From psbfan at earthlink.net Sat Mar 1 22:13:36 2014 From: psbfan at earthlink.net (Wayne Studer) Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2014 22:13:36 -0800 Subject: [Introspective] Final results of poll on most and least "typical" PSB album Message-ID: The final results are in for my poll this past week, in which I asked my site visitors what they consider to be the most and least "typical" Pet Shop Boys studio albums. And the albums that received the largest numbers of votes were: * "Actually," which received the most votes (33.0%) as the *most* typical PSB album, and * "Release," chosen by a clear majority of voters (57.4%) as the *least* typical PSB album. To see the complete results, please visit my "Commentary" site at http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm and chosen one of the options in the top navigation area that will take you to "Past Survey Results," or click the appropriate link on today's "What's New?" page entry. My new poll for the week ahead asks you to exercise your imagination even more than usual. Try to think of the Pet Shop Boys not as one great pop duo with a career spanning nearly thirty years, but instead as four different recording acts, each of whose career encompasses only the years of the four decades in which the Boys have been active: the 1980s, the 1990s, the 2000s, and the 2010s (thus far). In light of this, how do you think you would feel about each of those four different sets of "Pet Shop Boys"? Would any of them be your all-time favorite recording artist? How many (if any) might be your favorite just for that decade? Do you think any of them might not actually be of much interest to you? Please mull this over and, when you're ready, make your choices right there on my home page. In the meantime, thanks to everyone who voted in last week's survey. And I wish you all a delightful week ahead! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at earthlink.net Fri Mar 7 06:00:02 2014 From: psbfan at earthlink.net (Wayne Studer) Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2014 06:00:02 -0800 Subject: [Introspective] Poll ends soon on feelings about four "different PSBs" Message-ID: <088B4ED76A394D24ACEFA6EEE3DDE162@COMP8> Hey there! Tomorrow (Saturday) is the last full day of my current poll, which asks, if the Pet Shop Boys weren't a single duo, but rather four different duos, each of whose career spanned just a single decade, how you think you might feel about each of those different "Pet Shop Boys." (If this sounds confusing, don't worry -- I explain it more clearly and in more detail in the survey itself.) If you haven't voted yet, please take a few moments to visit my "Commentary" site at http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm and make your choices right there on my home page. On Sunday I will end this poll, post the final results, and launch a new survey for the week ahead. Thanks to everyone who has already voted! And I wish you all a marvelous weekend! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at earthlink.net Sat Mar 8 22:07:54 2014 From: psbfan at earthlink.net (Wayne Studer) Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2014 22:07:54 -0800 Subject: [Introspective] Final results of poll on "decade PSBs" Message-ID: <99412E391BCD4BCCB3BE9F88F478AA30@COMP8> The final results are in for my poll this past week, in which I asked my site visitors how they think they might feel about the various "decade Pet Shop Boys" if they had actually been a different band for each decade of their existence. And the options that received the most votes were: * For 1980s PSB, "They would be my all-time favorite recording artist," chosen by 33.7% of the voters. * For 1990s PSB, "They would be my favorite of that decade, but not of all time," picked by 41.2% of the voters. * For 2000s PSB, "They would be *one* of my favorites of that decade, but not my absolute favorite," chosen by 40.1%. * And for 2010s PSB, "They would be my favorite of that decade, but not of all time," selected by 38.4%. To see the complete results, please visit my "Commentary" site at http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm and choose one of the appropriate options from the top nav bar or on my "What's New?" page. I made a last-minute change of plans for my new poll for the week ahead. As you probably know by now, a brand new Pet Shop Boys track titled "Oppressive (The Best Gay Possible)" -- and absolutely authentic -- appeared yesterday (Saturday) on SoundCloud. (Here's the link: https://soundcloud.com/rory-brendan/the-best-gay-possible.) So I'm asking about your early impression of this track in terms of whether and how much you like it. So please, if you haven't heard it yet, try to do so. And when you're ready, please