole experience weirdly arcane. The audience at Earl's Court betrayed all of the body language redolent of the fanbase during Performance in 1991: slack-jawed bemusement. What *are* we watching?

And that's the thing. They make you think. They challenge you. On the face of it, one of them can't sing and the other doesn't play. But underneath that layer of superficiality lurks...artifice. Look even deeper and you can discard the last five letters...

Drico.
Author:  Henrik Powers [ Thu 19 Feb 2009, 2:55 am ]
Post subject:  Re: They're Just...Different
Once again Drico... So well said, exactly, how i feel about the performance...

So proud of them... for being them! Different is really a word i like...

Thanks for taking the time to sum it up...
Author:  Sandy Shaw [ Thu 19 Feb 2009, 3:06 am ]
Post subject:  Re: They're Just...Different
Thank you Drico. I was in tears most of the way through (their performance) and I can't really explain why. The Brits performance was their moment, but somehow for all the hardcore fans who have supported the Boys throughout most of their 25 years it was our moment too!

19th Feb. (Just a note about the tears! They were tears of joy of course. Was not very rational in posting last night when I got home after drinking two half bottles of champagne at the Brits! Also had been a bit stressed and turned down for a promotion at work so think all that came through).
Author:  glennjridge [ Thu 19 Feb 2009, 3:14 am ]
Post subject:  Re: They're Just...Different
Drico One wrote:
The audience at Earl's Court betrayed all of the body language redolent of the fanbase during Performance in 1991: slack-jawed bemusement. What *are* we watching?
Drico.


:)
Author:  Naughty Zoot [ Thu 19 Feb 2009, 4:14 am ]
Post subject:  Re: They're Just...Different
Drico =

Truer words were never posted.
Author:  DJAMIX [ Thu 19 Feb 2009, 4:33 am ]
Post subject:  Re: They're Just...Different
Youtube? :wink:
Author:  Ellie [ Thu 19 Feb 2009, 6:06 am ]
Post subject:  Re: They're Just...Different
Thanks for that and I agree with lots of what you've said, but...

Drico One wrote:
10 years ago on this forum, I suggested that the PSBs were beyond pop and were artists in the most sincere sense of the word. Tonight showcased that in a way that their live shows often do, but this time to a mass audience who never really understood. How gratifying to imagine the heathens finding the whole experience weirdly arcane. The audience at Earl's Court betrayed all of the body language redolent of the fanbase during Performance in 1991: slack-jawed bemusement. What *are* we watching?


As they've said, "pop" is not a dirty word. What I love PSB for is showing how artistic pop can be. Pop music is something great in itself and they have created a perfect marriage of pop and art, so I don't think they are "beyond pop."

While their music and performance has a depth to it that many won't understand or care about, I do think that ultimately, what they do is not just supposed to be for an elite few who "get it." Lots of the audience at Earl's Court probably were confused but I'm sure that at the same time, lots of them enjoyed the music and the stunning visuals and choreography. Many people like PSB for many different reasons and that is a great thing.
Author:  GalataPSB [ Thu 19 Feb 2009, 6:27 am ]
Post subject:  Re: They're Just...Different
:clap: :clap:
Author:  Shopper [ Thu 19 Feb 2009, 6:43 am ]
Post subject:  Re: They're Just...Different
Awesome Drico !
Author:  Undertaker [ Thu 19 Feb 2009, 8:07 am ]
Post subject:  Re: They're Just...Different
You were quite right to comment on the audience. I thought they were perfect. You could sense their appreciation at the very beginning. We didn't get the usual over the top screeching, we got cheers and applause. Quite fitting for the most memorable night they have ever given us.
Author:  Dipso [ Thu 19 Feb 2009, 8:14 am ]
Post subject:  Re: They're Just...Different
Last night I was reminded of what an indie-singer said to a very apprehensive Neil backstage at Glastonbury - "... but you've got all those songs!".

And they certainly have.

(As I type this BBC Breakfast is showing a clip of the Pets at the Brits.)
Author:  cupidius [ Thu 19 Feb 2009, 8:58 am ]
Post subject:  Re: They're Just...Different
Excellent statement and profound observations. Thank you.
Author:  psb-freak [ Thu 19 Feb 2009, 9:08 am ]
Post subject:  Re: They're Just...Different
:clap: Braaavo !!!
Just noticed that you said Chris stopped playing the keyboards. At which point did he do that? I noticed one pic where Chris wasn´t behind his keyboard.
Author:  tuff enuff [ Thu 19 Feb 2009, 10:22 am ]
Post subject:  Re: They're Just...Different
The songs in itself were great but where's the performance? After the funny and smart intro/short speach it goes downhill. Neil was singing playback and Chris for a moment didn't even bother to play the keyboards, looks like they think they are so cool now they can get away with anything. If it weren't for the screen visuals, the show could be prescribed as a hypnotic.
Author:  Undertaker [ Thu 19 Feb 2009, 10:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: They're Just...Different
tuff enuff wrote:
The songs in itself were great but where's the performance? After the funny and smart intro/short speach it goes downhill. Neil was singing playback and Chris for a moment didn't even bother to play the keyboards, looks like they think they are so cool now they can get away with anything. If it weren't for the screen visuals, the show could be prescribed as a hypnotic.


Eh? Where you been for the past 25 years? Did your watch stop? PSB have always been about being minimal. Two blokes just standing there, looking dis-interested. It worked and still does because no one else does it and if anyone else tried, it wouldn't work. It's one of the reasons PSB are so unique and one of the reasons that actualy makes them stand out from the 'rock stars'

I suppose they should have smashed the stage up and stage dived because then it would have given the minority a reason to moan.

It was a perfect night and nobody, however hard they want to try, can take that away with their jealous whinging.
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