Re: Neil Tennant announces new book
Posted: Wed 07 Nov 2018, 8:34 pm
I like to think of it as home...
https://www.petshopboys-forum.com/
I agree and also haven't bought a copy. I don't see it as a Pet Shop Boys product in any way. Mind you I hope for Neil's sake not too many heed your words of wisdom on this occasion!Drico One wrote: ↑Tue 06 Nov 2018, 10:42 pm I have to say (well, maybe I don't really) that I don't really get the fuss over this. I haven't ordered a copy, and I'm trying to work out why I haven't. First of all, I don't really like the idea of Neil taking the plaudits when, to me, Chris is very much an equal songwriting partner. Sure, we've always known Neil generally supplies the words and Chris generally the tunes, but I see them as a single entity that is so much greater than the sum of its parts. Secondly, haven't we already had Neil's insights via Further Listening? The beauty of those releases was that we also got Chris's.
Most of all, though, I don't think song lyrics look all that great written down and out of context. In the absence of the song itself, the tune, the melody, and the arrangement, they seem somewhat banal and inelegant. The addition of the poem at the end strikes me as massively pretentious.
One part of me is delighted Neil seems to be getting attention for his work. To my mind, he is the greatest lyricist of his generation and easily one of the best songwriting wordsmiths of all time. But this collection doesn't excite me at all. I can pore over his lyrics all day long, but they mean little to me on paper. I want to imbibe them in song, in their truest and most sincere form. He deserves the recognition, though. I think he's massively underrated in many ways...almost as much as Chris is.
Drico.
lol.... I wonder if Neil is now totally fed up with his book due to this and signing them all?scousepsbfan wrote: ↑Wed 07 Nov 2018, 10:44 am I've got an image now of Neil sitting in a dark room with bleeding fingers as he hand binds 500 copies lol.
Pop lyrics aren't poetry. They may sometimes be poetic, but as you say, removed from their original context even those can appear banal and inelegant. I've also got an issue with him selecting the ones that supposedly look better when written on the page. To me, the form and content of the Minimal lyric perfectly complement each other like the best poetry - but that's not here while some of Neil's more pretentious lyrics are. And yes, the inclusion of the additional poem is hugely egotistic too.Drico One wrote: ↑Tue 06 Nov 2018, 10:42 pm I have to say (well, maybe I don't really) that I don't really get the fuss over this. I haven't ordered a copy, and I'm trying to work out why I haven't. First of all, I don't really like the idea of Neil taking the plaudits when, to me, Chris is very much an equal songwriting partner. Sure, we've always known Neil generally supplies the words and Chris generally the tunes, but I see them as a single entity that is so much greater than the sum of its parts. Secondly, haven't we already had Neil's insights via Further Listening? The beauty of those releases was that we also got Chris's.
Most of all, though, I don't think song lyrics look all that great written down and out of context. In the absence of the song itself, the tune, the melody, and the arrangement, they seem somewhat banal and inelegant. The addition of the poem at the end strikes me as massively pretentious.
One part of me is delighted Neil seems to be getting attention for his work. To my mind, he is the greatest lyricist of his generation and easily one of the best songwriting wordsmiths of all time. But this collection doesn't excite me at all. I can pore over his lyrics all day long, but they mean little to me on paper. I want to imbibe them in song, in their truest and most sincere form. He deserves the recognition, though. I think he's massively underrated in many ways...almost as much as Chris is.
Drico.