make your choice from the options provided right there on my home page. In the meantime, thanks to everyone who voted in last week's survey! And I hope you all have a week ahead that's not oppressive in the least! ;-) Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From pauldj6 at gmail.com Sun Mar 9 05:42:36 2014 From: pauldj6 at gmail.com (PaulDj) Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 13:42:36 +0100 Subject: [Introspective] Oppressive (The Best Gay Possible) In-Reply-To: <99412E391BCD4BCCB3BE9F88F478AA30@COMP8> References: <99412E391BCD4BCCB3BE9F88F478AA30@COMP8> Message-ID: <531C61BC.8000404@gmail.com> On 9/3/14 7:07 AM, Wayne Studer wrote: > As you probably know by now, a brand new Pet Shop Boys track titled "Oppressive (The > Best Gay Possible)" -- and absolutely authentic -- appeared yesterday (Saturday) > on SoundCloud. (Here's the link: > https://soundcloud.com/rory-brendan/the-best-gay-possible.) I genuinely wonder: how is it possible that our Boys manage to have such a distinctive sound? Take this song as an example. I'm not gonna lie, at the very beginning -the first 6 seconds- it would be next to impossible to recognize anyone's style. But then, 7 seconds into it, the strings kick off, and IMMEDIATELY -right there- my brain thinks "Pet Shop Boys". Then the kick drum. I keep thinking PSB. And then at 1m12s the tone convinces me, this is a PSB song. No need to wait until 2m, to hear Neil. How come no other band comes close to this sound/style? -- PaulDj From psbfan at earthlink.net Thu Mar 13 21:42:41 2014 From: psbfan at earthlink.net (Wayne Studer) Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 21:42:41 -0700 Subject: [Introspective] Poll ends soon on new PSB/Bliss "Oppressive" track Message-ID: Hey there! Tomorrow (Saturday) is the last full day of my current poll, which asks about your early impression of the new Pet Shop Boys/Panti Bliss track "Oppressive (The Best Gay Possible)." If you haven't voted yet, please take a moment to visit my "Commentary" site at http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm and make your choice from the options provided there. And if you haven't heard it yet, a couple of links to it are provided there as well. On Sunday I will end this poll, post the final results, and launch a new survey for the week ahead. Thanks to everyone who has already voted! And I hope you all have a great weekend! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at earthlink.net Sat Mar 15 22:04:54 2014 From: psbfan at earthlink.net (Wayne Studer) Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 22:04:54 -0700 Subject: [Introspective] Final results of poll on new track "Oppressive" Message-ID: <38F87059233A4B9FB71FEA05E4990B5C@COMP8> The final results are in for my poll this past week, in which I asked my site visitors their early impression of the new Pet Shop Boys/Panti Bliss track "Oppressive (The Best Gay Possible)." And the response that received the largest number of votes was: * "I like it," chosen by 29.8% of the voters. To see the complete results, please visit my "Commentary" site at http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm and click the appropriate link for past survey results in my top nav bar or on my "What's New?" page in today's entry. My new survey for the week ahead could hardly be more different. I'm simply wondering how you most often listen to PSB music these days. On CDs? Vinyl? Tapes? Audio files on a computer? Audio files on some other kind of device? Or something else? So please consider your listening habits and, when you're ready, make your choice from the options provided there on my home page. Thanks to everyone who voted in last week's survey! And I hope you all have a most excellent week ahead! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at earthlink.net Thu Mar 20 20:54:18 2014 From: psbfan at earthlink.net (Wayne Studer) Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 20:54:18 -0700 Subject: [Introspective] Poll ends soon on how you most often listen to PSB Message-ID: <20AF3786C16B47B5A0A551B8502A2365@COMP8> Hey there! Tomorrow (Saturday) is the last full day of my current survey, which asks how you most often listen to Pet Shop Boys music these days. On CDs? mp3 files? Vinyl? Tapes? Some other way? If you haven't voted yet, please take a moment to visit my "Commentary" site at http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm and make your selection right there on my home page. On Sunday I will conclude this survey, post the final results, and launch a new poll for the week ahead. Thanks to everyone who has already voted! And I hope you all have a marvelous weekend! