[Introspective] D3

[Daniel McCarthy]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Zdenek Stanka" <s.zdenek at volny.cz>

> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: introspective-bounces+s.zdenek=volny.cz at tcp.com
> > [mailto:introspective-bounces+s.zdenek=volny.cz at tcp.com]On Behalf
> > Of Daniel McCarthy

> > I liked Release, which has some great songs on it, but the production
> > sounded tired and it was impossible to escape the feeling that they were
> > doing a second-rate impression of other people's styles (Oasis, etc). D3
> > might be a minor work, but it's characteristically PSB.
>
> I think this is *exactly* the point!!! Sentences like "D3 might be a minor
> work, but it's characteristically PSB" or "...are the kind that PSB were
> meant to do..." are IMO the essence of such "disagreements". There are
fans
> (like you e.g.) who found themselves or started to listen to PSB music
> around the time of Very and Relenless and so they expect PSB to do such a
> kind of music (Somebody Else's Business, A Different Point Of View or
> Euroboy). And then there are fans (like me e.g.) who found themselves or
> started to listen to PSB music around the time of Please, Disco and
> Actually. And for us Suburbia (the full horror), I Want A Lover, In The
> Night or What Have I Done To Deserve This? are "characteristically PSB".
It
> doesn't mean we don't like "each other's" period; it just means we
consider
> two different styles to be "the typical Pet Shop Boys".

And then there are fans who jump to conclusions, heheheh... Zdenek, I became
a fan circa 1987 after hearing Rent and AOMM. Introspective, Actually and
Disco were my first three PSB albums, and Behavior is my all-time favorite.
Your profile of me is entirely wrong I'm afraid. That's no problem, although
I do note that some arguments have been started on this list before by
people mischaracterizing other fans' points of view. Whenever anyone
criticizes Release, for example, somebody flies off the handle and starts
denouncing the critic for only liking dance music. One need not like dance
music to find some flaws in Release (although I personally like Release a
lot).

I called D3 a minor work b/c it is -- it's not a full album, it's a
collection of crap remixes, leftovers from the last few years' worth of
sessions (the Zippel stuff), two new recordings of very old (but unreleased)
songs, and one entirely new song. You're right thought that it is debateable
whether SEB and ILCK are more characteristically PSB than IGA. I'd say they
are b/c they're more in the style that has always been associated with the
Boys. Anyway, I suppose my point is that on Disco 3 the Boys sound less
self-conscious and less tired, more confident. I don't think that's just b/c
they're doing faster, dancier songs, I think it's because they're taking a
more straightforward approach to the production and not trying to force it
into a "concept."