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at earthlink.net Sat Mar 22 22:08:00 2014 From: psbfan at earthlink.net (Wayne Studer) Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 22:08:00 -0700 Subject: [Introspective] Final results of poll on main means of listening to PSB Message-ID: The final results are in for my poll this past week, in which I asked my site visitors how they most often listen to the Pet Shop Boys' music nowadays. And the response that received the most votes was: * "mp3s or other audio files on some device other than a computer (such as a smartphone or mp3 player)," chosen by 37.0% of the voters. In fact, when you count the other "mp3" option as well (listening to them on one's computer), mp3s and other audio files substantially outweigh all other current listening formats combined. To see the complete results, please visit my "Commentary" site at http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm and choose an appropriate options from the top navigation features or the appropriate link from my "What's New?" page. My new poll for the week ahead will probably be more controversial than most. You see, in the wake of some recent PSB output -- such as the recent b-side "Odd Man Out" and especially their Panti Bliss track "Oppressive (The Best Gay Possible)," not to mention their upcoming "A Man from the Future" project -- I've read some comments online and have even received a few emails that suggest that the Boys have become "too gay" of late. These fans seem to feel that, while a little gay-related material is OK and to be expected, or maybe even a great deal so long as it's subtle, perhaps Chris and Neil have recently been overboard and/or too obvious with it. So please make the choice that comes closest to expressing your own opinion about this from the options provided there on my home page. In the meantime, thanks to everyone who voted in last week's survey! And I hope you all have a superb week ahead! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at earthlink.net Fri Mar 28 17:09:55 2014 From: psbfan at earthlink.net (Wayne Studer) Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 17:09:55 -0700 Subject: [Introspective] Poll ends soon on whether PSB has become "too gay" of late Message-ID: <7814E746E71F40BE8319FD43347336A6@COMP8> Hey there! Tomorrow (Saturday ) is the last full day of my current poll, which asks whether, in your opinion, the Pet Shop Boys have become "too gay" of late. (And if that question offends you, please check out my reasons for asking and the choices I offer there on my website.) If you haven't voted yet, please take a moment to visit my "Commentary" site at http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm and make your choice from options provided right there on my home page. On Sunday I will end this poll, post the final results, and start a new survey for the week ahead. Thanks to everyone who has already voted! And I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm From psbfan at earthlink.net Sat Mar 29 22:16:53 2014 From: psbfan at earthlink.net (Wayne Studer) Date: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 22:16:53 -0700 Subject: [Introspective] Final results of poll on whether PSB has become "too gay" Message-ID: The final results are in for my poll this past week, in which I asked my site visitors whether they believe the Pet Shop Boys have become "too gay." And the response that received the most votes was: * "I dispute the very premise of the question. It's no more legitimate than asking whether someone is 'too straight,'" chosen by 26.9% of the voters. To see the complete results, please visit my "Commentary" site at http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm and choose one of the options (either in the top navigation bar or on my "What's New?" page) that will take you to the Past Survey Results. My new poll for the week ahead is unusual in that I'm asking you to make a choice from among songs you've never heard before. In fact, as far as I know, no one aside from Chris and Neil themselves and perhaps a handful of people with whom they've worked closely has heard the documented but unreleased songs that this poll focuses on. So how are you supposed to choose from them? Well, based simply on what we do know about them, generally from information the Boys have revealed. I've chosen seven such unreleased and "unheard" Tennant-Lowe compositions that most intrigue me, and I'm asking which of them, based simply on what we know about them, you would *most* like for our musical heroes to complete and release. So please take a moment to make your choice from the songs I've listed right there on my home page. Meanwhile, thanks to everyone who voted in last week's survey! And I hope you all have a delightful week ahead! Wayne http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm